174 



ITALY (LITERATURE.) 



the title of Pantheon), Sicardus (author of a similar 

 chronicle), Giovanni Colonna (author of an universal 

 history Mare Historiartim), Riccobaldi (author of a 

 similar work, entitled Pomarium), the Sicilian Ilic- 

 cardo of San Germano (who relates, with much 

 fidelity, events from 1189 to 1243), Matteo Spinello 

 (whose history reaches from 1247 to 1268, and is the 

 first learned work in Italian prose), Niccolo di lam- 

 silla, Saba Malaspina and Bartolommeo da Neocas- 

 tro, (whose works have been published by Muratori). 

 Florence had its first historian in Ricordano Malaspini. 

 The history of Milan was written by Filippo of 

 Castelseprio, and the Dominican Stefanardo of Vimer- 

 cate, and thus each province and city had its 

 chronicler, whose names we have not room to enu- 

 merate. Grammar, which then comprehended the 

 belles-lettres, had been hitherto neglected ; but in 

 the thirteenth century, it found students and teachers, 

 as Buoncampagno Bertoluccio, Galeotto (who wrote 

 in Italian, and translated Cicero's rhetorical books 

 into that language), and, above all, Brunetto Latini, 

 Dante's instructer, who has already been mentioned, 

 and of whom, l>esides his above-mentioned Tesoro, 

 we have several other works in prose, such as La 

 Rettorica di Tullo, De' Vizj e delle f^irtit, &c. A t 

 the close of this period, we must mention the famous 

 Marco Polo, his father Matteo, and his uncle N ic- 

 colo. They were among the first who made distant 

 journeys through Asia, and rendered that part of the 

 world better known to their countrymen. 



Fourth Period. From 1300 to 1400. Amid civil 

 disturbances, the sciences continued to make great 

 advances. While the emperors were attempting, in 

 vain, to restore peace to Italy, and subject it to their 

 authority, separate sovereignties and principalities 

 were formed, the rulers of which emulated each 

 other in their patronage of literature. Robert, king 

 of Naples, was the most distinguished in this respect. 

 After him ranked the Delia Scala at Verona, the 

 house of Este at Ferrara, the Gonzaga at Mantua, 

 &c. The number of universities increased, and 

 many of them, such as those of Padua, Naples, Pisa, 

 and Pavia, were very flourishing, though Bologna, 

 formerly the first, fell into decay. The libraries 

 were enriched with the works of the ancients, 

 which were rescued from oblivion. Men like 

 Petrarch and Boccaccio, by their researches and 

 studies, rendered lasting services, as the restorers 

 of learning. Both collected books, and the first col- 

 lected also Roman coins. By the invention of paper, 

 the multiplication of copies of the classics was facili- 

 tated. Their corruption by ignorant transcribers soon 

 became evident. Criticism was required to restore 

 them, anil Coluccio Salutato, by the collation of 

 several manuscripts, made a beginning in this art, 

 and recommended it to others. Divinity was treated 

 of by numberless scholastic theologians, but by most 

 of them was obscured rather than illustrated. The 

 following deserve honourable mention : Albert of 

 Padua, Gregory of Rimini, Mich. Aiguani of Bolog- 

 na, Bartol. Carusio of Urbino, Alessandro FassitelR, 

 who all taught at Paris, besides Porchetto de' Salvatici 

 of Genoa, Raniero of Pisa or of Ripalta, Jac. Pas- 

 savanti, Simon of Cascia, Peter of Aquila, Bonaven- 

 tura da Peraga, Marsiglio Raimondini of Padua, and 

 Lodovico Marsigli. Philosophy was highly compli- 

 cated and obscure, as it was built on the mutilated and 

 disfigured works of Aristotle, assisted by his Arabian 

 commentator, Averroes, whose mistaken explanations 

 were first made known, and were, in turn, expounded 

 nnd illustrated by the monk Urban of Bologna. The 

 only philosophical writer, who does honour to the 

 age, is the famous Petrarca, who wrote several Latin 

 works on moral subjects De Remediis utriusque 

 Fortunee ; De I 'if a solilaria ; De Contemptu Mundi ; 



