Riccobaldo of Ferrara (c. 1246- after 1320) was a medieval Italian notary and Latin writer of the Middle Ages, a chronicler, geographer and encyclopedist. He is sometimes known in the literature as ''Riccobaldo da Ferrara'' according to the Italian form, as well as ''Riccobaldo Ferrarese'' or as ''Riccolbaldo''.

Life

He was born in Ferrara or in the surrounding area, most probably in 1246, his father being one Bonmercato. On 4 October 1251, as a ''puer'' (''boy''), he was a witness to the passage through Ferrara of

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...

; on 17 February 1264, as an ''adulescens'' (''adolescent''), he was present during the funeral at Ferrara of

Azzo VII d'Este Azzo VII d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara (also known as ''Novello''; 1205 – 16 February 1264) was marquis of Ferrara from 1215 to 1222, and again from 1240 until his death. The son of Azzo VI d'Este and a noblewoman from the Aldobrandeschi family, ...

; he appeared as a witness to a statute of Ferrara of 15 December 1274; in May 1282 he was to be found at

Faenza Faenza (, ; ; or ; ) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed earthenware pottery, known ...

; in 1290 he applied his seal to three documents at

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...

, where he served as notary to the vicar (deputy) of Obizzo II d'Este, the city’s ''podestà''. He is known to have been at

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

in 1293, at

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 ...

in 1297-1300, exercising his profession at Ferrara in 1308, once again in Padua at unspecified period between 1308 and 1313, and at Ferrara in 1310. He died some time after 1318. The claims that his real name was Gervasio (Gervase), that he belonged to the Mainardi family, and that he was for a time a canon in Ravenna, are doubtless products of somewhat approximate sixteenth- and seventeenth-century scholarship. One thing that is certain, because he himself says so, is that he bore the titles of ''dominus'' ("lord") and ''magister'' ("master"). Since Riccobaldo refers to himself as an ''exile'', attempts have been made to see such an exile as a result of Riccobaldo's lending his support to Aldobrandino II in the latter’s clash with his brother Azzo VIII, Lord of Ferrara. However, this hypothesis has to date found no evidence to back it up. That he had no love for the Este family can easily be seen in some of his works, but it is not discernible in others, and so important questions remain unclear. As remarked, Riccobaldo was notary to the vicar (deputy) of Obizzo II d'Este and in Ravenna he appears to have lived in the shadow of Obizzo Sanvitale,

Archbishop of Ravenna This page is a list of Catholic bishops and archbishops of Ravenna and, from 1947 of the Archdiocese of Ravenna and Cervia, which in 1985 became styled the Archdiocese of Ravenna-Cervia.Este family. Yet in 1308 Riccobaldo can be found in

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, swearing fidelity to the Church of Rome immediately after the expulsion of the Este family from the lordship of the city. What should be made of these apparent contradictions. Riccobaldo witnessed, at times at very close quarters, the political events in his city, and was sometimes a witness, too, of what happened in the history of Italy as a whole, even in works of his that were not strictly historical, but more of a geographical character. Riccobaldo‘s own cultural story is in part fairly clearly established, even if considerable research is underway. Only recently has it been possible to attribute to him a political "carmen" (song) in Latin which celebrates the newly acquired freedom of his city, Ferrara. In this text there are obvious citations of various earlier Latin lyrics, a fact that shows a considerable personal culture for the period. While the lyrics passed off in the seventeenth century as Riccobaldo‘s by

Girolamo Baruffaldi Girolamo Baruffaldi (10 July 1740 – 2 February 1817) was an Italian historian who wrote a biography of artists active in Ferrara. Biography Born in Ferrara, he studied initially with the Jesuit institute in Novellara Novellara ( Reggiano: o ...

are certainly not genuine, we still need once more to take into consideration the fact that he had the title of ''magister'' ("master") and that phrase of his in his old age where Riccobaldo says he is now dedicated ''melioribus studiis'' ("to the better kind of study" or "to better pursuits").

Riccobaldo's Reading

By his own explicit admission, his first impulse to write came from his contact with the archives firstly of

Nonantola Nonantola ( Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is in the Po Valley about from Modena on the road to Ferrara. History In ancient times the territory of Nonantola was in ...

and then of

. In Ravenna he came to know, as he himself recounts, the '' Chronicon'', that is to say the '' Historia Ecclesiastica'' of

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

, in the '' Chronicon'' (''Chronicle'') of Saint

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

, and in all probability also the so-called ''

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' (, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a work describing the Ecumene, known world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. It consists of five books describing ...

''; at

he certainly had access to the sequel to Jerome’s work, written this time by Saint

Prosper of Aquitaine Prosper of Aquitaine (; – AD), also called ''Prosper Tiro'', was a Christian writer and disciple of Augustine of Hippo, and the first continuator of Jerome's Universal Chronicle. Particularly, Prosper is identified with the (later) axiom ''� ...

