Lodovico Guicciardini

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lodovico Guicciardini , ndl. Lowijs Guicciardyn , German Ludwig Guicciardin (born August 19, 1521 in Florence , † March 22, 1589 in Antwerp ), was an Italian businessman , cartographer , humanist , geographer , politician and writer . He was a nephew of Francesco Guicciardini and had the same tendency to represent history. He became famous for his historical city views and descriptions. He is buried in Antwerp's Cathedral of Our Lady .

Frontispiece to DESCRIPTION OF ALL THE NETHERLANDS , 1581

Life

Lodovico Guicciardini came from an old noble family from Florence. Many of its members held various high offices in the civil service, including his uncle Francesco Guicciardini. Nothing is known from his youth. At the age of 18 he left Italy, traveled through large parts of Western Europe (France, Germany) and in 1541 via Lyon to Antwerp, where he settled in August 1542. He opened a business that soon went bankrupt and then went on to do various things for his own account. At the beginning of the " Dutch uprising " against the Spaniards, he was imprisoned in the fortress of Vilvoorde on the orders of the Duke of Alba (1507–1582) for almost a year and a half (1569–1570) - because of comments that were unclear about the situation in the country.

He created his famous works in Antwerp, where he lived for almost fifty years. One of his first was a contemporary - then current - history of the Netherlands ( Commentarii delle cose più memorabili ... ). He achieved first fame through his masterpiece, a description of Antwerp: De idyllische Nederlanden: Antwerpen en de Nederlanden in de 16e eeuw - The idyllic Netherlands: Antwerp and the Netherlands in the 16th century (1567). His books were always provided with elaborate maps, including perspective, and drawings. The best known and most important of his works, an illustrated historical treatise of the Netherlands, is:

DESCRITTIONE DI M.LODOVICO GVICCIARDINI Patritio Fiorentino; DI TVTTI I PAESI BASSI, altrimenti detti GERMANIA INFERIORE. Con tutte le carte di Geographia del paese, & col ritratto naturale di molte terre principali; Riueduta di nuovo, & ampliata per tutto piu che la meta dal medesimo autore. AL GRAN'RE CATTOLICO FILIPPO D'AVSTRIA. Con amplissimo INDICE di tutte le cose piu memorabili. IN ANVERSA . Apresso Christofano Plantino, Stampatore Regio. MDLXXXI.

in German:

DESCRIPTION FROM MR (M. = MESSIRE) LODOVICO GUICCIARDINI patrician from Florence; ALL OF THE NETHERLANDS, otherwise also GERMANIA INFERIORE (NIEDERDEUTSCHLAND). With all the geographical maps of the country, & with natural portrayals of many major countries; newly published, & more than half of the total expanded by the same author. TO THE GREAT CATHOLIC KING PHILIP [II.] D'AVSTRIA. With extensive INDEX of all very memorable matters. IN ANTWERP . At Christofano Plantino, royally. Printer. MDLXXXI. (1581).

This work is considered to be a very influential contribution to the history and art of the Netherlands at that time. On his travels he also came to various cities in the wider area, where he made city views and maps (Aachen 1572).

Lodovico Guicciardini was a contemporary of Gerhard Mercator , the most famous cartographer of his time, and Peter Breughel the Elder .

Works

  • Commentarii delle cose più memorabili seguite in Europa, specialmente in questi Paesi Bassi, della pace di Cambrai, del MDXXIX, infino a tutto l'anno MDLX - comments on the very memorable matters taking place in Europe, especially in the Netherlands, on the peace of Cambrai , in the year MDXXIX (1529), up to and including the year MDLX (1560) . Domenico Farri, Venice 1566 (Italian edition)
  • The grossly important and manhaftigist Hendel, or history, so in Europe and namely in Niderlant from the nine and twentieth (the less zal) to the sixty-eighth passed through out . Antwerp 1566. (German edition)
  • Commentariorum de rebus memorabilibus, quae in Europa, maxime vero in Belgio, from undetricesimo usque in annum MDLX evenerint . Libri tres. Antverpiae 1566; in: S. Feyerabend, ed., Annales ... 2 tom. Francofurti ad Moenum 1580, II, 97-178. (Latin edition)
  • De idyllische Nederlanden: Antwerpen en de Nederlanden in de 16e eeuw Antwerpen 1567 ( Dutch first edition) and M. Jacqmain, Antwerpen and Amsterdam 1987
  • Descrittione di Lodovico Guicciardini patritio fiorentino di tutti i Paesi Bassi, altrimenti detti Germania inferiore . Willem Silvius, Antwerp 1567 (Italian first edition)
  • Description of tout le-pais-bas autreamont dict la Germanie infeverievre, ou Basse-Allemaigne . Guillaume Silvius, Anvers 1567 (French first edition)

German title at the time:

  • Descrittione di M. Lodovico Guicciardini, ... di tutti i Paesi Bassi, altrimenti detti Germania Inferiore ... Riueduta di nuouo, & ampliata per tutto la terza volta del medesimo autore ... Antwerp, 1588 ( digital copy )

literature

  • Henk Deys, Mathieu Franssen, Vincent van Hezik, Fineke te Raa and Erik Walsmit: Guicciardini illustratus. De kaarten en prenten in Lodovico Guicciardini's Beschrijving van de Nederlanden. HES & De Graaf, Utrecht 2001.
  • Pierre Jodogne: Lodovico Guicciardini (1521–1589). Actes du colloque international of 28, 29 and 30 mars 1990 . Leuven, 1991
  • Peter H. Meurer : The illustrations of the Basler Guicciardini edition 1580. In: Cartographica Helvetica Heft 4 (1991) pp. 17-21 full text
  • RH Touwaide: Messire Lodovico Guicciardini, gentilhomme Florentin . Nieuwkoop 1975

Web links

Commons : Lodovico Guicciardini  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Guicciardini, Lodovico
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guicciardini, Ludovico; Guicciardyn, Lowijs; Guicciardin, Ludwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian historian, cartographer, geographer, humanist, writer
DATE OF BIRTH August 19, 1521
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence
DATE OF DEATH March 22, 1589
Place of death Antwerp