The ''Panegyricus Serenissimo Principi Leonardo Lauredano'', anglicised as ''Panegyric to the Most Serene Prince Leonardo Loredan'' is an early 16th-century

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

in honour of

Leonardo Loredan Leonardo Loredan (; vec, Lunardo Loredan ; 16 November 1436 – 22 June 1521) was a Venetian nobleman and statesman who reigned as the 75th Doge of Venice from 1501 until his death in 1521. A wartime ruler, his dogeship was one of the most imp ...

, who reigned as the 75th

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 a ...

from 1501 until his death in 1521. The manuscript is a ceremonial

facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, Old master print, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from ...

of a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of grc, ...

pronounced by Sigismundus Burgus, a knight and lawyer from the city of

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

. Dated 21 April 1503, the

script is elaborately illuminated with a Roman-style inscription of gold letters on a blue background. The placement of the

Lion of Saint Mark The Lion of Saint Mark, representing Mark the Evangelist, pictured in the form of a winged lion, is an aspect of the Tetramorph. On the pinnacle of St Mark's Cathedral he is depicted as holding a Bible, and surmounting a golden lion which is t ...

, a symbol of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, in the upper margin above the inscription, confirms that the manuscript is an official document. It was acquired in 1931 by the bequest of

Henry Walters Henry Walters (September 26, 1848 – November 30, 1931) was noted as an art collector and philanthropist, a founder of the Walters Art Gallery (now the Walters Art Museum) in Baltimore, Maryland, which he donated to the city in his 1931 will f ...

, and is currently located in the

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland.

Description

Title page

The title page contains

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

borders. The

is visible on a parapet above the inscription written with

shell gold In art history and the craft of gilding, shell gold is gold paint given its colour by very small pieces of real gold, normally obtained either from waste gold from goldsmithing and gilding, ground-up gold leaf, or fragments that have come off a g ...

, flanked on both sides by the coat of arms of the

Loredan family The House of Loredan (, ) is a Venetian noble family of supposed ancient Roman origin, which has played a significant role in shaping the history of the entire Mediterranean. A political dynasty, the family has throughout the centuries produced a ...

. Two unidentified heraldic crests are located on the left and right margins, on a purple background with gold and grey vines. At the bottom margin, two confronted tritons are holding a heraldic shield. The text is written in black ink, with a four-line initial "D" decorated with blue vines.

Binding

The manuscript's binding is original. It is made of dark-brown, goat leather, on which the name Francesco Paciotto is written in gold on the outside upper and lower boards respectively.{{Cite web, last=Museum (Baltimore/MD/USA), first=The Walters Art, date=2019-06-17, title=Walters Ms. W.479, Panegyricus Leonardo Lauredano, url=https://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W479/, access-date=2022-02-05, website=Walters Art Museum Ms. W.479, language=en

Bibliography

* De Ricci, Seymour. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. Vol. 1. New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1935, p. 842, no. 488. * Baltimore Museum of Art. The Greek Tradition in Painting and the Minor Arts: an exhibition sponsored jointly by the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Gallery from May 15 through June 25, 1939. Baltimore Museum of Art. 1939, p. 84, cat. no. 113. * Kristeller, Paul Oskar, and Judith Wardman. Alia itinera III and Italy III: Sweden to Yugoslavia, Utopia, supplement to Italy (A-F). Iter Italicum. 5. London: Warburg Institute, 1990, p. 215.

References

* * Panegyrics