Giovanni Andrea Bussi (1417–1475), also Giovan de' Bussi or Joannes Andreae, was an Italian
Renaissance humanist
Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...
and the
Bishop of Aleria
The Diocese of Aleria (Latin ''Dioecesis Aleriensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin rite, in the center of the eastern coast of the island of Corsica in the Department of Haute-Corse. The town of Aleria was subject to repeated raids ...
(from 1469). He was a major editor of classical texts and produced many
incunabular ''editiones principes'' (first editions). In his hands the
preface
__NOTOC__
A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a '' foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface often close ...
was expanded from its former role as a private letter to a patron, to become a public lecture, and at times a
bully pulpit.
Bussi was a
Platonist
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism at l ...
and a friend of
Nicholas Cusanus and
Johannes Bessarion, in whose philosophical circle he moved. From 1458 to the Cardinal's death in 1464 he had served Cusanus as a secretary at
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, where he helped his master edit a ninth-century manuscript of the ''Opuscula'' and other works of
Apuleius
Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern- ...
.
[Julia Haig Gaisser, ''The Fortunes of Apuleius and the Golden Ass: A Study in Transmission and Reception'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008), pp. 160–62. The Apuleius was printed in 1469.] From 1468 Bussi was the chief editor for the printing house of proto-typographers
Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim
Arnold Pannartz and Conrad Sweynheym were two printers of the 15th century, associated with Johannes Gutenberg and the use of his invention, the mechanical movable-type printing press.
Backgrounds
Arnold Pannartz was, perhaps, a native of Prague ...
, after they moved it from
Subiaco to Rome.
[ He also heaped praise on Cusanus and Bessarion and used his dedicatory preface to Apuleius to laud Bessarion's ''Defensio Platonis''. He also incorporated an edition of ]Alcinous
In Greek mythology, Alcinous (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκίνους or Ἀλκίνοος ''Alkínoös'' means "mighty mind") was a son of Nausithous and brother of Rhexenor. After the latter's death, he married his brother's daughter Arete who bo ...
translated by Pietro Balbi into his printing of Apuleius. The preface to this version elicited a correspondence with George of Trebizond
George of Trebizond ( el, Γεώργιος Τραπεζούντιος; 1395–1486) was a Byzantine Greek philosopher, scholar, and humanist. Life
He was born on the Greek island of Crete (then a Venetian colony known as the Kingdom of Candia), a ...
and his son Andreas
Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...
. Andreas attacked Bussi and Bessarion in a letter entitled ''Platonis Accusatio'' and Bussi directed a response to Andreas in the preface to his edition of Strabo.[ The debate lasted until 1472.
Cusanus, in his dialogue ''De non aliud'' of 1462, calls Bussi an expert on the '' Parmenides'' of ]Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
. Cusanus and Bussi edited William of Moerbeke's translation of the ''Expositio in Parmenidem'' of Proclus, and the marginalia they wrote into Cusanus' codex has even been published. The two also edited by hand the ''Asclepius
Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represe ...
'' of Hermes Trismegistus
Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a syncretic combination of t ...
. While Cusanus writes in a Gothic script, Bussi uses a cursive Humanist minuscule. While Cusanus wrote lengthy marginal notes, Bussi preferred to keep those to a minimum and emend the text directly. The philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
he used in his emendations, however, has been completely dismissed by modern scholarship and his attempted clarifications have been criticised as "rash" and "unfortunate".
Bussi also produced for Sweynheym and Parnnatz editions of the ''Epistolae'' of Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
(1468), the '' Natural History'' of Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
(1470), the complete works of Cyprian
Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christ ...
(1471), and the works of Aulus Gellius. Though his edition of Pliny was not the first (a 1469 printing at Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
preceded it), nonetheless it was criticised by Niccolò Perotti
Niccolò Perotti, also Perotto or Nicolaus Perottus (1429 – 14 December 1480) was an Italian humanist and the author of one of the first modern Latin school grammars.
Biography
Born in Sassoferrato (near Fano), Marche, Perotti studied with Vitt ...
in a letter to Francesco Guarneri, secretary of cardinal-nephew
A cardinal-nephew ( la, cardinalis nepos; it, cardinale nipote; es, valido de su tío; pt, cardeal-sobrinho; french: prince de fortune)Signorotto and Visceglia, 2002, p. 114. Modern French scholarly literature uses the term "cardinal-neveu'". ...
Marco Barbo Marco Barbo (1420 – 2 March 1491) of Venice was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church (1467) and patriarch of Aquileia (1470).
He was a member of the noble Barbo family and a third cousin of Pietro Barbo, who became Pope Paul II. In Ro ...
. Perotti attacks Bussi's practice, then common, of adding one's own preface to an ancient text, and also the quality and accuracy of his editing.
Bussi dedicated most of his editions to Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States
from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...
, whom he served as the first papal librarian, as Perotti assumed his former position as press editor for Sweynheym and Parnnatz (1473). In 1472 he requested assistance for Sweynheim and Pannartz from Pope Sixtus IV, since the printers, who typically published 275 copies in a single edition, had an enormous unsold stock.
He coined the term ''media tempestas'' to refer to the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
.[Angelo Mazzocco, ''Interpretations of Renaissance Humanism'' (Brill, 2006), p. 112.]
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bussi, Giovanni Andrea
1417 births
1475 deaths
Italian Renaissance humanists
15th-century Italian Roman Catholic bishops
Bishops of Aléria
15th-century Italian writers