Giovanni Battista Cipelli (1478–1553), better known as Egnazio, was a Venetian priest and

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

. He came to public notice through his rivalry with Marcantonio Sabellico in 1500–1506. From about 1508 until 1520 he was involved in the teaching and publishing endeavours of

Aldo Manuzio Aldus Pius Manutius (; ; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preservation of Greek manusc ...

and his successors. From 1520 until 1549, he held a public professorship in Venice. Upon his retirement, he was granted a full pension. Egnazio's published writings include two books, three poems, four orations and some letters. His work as an editor is more notable, especially his work with

Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

and on the work of

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

. Seventeen publications bear his name as editor, sixteen in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and one in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Life

Education

Although born into a poor family in Venice in 1478, Egnazio had learned to read by the age of four. He studied Greek, Latin, grammar and rhetoric at the chancery school of San Marco under Benedetto Brugnoli, followed by philosophy and logic at the school of the Rialto under Francesco Bragadin. At Brugnoli's suggestion, he began teaching grammar out of his home when he was seventeen years old. In 1501, he delivered an oration at the funeral of the Spanish ambassador, Lorenzo Suárez de la Vega. By 1502, he had joined the priesthood.

Rivalry with Sabellico

Egnazio came to public notice through his rivalry with the much older scholar Marcantonio Sabellico. This rivalry is noted by both Egnazio's biographer, , and Sabellico's,

Apostolo Zeno Apostolo Zeno (11 December 1668 – 11 November 1750) was a Venetian poet, librettist, journalist, and man of letters. Early life Apostolo Zeno was born in Venice to a Kingdom of Candia#Establishment_of_Venetian_rule, colonial branch of the ...

. In 1500, Sabellico was promoted to the chair of humanities at San Marco to replace the late

Giorgio Valla Giorgio Valla (Latin: ''Georgius Valla''; Piacenza 1447–Venice January 23, 1500) was an Italian academic, mathematician, philologist and translator. Life He was born in Piacenza in 1447. He was the son of Andrea Valla and Cornelia Corvini. At ...

. Egnazio hoped to be appointed to Sabellico's vacant lectureship, but was passed over in favour of Giovanni Battista Scita. In 1502, he sought to succeed Brugnoli, whose lectureship remained vacant until 1504, when Niccolò Leonico received the appointment. Egnazio opened a private school near San Marco. In 1502, Egnazio edited a new edition of

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worke ...

' ''Dicta et facta'' for

, a text first edited for publication by Sabellico. That same year, he wrote critical comments about some of Sabellico's interpretations of the classics in a miscellany published by . In 1506, the scholars reconciled. On his deathbed, Sabellico asked Egnazio to edit his unfinished work ''De exemplis'' for publication. Egnazio delivered his funeral oration and published ''De exemplis'' in 1507. By 1508–1509, Egnazio was noted among the learned of Venice by

Luca Pacioli Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli, O.F.M. (sometimes ''Paccioli'' or ''Paciolo''; 1447 – 19 June 1517) was an Italian mathematician, Franciscan friar, collaborator with Leonardo da Vinci, and an early contributor to the field now known as account ...

and Marino Sanudo.

Aldine fellow

From about 1508 to 1520, Egnazio held an office (''officina'') in the as head of one of its four divisions. As early as 1506, he had been listed as an executor in Aldo Manuzio's will. In 1508, with

Janus Lascaris Janus Lascaris (, ''Ianos Láskaris''; c. 1445, Constantinople – 7 December 1535, Rome), also called John Rhyndacenus (from Rhyndacus, a country town in Asia Minor), was a noted Greek scholar in the Renaissance. Biography After the Fall of Con ...

Marco Musuro Marcus Musurus (; ; – 1517) was a Greek scholar and philosopher born in Candia, Venetian Crete (modern Heraklion, Crete). Life The son of a rich merchant, Musurus became at an early age a pupil of Janus Lascaris in Venice. In 1505, Musurus wa ...

and

Girolamo Aleandro Girolamo Aleandro (also Hieronymus Aleander; 13 February 1480 – 1 February 1542) was an Italian humanist, linguist, and cardinal. Life Aleandro was born on 13 February 1480 in Motta di Livenza, in the province of Treviso, part of the Republic ...

