Pompeo Sarnelli (born 28 January 1649, died 7 July 1724) was a Roman Catholic

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who served as

Bishop of Bisceglie The Diocese of Bisceglie (Latin: ''Dioecesis Vigiliensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese located in the town of Bisceglie on the Adriatic Sea in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia in southern Italy. It is five miles south of Trani. In 1 ...

(1692–1724).

Biography

Pompeo Sarnelli was born in

Polignano a Mare Polignano a Mare (; Barese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, located on the Adriatic Sea. The local economy mostly depends on tourism, agriculture and fishing. History The area has been settled ...

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 ...

in 1649. He moved to Naples when he was an adolescent. There, he studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and, after he became a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1669, worked for Cardinal

Vincenzo Maria Orsini Pope Benedict XIII ( la, Benedictus XIII; it, Benedetto XIII; 2 February 1649 – 21 February 1730), born Pietro Francesco Orsini and later called Vincenzo Maria Orsini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 May ...

. In 1689, he refused a position at the bishopric of

Termoli Termoli (Neapolitan language, Molisano: ''Térmëlë'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly af ...

. On 24 March 1692, he was appointed during the papacy of

Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII ( la, Innocentius XII; it, Innocenzo XII; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He ...

.. On 4 May 1692, he was consecrated bishop by Pietro Francesco Orsini,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and ''comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the ...

. He served as Bishop of Bisceglie until his death in 1724.

Works

Throughout all his years of activity, Sarnelli wrote several erudite works, in prose and verse, including many

elegies An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...

and

odes Odes may refer to: *The plural of ode, a type of poem *Odes (Horace), ''Odes'' (Horace), a collection of poems by the Roman author Horace, circa 23 BCE *Odes of Solomon, a pseudepigraphic book of the Bible *Book of Odes (Bible), a Deuterocanonic ...

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 ...

, a commentary on Latin poems (''Il filo d’Arianna'') and ''Memories of the Bishops of Bisceglie and of the same Town'' (Naples 1693), in which

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

and

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

are fully mixed in a

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

way. His ''Bestiarum schola'', a collection of moralizing fables in prose, was published in 1680. Sarnelli edited Bulifon's edition of

Giambattista Basile Giambattista Basile (February 1566 – February 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. His collections include the oldest recorded forms of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembere ...

's '' The Tale of Tales'' (1674), the first to bear the alternative title ''Il Pentamerone'', by which Basile's work would subsequently be best known. Its publication marked the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration between the Frenchman Bulifon and the Italian Sarnelli, as the priest would serve as Bulifon's most active

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

and author over the course of the next thirty years. For Bulifon's press, Sarnelli wrote theological and devotional treatises, school readers, and a collection of five

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cult ...

written in

Neapolitan language , altname = , states = Italy , region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise , ethnicity = ''Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians , speakers = 5.7 million , date ...

which bore the title of ''Posilecheata'' (1684). In 1710, Sarnelli authored the first commentary on the surviving portions of the '' Book of the Watchers'', the first section of the Book of Enoch.P. Sarnelli, ''Annotazioni sopra il libro degli Egregori del s. profeta Henoch'' (Venezia: Antonio Bortoli, 1710). The Enoch texts, based on the 1703 edition by Scipione Sgambati, are quoted in Latin and translated into Italian. He also edited Italian translations of

della Porta Della Porta is an Italian surname. It may refer to: *Antonella Della Porta (1927–2002), Italian actress *Antonio della Porta (died 1702), Swiss Baroque architect * Ardicino della Porta, ''iuniore'' (1434–1493), Italian Roman Catholic bishop and ...

's ''Chirofisonomia'' and ''

Magia Naturalis ' (in English, ''Natural Magic'') is a work of popular science by Giambattista della Porta first published in Naples in 1558. Its popularity ensured it was republished in five Latin editions within ten years, with translations into Italian (1560 ...

'' (1677).

Notes

Bibliography

* * D’Eugenio, Daniela, “Irony and Hilarity of Neapolitan Paroemias in Pompeo Sarnelli’s ''Posilecheata'' (1684).” ''Humour in Italy Through the Ages, Part I of a Double Special Issue. International Studies in Humour''. Nissan, Ephraim, ed. 5 1 (2016): 74–111.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarnelli, Pompeo 1649 births 1724 deaths People from Polignano a Mare 17th-century Italian writers Collectors of fairy tales Italian writers Italian male writers 17th-century Neapolitan people Fabulists Italian scholars