The ''Ritmo lucchese'' is an anonymous vernacular poem in a Tuscan ''koiné''. It is reckoned one of the earliest pieces of

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

, composed in or shortly after 1213. It records a battle between

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

and Pisa near

Massa Massa may refer to: Places *Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara. *Massa (river), river in Switzerland * Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...

fought in mid-January that year. The Pisans opposed to the

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

, along with the Massans and the

Pistoiese Unione Sportiva Pistoiese 1921 is an Italian association football club, based in Pistoia, Tuscany. Currently, Pistoiese plays in Serie D. Originally founded on 21 April 1921 and later restored after bankruptcy, the team plays their home games ...

, were led by

William I of Cagliari William I (c. 1160–1214), royal name Salusio IV, was the Giudicato of Cagliari, '' judike'' of Cagliari, meaning "King", from 1188 to his death. His descendants and those of his immediate competitors intermarried to form the backbone of the I ...

and his father-in-law, Guido Guerra III, while the Luccans, along with a Pisan faction, were led by

Ubaldo I Visconti Ubaldo I Visconti (died 1230) was the ''de jure'' overlord of the Giudicato of Cagliari from 1217. He was a member of the Visconti family of Pisa, controlling Cagliari on behalf of his brother, who was judge '' jure uxoris'' from 1218. His grand ...

and the deposed Pisan ''

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

'' Goffredo Musto. The ''Ritmo'' is preserved in manuscript of

Burgundio of Pisa Burgundio of Pisa, sometimes erroneously styled "Burgundius", was a 12th century Italian jurist. He was an ambassador for Pisa at Constantinople in 1136. He was a professor in Paris, and assisted at the Lateran Council in 1179, dying at a very ad ...

's Latin translation of

Nemesius Nemesius of Emesa ( grc-gre, Νεμέσιος Ἐμέσης; la, Nemesius Emesenus; fl. c. AD 390) was a Christian philosopher, and the author of a treatise ''Περὶ φύσεως ἀνθρώπου'' or ''De natura hominis'' ("On Human Nature"). ...

' ''De natura hominis'', now codex 45 in the library of the

Collegio di Spagna The Collegio di Spagna (Royal Spanish College or Royal College of Spain in Bologna) (officially ''Real Colegio Mayor de San Clemente de los Españoles'') is a college for Spanish students at the University of Bologna, Italy, which has been functi ...

at the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in continu ...

. It was discovered by Francesco Filippini and first published by Amedeo Crivellucci (''Studi storici'', XXII, 2). It was studied by Giovanni Dinelli in "Una battaglia tra Pisani e Lucchesi presso Massa in una cantilena storica in volgare del principio del sec. XIII" (''Giornale storico della Lunigiana'', VI 915 fasc. 5, 201ff).A. Aruch, "Postille al ''Ritmo luchese''", ''Giornale storico della letteratura italiana'', 65 (1915), 453–54.

Editions

*In
''Ritmo volgare lucchese del 1213''
Vincenzo de Bartholomaeis. Città di Castello: Casa Editrice S. Lapi, 1914. *In ''Rime giullaresche e popolari d'Italia''. Vincenzo de Bartholomaeis, ed. Bologna: Zanichelli, 1926.

Notes

{{reflist Italian literature