, he helped prepare

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

' ''

Adagia ''Adagia'' (singular ''adagium'') is the title of an annotated collection of Greek language, Greek and Latin proverbs, compiled during the Renaissance by Dutch Humanism, humanist Erasmus, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus. Erasmus' repository of p ...

'' for publication in Venice. In 1510, Egnazio delivered the funeral oration for the mercenary captain

Niccolò di Pitigliano Niccolò di Pitigliano (1442–1510) was an Italian condottiero best known as the Captain-General of the Venetians during the Most Serene Republic's war against the League of Cambrai. He was a member of the powerful feudal family of the Orsini, ...

on behalf of the republic. In 1511, he was granted full citizenship by the procurators ''de ultra'' and appointment as their notary. He was transferred from the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

of Santa Marina to the

canonry Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an canon law, ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the p ...

of San Basio and appointed

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of the hospital of San Marco by Doge

Leonardo Loredan Leonardo Loredan (; ; 16 November 1436 – 22 June 1521) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian nobleman and statesman who reigned as the 75th Doge of Venice from 1501 until his death in 1521. As a wartime ruler, he was one of the most important do ...

. Between 1511 and 1513, he suffered from a series of illnesses. In 1513, Aldo published a collection of Greek orations dedicated to Egnazio. In 1515, after Aldo's death, Egnazio readied his last work, an edition of

Lactantius Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius () was an early Christian author who became an advisor to Roman emperor Constantine I, guiding his Christian religious policy in its initial stages of emergence, and a tutor to his son Crispus. His most impo ...

' ''

Divine Institutes ''Institutiones Divinae'' (, ; ''The Divine Institutes'') is the name of a theological work by the Christian Roman philosopher Lactantius, written between AD 303 and 311. Contents Arguably the most important of Lactantius's works, the ''Divinae ...

'', for publication and wrote a dedication to Aldo. During this period (1508–1515), Egnazio was part of a circle of young Venetians around Tommaso Giustiniani that were "undergoing in various degrees of intensity a crisis of conscience." Highly intellectual and attracted to the

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

life, this group desired to join a monastic community without taking the full vows. Although Pietro Delfino, the superior general of the Order of Camaldoli, agreed to their request in 1510, two of the men—Giustiniani and Vincenzo Querini—opted to take full vows, while the others—Egnazio,

Gasparo Contarini Gasparo Contarini (16 October 1483 – 24 August 1542) was an Italian diplomat, cardinal, and Bishop of Belluno. He advocated for dialogue with Protestants during the Reformation. Born in Venice, he served as the Republic's ambassador to Charle ...

and —abandoned the plan entirely. Nevertheless, Giustiniani and Querini continued for several years to press Egnazio to join them. In 1514, Egnazio served as procurator of the provincial synod convoked by Patriarch . In 1515, he was granted the parish of in

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

. He appointed a

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

and visited the parish on his holidays. In 1515–1516, he was a member of the embassy sent to

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

in Milan. For a panegyric he wrote to Francis, the king presented him with a gold portrait medallion.

Professor at San Marco

After the death of Musuro in 1518, Egnazio applied for the chair in Greek at San Marco. He withdrew his candidacy when it became clear that Vettore Fausto was the superior lecturer. When the chair in Latin was vacated by the death of Raffaele Regio in 1520, the students requested Egnazio to succeed him. This was opposed by Marino Becichemo, who insisted on a debate Egnazio for the position. Although Egnazio's supporters—his former teacher, Bragadin, and former student, Bernardo Cappello—insisted on the traditional lectures. Doge Loredan agreed to both and in the end Egnazio was elected. The Latin chair initially paid 150

ducats The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

, but in 1524 the salary was raised to 200 ducats with the addition of an afternoon lecture. In 1536–1538, he taught Matthias Flacius Illyricus, the future

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

controversialist. By the early 1540s, Egnazio was suffering from a facial deformity, but was denied permission to retire. In early 1548,

Pier Paolo Vergerio Pier Paolo Vergerio ( 1498 – 4 October 1565), the Younger, was an Italian papal nuncio and later Protestant reformer. Life He was born at Capodistria (Koper), Istria, then part of the Venetian Republic and studied jurisprudence in Padua, ...