. Among the numerous works he knew were the dictionary '' Elementarium doctrinae rudimentum'' of Papias, the short ''Chronicon'' of Saint

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...

(attributed by Riccobaldo to a bishop Miletus; then some decades of

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

’s ‘’

Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

" (History of Rome); the ''Historiae adversus paganos'' (''Histories against the Pagans'') of

Paulus Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in ''Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), t ...

, the great encyclopedic work by Marziano Capella entitled ''

Itinerarium Antonini The Antonine Itinerary (, "Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is an , a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly in part from a survey carried out under Augustus, it describes t ...

'',

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

’s ''Naturalis historia'' (''

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

''), the '' Collectanea rerum memorabilium'' (''Collection of Curiosities'') of

Solinus __NOTOC__ Gaius Julius Solinus, better known simply as Solinus, was a Latin grammarian, geographer, and compiler who probably flourished in the early 3rd century AD. Historical scholar Theodor Mommsen dates him to the middle of the 3rd century. ...

, the work of compilation by the Dominican

Martin of Opava Martin of Opava, Order of Preachers, O.P. (died 1278) also known as Martin of Poland, was a 13th-century Dominican Order, Dominican friar, bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and chronicler. Life Known in Latin language, Latin as ''Frater Martinu ...

, which Riccobaldo cites as the ''Martiniana'', parts of the ''Legenda aurea'' (''

Golden Legend The ''Golden Legend'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...

'') by

Jacobus de Voragine Jacobus de Voragine, OP (13/16 July 1298) was an Italian chronicler and archbishop of Genoa. He was the author, or more accurately the compiler, of the '' Golden Legend'', a collection of the legendary lives of the greater saints of the mediev ...

, the version of Eutropius drawn up by

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 ...

and the ''Historia Langobardorum'' (''

History of the Lombards The ''History of the Lombards'' or the ''History of the Langobards'' () is the chief work by Paul the Deacon, written in the late 8th century. This incomplete history in six books was written after 787 and at any rate no later than 796, maybe at ...

''), the abbreviated version of the ''Philippic Histories'' of

Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy. Life Pompeius Trogus's grandfa ...

or Pompey Trogue composed by

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

Florus Three main sets of works are attributed to Florus (a Roman cognomen): ''Virgilius orator an poeta'', the ''Epitome of Roman History'' and a collection of 14 short poems (66 lines in all). As to whether these were composed by the same person, or ...

, the ''Pharsalia'' of

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November AD 39 – 30 April AD 65), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba, Hispania Baetica (present-day Córdoba, Spain). He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imper ...

, something of the writings of

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( ; AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, a dramatist, and in one work, a satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca ...

(certainly including the '' De consolatione ad Helviam'' and '' De clementia'' (''On Clemency''),

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 ...

’s ''Vitae Caesarum'' (''

Lives of the Twelve Caesars ''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 ...

''), the ''Navigatio Sancti Brendani'' (''The Sea Voyage of St Brendan''),

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 ...

’s commentary on the

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

, works of

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest known Roman geographer. He was born at the end of the 1st century BC in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nea ...

, the Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle ''(

Historia Caroli Magni The ''Historia Caroli Magni'' ('History of Charles the Great'), also known as the ''Historia Karoli Magni et Rotholandi'' ('History of Charles the Great and Roland') or the (''Pseudo-'')''Turpin Chronicle'', is a 12th-century Latin language, Latin ...

'', the ''

Historia scholastica The ''Historia scholastica'' () is a Biblical paraphrase written in Medieval Latin by Petrus Comestor. Completed around 1173, he wrote it for the cathedral school of Notre Dame in Paris. Sometimes called the "Medieval Popular Bible", it draws on ...

'' by

Peter Comestor Peter Comestor (, "Peter the Eater"; ; died 22 October 1178) was a 12th-century French theological writer and university teacher. Life Peter Comestor was born in Troyes. Although the surname (Latin for "Eater") was popularly attributed to h ...

(a biblical paraphrase written in Latin),

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known simply as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480–524 AD), was a Roman Roman Senate, senator, Roman consul, consul, ''magister officiorum'', polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middl ...

's ''De consolatione philosophiae'' ''(

The Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' (), often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation'', is a philosophical work by the Roman philosopher Boethius. Written in 523 while he was imprisoned and awaiting execution ...

)'',

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 ...

, the Latin translation by

Rufinus of Aquileia Tyrannius Rufinus, also called Rufinus of Aquileia (; 344/345–411), was an early Christian monk, philosopher, historian, and theologian who worked to translate Greek patristic material, especially the work of Origen, into Latin. Life Rufinus ...

’s '' Historia Ecclesiastica'', Agnellus of Ravenna. After this the list becomes very impressive as to quantity and quality when we find Riccobaldo at grips with

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 ...

