Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi (

Cornedo Vicentino Cornedo Vicentino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy. It is north of SP246. Twin towns Cornedo Vicentino is twinned with: * Sobradinho, Rio Grande do Sul Sobradinho is a municipality in the state of Rio Grande ...

, 1475?–1527?) was a papal

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

and

type designer Type design is the art and process of designing typefaces. This involves drawing each letterform using a consistent style. The basic concepts and design variables are described below. A typeface differs from other modes of graphic production su ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Very little is known of the circumstances of his life. He may have started his career as a writing master in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, although this has been disputed. Around 1510 he was a bookseller in

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 ...

. He was employed as a scribe at the Apostolic Chancery in 1513. His experience in calligraphy led him to create an influential pamphlet on handwriting in 1522 called ''La Operina,'' which was the first book devoted to writing the italic script known as

chancery cursive Italic script, also known as chancery cursive and Italic hand, is a semi-cursive, slightly sloped style of handwriting and calligraphy that was developed during the Renaissance in Italy. It is one of the most popular styles used in contemporary ...

. This work, a 32-page woodblock printing, was the first of several such publications. He turned to printing in 1524 and designed his own italic typefaces for his work, which were widely emulated. His last printing was dated shortly before the

sack of Rome (1527) The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of the city on 6 May 1527 by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the League of Cognac. Despite not being ordered to storm the city, with ...

, during which he was probably killed. His letterforms were revived in the 20th century by designers such as

Stanley Morison Stanley Arthur Morison (6 May 1889 – 11 October 1967) was a British typographer, printing executive and historian of printing. Largely self-educated, he promoted higher standards in printing and an awareness of the best printing and typefaces o ...

, Frederic Warde,

Robert Slimbach Robert Joseph Slimbach is Principal Type Designer at Adobe, Inc., where he has worked since 1987. He has won many awards for his digital typeface designs, including the rarely awarded Prix Charles Peignot from the Association Typographique Inter ...

(for example

Adobe Jenson Adobe Jenson is an old-style serif typeface drawn for Adobe Systems by its chief type designer Robert Slimbach. Its Roman styles are based on a text face cut by Nicolas Jenson in Venice around 1470, and its italics are based on those created by L ...

italic) and

Jonathan Hoefler Jonathan Hoefler (; born August 22, 1970) is an American typeface designer. Hoefler founded the Hoefler Type Foundry in 1989, a type foundry in New York. Early life Jonathan Hoefler was born on August 22, 1970, in New York City to Doreen Ben ...

(in his

Requiem Text Requiem is an old-style serif typeface designed by Jonathan Hoefler in 1992 for ''Travel + Leisure'' magazine and sold by his company, Hoefler & Co. The typeface takes inspiration from a set of inscriptional capitals found in Ludovico Vicentino ...

typeface.) The

italic script Italic script, also known as chancery cursive and Italic hand, is a semi-cursive, slightly sloped style of handwriting and calligraphy that was developed during the Renaissance in Italy. It is one of the most popular styles used in contemporary ...

presented in ''La Operina'' was also revived in the 20th century with Alfred Fairbank's book ''A Handwriting Manual'' (1932),

Getty-Dubay Getty-Dubay Italic is a modern teaching script for handwriting based on Latin script, developed in 1976 in Portland, Oregon, by Barbara Getty and Inga Dubay with the aim of allowing learners to make an easier transition from print writing to cu ...

italic script, and the work of Gunnlauger SE Briem.

Works

* Arrighi, Ludovico – Regola da imparare scrivere varii caratteri de littere con li suoi compassi et misure, 1533 – BEIC 13247565.jpg, '' Regola da imparare scrivere varii caratteri de littere con li suoi compassi et misure'', 1533

Arrigi's Manuscripts and Books as known around 1966

Manuscripts

Ludovico de Varthema Ludovico di Varthema, also known as Barthema and Vertomannus (c. 1470 – 1517), was an Italian traveller, diarist and aristocrat known for being one of the first non-Muslim Europeans to enter Mecca as a pilgrim. Nearly everything that is known ...

, ''Itinerario'', c. 1510, Bibliotheca Nazionale Centrale,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, Cod. Laudau Finaly 9 *

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

, ''Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri'', 1515-16, (private owner at 1966:

Frank Allan Thompson Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

) *

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 ...

, ''Ethica'', 1517, Universiteits Bibliotheek,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Gian Giorgio Trissino Gian Giorgio Trissino (8 July 1478 – 8 December 1550), also called Giovan Giorgio Trissino and self-styled as Giovan Giωrgio Trissino, was a Venetian Renaissance humanist, poet, dramatist, diplomat, grammarian, linguist, and philosopher. ...

, ''La Sophonisba'', (fragmentary),

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

(now

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 ...

), Add MS 26873 * ''Book of Hours'',

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, MS. J. 156 *

Pandolfo Collenuccio Pandolfo is the Italian form of the masculine given name Pandulf. It may refer to: Given name *Pandolfo da Lucca (1101–1201), 12th-century Italian cardinal *Pandolfo I Malatesta (c. 1267–1326), Italian condottiero and Lord of Rimini *Pandolfo ...

, ''Apologi'' and Lucian, ''Dialogi'', translated into Latin by Livius Guidoloctus, c. 1520, British Museum (now British Library), Royal MS 12 C viii * ''Two briefs'', in ''Renaissance Handwriting'', (Fairbank and Wolpe), pls. 16 & 17, (Attributed by Alfred Fairbank) * ''Missale Romanum'',

Kupferstichkabinett Berlin The Kupferstichkabinett, or Museum of Prints and Drawings, is a prints museum in Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Berlin State Museums, and is located in the Kulturforum on Potsdamer Platz. It is the largest museum of graphic art in Germany, ...

