BC Safe TRA Epitome margaritae eloquentiae by Lorenzo Guglielmo Traversagni 02

The ''Epitome margaritae eloquentiae'' in Leeds Special Collections is the only surviving copy of a book on rhetoric written in Latin by Lorenzo Guglielmo Traversagni (c.1425-1503). The author also appears in catalogues as under the pen names Laurentius Gulielmus Traversanus and Guillermus Saphoensis the name used in this work. Traversagni was a Franciscan friar and humanist scholar from

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

. Considered to have been the first humanist professor of rhetoric at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, In 1446 he attended the University of Padua to study philosophy and theology under Gaetano da Thiene and

Francesco della Rovere Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

who became Sixtus IV. Traversagni wrote the ''Margaritae eloquentiae'' as a guide to rhetoric and the art of preaching. The original book was published in 1478 under the full title of ''Rhetorica nova, sive, Margarita eloquentiae castigate ad eloquendum divina accommodata,'' (''The new rhetoric, or, The pearl of purified eloquence, adapted to the expression of matters divine''). The ''Epitome margaritae eloquentiae'' is a short summary of ''Rhetorica nova'' and was finished during Traversagni's' stay in Paris in 1480. It was only ever published in England by

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer (publisher), printer to be the first English retailer of printed boo ...

probably in the same year. Traversagni is known to have visited England twice in the 1470s and may have paid Caxton to print the book. The author could then sell copies to his pupils. In the ''Epitome'' Traversagni argues that preaching is a rhetorical skill which aims to promote Christian virtue. It was innovative in suggesting that sacred oratory should follow teachings on classical rhetoric. At Cambridge Traversagni had lectured on

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's ''Ethics'' and also the ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'' attributed to

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

. He uses these philosophers' concepts of demonstrative logic to prove his point.

Physical Description

The copy of the ''Epitome'' in Leeds Special Collections is printed on Italian paper of the kind made in

Fabriano Fabriano is a town and ''comune'' of Province of Ancona, Ancona province in the Italy, Italian region of the Marche, at Above mean sea level, above sea level. It lies in the Esino valley upstream and southwest of Jesi; and east-northeast of Foss ...

and

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

in the medieval period and has watermarks of the scissors type. The binding is 20th century limp vellum with a smooth spine. The Epitome'' is printed in Caxton's type 2* with 29 long lines to a full page. The signatures are ⁶ b⁴ c⁶ d⁶ e⁸ f⁴ There are no printed signatures, catchwords or pagination.

Provenance

The ''Epitome'' was formerly part of a volume which belonged to

Anthony Higgin Anthony Higgin was Dean of Ripon from 1608 until his death in 1624. Anthony Higgin was the son of Thomas Higgin of Manchester and his wife, Elisabeth Birch, and was probably born in the early 1550s. The family was clearly of a certain standing an ...

who was

Dean of Ripon The Dean of Ripon is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds. The dean is the head of the chapter at Ripon Cathedral – his predecessors were deans of the same church when it was previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Ripo ...

from 1608 to 1624. The rest of the volume is in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. In 1960 the ''Epitome'' was bought for the Brotherton Collection.{{Cite web, title= pitome margaritae eloquentiae– Library {{! University of Leeds, url=https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/118515, website=explore.library.leeds.ac.uk, access-date=2020-05-28

Feature

BC Safe TRA Epitome margaritae eloquentiae by Lorenzo Guglielmo Traversagni 01

There is a handwritten annotation on the verso of the final leaf of the book and the recto of an inserted leaf. This is in black ink and comprises a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

with text and music ''A lytyll ballet mayde of ye yong dukes grace'' about

Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset Henry FitzRoy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, (15 June 1519 – 23 July 1536), was the son of King Henry VIII of England and his mistress, Elizabeth Blount, and the only child born out of wedlock whom Henry VIII acknowledged. He was the ...

References

Rhetoric Incunabula Ballads 15th-century books