De JgHoruntia sui iptiut et Aliorum, &c. The rest 

 that was written in the department of morality 

 deserves mention only for the purity of the Italian, 

 such as Ammaestramenti. degli Antichi volgarizzati, 

 by Bnrtoloinmeo of Pisa. Of the mathematical 

 sciences, astronomy and, in connexion with it, astro- 

 logy, were most cultivated. The most noted scholars, 

 who devoted themselves to these branches, were 

 Pietro of Albano, and Cecco of Ascoli, the former 

 distinguished for his Conciliator, in which the various 

 opinions of famous physicians and philosophers are 

 reconciled ; the latter for an astrological work, for a 

 treatise on the sphere, and his poem Acerba, for 

 which he was burned as a heretic. Besides these, 

 there were Andalone del Nero, who travelled much 

 for the sake of enlarging his astronomical knowledge, 

 and was esteemed by Boccaccio as the first astrono- 

 mer of his age, and Paolo, surnamed Cleometra, of 

 whom Villani narrates, that he discovered all the 

 motions of the stars, by means of instruments of his 

 invention, and who is quoted by Boccaccio, as having 

 prepared machines representing all the celestial mo- 

 tions. Jacopo Dondi and his son, Giovanni, gained 

 reputation and the surname Dull' Orologio, by an 

 ingenious clock, showing not only the hours, but also 

 the course of the sun, moon, and planets, as well a^ 

 the months, days, and festivals. Pietro de' Cresceu- 

 zi, a Bolognese, wrote in Latin his even yet interest- 

 ing work on agriculture ; but, in the same century, 

 there appeared an Italian translation of it, distin- 

 guished for its language and style. Medicine was 

 zealously studied by a number of scholars, but was 

 still, however, in a very imperfect state, and deserved, 

 at least in a measure, the ridicule with which 

 Petrarca treated it. The celebrated school of Salerno 

 was on the decline. The Arabians were everywhere 

 esteemed as models and teachers. Among the most 

 famous physicians of the time, were the Florentine 

 Dino dal Garbo, who wrote commentaries upon some 

 writings of Avicenna and Hippocrates, and on the 

 love songs of Guido Cavalcanti, also a treatise on 

 surgery, &c. ; his son Tommaso, Petrarca's friend, 

 who wrote a Summa Mcdicinolis, and directions how 

 to treat the plague, and explained Galen's works on 

 the difference ot fevers and on generation; Torrigiano 

 Rustichelli, who wrote on Galen's Ars parva; Gen- 

 tile of Foligno ; Jacopo of Forli ; Marsiglio of Santa 

 Sofia, and others whose works are forgotten ; finally, 

 Mundino of Bologna, who was the first that wrote 

 a complete work on anatomy, which was esteemed for 

 two centuries. In jurisprudence, several persons were 

 eminent as writers on civil law : Rolando Placiola; 

 Albert of Gandino (De Maleficiis); Oldrado da Ponte 

 (Consilia and Queestiones) ; Jacopo Belviso (who 

 wrote, among other things, on fiefs) ; Francesco Ram- 

 poni (who explained some books of the Codex) ; 

 Cino (q. v.) of Pistoia; and the two most celebrated 

 lawyers of this age Bartolo and Baldo. In the 

 canon law, which was extended by the Clementine 

 decretals and Extravagants, the most illustrious was 

 the Florentine Giovanni d'Andrea, who commented 

 upon the six books of the decretals, and educated 

 several distinguished scholars. In history, the increas- 

 ing intimacy with the works of the ancients had the 

 most favourable influence ; it was freed from a great 

 many errors and fables. Petrarca and Boccaccio 

 distinguished themselves by several historical works, 

 written in Latin ; the former by four books, Rcrum 

 Memorandarum, and biographies of famous men; 

 the latter by De Genealogia Deorum ; De Casibus 

 J'irorum et Feminarum illustrium; De cluris Mulieri- 

 bus; De Montium, Sylvarum, Lucmtm, Fluminum, 

 Stagnorum et Marium Nominibus. 1" addition to 

 these, there is a long train of authors of general his- 

 tory and of chronicles ; especially Bern cnuto ot 



