Angelo Poliziano's De poesi et poetis (BNCF Naz. II.I.99) and the Development of Ancient Dramatic Criticism

Abstract

<p><b>MANUSCRIPT NAZ. II. I.99</b> from the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence is a collection of a wide array of Greek and Latin classical and late antique sources. Carlo Strozzi (1587–1670) originally attributed it to Marcello Virgilio Adriani (1464– 1521), who took over the chair of Greek and Latin eloquence at the Studio Fiorentino upon the death of Angelo Poliziano in 1494. In 1982, Lucia Cesarini Martinelli cogently argued that the manuscript was in fact the work of Poliziano and his collaborators. With customary accuracy, she identified all the primary sources quoted or paraphrased in this large collection. Cesarini Martinelli also noted the chronological proximity and thematic correspondences between folios 1r–44v and folios 110r–112r that deal with poetics and poets of antiquity and appropriately titled these sections <i>De poesi et poetis</i>. In the concluding remarks to her catalog of sources, Cesarini Martinelli expressed the hope that others would reexamine this manuscript in the light of Poliziano's literary output and with particular consideration of his <i>Silvae</i>. Yet <i>De poesi et poetis</i> has only received passing mention by the scholarship on Poliziano.</p> This article revisits this collection of primary sources to discuss the systematic approach of its compilation and its importance as an early testimony of Poliziano's interest in ancient dramatic forms. Poliziano investigates the very essence of <i>poesis</i>, which he traces back to the distant times of the mythical poet-musicians: Linus, Museus, and, above all, Orpheus. This process not only serves to dignify poetry but also establishes a continuum between epic and melic poetry and drama itself. <i>De poesi et poetis</i> is a source of primary importance for understanding both Poliziano's approach to the study of ancient drama and his own contribution to humanist development of dramatic criticism.