Johannes Ciconia and His Poets: Text, Image and Beyond in Early Fifteenth-Century Padua

Abstract

<p>This essay examines the interplay of text, image and music in early fifteenth-century Padua for selected songs and a motet of Johannes Ciconia (ca. 1370-1412). An analysis of the texts that Ciconia set to music late in his career reveals the ongoing influence of leading humanist, Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) on subsequent poets active at Padua, particularly for Domizio brocardo (ca. 1380 - ca. 1457) and Leonardo Giustinian (ca. 1384? - ca. 1446). it also affords several opportunities for affirming or questioning attributions of poetic texts set by Ciconia. More broadly, politically motivated literature and related imagery around the court of the Carrara family in Padua provide further historical insights into the heraldic texts <i>Inperiale sedendo</i> and <i>Per quella strada lactea</i>. The final section draws the reader's attention to a hitherto neglected historical event in early fifteenth-century Padua and proposes a new, earlier dating for Ciconia's votive motet <i>O Petre, Christi discipule</i>. Together, these pieces of evidence further point to Ciconia's participation in, and contribution to, early humanist culture at Padua.</p>