stayed in his house for a time and gave public readings of his works. Vergerio had been exonerated of Lutheranism in 1546, but Egnazio ordered him to leave when he realized he was not a "good Catholic". Egnazio finally retired in 1549. At the urging of Bernardo Navagero, the

Venetian Senate The Senate (), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, ), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or less likely shortly before that date. ...

agreed to continue paying his salary in retirement, while the

Council of Ten The Council of Ten (; ), or simply the Ten, was from 1310 to 1797 one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice. Elections took place annually and the Council of Ten had the power to impose punishments upon Venetian nobility, patric ...

exempted him from taxation. Egnazio died in Venice on 27 June 1553. He was buried in Santa Marina. His eulogy was delivered by Pietro Brichi. By his will, dated 23 October 1546, he left a globe to Nicolò Tiepolop; his collection of Greek books from the Aldine press to the monastery of San Gregorio and his medallions and other artefacts to the Bragadini, Loredani and . His books were ultimately sold to and entered the

Bibliotheca Palatina The Bibliotheca Palatina (" Palatinate library") of Heidelberg was the most important library of the German Renaissance, numbering approximately 5,000 printed books and 3,524 manuscripts. The Bibliotheca was a prominent prize captured during ...

Works

Editions

Egnazio edited the following Latin works for publication, all printed under his name at Venice except where noted: *

, ''Dicta et facta memorabilia'' (1502) *works of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

with the commentaries of

Servius Servius may refer to: * Servius (praenomen), a personal name during the Roman Republic * Servius the Grammarian (fl. 4th/5th century), Roman Latin grammarian * Servius Asinius Celer (died AD 46), Roman senator * Servius Cornelius Cethegus, Roma ...

and

Probus Probus may refer to: People * Marcus Valerius Probus (c. 20/30–105 AD), Roman grammarian * Marcus Pomponius Maecius Probus, consul in 228 * Probus (emperor), Roman Emperor (276–282) * Probus of Byzantium (–306), Bishop of Byzantium from 293 t ...

(1507) *

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

, '' Epistulae'' (1508) *

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, ''Epistolae ad familiares'' (1509, reprinted at Milan in 1519 and Paris in 1545) *

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...

, ''

Satires Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposing or ...

'', with the commentaries of Giovanni Britannico,

Angelo Poliziano Agnolo (or Angelo) Ambrogini (; 14 July 1454 – 24 September 1494), commonly known as Angelo Poliziano () or simply Poliziano, anglicized as Politian, was an Italian classical scholar and poet of the Florentine Renaissance. His scholars ...

and

Filippo Beroaldo Filippo Beroaldo, sometimes called "the Elder" to distinguish him from his cousin Filippo Beroaldo the Younger, and also known as Philip or Philippus Beroaldus (7 November 1453 – 17 July 1505) was an Italian humanist active as a professor at th ...

(Milan, 1514) *

, ''

'' (1515) *

Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...

, ''Apologeticus contra gentes'' (1515) *

Aulus Gellius Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, ...

, ''Attic Nights'', with Latin glosses of Greek words (1515) *

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, ''

Heroides The ''Heroides'' (''The Heroines''), or ''Epistulae Heroidum'' (''Letters of Heroines''), is a collection of fifteen epistolary poems composed by Ovid in Latin elegiac couplets and presented as though written by a selection of aggrieved heroin ...

'' (1515, reprinted at Lyon in 1527, Leiden in 1529 and Cologne in 1543) *a volume containing

, ''

De vita Caesarum ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'' or ''The Lives of the Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire writte ...

''; excerpts from

Aurelius Victor Sextus Aurelius Victor ( 320 – 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire. Victor was the author of a now-lost monumental history of imperial Rome covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. Under the emperor Julian (361 ...

; Eutropius, ''De gestis Romanorum''; and

Paul the Deacon Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, sc ...

(1516); . *

Ermolao Barbaro Ermolao Barbaro, in Latin Hermolaus Barbarus (21 May 145414 June 1493), was a Venetian Renaissance humanist, diplomat and churchman. From 1491, he was the patriarch of Aquileia. He is often called "the Younger" to distinguish him from his cous ...

