Virtues, Vices, and Venice: Studies on Henry of Rimini OP
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Virtues, Vices, and Venice: Studies on Henry of Rimini O.P. Hilary Anne Siddons Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History University College London 2000 ProQuest Number: U643044 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest U643044 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ABSTRACT The Dominican Henry of Rimini (fl. c. 1300) is almost exclusively known for his praise of Venice and its ideal mixed constitution. But he is also the author of treatises both on the virtues and the vices, and as such his work provides an opportunity of examining the nature of this literary genre at a particular historical moment, that is, after Aquinas’s assimilation of Aristotelian thought into the older moral tradition. After reconstructing Henry’s life and works from the available information in chapter one, therefore, the thesis examines these two treatises, first the Tractatus de septem uitiis capitalibus, and secondly the longer and more successful Liber de quatuor uirtutibus cardinalibus. Chapter two contains an edition of this treatise on the vices, which is preceded by an introduction illustrating its place in the history of the genre. Chapter three considers the treatise on the four virtues, initially from the point of view of its manuscript tradition, with descriptions of the 23 manuscripts in which it is contained and a detailed discussion of its historical diffusion. This can be considered the preparatory work for a critical edition of the text, and also a study of the work’s reception in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This is followed by a consideration of the nature of the work itself, its function and structure, and an account of its contents with relation to its major source, Aquinas’ Summa theologiae. The thesis closes with a conclusion highlighting the important modifications which Henry makes with respect to his major source, and the principal lines of the reception of his work. CONTENTS PREFACE.................................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 1: T h e AUTHOR 1. Sources ............................................................................................................ 7 2. Life...................................................................................................................... 9 3. Works................................................................................................................ 13 CHAPTER 2: The ‘T ractatvs de septem vm is capitalibvs ” 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................ 14 1.1. D ate..................................................................................................... 15 1.2 Structure of the 16 1.3 Function of the Tractatus ................................................................ 24 1.4 Sources ............................................................................................... 25 2. Edition ................................................................................................................ 36 2.1.Conventions used in the edition ...................................................... 37 2.2. Quoted sources and abbreviations ................................................. 39 2.3. Contents ............................................................................................ 48 2.4. Tractatus de septem uitiis capitalibus ........................................... 50 CHAPTER 3: The ‘‘LffiER de QVATVOR VIRTVTffiVS CARDINALffiVS” 1. Diffusion ........................................................................................................ 141 1.1. The w itnesses .................................................................................. 144 1.1.1. M anuscripts ..................................................................... 144 1.1.2. Printed editions ............................................................ 220 1.1.3. Ancient library c atalogues ............................................ 221 1.1.4. Private ow ners ................................................................ 224 1.2. Patterns of diffusion ...................................................................... 224 1.2.1. D a te ................................................................................ 224 1.2.2. Provenance ...................................................................... 225 1.2.3. Date and provenance, and centres of popularity 227 1.2.4. Type of m anuscript ....................................................... 242 1.2.5. Marginal glosses............................................................ 244 1.2.6. M iscellanies .................................................................... 244 1.2.7. Nature of the te x t ............................................................ 246 1.2.7.1. Full text ............................................................ 247 1.2.7.2. List of contents ............................................... 247 1.2.7.3. Colophon ......................................................... 249 1.2.7.4. In praise of V enice ....................................... 252 1.2.7.5. Other textual variants .................................. 254 1.2.8. An edition ...................................................................... 258 2. Function of the L ib er .................................................................................. 262 3. Structure of the L ib er .................................................................................. 272 4. Sources ......................................................................................................... 273 5. D a te ................................................................................................................ 274 6. Contents of the Liber .................................................................................. 276 6.1.Prologu e ........................................................................................... 281 6.2. Prudence ........................................................................................... 286 6.2.1. Prudence and the intellectual and moral virtues 287 6.2.2. Prudence and human happiness ...................................... 289 6.2.3. The integral parts of prudence ...................................... 291 6.2.4. The subjective parts of prudence: individual prudence, economic prudence, regnative prudence, political prudence, military prudence .......................................... 293 6.3. Justice .......................................................................................... 300 6.3.1. The parts of justice ......................................................... 302 6.3.2. The principles of justice ................................................ 304 6.3. 2.1. The ideal constitution .................................... 305 6.3.2.2. The “Myth of Venice” .................................... 307 6.3.3. Those things required for correct judgement: the judge, the accuser, the accused, the witness, the lawyer ............................. 312 6.4. Fortitude ...................................................................................... 319 6.4.1. The just w ar ..................................................................... 322 6.4.2. The parts of fortitude: magnanimity, magnificence, patience, perseverance 323 6.5. Temperance .................................................................................. 329 6.5.1. Shame .................................................................................. 330 6.5.2. Temperance as a virtue .................................................... 330 6.5.3. The parts of temperance: abstinence, sobriety, chastity ................................................ 331 6.5.4. Modesty ............................................................................... 335 CONCLUSION................................................................................................ 340 APPENDIX........................................................................................................ 343 ABBREVIATIONS.......................................................................................... 365 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................... 367 PREFACE The Dominican Henry of Rimini {Henricus Ariminensis, or de Arimino) is known today principally as the author of a passage in praise of the city of Venice and its ideal, mixed, constitution. The passage forms a remarkable chapter of his Liber de quatuor uirtutibus cardinalibus, and it was first noticed by scholars investigating the “myth of Venice”, who saw in it the first application to Venice of the Aristotelian theory of the mixed constitution which was to become a major element of Venetian historiography in the Renaissance period. Apart from this passage, usually studied out of context, Henry’s work is