Francesco Landini, Squarcialupi Codex, page 246

The Squarcialupi Codex (Florence,

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana The Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana or BML) is a historic library in Florence, Italy, containing more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books. Built in a cloister of the Medicean Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze ...

, Med. Pal. 87) is an illuminated manuscript compiled in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

in the early 15th century. It is the single largest primary source of music of the 14th-century Italian ''

Trecento The Trecento (, also , ; short for , "1300") refers to the 14th century in Italian cultural history. Period Art Commonly, the Trecento is considered to be the beginning of the Renaissance in art history. Painters of the Trecento included Giot ...

'' (also known as the " Italian ars nova"). It consists of 216 parchment folios, organized by composer, with each composer's section beginning with a portrait of the composer richly illuminated in gold, red, blue and purple. The manuscript is in good condition, and musical pieces are complete. Included in the codex are 146 complete pieces by

Francesco Landini Francesco Landini ( or 1335 – 2 September 1397; also known by many names) was an Italian composer, poet, organist, singer and instrument maker who was a central figure of the Trecento style in late Medieval music. One of the most revered c ...

, 37 by

Bartolino da Padova Bartolino da Padova (also "Magister Frater Bartolinus de Padua") (fl. c. 1365 – c. 1405) was an Italian composer of the late 14th century. He is a representative of the stylistic period known as the ''Trecento'', sometimes known as the "Italian ...

, 36 by Niccolò da Perugia, 29 by Andrea da Firenze, 28 by

Jacopo da Bologna Jacopo da Bologna (fl. 1340 – c. 1386) was an Italian composer of the Trecento, the period sometimes known as the '' Italian ars nova''. He was one of the first composers of this group, making him a contemporary of Gherardello da Firenze ...

, 17 by Lorenzo da Firenze, 16 by

Gherardello da Firenze Gherardello da Firenze (also Niccolò di Francesco or Ghirardellus de Florentia) ( 1320–1325 – 1362 or 1363) was an Italian composer of the ''Trecento''. He was one of the first composers of the period sometimes known as the '' Italian ars nov ...

, 15 by

Donato da Cascia Donato da Cascia (also da Firenze or da Florentia) (fl. c. 1350 – 1370) was an Italian composer of the Trecento. All of his surviving music is secular, and the largest single source is the Squarcialupi Codex. He was probably also a priest, and ...

, 12 pieces by

Giovanni da Cascia Giovanni da Cascia, also Jovannes de Cascia, Johannes de Florentia, Maestro Giovanni da Firenze, was an Italian composer of the medieval era, active in the middle of the fourteenth century. Life and career Virtually nothing is known about Giovann ...

, 6 by Vincenzo da Rimini, and smaller amounts of music by others. It contains 16 blank folios, intended for the music of

Paolo da Firenze Paolo da Firenze (Paolo Tenorista, "Magister Dominus Paulas Abbas de Florentia") (c. 1355 – after September 20, 1436) was an Italian composer and music theorist of the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the transition from the musical Medie ...

, since they are labeled as such and include his portrait; the usual presumption by scholars is that Paolo's music was not ready at the time the manuscript was compiled, since he was away from Florence until 1409. There is also a section marked out for Giovanni Mazzuoli which contains no music. The manuscript was almost certainly compiled in Florence at the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, probably around 1410–1415. Because the same unidentified family seal appears on the first folio of the manuscript and on the portrait page of

, it was long suggested that Paolo may have had some part in supervising the effort or have been part of the family that commissioned the manuscript. However, more recent evidence about the biography and in particular poor finances of Paolo has his connection to financing the manuscript unlikely. The manuscript was owned by renowned organist Antonio Squarcialupi in the middle of the 15th century, then by his nephew, and then passed into the estate of

Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici KG (12 March 1479 – 17 March 1516) was an Italian nobleman, the third son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and a ruler of Florence. Biography Born in Florence, he was raised with his brothers Piero and Giovanni ...

, who gave it to the

Biblioteca Palatina The Biblioteca Palatina or Palatina Library was established in 1761 in the city of Parma by Philip Bourbon, Duke of Parma. It is one of the cultural institutions located in the Palazzo della Pilotta complex in the center of Parma. The Palatina L ...

in the early 16th century. At the end of the 18th century it passed into the ownership of the

. The first folio in the codex states: "This book is owned by Antonio di Bartolomeo Squarcialupi, organist of Santa Maria del Fiore." On the following pages, added later, are humanistic poems in praise of Squarcialupi. All of the compositions in the codex are secular songs in Italian:

ballata The ''ballata'' (plural: ''ballate'') is an Italian poetic and musical form in use from the late 13th to the 15th century. It has the musicapenim AbbaA, with the first and last stanzas having the same texts. It is thus most similar to the Fre ...

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the number ...

s, and cacce: there are 353 in all, and they can be dated to the period from 1340 to 1415. Notably absent are Italian pieces by Johannes Ciconia, a northerner transplanted into Italy, and the more innovative compositions of

Antonio Zachara da Teramo Antonio "Zacara" da Teramo (in Latin Antonius Berardi Andree de Teramo, also Zacar, Zaccara, Zacharie, Zachara, and Çacharius; c.1350/1360 – between May 19, 1413 and mid-September 1416) was an Italian composer, singer, and papal secretary of t ...

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{{Authority control Music of the Trecento 1410s books 15th-century illuminated manuscripts Music illuminated manuscripts Medieval music manuscript sources Italian music

See also

Further reading

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