's work on

Pedanius Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic pharmacopeia on he ...

' ''

De materia medica (Latin name for the Greek work , , both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, ...

'', dedicated to Doge Loredan (1516) *Cicero, ''

De officiis ''De Officiis'' (''On Duties'', ''On Obligations'', or ''On Moral Responsibilities'') is a 44 BC treatise by Marcus Tullius Cicero divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds his conception of the best way to live, behave, and observe mor ...

'', ''

Cato Maior de senectute ("Cato the Elder on Old Age") is an essay written by Cicero in 44 BC on the subject of aging and death. To lend his reflections greater import, Cicero wrote his essay such that the esteemed Cato the Elder was lecturing to Scipio Aemilianus and G ...

'', ''

Laelius de amicitia ''Laelius de Amicitia'' (or simply ''De Amicitia'') is a treatise on friendship (''amicitia'') by the Roman statesman and author Marcus Tullius Cicero, written in 44 BC. Background The work is written as a dialogue between prominent figures of th ...

'' and ''

Somnium Scipionis The ''Dream of Scipio'' (Latin: ''Somnium Scipionis''), written by Cicero, is the sixth book of ''De re publica'', and describes a (postulated fictional or real) dream vision of the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus, set two years before he over ...

'' (1519) *

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

, '' Summa contra gentiles'', with the commentary of Francesco Silvestri (1524) *Ovid, ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'' (1527) *a volume containing

Aulus Cornelius Celsus Aulus Cornelius Celsus ( 25 BC 50 AD) was a Roman encyclopedist, known for his extant medical work, '' De Medicina'', which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The ''De Medicina'' is a primary source on ...

, ''Medicinae'', and

Serenus Sammonicus Quintus Serenus Sammonicus (died 212) was a Roman savant and tutor to Geta and Caracalla who became fatally involved in politics; he was also author of a didactic medical poem, ''Liber Medicinalis'' ("The Medical Book"; also known as ''De medicin ...

, ''Liber de medicina'', dedicated to Cardinal

Ercole Gonzaga Ercole Gonzaga (23 November 1505 – 2 March 1563) was an Italian Cardinal. Biography Born in Mantua, he was the son of the Marquis Francesco Gonzaga and Isabella d'Este, and nephew of Cardinal Sigismondo Gonzaga. He studied philosophy at Bo ...

(1528) * Leonhardus Porcius, ''De sestertio, pecuniis, ponderibus et mensuris antiquis'' (n.d.) Several of these editions superseded previous less carefully edited editions. His most renowned was the annotated edition of Suetonius. In his preface to Porcius, Egnazio defended his author's priority in writing about

ancient weights and measures A system of units of measurement, also known as a system of units or system of measurement, is a collection of units of measurement and rules relating them to each other. Systems of measurement have historically been important, regulated and defi ...

against the claims of

Guillaume Budé Guillaume Budé (; Onomastic Latinisation, Latinized as Guilielmus Budaeus; January 26, 1467 – August 20, 1540) was a French scholar and humanist. He was involved in the founding of Collegium Trilingue, which later became the Collège de Fra ...

. The only Greek work published by Egnazio was his edition of

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

's ''

Anabasis of Alexander The ''Anabasis of Alexander'' (, ''Alexándrou Anábasis''; ) was composed by Arrian of Nicomedia in the second century AD, most probably during the reign of Hadrian. The ''Anabasis'' (which survives complete in seven books) is a history of th ...

'', edited with the help of

Vittore Trincavelli Vittore Trincavelli (also Vettore Trincavelli; 1496–1568) was an Italian physician, who is most famous as the editor of some of the first editions of the Greek classics. Biography Trincavelli was born and died at Venice. He began his medical s ...

. It was dedicated to the grand chancellor Andrea de' Franceschi and published at Venice in 1535.; .

Writings

Egnazio wrote only two lengthy works. His first was a series of biographies of Roman emperors entitled ''De Caesaribus'' for its first printing in 1516. It was retitled ''De principibus Romanorum'' for its second edition in 1519. In both editions it is accompanied by sets of biographies drawn from Giorgio Merula's translation of

Dio Cassius Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

and from the ''

Historia Augusta The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...

