De Viris Illustribus (Petrarch)
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De viris illustribus ("On Illustrious Men") is a collection of short biographies, written in Latin, by the 14th century Italian author Francesco Petrarca.
It is composed of two books:
- Liber I includes 24 moral biographies of heroes of Greek and Roman antiquity (much like Polybius "The Histories" and Livy's figures in his Lives)
- Liber II includes 12 moral biographies of Biblical and mythical figures (much like that found in Hebrew Bible, Greek mythology, Islamic prophets)
There is as yet no English translation, however Harvard University has it under contract to appear in the I Tatti Renaissance Library sometime in 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Liber I
These are the subjects of Petrarch's 24 biographies starting with Romulus, the mythological founder of Rome. Most of these are mentioned in Petrarch's epic poem Africa, for which he received the crown of poet laureate in 1341. Petrarch was the first to be given this title in about 1000 years from the time of Theodosius I. Jerome also has a listing On Illustrious Men.
| Subjects of De Viris Illustribus appearing in Africa | Subjects of De Viris Illustribus - Page references in Africa[1] |
|---|---|
| Romulus | 19, 20, 80, 116, 144, 232, 253, 270 |
| Numa Pompilius | 244 |
| Tullus Hostilius | 245 |
| Ancus Marcius | 245 |
| Lucius Junius Brutus | 66, 67, 68, 254, 269 |
| Horatius Cocles | 214, 269 |
| Cincinnatus | 253 |
| Marcus Furius Camillus | 213, 246, 247, 259 |
| Titus Manlius Torquatus | 248 |
| Marcus Valerius Corvus | 253 |
| Publius Decius Mus | 253 |
| Lucius Papirius Cursor | 253 |
| Curius Dentatus | 253 |
| Gaius Fabricius Luscinus | 253, 270 |
| Alexander III of Macedon | 27, 185, 187, 252, 266, 267, 271 |
| Pyrrhus of Epirus | 152, 185, 190, 253, 264 |
| Hannibal of Carthage | 123-129, 131-134, 142-145, 149-154 |
| Fabius Maximus Cunctator ("the Delayer") | 14, 15, 144, 217, 244, 255, 263 |
| Marcus Claudius Marcellus | 14, 130, 147, 244, 253, 261 |
| Gaius Claudius Nero | 200-204, 246, 260, 268 |
| Marcus Livius Salinator | 135 |
| Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus | 134-138, 163-164, 182, 189, 204 |
| Cato the Elder | 28, 59, 246, 253 |
| Scipio Aemilianus Africanus | 204, 246, 249, 269 |
[edit] Liber II
These are the subjects of Petrarch's 12 biographies starting with the first person of the Bible. Petrarch influenced Giovanni Boccaccio Lives On Famous Women of 106 biographies which starts with the first woman of the Bible. Below is the first person of the Bible and above in Liber I is the first mythical figures that started Rome.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Petrarch's Africa translated in English by T.G. Bergin and A.S. Wilson 1977; New Haven and London, Yale University Press; ISBN 0-300-02062-7
[edit] References
- The Histories (Polybius)
- The Histories of Herodotus
- Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans
- The Histories or The Rise of the Roman Empire by Polybius:
- Preface to Petrarch's de Viris Illustribus by JSTOR
- Most of Petrarch's works are here at The Petrarchan Grotto
- Works by Livy at Project Gutenberg that have subjects of Liber I are here
- Original displays of Petrarch's works at Cornell University Library Exhibition.
- Participating online group discussing all kinds of things about Petrarch's works. [1]
- Excellent site on many of Petrarch's works: Francesco Petrarch and Laura deNoves.
- The Catholic Encyclopedia, Published 1910 in New York by Robert Appleton Company.
- Made possible by support from the National Italian American Foundation Petrarch at 700.
- Polybius, Histories of Lives, Evelyn S. Shuckburgh (translator), London - New York, (1889)
- Both Liber I and Liber II of Petrarch's De Viris Illustribus in Latin only is located at Bibliotecaitaliana.
- Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, "Logbasis", Boston, (1867)
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- The New Testament has 27 books and the Old Testament has 39 books for a total of 66 books known as the Christian Bible.
- Petrarch in Print display at the University of Pennsylvania Library of De Viris illustribus translated into Italian by Donato degli Albanazi.
- Francis Petrarch Six Centuries Later: A Symposium. Studies in Romance Languages at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Petrarch: The German Connection
