Niccolò Perotti
Encyclopedia
Niccolò Perotti, also Perotto or Nicolaus Perottus (1429 - 14 December 1480) was an Italian humanist
and author of one of the first modern Latin school grammars.
(near Fano
), Marche
, he studied with Vittorino da Feltre
in Mantua
in 1443, then in Ferrara with Guarino
. He also studied at the University of Padua
. At the age of eighteen he spent some time in the household of the Englishman William Grey, later Lord High Treasurer
, who was travelling in Italy and was a student of Guarino. He transcribed texts for Grey and accompanied him to Rome when he moved there.
He was a secretary of Cardinal Basilius Bessarion in 1447, and wrote a biography of him in 1472.
From 1451 to 1453 he taught rhetoric and poetry at the University of Bologna
. In 1452 he was made Poet Laureate
in Bologna
by the Emperor Frederick III
, as acknowledgment of the speech of welcome he had composed. In 1455 he became secretary to Pope Callixtus III
. In 1456 he was ordained, and from 1458 he was Archbishop of Siponto. Occasionally he officiated also as papal governor in Viterbo
(1464–69), Spoleto
(1471-2) and Perugia
(1474–77). He also travelled on diplomatic missions to Naples and Germany.
On behalf of Pope Nicholas V
he translated Polybius
' Roman History
for which the Pope paid him five hundred ducat
s.
He wrote a Latin school grammar, Rudimenta Grammatices (printed by Pannartz and Sweynheim
in 1473), one of the earliest and most popular Renaissance Latin grammars, which attempted to exclude many words and constructions of medieval, rather than classical, origin. Described by Erasmus
as 'accurate, yet not pedantic', it became a bestseller of its day, going through 117 printings and selling 59,000 copies in Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the Low Countries by the end of the century; a further 12,000 copies of Bernardus Perger's adaptation of the work, Grammatica Nova, were also sold. With Pomponio Leto
, he produced a version of the poet Martial
's Epigrammaton in the 1470s. A book on Martial, Cornu Copiae - part commentary, part dictionary - which was completed by Perotti in 1478 and printed after his death, in 1489, was another bestseller. One commentator calls it "a massive encyclopedia of the classical world. Every verse, indeed every word of Martial's text was a hook on which Perotti hung a densely woven tissue of linguistic, historical and cultural knowledge". It was dedicated to the condottiere Federico III da Montefeltro.
He was also something of a controversialist and openly criticized Domizio Calderini for his work on Martial. He was involved in Lorenzo Valla
's dispute with the writer Poggio Bracciolini
, and in 1453 he sent an assassin to murder Poggio, then Chancellor of Florence
. When the attempt failed and the Florentine government protested, he was forced by Bessarion, his employer, to write an apology to Poggio.
Perotti was so incensed by the number of errors in Giovanni Andrea Bussi's printed edition of Pliny
's Natural History that the wrote to the Pope asking him to set up a board of learned correctors (such as himself) who would scrutinise every text before it could be printed. This has been described as the first call for censorship of the press. He himself was later accused by another scholar of introducing 275 serious errors in the text when he produced his own version of the work.
A collection of fables by Phaedrus, not known from any other source, was discovered by Perotti in a manuscript which is now lost. Perotti's version has been preserved in the Vatican Library and is known as "Perotti's Appendix".
Together with the Florentine bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci
, he collected books for the Papal library. He died in Sassoferrato
in 1480.
Renaissance humanism
Renaissance humanism was an activity of cultural and educational reform engaged by scholars, writers, and civic leaders who are today known as Renaissance humanists. It developed during the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries, and was a response to the challenge of Mediæval...
and author of one of the first modern Latin school grammars.
Biography
Born in SassoferratoSassoferrato
Sassoferrato is a town and comune of the province of Ancona in the Marche region of Italy.-History:To the south of the town lie the ruins of the ancient Sentinum, on the Via Flaminia...
(near Fano
Fano
Fano is a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea...
), Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
, he studied with Vittorino da Feltre
Vittorino da Feltre
Vittorino da Feltre was an Italian humanist and teacher. He was born in Feltre, Belluno, Republic of Venice and died in Mantua. His real name was Vittorino Ramboldini....
in Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
in 1443, then in Ferrara with Guarino
Guarino da Verona
Guarino da Verona was an early figure in the Italian Renaissance.He was born in Verona, Italy and later studied Greek at Constantinople, where for five years he was the pupil of Manuel Chrysoloras. When he set out to return home, he had with him two cases of precious Greek manuscripts which he had...
. He also studied at the University of Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
. At the age of eighteen he spent some time in the household of the Englishman William Grey, later Lord High Treasurer
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...
, who was travelling in Italy and was a student of Guarino. He transcribed texts for Grey and accompanied him to Rome when he moved there.
He was a secretary of Cardinal Basilius Bessarion in 1447, and wrote a biography of him in 1472.
From 1451 to 1453 he taught rhetoric and poetry at the University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
. In 1452 he was made Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
by the Emperor Frederick III
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
, as acknowledgment of the speech of welcome he had composed. In 1455 he became secretary to Pope Callixtus III
Pope Callixtus III
Pope Callixtus III , né Alfons de Borja, was Pope from April 8, 1455 to his death in 1458.-Biography:...
