De primo bello punico (On the First Punic War)
Title
De primo bello punico (On the First Punic War)
Description
Arezzo-born historian and statesman Leonardo Bruni (ca. 1370–1444) is credited with instigating the tripartite vision of history made up of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and Modernity. His synthetic work on the First Punic War (264–41 BC), completed in 1420, became wildly popular. Some 160 manuscripts preserve the original text, with many in the early Italian translation. This copy of Bruni’s text was written in 1444 by the Milanese scribe Milano Borro (act. ca. 1430–50), one of the first practitioners of the littera antiqua in Milan. The true recipient of this copy of Bruni’s text was Gian Matteo Bottigella, secretary to Filippo Maria and later secret councillor to his successor, Gian Galeazzo Sforza. The escutcheon bearing his arms in the lower margin has been obliterated, but the crowned, gilded initials of his double-barreled first name are visible above it.
Creator
Author: Leonardo Bruni; Scribe: Milano Borro; Illuminator: Master of Ippolita Sforza
Date
1444
Format
Manuscript on parchment, 78 fols.
Identifier
The Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E 54
Coverage
Milan, Italy
Tags
Citation
Author: Leonardo Bruni; Scribe: Milano Borro; Illuminator: Master of Ippolita Sforza, “De primo bello punico (On the First Punic War),” Making the Renaissance Manuscript, accessed January 2, 2025, http://makingrenmanuscripts.exhibits.library.upenn.edu/items/show/9.
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