The Disappearance of an Author and the Emergence of a Genre

Niccolò da Poggibonsi and Pilgrimage Guidebooks between Manuscript and Print

Bibliographic Data

ID10416699
AuthorsKathryn Blair Moore (0000-0002-0701-7839, University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume66
Issue2
Pages357-411
Publication date2013-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRenaissance Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0034-4338 • E-ISSN: 1935-0236
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/671582
OpenAlexW2016133315
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited14

While the anonymous Viaggio da Venetia al Sancto Sepolchro et al Monte Sinai, first published in Venice in 1518, was the most popular Holy Land guidebook in Renaissance Italy, the historical origins of the book have never been fully understood. From four illustrated versions of an earlier manuscript guide, the Libro d’Oltramare (1346–50), one can hypothesize about both the text and its author. The ultimate prototype for the Viaggio da Venetia was very likely one or more of these illustrated manuscripts, and the original author of both the text and illustrations was the Franciscan pilgrim Niccolò da Poggibonsi. Despite the eventual erosion of his name from the printed versions of the guidebook, the assertiveness and originality of the author parallels the production of other vernacular literature in mid-fourteenth-century Italy. Unlike Latin guidebooks of previous centuries, the intent to include illustrations that re-create the pilgrimage experience and the unprecedented descriptiveness of the prose together suggest that the book can be considered the foundational text for the genre of the illustrated pilgrimage guidebook

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Celtic languages · Humanities · Literature · Pilgrim · Pilgrimage · Poetry · Vernacular · Classics · History · Medieval Literature and History · Philippine History and Culture · Renaissance and Early Modern Studies

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