. In 1456 he was ordained, and from 1458 he was Archbishop of Siponto. Occasionally he officiated also as papal governor in Viterbo
Viterbo
See also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...
(1464–69), Spoleto
Spoleto
Spoleto is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.-History:...
(1471-2) and Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
(1474–77). He also travelled on diplomatic missions to Naples and Germany.
On behalf of Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455.-Biography:He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician...
he translated Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
' Roman History
The Histories (Polybius)
Polybius’ Histories were originally written in 40 volumes, only the first five of which are existent in their entirety. The bulk of the work is passed down to us through collections of excerpts kept in libraries in Byzantium, for the most part....
for which the Pope paid him five hundred ducat
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
s.
He wrote a Latin school grammar, Rudimenta Grammatices (printed by Pannartz and Sweynheim
Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim
Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweinheim were two printers of the 15th century.Pannartz died about 1476, Sweinheim in 1477. Pannartz was, perhaps, a native of Prague, and Sweinheim of Eltville near Mainz. Zedler believes that Sweinheim worked at Eltville with Gutenberg in 1461-64. Whether Pannartz...
in 1473), one of the earliest and most popular Renaissance Latin grammars, which attempted to exclude many words and constructions of medieval, rather than classical, origin. Described by Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
as 'accurate, yet not pedantic', it became a bestseller of its day, going through 117 printings and selling 59,000 copies in Italy, Spain, Germany, France and the Low Countries by the end of the century; a further 12,000 copies of Bernardus Perger's adaptation of the work, Grammatica Nova, were also sold. With Pomponio Leto
Julius Pomponius Laetus
Julius Pomponius Laetus , also known as Giulio Pomponio Leto, was an Italian humanist.-Background:Laetus was born at Teggiano, near Salerno, the illegitimate scion of the princely house of Sanseverino, the German historian Ludwig von Pastor reported...
, he produced a version of the poet Martial
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis , was a Latin poet from Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan...
's Epigrammaton in the 1470s. A book on Martial, Cornu Copiae - part commentary, part dictionary - which was completed by Perotti in 1478 and printed after his death, in 1489, was another bestseller. One commentator calls it "a massive encyclopedia of the classical world. Every verse, indeed every word of Martial's text was a hook on which Perotti hung a densely woven tissue of linguistic, historical and cultural knowledge". It was dedicated to the condottiere Federico III da Montefeltro.
He was also something of a controversialist and openly criticized Domizio Calderini for his work on Martial. He was involved in Lorenzo Valla
Lorenzo Valla
Lorenzo Valla was an Italian humanist, rhetorician, and educator. His family was from Piacenza; his father, Luciave della Valla, was a lawyer....
's dispute with the writer Poggio Bracciolini
Gian Francesco Poggio Bracciolini
Poggio Bracciolini was an Italian scholar, writer and humanist. He recovered a great number of classical Latin texts, mostly lying forgotten in German and French monastic libraries, and disseminated manuscript copies among the educated world.- Biography :Poggio di Duccio was...
, and in 1453 he sent an assassin to murder Poggio, then Chancellor of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
. When the attempt failed and the Florentine government protested, he was forced by Bessarion, his employer, to write an apology to Poggio.
Perotti was so incensed by the number of errors in Giovanni Andrea Bussi's printed edition of Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
's Natural History that the wrote to the Pope asking him to set up a board of learned correctors (such as himself) who would scrutinise every text before it could be printed. This has been described as the first call for censorship of the press. He himself was later accused by another scholar of introducing 275 serious errors in the text when he produced his own version of the work.
A collection of fables by Phaedrus, not known from any other source, was discovered by Perotti in a manuscript which is now lost. Perotti's version has been preserved in the Vatican Library and is known as "Perotti's Appendix".
Together with the Florentine bookseller Vespasiano da Bisticci
Vespasiano da Bisticci
Vespasiano da Bisticci was an Italian humanist and librarian .Born near Rignano sull'Arno, not far from Florence, he was chiefly a dealer in books, or cartolaio, and had a share in the formation of all the great libraries of the time...
, he collected books for the Papal library. He died in Sassoferrato
Sassoferrato
Sassoferrato is a town and comune of the province of Ancona in the Marche region of Italy.-History:To the south of the town lie the ruins of the ancient Sentinum, on the Via Flaminia...
in 1480.
Sources
- I rapporti tra Niccolò Perotti e Sassoferrato - tre nuove lettere e una vicenda sconosciuta, Dario Cingolani, Istituto Internazionale di Studi Piceni, Sassoferrato, 1999 Perugia
- I reliquiari donati da Niccolò Perotti a Sassoferrato, G. Barucca, Studi umanistici piceni, XII (1992), pag. 9-46
- Dove morì Mons. Perotti?, G. Battelli, Atti e memorie della Regia Deputazione di storia patria per le provincie delle Marche, serie VII, vol. I, Ancona, 1946, pp. 147–149.
- La Trebisonda del Perotti (una lettera a papa Niccolò V), S. Boldrini, Maia, 36 (1984), pp. 71–83
- La patria del Perotti, S. Boldrini, Studi umanistici piceni, VI (1986), pp. 9–17
- Vecchi e nuovi elementi nella biografia di Niccolò Perotti, A. Greco, Studi umanistici piceni, I (1981), pp. 77–91