Durham E-Theses `Many Other Things Worthy of Knowledge and Memory': The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its Annotators, 1499-1700 RUSSELL, JAMES,CHARLES How to cite: RUSSELL, JAMES,CHARLES (2014) `Many Other Things Worthy of Knowledge and Memory': The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its Annotators, 1499-1700 , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10757/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ‘Many Other Things Worthy of Knowledge and Memory’: The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its Annotators, 1499-1700 James Russell, MA Dunelm Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Durham University A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Supervisors: Professor Carlo Caruso, Professor Richard Gameson February 15, 2014 ii Table of Contents Abstract iv Abbreviations v Acknowledgments iv 1. The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and its readership 1 2. Literature Review 28 3. Methodology 47 4. Modena – The F.C. Panini Estate 66 5. Como, Biblioteca Pubblica – INCUN A.5.13 107 6. London, British Library – C.60.o.12 123 7. Buffalo and Erie County Public Library – Grosvenor Rare Book Room, RBR ALDUS 1499.C7 157 8. Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana – Inc.Stam.Chig.II.610 185 181 9. Siena, Biblioteca degli Intronati – O.III.38, and Sydney, The State Library of New South Wales – SAFE/RB/LQ0002/C 204 10. Conclusions 229 Bibliography 232 iii Abstract Due to its elaborate woodcuts and artificial language, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1499, hereafter ‘HP’) has traditionally been presented as a fringe anomaly within the histories of the book and of Italian philology. Other studies have examined the influence of the HP in art and literature, but there has been little study of the role of readers in mediating that influence. This framing of the HP as unreadable visual marvel has impeded consideration of Aldus’ creation as a used text within the wider fabric of humanism. Liane Lefaivre’s conceptualisation of the HP as a creative dream-space for idea generation was a significant step towards foregrounding the text’s readers. This thesis set to testing this hypothesis against the experiences of actual readers as recorded in their marginalia. A world census of annotated copies of the HP located a number of examples of prolific annotation, showing readers making use of the HP for a variety of purposes. Benedetto and Paolo Giovio applied a Plinian model of extractive reading to two copies at Como and Modena, reading the HP in a manner analogous to the Naturalis historia. Ben Jonson read his copy of the 1545 HP as a source for visual elements of stage design. An anonymous second hand in Jonson’s copy read the text as an alchemical allegory, as did the hands in a copy at Williams College. Pope Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi) combed the text for examples of verbal wit, or acutezze, while comparing Poliphilo’s journeys through an architectural dream with his own passages through Rome. Informed by analogy with modern educational media, I have reframed the HP as a ‘humanistic activity book’, in which readers cultivated their faculty of ingegno through ludic engagement with the text. iv Abbreviations A&G: Ariani, Marco & Mino Gabriele, eds., Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: introduzione, traduzione e commento (Milan: Adelphi, 1998). G: Godwin, Joscelyn, ed. and trans. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (London: Thames & Hudson, 1999). HP: Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1499). P&C: Pozzi, Giovanni and Lucia Ciapponi, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Padua: Antenore, 1964). v Acknowledgements My parents read to me from the day I was born, and built a home where literature was integral to our family culture. At seven years old, they took me through the museums and cathedrals of Britain and France. My enthusiasm for early modern books is the direct result of my parents’ enkindlement of this spark of interest from my earliest years. From bedtime stories to the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, my parents have guided me along a lifelong journey with books. This thesis is dedicated to them. My doctoral supervisors, Professor Carlo Caruso and Dr Stefano Cracolici of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, and Professor Richard Gameson of the Department of History, have shared their abundant knowledge, provided continual encouragement, and have shown the patience of saints. For my supervisors’ extraordinary support, forbearance, and grace, I will be forever grateful. This