, 78 D 17 *

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 ...

, ''Letter to Quintus'', British Museum (now British Library), Add MS 11930 * ''List of benefactors'' of the Ospedale di San Giovanni in Laterano. Archivio di Stato,

, MS. 1010 (attributed by Wardrop) *

Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. ...

, ''Clitia'', c. 1515, Colchester and Essex Museum, England Source:

Printed books etc

Ludovico Vicentino Ludovico () is an Italian masculine given name. It is sometimes spelled Lodovico. The feminine equivalent is Ludovica. Persons with the name Ludovico Given name * Ludovico D'Aragona (1876–1961), Italian socialist politician * Ludovico Ario ...

, ''La Operina'', 1522,
digitized version
* Ludovico Vicentino, ''Il modo de temperare de Penne'', 1523, (4 pages of type) Vincentino and Eustachio Celebrino *

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

, ''Bulla... contra homicidas'', dated Prid. Idib. Junii 1524 * Blossio Palladio ed., ''Coryciana'', (Latin poems in honour of Jhann Goritz, Protonotary Apostolic), Vicentino and Lautizio, July 1524 *

, ''La Sophonisha'', Vicentino and Lautizio, July 1524 *

, ''Rime del Trissino'', Vicentino, September 1524 *

, ''Oratione... al Serenissimo Principe di Venetia'', Vicentino and Lautizio, October 1524 *

, ''I ritratti '', Vicentino and Lautizio, October 1524 * J. B. Fuscano, ''Al illustriss, S. don Loisi di Cordova duca di Sessa'', etc. Vicentino and Lautizio, October 1524 * J. B. Fuscano, ''Al disertiss. cultor di Muse, M. Jano Vitale'', etc, Vicentino and Lautizio, October 1524 *

Pietro Aretino Pietro Aretino (, ; 19 or 20 April 1492 – 21 October 1556) was an Italian author, playwright, poet, satirist and blackmailer, who wielded influence on contemporary art and politics. He was one of the most influential writers of his time and a ...

, ''Esortatione, de la pace tra l'Imperadore e il Re di Francia'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 25 December 1524 * Agnolo Firenzuola, ''Discacciamento de le nuove lettere'', etc., Vicentino and Lautizio, December 1524 * C. Silvanus Germanicus, ''In Pontificatum Clementis Septimi pont. max. panegyris'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 12 December 1524 *

, ''Monitorium contra clericos... super habitu et tonsura et aliis'', 2 December 1924 *

, ''Al Reveren. Mons. Giovan Mattheo Giberti etc'', 1524 *

, ''Epistola... de la vita che dee tenere una donna vedova'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 1524 *

, ''Canzone... al Santissimo Clemente settimo P.M.'', 1524 *

, ''Epistola... de la lettere nuovamente aggiunte la lingua italiana'', 1524 * B. Casalius, ''In legem agrarium... oratio'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 1524 * G. Sauromanus, ''Ad Principes christiannos de religione ac communt concordia'', 1524 * G. Vitale, ''Iani Vitalis Panhormitani... in pacem Hymnus'', 1524-25 *

, ''Canzone in laude del sig. Datario'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 1525 *

Claudio Tolomei Claudio Tolomei (1492 in Asciano – 1556 in Rome) was an Italian philologist. His name in Italian is identical to that of Claudius Ptolemaeus, the 2nd-century Greek astronomer. He belonged to the prominent Tolomei family of Siena, and became a bi ...

, ''De le lettere nuovamente aggiunte, Libro di Adriano Franci de Siena, Intitolato il Polito'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 1525 * ''Aliquot Declamatiunculae et Orationes e Graeco in Latiunum versae'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 14 January 1525 * Z. Ferrerius, ''Hymni novi ecclesiastici'' Vicentino and Lautizio, 1525 * G. Melezio, ''Ioannis Meletii... tragica Elegia ad Itaiam et Galliam infelices'', 28 Februari 1525 * P. Cursius, ''Poema de civitate Castellana Faliscorum'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 29 March 1525 * G. Borgia, ''Ad Carolum Caesarem Opt. Max. Monarchia'', 1 April 1525 * C. Marcellus, ''In Psalmum Usque Domine oblivisceris mei'', Vicentino and Lautizio, 19 April 1525 * F. Cattani da Diacetto, ''Panegirico'', 1926 * Pandolfo Collenuccio, ''Apologi IIII'', Vicento, 1526 * Pandolfo Collenuccio, ''Specchio di Esopo'', Vicento 1526 *

pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...

, ''Joannus Mariae Archipiscopi Sipontini ad Principes christinos oratio de pace'', Viceento. 1526 * ''Itinerarium Philippi Bellucii'', Vincento, 1526 *

, ''Perpetuatio officiorum etiam Romanae Curiae'' and other works, Vicentino (dated 1525) * M. F. Calvo, ''Antiquae urbis Romae cum regionibus simulachrum'' Vicentino, April 1527 * M. H. Vida, ''De arte poetica'', etc., Vicentino, April 1527 *

, ''Breve 'Cum nuper excercitus...' '', dated 8 June 1527 Source:

Notes

External links

Free downloadable copy of the book with English translation as zipped .pdfIdentifont biography

Commentary on ''La Operina'' and italic script tutorials at Briem.net''La operina di Ludouico Vicentino, da imparare di scriuere littera cancellarescha''
From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

''Il modo de temperare le penne con le uarie sorti de littere ordinato per Ludouico Vicentino''
From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
at the