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Abstract
The manuscript GKS 2052 4° (which is accessible in a digital facsimile on the Royal Library’s website), contains a collection of Italian proverbs explained by Giacomo Castelvetro, the nephew of Ludovico Castelvetro: Il Significato D'Alquanti belli & vari proverbi dell'Italica Favella. It is dedicated to Niels Krag, who was ambassador of the Danish King to the Scottish court, and it is dated 6 August 1593.
Castelvetro's collection of proverbs is a hitherto unknown work. It contains only a tenth of the number of proverbs listed in Gardine of recreation (1591) by John Florio, but by contrast Castelvetro's explanations can be used, on the one hand, as a means to an anthropological investigation of uses of the proverb in the 16th century, and on the other hand they give us information about the life of Giacomo Castelvetro. In the present article, the author explores the sources (both historical and literary) used by Castelvetro. The content of the manuscript is compared to the interest in proverbs shown by Castelvetro in his marginal annotations to printed books, and the provenance of the printed books and manuscripts from Castelvetro's library in the holdings of The Royal Library is discussed. It is finally argued that Giacomo Castelvetro's manuscript, Il Significato D'Alquanti belli & vari proverbi dell'Italica Favella, should be seen as yet another sign of a budding Italianism in Denmark in the era of Christian IV.
Translated title of the contribution | Italian proverbs in Northern Europe: Giacomo Castelvetro's work on the meaning of Italian Proverbs. |
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Original language | Italian |
Title of host publication | Il proverbio nella letteratura italiana dal XV al XVII secolo : Atti delle Giornate di studio Università degli studi Roma Tre - Fondazione Marco Besso Roma 5-6 dicembre 2012 |
Editors | Giuseppe Crimi, Franco Pignatti |
Number of pages | 27 |
Place of Publication | Manziana (Rom) |
Publisher | Vecchiarelli |
Publication date | 2014 |
Pages | 367-393 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-88-8247-365-5 |
Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Series | Cinquecento - Testi e Studi di Letteratura italiana |
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Volume | 50 |
Keywords
- Giacomo Castelvetro, Proverbs, Christian IV, Italianism, Christian Reitzer, The Royal Library, James I, James VI, Venice, Book history
Activities
- 1 Organisation of and participation in conference
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Il proverbio nella letteratura italiana dal XV al XVII secolo
Anders Toftgaard (Speaker)
6 Dec 2012Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organisation of and participation in conference