Rediscovering a Renaissance Letter Corpus: The EpistolART Project

• In Event: Early Modern Letters: A Renewed Success I

Abstract

The renowned Carteggio inedito d’artisti dei secoli XIV, XV, XVI (ed. Johann Wilhelm Gaye, 3 vols, 1839-1840) is an important anthology, consisting of about 900 letters alongside a range of other sources, considered a major source by many generations of modern art historians. However, the Carteggio betrays philological inaccuracies and omits a number of significant paleographical and codicological details. The EpistolART project (Université de Liège, Belgium) is aimed to propose a new edition in order to remedy the Carteggio’s main flaws while at the same time illustrating the importance of a methodological return to the original source. Indeed, specific researches and systematic analyses can only be carried out on the basis of a reliable text, perceivable as such in form as weel as in content. Some methodological problems connected to the EpistolART project will be pointed out, in order to contribute to the philological discussions about vernacular renaissance epistolography.

Author

• Paola Moreno, Université de Liège