Dante, Commedia; Petrarch, Trionfi
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Mediceo Palatino 72 15th century (1442)
The codex originally belonged to Guido di Francesco Baldovinetti (whose name appears on fol. 88r), and was written by the Florentine scribe Bese Ardinghelli; the latter’s signature is found at the end of each work—the Commedia, completed on 9 May 1442, and the Trionfi, on 16 May of the same year. The illuminator has been identified as Apollonio di Giovanni. Historiated initials narrating Dante’s journey through Hell and Purgatory and finally to Paradise mark the beginning of each canticle; the six Trionfi, on the other hand, are preceded by allegorical illustrations.The manuscript is open at fol. 78v, which features the beginning of Petrarch’s Triumph of Chastity, who is depicted standing on a cart being hauled by two unicorns, emblems of purity and virginity.