, at least the problematic ''

De bello Alexandrino ''De Bello Alexandrino'' (also ''Bellum Alexandrinum''; ''On the Alexandrine War'') is a Latin work continuing Julius Caesar's commentaries, '' De Bello Gallico'' and '' De Bello Civili''. It details Caesar's campaigns in Alexandria and Asia. A ...

'', along with ''

De bello Africo ''De Bello Africo'' (also ''Bellum Africum''; ''On the African War'') is a Latin work continuing Julius Caesar's accounts of his campaigns, '' De Bello Gallico'' and '' De Bello Civili'', and its sequel by an unknown author '' De Bello Alexandri ...

'' and ''

De bello Hispaniensi ''De Bello Hispaniensi'' (also ''Bellum Hispaniense''; ''On the Hispanic War''; ''On the Spanish War'') is a Latin work continuing Julius Caesar's commentaries, '' De Bello Gallico'' and '' De Bello Civili'', and its sequels by two different u ...

'' (''On the Alexandrine War'', ''On the African War'', ''On the Hispanic War'');

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 ...

’s ''

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 ...

'' (''Laelius on Friendship''’) and ''

Rhetorica ad Herennium The ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'' (''Rhetoric for Herennius'') is the oldest surviving Latin book on rhetoric, dating from the late 80s BC. It was formerly attributed to Cicero or Cornificius, but is in fact of unknown authorship, sometimes ascri ...

'' (''Rhetoric: For Herennius''), and other works, too. We can add the ''

Distichs of Cato The ''Distichs of Cato'' (Latin: ''Catonis Disticha'', most famously known simply as ''Cato'') is a Latin collection of proverbial wisdom and morality by an unknown author from the 3rd or 4th century AD. The ''Cato'' was the most popular medieva ...

'' (''Catonis Disticha''),

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; ; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Franks, Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita Karoli M ...

, Hegesippus,

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

, certain texts to be found in the so-called ''Spicilegium Ravennatis historiae'';

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 ...

, perhaps the Dominican

Vincent of Beauvais Vincent of Beauvais ( or ; ; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his '' Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work of compilation that was widely read in the Middl ...

, and the manuscripts of the

Abbey of Santa Giustina The Abbey of Santa Giustina is a 10th-century Benedictine abbey complex located in front of the Prato della Valle in central Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. Adjacent to the former monastery is the basilica church of Santa Giustina, initially bui ...

, without excluding others still. For this very considerable widening of his learning, Riccobaldo certainly owed a great deal to his mixing in the circles of the pre-humanists of

, from whom he learned much, but to whom he probably also gave not a little. In any case, there is no overlooking Riccobaldo nowadays as a figure of first rank in the history of Italian culture, despite his having been neglected even in relatively recent times by historians who were otherwise not without merit. Other works by Riccobaldo, apart from those listed below, are his geographical compilations, one of which, the ''De locis orbis'', was published for the first time only in 1986, while the other, ''De origine urbium Italie'', had in 2013 still not been published. There are two minor treatises witnessed to by the manuscripts Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Ottob. Iat. 2072, cc. 45-58 e Parma, Biblioteca Palatina, Parm. 331, cc. 45-67 (for the first); and Venice, Biblioteca . Nazionale Marciana, Lat. X, 169 (3847), cc. 2-31 (for the second). While neither can be dated with any precision, the first of these works if fully of his marure period, and the second from his last years.

Scholarly Editions of his Works

* Riccobaldo da Ferrara, ''

Chronica parva Ferrariensis The ''Chronica parva Ferrariensis'' was a short chronicle of the history of Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It ...

'', Introduzione, edizione e note di Gabriele Zanella, Ferrara 1983 (Deputazione provinciale ferrarese di storia patria, serie Monumenti, IX) * Ricobaldi Ferrariensis, ''Compendium Romanae Historiae'', cur. A.T. Hankey (FSI 108), Roma 1984 * Riccobaldo da Ferrara, ''De locis orbis'', Introduzione, edizione e note di Gabriele Zanella, Ferrara 1986 (Deputazione provinciale ferrarese di storia patria, serie Monumenti, X)
Libro I
* Ricobaldi Ferrariensis, ''Compilatio chronologica'', a cura di A. T. Hankey, Roma 2000 (Istituto storico italiano per il Medio Evo, R. I. S. 3, 4)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riccobaldo of Ferrara 1240s births 14th-century deaths Year of death unknown 13th-century writers in Latin 14th-century writers in Latin Italian Roman Catholic writers Italian chroniclers Italian notaries 14th-century Italian historians 13th-century Italian historians Italian chronicles 13th-century Italian writers 14th-century Italian writers

Life

Riccobaldo's Reading

Scholarly Editions of his Works

Further reading

References