>Isa Ragusa's translation of/and introduction to the MVC came out in 1961,
>and I don't recall the related issues of who wrote it, and when, and where
>it was written, being nearly as cut-and-dried as you suggest. As you fully
>appreciate, it is a crucial text for 13thc. Italian Franciscan religious
>sensibility, despite its heavy borrowing from Bernardine Cistercianism.
>
>Where and when it was written--if they could be determined--would interest
>me very much. I vaguely recall Ragusa suggesting that a Tuscan friar
>composed it c.1290. But 1256-63 would suit me much better!
>
>Anyway, I'll have a look at your references, although surely something
>substantial has appeared on the MVC later than 1952?
>
>Gary Dickson
>University of Edinburgh
Far be it from me to suggest that this issue - or any other! - was
cut-and-dried :-)
And I should say that my work on the _MVC_ was mainly confined to the
Italian vernacular version, and in any case took place several years ago,
so quite possibly my memories are fading and my bibliography is less than
completely _aggiornato_ (I quite agree that there must have been
*something* substantial since 1952, though a quick look for book-length
studies - I stress, of the *Latin* text - doesn't produce anything). But I
do recall that Petrocchi (art. cit.) made a pretty good case for both
Giovanni de' Cauli's authorship and the 1256-63 date. As I said in another
posting, he does seem to have been challenged (cf. the Murrays in the
_Oxford Companion to Christian art and Architecture_), but I still haven't
managed, or had time, to track down that reference. Help, anyone?
By the way, does Ragusa cite - better still, confute - Petrocchi?
Steven Botterill
Associate Professor of Italian Literature & Romance Philology
Chair, Department of Italian Studies
3335 Dwinelle Hall #2620
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720-2620
(510) 642-6246/642-9884 (FAX)
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