Matteo Villani

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Matteo Villani (* around 1285 in Florence ; † 1363 ) was an Italian merchant and historian .

life and work

Matteo Villani was one of the four sons of the merchant Villano di Stoldo di Bellincia and a younger brother of the famous medieval Italian chronicler Giovanni Villani . Little is known about his life. Like his brother, he was a partner in the Buonaccorsi company , for which he headed a branch in Naples from 1319 to 1325 . In 1322 he regulated the economic situation within the family by contract with his father and three brothers. 1333–1335 he worked in Avignon . With his wife Lisa di Monte Buondelmonti he had three children, including their son Filippo . In 1342 he was also hit by the bankruptcy of the Buonaccorsi Society. Because he fled from his creditors, his wife was imprisoned for some time. In 1362, a year before his death, he was acquitted of alleged Ghibellinism in a court case against him .

The historical work written by Giovanni Villani, the historical account of which he had continued into the year of his death in 1348, was continued by Matteo in eleven books until 1363, when he - like his brother 15 years earlier - succumbed to a plague epidemic . His son Filippo added 42 chapters to his father's 11th book, so that the historical narrative now extended to 1364. Matteo's style is more elaborate than that of his brother and he is also not a keen observer, but he presents himself as a well-informed, truth-loving reporter and one of the most important sources in Italian history for the years he has written about.

In 1562 the Giunti brothers in Venice obtained a first edition of Matteo Villani's work, based on a manuscript belonging to Giacomo Castelvetro, but missing the 8th and part of the 9th book. In 1577 they published the missing parts and the addition of Filippo Villani in Florence on the basis of a complete manuscript that they found with the Ricci family. 1729 published Ludovico Antonio Muratori in the 14th volume of his Rerum Italicarum Scriptores an improved edition of Matteos and Filippos continuation of the Chronicle Giovanni Villani. A modern edition was presented by Giuseppe Porta ( Cronica con la continuazione di Filippo Villani , 2 volumes, Parma 1995).

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Matteo Villani: History. Edited by Lodovico Antonio Muratori, Milan 1729 (= Rerum Italicarum scriptores , 14)
personal data
SURNAME Villani, Matteo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian merchant and historian
DATE OF BIRTH around 1285
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence
DATE OF DEATH 1363