The "Nuova opera" by Giovanni Cavalcanti (Florence, 1381-1451 ca.) is a heterogeneous text that can be classified under the genres of historical chronicle and satire. It narrates and comments on the events that took place between 1440 and 1447, involving the major cities of the Italian peninsula (Florence, Venice, Milan, Rome, Bologna, Genoa, Naples). The work, divided into eighty-eight chapters, appears to be incomplete. It was most likely written during the same period as the events it describes and is transmitted by a single manuscript, the Riccardiano 1870, held at the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence. The manuscript, consisting of 147 folios, is not autograph and can be dated, based on its codicological features, to the last quarter of the 15th century; it is a fine copy written in mercantile script. The style of the work, particularly convoluted, makes it difficult to understand at many points; although it contains some captivating and effective narrative passages, Cavalcanti does not measure up to his primary literary models in the vernacular tradition: Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. The obscurity of the text and its frequent use of neologisms complicate the philological work, during which it seems advisable to apply the emendatio ope ingenii with great caution, always taking into account the author's usus scribendi, as well as the phonetic phenomena and graphic practices prevalent in the Florentine vernacular of the 15th century. Building on the work done for a new critical edition, this paper highlights the main philological issues related to the text, examining some particularly difficult passages that were not resolved in previous editions (such as Istorie fiorentine scritte da Giovanni Cavalcanti con illustrazioni, II, edited by F.L. Polidori, Tipografia all’insegna di Dante, Florence 1839, pp. 153-308, and Giovanni Cavalcanti, "Nuova opera. Chronique florentine inédite du XVe siècle", critical edition, introduction, and notes by A. Monti, Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 1989) which present, in addition to probable copying errors, also variants that have entered the text and authorial neologisms.
La "Nuova opera" di Giovanni Cavalcanti (Firenze, 1381-1451 ca.) è un testo eterogeneo ascrivibile ai generi della cronaca storica e della satira, che narra e commenta gli eventi che negli anni 1440-1447 coinvolsero le principali città della penisola italiana (Firenze, Venezia, Milano, Roma, Bologna, Genova, Napoli). L’opera, suddivisa in ottantotto capitoli, appare incompiuta. Fu redatta molto probabilmente nello stesso periodo in cui si svolsero gli eventi, ed è trasmessa da un unico testimone, il Riccardiano 1870 conservato alla Biblioteca Riccardiana di Firenze. Il codice, costituito di 147 carte, non è autografo ed è databile, per caratteristiche codicologiche, all’ultimo quarto del Quattrocento; si tratta di una bella copia vergata in scrittura mercantesca. Lo stile dell’opera, particolarmente involuto, rende ardua la comprensione in molti punti; pur non mancando passaggi narrativi accattivanti ed efficaci, Cavalcanti non si dimostra all’altezza dei suoi principali modelli di riferimento nel panorama volgare: Dante, Petrarca e Boccaccio. L’oscurità espositiva del testo e il frequente ricorso a neoformazioni rende più complesso il lavoro filologico, durante il quale pare opportuno ricorrere all’emendatio ope ingenii con molta prudenza, sempre tenendo conto dell’usus scribendi dell’autore nonché dei fenomeni fonetici e degli usi grafici invalsi nel volgare fiorentino del Quattrocento. Partendo dal lavoro svolto su una nuova edizione critica, nel contributo sono poste in luce le principali questioni filologiche inerenti il testo, indagandone alcuni luoghi particolarmente ostici, non risolti dalle edizioni precedenti (la parziale "Istorie fiorentine scritte da Giovanni Cavalcanti con illustrazioni", II, a cura di F.L. Polidori, Tipografia all’insegna di Dante, Firenze 1839, pp. 153-308 e Giovanni Cavalcanti, "Nuova opera. Chronique florentine inédite du XVe siècle", édition critique, introduction et notes par A. Monti, Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 1989) e che presentano, oltre a probabili errori di copia, anche varianti penetrate nel testo e neologismi d’autore.
Capirossi, A. (2024). La “Nuova opera” di Giovanni Cavalcanti: un’edizione unitestimoniale. Firenze : Società dei Filologi della Letteratura Italiana.
La “Nuova opera” di Giovanni Cavalcanti: un’edizione unitestimoniale
Arianna Capirossi
2024
Abstract
The "Nuova opera" by Giovanni Cavalcanti (Florence, 1381-1451 ca.) is a heterogeneous text that can be classified under the genres of historical chronicle and satire. It narrates and comments on the events that took place between 1440 and 1447, involving the major cities of the Italian peninsula (Florence, Venice, Milan, Rome, Bologna, Genoa, Naples). The work, divided into eighty-eight chapters, appears to be incomplete. It was most likely written during the same period as the events it describes and is transmitted by a single manuscript, the Riccardiano 1870, held at the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence. The manuscript, consisting of 147 folios, is not autograph and can be dated, based on its codicological features, to the last quarter of the 15th century; it is a fine copy written in mercantile script. The style of the work, particularly convoluted, makes it difficult to understand at many points; although it contains some captivating and effective narrative passages, Cavalcanti does not measure up to his primary literary models in the vernacular tradition: Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. The obscurity of the text and its frequent use of neologisms complicate the philological work, during which it seems advisable to apply the emendatio ope ingenii with great caution, always taking into account the author's usus scribendi, as well as the phonetic phenomena and graphic practices prevalent in the Florentine vernacular of the 15th century. Building on the work done for a new critical edition, this paper highlights the main philological issues related to the text, examining some particularly difficult passages that were not resolved in previous editions (such as Istorie fiorentine scritte da Giovanni Cavalcanti con illustrazioni, II, edited by F.L. Polidori, Tipografia all’insegna di Dante, Florence 1839, pp. 153-308, and Giovanni Cavalcanti, "Nuova opera. Chronique florentine inédite du XVe siècle", critical edition, introduction, and notes by A. Monti, Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 1989) which present, in addition to probable copying errors, also variants that have entered the text and authorial neologisms.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
