Girolamo Donato, also spelled Donati, Donado or Donà ( – 20 October 1511), was a

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetians might refer to: * Masters of Venetian painting in 15th-16th centuries * ...

diplomat 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 made important translations of

ancient Greek philosophy Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Philosophy was used to make sense of the world using reason. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including astronomy, epistemology, mathematics, political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics ...

and the

Greek Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical peri ...

into

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 ...

. He served the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

on embassies abroad on twelve separate occasions, most importantly at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

four times, and also served as a governor of

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

(1492),

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

(1495–97),

Cremona Cremona ( , , ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po (river), Po river in the middle of the Po Valley. It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local city a ...

(1503–04) and

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

(1506–08).

Family and education

Girolamo was the son of Antonio di Andrea and Lucia di Bernardo Balbi of the patrician class. His father belonged to the ''dalle Rose'' branch of the

Donà family The House of Donà are an old patrician family of Venice which produced three doges of Venice. The family has existed since at least the late twelfth century. Until the sixteenth century, the family were merchants. During that period, they bo ...

. His birth is usually given as around 1456 or before 1457. Giovanni degli Agostini places his birth in 1457, but also gives his age as 57 at his death. He is recorded as 18 years old when presented to the '' avogadori di Comun'' on 22 or 27 November 1474. He married Maria di Ludovico Gradenigo and passed his entire career in public service, for which reason he seems to have died poor. Donato learned

and

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 ...

in childhood. His Greek tutor was

Theodore Gaza Theodorus Gaza (, ''Theodoros Gazis''; ; ), also called Theodore Gazis or by the epithet Thessalonicensis and Thessalonikeus (c. 1398 – c. 1475), was a Greek humanist and translator of Aristotle, one of the Greek scholars who were the leader ...

. He studied philosophy and theology under

Nicoletto Vernia Nicoletto Vernia (c. 1420, in Chieti – October 31, 1499, in Vicenza) was an Italian Averroist philosopher, at the University of Padua. Life He studied at Pavia, under Paolo da Pergola in Venice, and with Gaetano da Thiene in Padua, graduating ...

at the

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

, receiving his degree of

doctor of arts The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin language, Latin ''artium doctor'') is a List of academic disciplines, discipline-based terminal degree, terminal doctorate, doctoral academic degree, degree that was originall ...

on 16 June 1478. He was studying law at Padua in 1489, when he held the office of rector jointly with Marco Dandolo. At Padua, Donato "was generally held to be one of the most learned of the

Peripatetics The Peripatetic school ( ) was a philosophical school founded in 335 BC by Aristotle in the Lyceum in ancient Athens. It was an informal institution whose members conducted philosophical and scientific inquiries. The school fell into decline after ...

who flourished in the city". His speech on the subject of the

unmoved mover The unmoved mover () or prime mover () is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause (or first uncaused cause) or " mover" of all the motion in the universe. As is implicit in the name, the moves other things, but is not itself moved by ...

in the academic year 1480–81 inspired

Elia del Medigo Elia del Medigo, also called Elijah Delmedigo or Elias ben Moise del Medigo and sometimes known to his contemporaries as Helias Hebreus Cretensis or in Hebrew Elijah Mi-Qandia (c. 1458 – c. 1493). According to Jacob Joshua Ross, "whil ...

to compose his ''Quaestio de primo motore''.

Public career

Donato's first public charge was as ambassador to the court of

René II, Duke of Lorraine René II (2 May 1451 – 10 December 1508) was Count of Vaudémont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar from 1483 to 1508. He claimed the crown of the Kingdom of Naples and the County of Provence as the Duke of Calabria ...

, in 1483. A string of ambassadorships followed: to the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

in 1484; to the

Kingdom of Portugal The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...

in 1486; to Maximilian I, elected

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

, in 1488; to the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan (; ) was a state in Northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti of Milan, Visconti family, which had been ruling the city since 1277. At that time, ...

in 1489–90; and to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in 1491–92. In 1492, Donato was elected ''

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, 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 c ...