thesis is built upon the foundation of a global census of annotated copies. A project of this kind could not be realized without the assistance of librarians and scholars worldwide, who generously gave of their time to answer my queries. Thanks are due to all of the following: Charles Alaimo (Buffalo and Erie County Public Library), Maria Grazia Alberini (Biblioteca Oliveriana, Pesaro), Floriana Amicucci (Istituzione Biblioteca Classense), Ebe Antetomaso (Biblioteca dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei e Corsiniana), Pasqualino Avigliano (Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Rome), Annalisa Battini (Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Modena), Marie- Françoise Bois-Delatte (Bibliothèque municipale de Grenoble), Mirna Bonazza (Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea, Ferrara), Antonio Borrelli (Biblioteca Universitaria di Napoli), Rachel Bond (Eton College Library), Patrizia Busi (Biblioteca comunale dell'Archiginnasio, Bologna), Birgit Buth (Sächsische Landesbibliothek - Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden), Gianna Capannolo (Museo Laboratorio della Mente, Rome), Bernie Carr (State Library of New South Wales, Sydney), Sean Casey (Boston Public Library), Gabriele Ceres (Complesso Monumentale S. Spirito in Saxia e Biblioteca Lancisiana), Cécilie Champy (Petit Palais- Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris), Katherine Chandler (Free Library of Philadelphia), Kate Chedgzoj (University of Newcastle), Natalia Chernikova (Russian State Library), Lisa Coombes (Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery), Gayle Cooper (Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia), Enrica Coser (Reale Collegio di Spagna), Carlos Manuel da Graça Vences (Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal),Henrietta Danker (Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel), Sara Decoster (University of Liège), Simona Degese (Biblioteca Angelica, Rome), Grazia Maria De Rubeis (Biblioteca Palatina, Parma), Barbara Dossi (Albertina, Vienna), Stephen Drake (University of Ulster), Inge Dupont (The Morgan Library & Museum), Caroline Duroselle-Melish (Houghton Library), Ron Ebbutt (Birmingham Central Library), Paul Espinosa (George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University), Clark Evans (Library of Congress), Todd Fell (Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale), Giuseppina Florio (Biblioteca Universitaria Alessandrina, Rome), David K. Frasier (Lilly Library, vi University of Indiana), Jill Gage (Newberry Library, Chicago), Eleanora Gargiulo (Biblioteca comunale ‘Renato Fucini’, Empoli), Margaret Glover (Print/Spencer Collection, New York Public Library), Yves Grimaud (Carré d’Art, Nîmes), Andrea Grimes (San Francisco Public Library), Marianne Hansen (Goodhart Medieval Library, Bryn Mawr), George Harada (Hiroshima University of Economics), Robert Harding (Maggs, London), Kate Harris (Longleat), Neil Harris (University of Udine), Earle Havens (Johns Hopkins University), Robynne Hayward (State Library of New South Wales, Sydney), Elspeth Healey (Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas), Elspeth Hector (The National Gallery), Brian Hillyard (National Library of Scotland), Deborah Hodder (New College, Cambridge), Angela Impagliazzo (Biblioteca comunale "Pietro Siciliani", Galatina), Adrian James (Society of Antiquaries of London), Andrea Joosten (Hamburger Kunsthalle), Espen Karlsen (Nasjonalbiblioteket, Oslo), Dagmar Korbacher (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), Karolina Kostalova (National Library of the Czech Republic, Prague), Elvira Laudy (Utrecht University Library), Henrike Lähnemann (University of Newcastle), Ángeles Lázaro (Real Academia de la Historia, Madrid), Ruth Lightbourne (Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand), Birgitta Lindholm (Lund University Library), Susy Marcon (Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana), Jan McDonald (State Library of Victoria), Kathryn McKee (St John’s College, Cambridge), Joe McLaughlin (University of Ulster), Maria Luisa Migliore (Biblioteca Riccardiana), Mary Milinkovich (Milwaukee Public Library), Laura Minelle (Biblioteca Civica di Verona), Konstanze Mittendorfer (Österreichische Nationalbibliothek), Bernadette Molitor (Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de Santé, Paris), Manuela Monticelli (Biblioteca Romana - Archivio Storico Capitolino), Luitgard Nuss (Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart), Annelen Ottermann (Wissenschaftliche Stadtbibliothek, Mainz), Eberhard Patzig (Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst, Leipzig),