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D E F 86 HUMANISM IN ENGLAND DURING THE 15TH CENTURY eventually answered accepting the offer with enthusiasm, and enclosing a reply to Decembrio, in which he expressed gratification at his proposal. 5 Besides Talenti, Decembrio also sought to attract Gloucester by means of the Archbishop of Milan, Pizzolpasso, who doubtless at his instigation wrote to the Duke warmly praising the Milanese humanist, and begging for Decembrio the place in his patronage vacated by Bruni. 6 Together with this letter Pizzolpasso sent to Humphrey the fifth book of the Republic latinized [55] by Decembrio and dedicated by him to Giovanni Amadeo. 7 His intention was to provide Gloucester with a sample from which he could draw reasonable conclusions as to the scope of the completed work, and acquaint himself with Decembrio’s talents. Nor did the specimen fail in its purpose, for on reading it Humphrey grew more than ever desirous of possessing the entire Republic in Decembrio’s translation, though it be somewhat wounding to his 5 The letter to Talenti is Ibid., ff. 58 r –59 r . Gloucester’s reply to Decembrio is in Borsa, Correspondence of Humphry, Duke of Gloucester, pp. 513–4, and is dated 6 February (1439). Both letters reached Talenti in April 1439 (MS. (B.R.F.) Ricc. no. 827, fo. 59 r ). Talenti’s letter to Decembrio forwarding Gloucester’s is Ibid., ff. 59 r – v . In another letter Talenti asked Decembrio to entrust him with the eventual delivery of the Republic to Gloucester (Ibid., fo. 60 r ). [RW: Gloucester’s reply to Talenti is published in Weiss, New Light on Humanism in England during the Fifteenth Century, pp. 24–5. 6 This letter is probably of the summer 1439 and is in Newman, op. cit. pp. 496–8. On Pizzolpasso cf. R. Sabbadini, ‘Spogli Ambrosiani Latini’, Studi Italiani di Filologia Classica, XI (1903) pp. 377–83. As he was Bishop of Dax in Gascony from 1423–7 he may have met Gloucester there. Decembrio’s dedication to Amadeo is in MS. (B.A.) I. 104. sup. ff. 95 r – v . [RW: On Pizzolpasso see also E. Pellegrin, ‘Bibliothèque d’humanistes lombards de la Cour des Visconti Sforza’, Bibliothèque d’Humanisme et Renaissance, XVII (1955), pp. 220–2, T. Foffano, ‘La costruzione di Castiglione Olona in un opuscolo inedito di Francesco Pizolpasso’, Italia Medioevale e Umanistica, III (1960), pp. 153–87, A. Paredi, La Biblioteca del Pizolpasso (Milano, 1961).] 7 Cf. supra, n. 6. A Sammut, pp. 175–76. B Sammut, p. 182, dated 6 th February 1438. C The letters reached Talenti 8 th April [1438]. The letters (inc: Iam ventis ago gratias doctissime Candide [Bertalot, ii, no. 9236] was transcribed by Weiss, ‘Humanism in England’, pp. 418–19 but has remained unprinted. It is presented as Appendix Text A3 below. D The letter (inc: Scripsi nuper ad te doctissime Candide [Bertalot, ii, no. 20981]) is transcribed by Weiss, ‘Humanism in England’, pp. 419–20 but has not previously appeared in print: it is presented as Appendix Text A4 below. E Sammut, pp. 176–79, dated ‘end of April 1438’. On its dating, see headnote to Appendix Text A below. F Hankins, Plato, II, pp. 532–33.
IV: HUMPHREY OF GLOUCESTER AND HIS CIRCLE, II 87 pride that the fifth book at least had been dedicated to one other than himself. Accordingly he took the matter up with Decembrio, complaining that he had been led to suppose by his letters that he himself should receive the dedication of the entire work, which judging from the specimen would be of no small merit, and asking how this could be so. 8 Although pleased that. he had met with approval, Decembrio was embarrassed lest his prospective patron should suspect him of an attempt to pass on a work the dedication of which he had already promised elsewhere. Obviously he could scarcely suppress his dedication of the fifth book and withdraw his promises of dedicating other books without the loss of valuable patrons. 9 As a solution to this dilemma Decembrio chose to compromise, and replied to Duke Humphrey assuring him that the whole work would be especially dedicated to his name, as also seven out of ten books. The other three books, he declared, would be dedicated to other illustrious men, the presence of whose names would add to the Duke’s glory as planets to the sun. 10 Such flattery so adroitly derived from astronomy satisfied Duke Humphrey as to Decembrio’s intentions, and made him look forward to the day when he would receive the complete version. In the meantime Decembrio, encouraged by his new patron, was proceeding as quickly as possible, so that during the earlier part of 1440 he was able to send a copy of the first five books to the Duke. In the accompanying letter Decembrio stated in self advertisement that there was already a considerable demand for his Republic, the first half of which was being eagerly read in Italy A For 1440, read 1439. 8 Borsa, Correspondence of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, p. 514. This letter was written on 12 or 13 October, 1439. 9 Besides book 5 which he dedicated to Amadeo, he dedicated book 6 to the Bishop of Burgos and book 10 to Pizzolpasso (MS. (B.A.) I. 104. sup. ff. 118 r , 190 r ). 10 Borsa, Correspondence of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, pp. 514–5 (this letter was probably written in December 1439). B Sammut, p. 183. C [to n. 9] Hankins, Plato, II, pp. 535–37. D [to n. 10] Sammut, pp. 184–85, dated there to ‘November–December 1438’, but see Rundle, ‘Republics and Tyrants’, p. 209 for the suggestion that it might have reached Humfrey not as a separate letter but as part of the dedication copy of the Books I–V (now BL, MS. Harl. 1705).
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