The chapter explores the reception of classical authors in Naples in the Swabian and early Angevin periods. The chapter takes as its starting point a text of 1259 in which Manfred of Swabia describes Naples as Virgiliana Neapolis urbs, ubi fuit antiquitus scientiarum abissus et pelagus poetice facultatis (‘Naples, the Virgilian city, where since antiquity there was a great depth of knowledge and a sea of poetic ability’). As Manfred’s words suggest, inhabitants of Naples at this time were keenly aware of their city’s ancient heritage, which was embodied above all in the figures of classical authors. Most notable amongst these authors was Virgil, who was said to have been buried in Naples, and who continued to play a role in Neapolitan collective memory and mythology throughout the medieval period and beyond. A central argument of this chapter is that reception of ancient authors in the Swabian and early Angevin eras was based around stories about their lives, rather than the texts they had written in antiquity. While the names of classical writers do crop up in contemporary texts, excerpts from their writings are rare; in those instances where we do find classical passages being cited, they appear have been lifted straight from florilegia (compilations of excerpts of other writings). This scenario of minimal contact with ancient literature gains support from an analysis of the curriculum studied at the University of Naples (the first state university, which had been founded in 1224 by Manfred’s father, the emperor Federico II), which reveals a focus on medieval treatises of ars dictaminis (the art of prose composition) and collections of letters - and a notable absence of classical literature. In the Angevin and Swabian periods, then, classical authors seem to have taken on new identities that were independent of the texts that they had written; this material offers a useful opportunity to study non-elite receptions of ancient Naples, in non-traditional forms of expression.

Virgiliana Neapolis urbs: receptions of classical antiquity in Swabian and early Angevin Ages

DELLE DONNE, FULVIO
2015-01-01

Abstract

The chapter explores the reception of classical authors in Naples in the Swabian and early Angevin periods. The chapter takes as its starting point a text of 1259 in which Manfred of Swabia describes Naples as Virgiliana Neapolis urbs, ubi fuit antiquitus scientiarum abissus et pelagus poetice facultatis (‘Naples, the Virgilian city, where since antiquity there was a great depth of knowledge and a sea of poetic ability’). As Manfred’s words suggest, inhabitants of Naples at this time were keenly aware of their city’s ancient heritage, which was embodied above all in the figures of classical authors. Most notable amongst these authors was Virgil, who was said to have been buried in Naples, and who continued to play a role in Neapolitan collective memory and mythology throughout the medieval period and beyond. A central argument of this chapter is that reception of ancient authors in the Swabian and early Angevin eras was based around stories about their lives, rather than the texts they had written in antiquity. While the names of classical writers do crop up in contemporary texts, excerpts from their writings are rare; in those instances where we do find classical passages being cited, they appear have been lifted straight from florilegia (compilations of excerpts of other writings). This scenario of minimal contact with ancient literature gains support from an analysis of the curriculum studied at the University of Naples (the first state university, which had been founded in 1224 by Manfred’s father, the emperor Federico II), which reveals a focus on medieval treatises of ars dictaminis (the art of prose composition) and collections of letters - and a notable absence of classical literature. In the Angevin and Swabian periods, then, classical authors seem to have taken on new identities that were independent of the texts that they had written; this material offers a useful opportunity to study non-elite receptions of ancient Naples, in non-traditional forms of expression.
2015
978-0-19-967393-3
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11563/110744
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