The Life and Works of Tolomeo Fiadoni (Ptolemy of Lucca)

296 Pages·2009·1.73 MB·English

by  James M. Blythe

THE LIFE AND WORKS
OF TOLOMEO FIADONI
(PTOLEMY OF LUCCA)
DISPUTATIO
Editorial Board
Dallas G. Denery II Bowdoin College
Georgiana Donavin Westminster College
Cary J. Nederman Texas A&M University
Founding Editor
Richard Utz Western Michigan University
Previously published volumes in this series are listed at the back of this book.
VOLUME 16
THE LIFE AND WORKS
OF TOLOMEO FIADONI
(PTOLEMY OF LUCCA)
by
James M. Blythe
H
F
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Blythe, James M., 1948-
The life and works of Tolomeo Fiadoni (Ptolemy of Lucca).
-- (Disputatio ; v. 16)
1. Bartholomew, of Lucca, ca. 1236-1327. 2. Scholars--Italy-
-Biography. 3. Political science--Italy--History--To 1500.
I. Title II. Series
320'.092-dc22

ISBN-13: 9782503529233

© 2009, Brepols Publishers n.v., Turnhout, Belgium
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
D/2009/0095/70
ISBN: 978- 205-3-52923-3
Printed on acid-free paper
As always, for Sheila
and for those who died while I was writing this book:
my mother, Ann Blythe, my aunt, Charlotte Horton,
and my father-in-law, Abe Mangel
Just as delight in food arises from variety, that writing is more delightful which reports the
acts and deeds of rulers, of a city, or of some private person who has excelled in his work
over a period of time.
—Tolomeo Fiadoni, Annales
It is characteristic of people that they delight in their work […]. And if this is true for
human works deriving from their inferior nature, it is even more true for intellectual
work, to the degree that it is higher. This is the work of writing.[…] Seneca compares
writing to food in a letter to Lucillus, and the sacred eloquence does not dissent from this,
since the Lord says, ‘humanity does not live by bread alone, but in every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God’.
—Tolomeo Fiadoni, Annales
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xiii
Life, Mind, and Character
Chapter 1: Tolomeo Fiadoni and his Times 3
Chapter 2: Complexity and Contradiction 11
Chapter 3: Sources for Tolomeo’s Life 25
Chapter 4: Biography 31
Works
Chapter 5: De iurisdictione imperii et auctoritate summi pontificis 141
(On the Jurisdiction of the Empire and the Authority
of the Highest Pontiff, better known as Determinatio
compendiosa de iurisdictione imperii)
Chapter 6: De operibus sex dierum (On the Works of the Six Days, 149
better known as Exameron)
Chapter 7: De regimine principum (On the Government of Rulers) 157
Chapter 8: Annales (Annals) 191
Chapter 9: De origine ac translatione et statu Romani Imperii 195
(On the Origin and Translation and State of the
)
Roman Empire
Chapter 10: De iurisdictione ecclesiae super regnum Apuliae et Siciliae 199
(On the Jurisdiction of the Church over the Kingdom
of Apulia and Sicily)
Chapter 11: Historia ecclesiastica nova (New Ecclesiastical History) 203
Chapter 12: Lost and Apocryphal Works 211
Appendix 1: Chronology of the Life, Times, and Works 219
of Tolomeo Fiadoni
Appendix 2: Selected Documents 239
Appendix 3: Corrections to my Translation of De regimine principum 247
Bibliography 251
Citation Index to the Works of Tolomeo Fiadoni 265
General Index 267
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Since I worked on this and the companion volume, The Worldview and
Thought of Tolomeo Fiadoni (Ptolemy of Lucca), at the same time, my ac-
knowledgements are virtually the same for both, except for my particular
debt to John La Salle.
I am especially grateful to John, with whom I published two articles evaluating
an unknown early manuscript of Hans Baron on Tolomeo Fiadoni. John was an
undergraduate honours student who was directed to this important manuscript
by his advisor, Ronald Witt of Duke University. Ron asked me if I could help
John with some questions, and after some discussions among the three of us I
agreed to collaborate with John and suggested using his work as the basis for two
articles. In the end, the published articles contain much that was original both
to John and to me. In this book I have used our joint work in Chapter 7 for the
evaluation of Baron’s claim that Tolomeo interpolated passages and ideas of his
own in Thomas Aquinas’s portion of De regimine principum.
Father Emilio Panella of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, who has published
extensively on the manuscript tradition of Tolomeo’s work and the documentary
material in Italian archives pertaining to him, was extremely helpful to me during
my two research trips to Italy. He pointed me to materials, made invaluable sug-
gestions, and on two occasions made telephone calls for me when my wretched
spoken Italian did not suffice.
David Wootton, author of an important article on the modern meaning of
republicanism and Tolomeo’s role in originating and transmitting it, very kindly
sent me a copy of the book in which his article had appeared, since I could not
obtain the Italian publication through Interlibrary Loan at my university. Every-
one interested in political thought should be sure to read it (it is also available on
the Internet for those unable to obtain the book).
x
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the University of Memphis for several grants that have enabled
me to pursue my research for this book. On two occasions I received Summer
Research Grants that paid for two month-long trips to Italy. While there I was
able to collect images of many archival documents and unpublished books, as well
as visit many of the central places in Tolomeo’s life. One fall semester I received
a Professional Development Assignment (our equivalent of a sabbatical), during
which I was able to bring all the disparate sections of this book and its companion
on Tolomeo’s worldview and thought into what I hope is a coherent organization.
And finally I was honoured with a Dunavant Professorship, which provided very
substantial extra funds for three years that I was able to use for my research and
other professional needs.
Last but not least, my wife, Sheila Martin, as she always does, tirelessly read my
manuscript and found many errors, ambiguities, and infelicitous wordings. We
both like nothing more than sitting next to each other at our respective computers
writing our very different books, and we have spent countless pleasant hours the
past ten years doing just that.