Saint pierre

1525 · 4542 — Venice: Gregorio di Gregorii 1525. Very good. Small 8vo 143 x 95 mm. 44 ff. Collation: A-E8 F4 COMPLETE title-page with light toning fols. A1-2 with unimportant wormholes in blank gutter margin. Very attractive late 19th- or early 20th-century blue embossed boards gray cloth spine. In excellent condition the paper crisp and fresh. ITALIAN POST-INCUNABLE EDITION OF THE CARCEL DE AMOR ONE OF THE MOST ENDURING OF ALL LATE MEDIEVAL ROMANCES. <br /> <br /> Written in Spanish in the late 15th century the work is a key example of the "star-crossed lovers" romance tradition. It combines allegory with chivalric narrative while its epistolary form intensifies the themes of distance miscommunication and emotional crisis. Widely popular it was quickly translated and circulated across Europe as is attested by this Italian translation published in Venice in 1525. The story continues to be celebrated for its emotional intensity and its refined articulation of courtly love.<br /> <br /> The romance was first translated into Italian by Lelio de Manfredi of Ferrara in 1514 and represents a moment when literature language and print culture intersected across political and cultural borders. For years the story was reshaped and redistributed in Renaissance Europe and contributed to a shared literary tradition. On the title-page of our edition we find only Manfredi's name and the dedicatee is Isabella d'Esta his former pupil. The translator has added his own closing epistle to the Carcel de Amor which praises Isabella; the author's name Diego de San Pedro is nowhere to be found.<br /> <br /> The Carcel de amor is told almost entirely through letters speeches and monologues rather than dialogue. It centers on Leriano a young nobleman in love with Laureola daughter of the King of Macedonia. His condition is figured as an allegorical "PRISON OF LOVE" and he communicates with her only through a mediator. A rival Persio sometimes Theseus/Perseus accuses Laureola of having an affair leading to her imprisonment. Leriano rescues her and kills his rival but Laureola ultimately rejects him in a letter. In despair he chooses to starve himself to death but not before delivering a speech in praise of women.<br /> <br /> CATALOGUER'S NOTE: Italian translations of the Carcel de Amor "Carcer Damore" are uncommon. We have located just three copies of ANY Italian language post-incunable edition at auction in the last century:<br /> <br /> 1518: sold at Ader Paris 2024<br /> 1521: sold at Sotheby's London 1970<br /> 1518: sold through Quaritch Catalogue 494 1934. <br /> <br /> EDIT16 CNCE 44982. See. Gregorio di Gregorii unknown