Vernacular Culture and Greek Texts in the Renaissance: from Florence to Europe (VerGreeR)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Centre for the Study of the Renaissance
Abstract
After the Middle Ages, the Western rediscovery of Greek texts began in Florence in the late fourteenth century. Over the next two centuries the reception and translation of the entire Greek intellectual tradition shaped modern European thought in all field of knowledge. This project will conduct the first comprehensive investigation into vernacular translations of Greek texts produced in Florence during the second half of the fifteenth century. At that time, the famous Neoplatonic philosopher Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) provided intellectual leadership in the city, and played an essential role in the dissemination of Greek texts to a vernacular readership. The project's initial focus on this specific context will develop into an interdisciplinary, transnational history of the vernacular reception of Greek texts in Renaissance Europe: Florentine translations will be compared with subsequent fifteenth and sixteenth-century versions of the same works into other European vernacular languages. Through the direct analysis of a wide range of primary sources (manuscripts, early prints, archival materials), the project will address the following questions: who were the commissioners,
authors, scribes, and readers of these vernacularizations? What kind of linguistic strategies and translation methods were adopted? Research frameworks and methods forged by various disciplines (e.g. textual studies, the history of the book, translation studies) will be integrated to help formulate an appropriate analytical response. The project aims to provide a deep understanding of the processes lying beneath a socio-literary phenomenon of primary importance for the development of a common culture in Europe. The project will therefore contribute to current debates in academic, educational, and institutional contexts about how European cultural roots and common values were built upon different influences absorbed over time, and how they can still help develop a European sense of belonging.
authors, scribes, and readers of these vernacularizations? What kind of linguistic strategies and translation methods were adopted? Research frameworks and methods forged by various disciplines (e.g. textual studies, the history of the book, translation studies) will be integrated to help formulate an appropriate analytical response. The project aims to provide a deep understanding of the processes lying beneath a socio-literary phenomenon of primary importance for the development of a common culture in Europe. The project will therefore contribute to current debates in academic, educational, and institutional contexts about how European cultural roots and common values were built upon different influences absorbed over time, and how they can still help develop a European sense of belonging.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Paul Botley (Principal Investigator) | |
| Cecilia Sideri (Fellow) |
Publications
Cecilia Sideri
(2024)
Due segnalazioni per Biagio Buonaccorsi copista
in Medioevo e Rinascimento
| Description | The project provides the first comprehensive census of vernacular translations of Greek texts produced in Florence between c. 1450 and c. 1500, with particular reference to those which originated in Marsilio Ficino's humanist circle. All extant manuscripts and printed editions of the translations have been traced, and their data are being progressively collected in the database of the VerGreeR project, hosted by the University of Warwick and developed through the Omeka software. Manuscripts preserved in Italian and British libraries have been analysed and described in person by Dr Cecilia Sideri. All palaeographical and codicological data are being progressively entered into the database. The most relevant findings related to this research task concern the recognition of the hands of the scribes who copied the manuscripts, and of the readers who owned and used them: this allows us to draw a detailed picture of the socio-cultural context in which Greek texts were received in Renaissance Florence thanks to the mediation of vernacular translations. As had been hypothesised at the outset, it emerged that the vernacularisations were predominantly read by the lay middle-class of merchants and office-holders, who had no Latin (nor Greek), or simply preferred to read the vernacular. Although some vernacularisations were dedicated to important kings or lords external to Florence, it seems that Florentine translations mainly circulated in Florence, apart from those which were printed and thus gained a wider circulation, in Italy and in other European countries. In parallel with the documentary task (i.e. the census, material description of manuscripts and construction of the database), the project has analysed more in detail the textual tradition of three venacularisations: Xenophon's Cyropaedia translated by Iacopo Bracciolini (son of Poggio Bracciolini); the Epistles of the Pseudo-Phalaris, and Lucian's Calumnia both translated by the Florentine humanist Bartolomeo Fonzio. The results of this textual research have been made public through a number of open access articles (two have already been published; four have been accepted and are currently in press: publication is expected by the end of 2025). Lucian's Calumnia, translated by Bartolomeo Fonzio for Ercole I of Este duke of Ferrara, will be the object of a monograph, which will include a critical edition of the text, compared to the other two existing Italian vernacularisations of the same text produced in the 15th century. The monograph will be published in an Open Access volume after the end of the project. The award is still active, and further achievements are expected until the end of the project, in order to fully meet the original objectives declared in the proposal (in particular, the comparison with the extant vernacularisations into European languages other than Florentine Italian). |