'', with annotations by Egnazio. A French translation appeared in 1529 and an Italian one in 1540. ''De Caesaribus'' is divided into three books. The first goes from

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

to Baldwin II. The second covers the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

down to the

fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

. The third covers the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

from

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

to Maximilian I. Extracts from the second book were published at Paris in 1539 under the title ''De origine Turcorum'' (On the Origins of the Turks). The second work was a Venetian biographical dictionary, ''De exemplis illustrium virorum Venetae civitatis atque aliarum gentium'', modeled on the work of Valerius Maximus, for which he has been called "the Venetian Valerius Maximus". He began work on this as early as 1512, but it was only published posthumously at Venice in 1554. It was also printed at Paris a few months later. It includes three examples of Venetians of humble birth (like himself) whose memory he consciously sought to preserve. Egnazio's panegyric to Francis was published at Milan in 1515 and at Venice in 1540. His only other known poems are the 29-line ''Pro Codro Medici ad Lusitaniae Regem'' and the 31-line ''Pro Bononio suo'', preserved in a manuscript of Girolamo Bologni kept in the

Museo Correr The Museo Correr () is a museum in Venice, northern Italy. Located in Piazza San Marco, St. Mark's Square, Venice, it is one of the 11 civic museums run by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia. The museum extends along the southside of the squar ...

. According to Francesco Sansovino, Egnazio composed some seventy orations, but this is probably an exaggeration. Eight examples are known, including the funeral orations for Lorenzo Suárez (1501), Benedetto Brugnoli (1502), Niccolò di Pitigliano (1509), the grand chancellor Luigi Dardano (1511), the

papal nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

Pietro Dovizi di Bibbiena (1514) and the cardinal

Marco Cornaro Marco Cornaro (c. 1286 – 13 January 1368), also known as Marco Corner, was the 59th doge of Venice, ruling from late July/early August 1365 until his death on 13 January1368. His brief reign saw the loss of Venetian territory to Republic of Ge ...

(1524), as well as two speeches entitled ''De optimo cive'' (1535) and ''Oratio de beneficentia'' (year unknown). Only four of these were published Those for Suárez, Brugnoli and Pitigliano were published at Venice in the year of delivery and that for Dardano in 1524. The other four are unpublished. The

autograph manuscript An autograph or holograph is a manuscript or document written in its author's or composer's hand. The meaning of "autograph" as a document penned entirely by the author of its content (as opposed to a typeset document or one written by a copyi ...

of ''De optimo cive'' is in the

Biblioteca Marciana The Marciana Library or Library of Saint Mark (, but in historical documents commonly referred to as the ) is a public library in Venice, Italy. It is one of the earliest surviving public libraries and repositories for manuscripts in Italy and ...

. Egnazio wrote many letters. His letters to Matteo Avogadro, , Jean Grolier (1518), Friedrich Nausea (1520), (1526), Niccolò Leonico (1530) and Pier Cordato (1549) have been published, as well as his five to

Willibald Pirckheimer Willibald Pirckheimer (5 December 1470 – 22 December 1530) was a German Renaissance lawyer, author and Renaissance humanist, a wealthy and prominent figure in Nuremberg in the 16th century, imperial counsellor and a member of the governing City ...

(1527–1529). His correspondence with Erasmus has also been published, including three of his letters (1517, 1533, 1534) and six of Erasmus's (1525–1531). Several of his letters to Giustiniani, as well as letters to

Pietro Bembo Pietro Bembo, (; 20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547) was a Venetian scholar, poet, and literary theory, literary theorist who also was a member of the Knights Hospitaller and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. As an intellectual of the Italian Re ...

, Bernardino Trinagio, Lodovico Spinola and Balo Italo da Rimini, are unpublished. A letter he wrote to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in 1538 does not survive, but is known from the cardinal's response. A letter he wrote to

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, an intellectual leader of the ...

in 1534 survives, as does Melanchthon's letter to him from 1543.

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* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egnazio 1478 births 1553 deaths Venetian Renaissance humanists Republic of Venice clergy Republic of Venice diplomats Republic of Venice poets 16th-century Venetian writers 16th-century writers in Latin