'' and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In 1494–95, he served as one of the ''avogadori di Comun'' (public prosecutors). Between 1495 and 1497, he was ''podestà'' and vice-captain of

. There he hired the Albanian scholar Marino Becichemo as a tutor for his son Filippo. While still ''podestà'' of Brescia, he went on an embassy to the

Republic of Lucca The Republic of Lucca () was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Lucca in Tuscany, which lasted from 1160 to 1805. Its territory extended beyond the city of Lucca, reaching the surrounding countryside in th ...

in 1496. During 1497–1499, he reprised his role as ambassador to the Holy See. Afterwards he was '' visdomino'' (Venetian representative) in the

Duchy of Ferrara The Duchy of Ferrara (; ; ) was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno River, including the city of Ferrara. The territory that was part ...

, but there is some disagreement concerning the dates of his ''visdominato'': he appears to have been in Ferrara in July 1499, but other sources do not place him there until 1500 or even February 1501. From March to July 1501, he returned as ambassador to the Emperor-elect Maximilian. Donato was one of the 41 electors in the election of the

doge Doge, DoGE or DOGE may refer to: Internet culture * Doge (meme), an Internet meme primarily associated with the Shiba Inu dog breed ** Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency named after the meme ** Kabosu (dog), the dog portrayed in the original Doge image ...

in 1501;

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 ...

was elected. He served as ambassador to the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

in 1501–02. In 1503–04, he was ''podestà'' of

. In the latter year, he was elected to be one of the ''

Savi del Consiglio The (), also known as the ('great sages'), were senior magistrates of the Republic of Venice. History The magistracy was created in 1380 to assist the councils comprising the government of the Republic. The duty of the was to "prepare he gover ...

'' (wise men of the council). He was selected for the embassy of congratulation to newly elected

Pope Julius II Pope Julius II (; ; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death, in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

that, for political reasons related to the downfall of

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

, did not set out until March 1505. Later that year he joined the

Ducal Council The Minor Council () or Ducal Council was one of the main constitutional bodies of the Republic of Venice, and served both as advisors and partners to the Doge of Venice, sharing and limiting his authority. Establishment The Minor Council was esta ...

. In 1506, he was appointed

Duke of Crete This is a list of rulers of the island of Crete throughout its history. Antiquity Crete was conquered for the Roman Republic by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus in 69 BC and united with the Cyrenaica in the province of Creta et Cyrenaica unti ...

. He wrote a letter describing the Cretan earthquake of 1508. His office ended in 1508 and in 1509 he rejoined the Ducal council. Epistola ad Oliverium cardinalem Neapolitanum

Epistola ad Oliverium cardinalem Neapolitanum

In April 1509, Venice was placed under interdict by Julius II and targeted by the forces of the

League of Cambrai The League of Cambrai was a military coalition against the Republic of Venice formed on 10 December 1508, by the main European powers (Holy Roman Empire, France, Aragon and their allies), to maintain their hegemony over the Italian Peninsula. Th ...

. Donato led the embassy that negotiated the lifting of the excommunication in February 1510. He continued on as ambassador to the Holy See, and, when the League fell apart, negotiated the creation of the

Holy League Commencing in 1332, the numerous Holy Leagues were a new manifestation of the Crusading movement in the form of temporary alliances between interested Christian powers. Successful campaigns included the capture of Smyrna in 1344, at the Battle of ...

allying Venice with the Holy See,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 5 October 1511. He was proclaimed a hero in Venice. Already ill at the time, he died in Rome two weeks later. The Great Council awarded pensions to his widow and his nine surviving sons. According to Agostini, a Frenchman hearing of his death remarked, "He was a man of letters before he was a statesman; and he distinguished himself equally in both professions."

Writings and reputation

Donato wrote in both Latin and Greek. Some of his works are lost. His original works include speeches, political tracts and poems. He wrote two theological treatises defending the primacy of the Holy See and the dual procession of the Holy Spirit against

Greek Orthodoxy Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Roma ...

: ''Apologeticus ad Graecos de principatu Romanae sedis'' and ''De processione Spiritus Sancti contra Graecum schisma''. The first was written in Greek while he was Duke of Crete and addressed to the Cretans. He translated it into Latin for Julius II and this version was published by his son. In a letter addressed to Cardinal

Oliviero Carafa Oliviero Carafa (10 March 1430 – 20 January 1511), in Latin Oliverius Carafa, was an Italian cardinal and diplomat of the Renaissance. Like the majority of his era's prelates, he displayed the lavish and conspicuous standard of living that w ...