| Exploitation Route | Once completed, the project's results will offer to researchers a broad dataset relating to the reception and circulation of Greek texts in the Florentine Renaissance. The data provided are mainly of two types: textual; and codicological-palaeographical. On the one hand, it will be possible to reuse the textual data as a basis for critical editions of Florentine Renaissance vernacularisations of Greek texts (most of these translations are still unpublished and are only found in manuscripts), as well as for linguistic and translational studies on these translations. On the other hand, the palaeographical and codicological data may be reused for broadening the studies on the socio-cultural contexts in which Greek knowledge spread in Renaissance Florence thanks to the mediation of vernacularisations. |
| Sectors | Education Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://vergreer.warwick.ac.uk/s/vergreer/page/home |
| Description | The main non-academic context on which the research activities connected to the current award have impacted (and are expected to increasingly impact in the future) is secondary school education. As already declared in the "Engagement activities" section, as part of the project Dr Sideri has delivered a series of workshops in Italian schools where Greek is a mandatory subject. The topic of the workshops was "Learning Greek in 15th-century Europe". The activities were very successful in raising the students' interest in the dynamics of Classical language learning in the early Quattrocento. The parallel with their own learning experience of Greek (and Latin), and the practical approach adopted, helped the students gain a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural reasons why these subjects are still mandatory in some Italian school curricula. As emerged from the feedback form provided at the end of the workshops, this increased their motivation towards the study of the two classical languages, which is often considered as overwhelmingly challenging, and sometimes even frustrating. A comparably good result was obtained by a conference session explicitly dedicated to high-school students at the University Verona (see again the "Engagement activities" section). Besides the students' positive reaction and change of attitude, the workshops and the educational conference had a positive impact on secondary school teaching practices. At the moment, the impact can only be evaluated based on the feedback provided by the teachers who accompanied their students to the engagement activities organised within the framework of the project (i.e. the workshops and the conference). But it is encouraging that they declared their intention to disseminate the results of this experience to other colleagues, during peer-to peer training sessions. The teachers who assisted to the activities reported that this stimulated them to reconsider some aspects of their teaching practice. In particular, they are now convinced that it would be important to elaborate themselves some activities specifically aimed at raising the students' consciousness of the cultural and historical relevance of studying Greek (and Latin) today, avoiding taking it for granted, as it commonly happens in schools today. Based on this positive feedback, Dr Sideri is now planning to organise specific training sessions for teachers, in order to share with them some materials, tools and suggestions on the topic. The sessions will be held online, and will be open to all interested teachers, regardless of their regional provenance (at the moment, the teachers involved all come from the areas of Verona and Crema, where the activities for students were carried out). The project also had a considerable impact within academia. It has significantly contributed to better defining a research area (and its specific research methodologies) which is generally not perceived as such, particularly in the Italian area: i.e. the study of 15th-century vernacularisations of Greek texts mediated by a Latin antecedent. In this regard, one of the most important results of the project was the creation of a network of scholars working on Renaissance-mediated translations of Greek texts into Italian, French and German, in order to stimulate methodological cross-fertilisation in this neglected field of study. After gathering the network, Dr. Sideri has obtained a grant from the German Research Fund (DFG) and from the Villa Vigoni Centre for the European Dialogue to organise two research workshops on the topic (the first was held in December 2024, the second is planned for July 2025): see the 'Further funding' section. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
| Description | Villa Vigoni Trilateral research conferences |
| Amount | € 30,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | 536580899 |
| Organisation | German Research Foundation |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | Germany |
| Start | 12/2024 |
| End | 07/2025 |
| Title | VerGreeR database |
| Description | The database collects the results of a first-hand analysis of all extant manuscripts that contain Florentine vernacularizations of Greek texts produced between ca. 1450 and 1500. In order to reconstruct the cultural milieu in which these vernacularizations circulated, attention is paid in particular to the material features of each copy, as well as to any information on its ancient provenance (e.g. presence of coat of arms, ancient library shelfmarks, notes of ownership, annotations and other traces of reading). The printed tradition of vernacularizations is also recorded in the database. In order to reflect the two-fold process of translation that most frequently characterise Renaissance vernacularizations of Greek texts, the database includes also the textual tradition (in manuscript and in print) of the Latin intermediate translations that served as source texts for the subsequent translations into the vernacular. The database is searchable by: Greek Work (Author-Title), Latin translation (Translator-Title), Italian Translation (Translator-Title), Translators (of a Latin or of a vernacular translation), Manuscript copy (of a Latin or of vernacular translation), Printed edition (of a Latin or of a vernacular translation). Free text search is also possible. The link between Greek works, Latin translations and vernacular translations is highlighted through a dedicated section in each entry, labelled as "source text". When exploring any Greek work or translation, it is possible to visualise all related translations (Latin or vernacular) by clicking on the links that appear in the section "Related translations". The database, hosted by the University of Warwick, is developed through the Omeka software. It was designed thanks to a collaboration with the Research Computing, Research Technology Platforms Team at Warwick (in particular, with Dr. Godwin Yeboah, Research Software Engineer). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The database makes publicly available a considerable amount of new data related to the vernacular reception of Greek texts in the Italian Renaissance, with a particular focus on Florence. It will prompt further research in the field and will stand as a starting point for future additions regarding Italian areas other than Florence. |
| URL | https://vergreer.warwick.ac.uk/s/vergreer/page/home |
| Description | Organisation of a conference on the humanist Cristoforo Landino in Innsbruck |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Dr. Cecilia co-organised a conference on the life and work on the Florentine humanist Cristoforo Landino (1425-1498). The conference was held at the University of Innsbruck, in co-operation with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Neo-Latin studies. The organisation of this conference is related to this grant because Dr. Sideri and other two speakers dealt with the issue of Landino's use of Greek sources. Ca. 50 among academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students attended the conference (it was accessible via Zoom, too) and reported an increased interest in the topic of Landino's engament with Greek texts and culture. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://neolatin.lbg.ac.at/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2024/01/For-Cristoforo-Landino_flyer.pdf |
| Description | Organisation of a conference on the humanist Guarino Guarini da Verona |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | As part of her secondment at the University of Verona, Dr. Sideri co-organised a conference on the life and works of the humanist Guarino Guarini da Verona (1374-1460), with a specific focus on his activity as a teacher of Greek and Latin. The conference was held in Verona, from 17 to 18 October 2024. The first session of the conference was conceived with an educational aim, for a non-specialist public. In particular, it was dedicated to secondary school students of the local high schools of Verona who study Greek and Latin as subjects in their school curriculum. Around 100 students (i.e., four class groups) were invited, attended the session and reported a positive feedback. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.univrmagazine.it/2024/10/03/guarino-veronese-e-la-nascita-dellumanesimo/ |
| Description | Organisation of a series of school workshops for high school students of Latin and Greek |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Dr. Sideri organised and delivered a series of workshops for Italian high school students of the 'Liceo Classico' (a high school curriculum where Greek and Latin are mandatory subjects). The workshops took place at the Liceo Da Vinci Rachetti in Crema, between January and February 2025. The topic of the workshops was "Learning Greek in 15th-century Europe". Each session was divided into a theoretical part and a practical part, in which students were engaged to work directly on manuscript reproductions of teaching materials dating to the 15th century (e.g.: manuscripts of Manuel Chrysolora's "Erotemata" -- the main text book for Greek grammar in the Quattrocento --, notebooks by students, manuscript lists of vocabularies, the first printed vocabularies of Greek and Latin). Around 60 students attended the workshops. In the feedback form provided at the end of the workshops, the students reported a very positive feedback, stating that the initiative increased their interest in the field of Renaissance Greek Studies; 1/4 reported that they would be interested in taking an advanced version of the workshop, in order to deepen their knowledge of the topic (based on this hint, Dr. Sideri is considering to propose two additional workshops, to be held in May 2025). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Organisation of an exhibition of manuscripts and early prints at the Biblioteca Civica in Verona |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | As part of her secondment at the University of Verona, Dr. Cecilia Sideri co-organised an exhibition of manuscripts and early prints dedicated to the humanist and school teacher Guarino Guarini da Verona. The exhibition, held at the Biblioteca civica of Verona, was organised in co-operation with prof. Paolo Pellegrini and the LaMeDan lab. Dr. Cecilia coordinated the overall team of people involved in the preparation of the exhibition, and she personally curated the section dedicated to Guarino Guarini as a teacher and translator of Greek, as well as to his grammar books (in Latin and in Greek). The curatorial activities included: the choice of the materials to be displayed; the preparation of explanatory panels and captions; the organisation of guided tours. In the inauguration day (17 October 2024), ca. 40 people visited the exhibition (general public, academics, undergraduate and postgraduate students). The exhibit was open until the end of November and attracted ca. 10 visitors a day (information provided by the Library staff). It is now permanently available in a digital version at the following link (this has increased its visibility and impact): https://digitallibrary.univr.it/it/guarino |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://digitallibrary.univr.it/it/guarino |