, Donato responds to some criticisms of the ''Apologeticus'', but the letter from Carafa is lost. The speech which Donato gave before the emperor during his embassy of 1501 was printed at Venice in June of that year in both Latin and vernacular Italian. The speech which he gave before King

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

after his arrival as ambassador in October 1501 was printed at Rome by

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 ...

in December. He made many translations from Greek to Latin. His first published work was a translation of

Alexander of Aphrodisias Alexander of Aphrodisias (; AD) was a Peripatetic school, Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek Commentaries on Aristotle, commentators on the writings of Aristotle. He was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria and liv ...

, published at Brescia by Bernardino Misinta on 13 September 1495. This was the first translation of Alexander into Latin. It was reprinted at Venice in 1502. In 1496, Misinta published a translation

John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; ; – 14 September 407) was an important Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and p ...

. He also translated

John of Damascus John of Damascus or John Damascene, born Yūḥana ibn Manṣūr ibn Sarjūn, was an Arab Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and apologist. He was born and raised in Damascus or AD 676; the precise date and place of his death is not know ...

and

Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' or ...

. Seven letters by Donato have been published. He maintained a correspondence with

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 ...

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 ...

, Marco Dandolo, Pietro Dolfin,

Marsilio Ficino Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver of Neo ...

Domenico Grimani Domenico Grimani (22 February 1461 – 27 August 1523) was an Italian nobleman, theologian and cardinal. Like most noble churchman of his era Grimani was an ecclesiastical pluralist, holding numerous posts and benefices. Biography Born in V ...

, Giovanni Lorenzi, Aldo Manuzio,

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico dei conti della Mirandola e della Concordia ( ; ; ; 24 February 146317 November 1494), known as Pico della Mirandola, was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, ...

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 Marcantonio Sabellico. Numerous contemporaries praised his learning:

Jacopo Boldù Jacopo (also Iacopo) is a masculine Italian given name, derivant from Latin ''Iacōbus''. It is an Italian variant of Giacomo (James in English). * Jacopo Aconcio (), Italian religious reformer * Jacopo Bassano (1592), Italian painter * Iacopo Ba ...

Egnazio Giovanni Battista Cipelli (1478–1553), better known as Egnazio, was a Venetian priest and humanist. He came to public notice through his rivalry with Marcantonio Sabellico in 1500–1506. From about 1508 until 1520 he was involved in the teac ...

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

Francesco Pisani Francesco Pisani (1494 – 28 June 1570) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal, born in Venice, the son of Alvise Pisani the noted banker, who was Procurator of S. Mark's, a member of the Council of Ten, and a Councilor of the Doge of ...

. Others dedicated works to him: Gasparino Borro's ''Commentum super tractatum spherae mundi'', Aldo Manuzio's editions of

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 Materia medica, Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic phar ...

and

Nicander Nicander of Colophon (; fl. 2nd century BC) was a Greece, Greek poet, physician, and grammarian. The scattered biographical details in the ancient sources are so contradictory that it was sometimes assumed that there were two Hellenistic authors ...

, Marcantonio Sabellico's ''De situ venetae urbis'', Pierio Valeriano's ''Lusus''. Donati,

Bernardo Bembo Bernardo Bembo (19 October 1433 – 28 May 1519) was a Venetian humanist, diplomat and statesman.Angelo Ventura and Marco Pecoraro"Bembo, Bernardo" in ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', Volume 8 (Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 1 ...

and Ermolao Barbaro have been called the best representatives of late 15th-century Venetian humanism.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Vat. lat. 4326
– digitized manuscript copy of ''De processione Spiritus Sancti contra Graecum schisma''
''Ad Caesarem pro re christiana oratio''
– digitized copy of the speech to the emperor {{DEFAULTSORT:Donato, Girolamo 1450s births 1511 deaths Christian humanists Venetian Renaissance humanists University of Padua alumni Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to the Holy See Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice to France Dukes of Crete 15th-century Venetian writers 16th-century Venetian writers 16th-century Italian male writers 16th-century governors