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The Early Lives of Dante

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 - 1375) and Leonardo Bruni (1369 - 1444)

Translated by Philip H. Wicksteed
 (1844 - 1927)

This recording contains two early biographies of Dante, both written by notable Florentine literati.
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 -1375) was an Italian poet, most famous for his monumental collection of tales, The Decameron. Like Dante, Boccacio was one of the first writers to use the Italian vernacular.
Lionardo Bruni (Aretino) (1369- 1444) was an accredited historian and man of letters. His short biography was inspired by reading the version of Dante's life by Boccaccio, who he considered had mispresented Dante by over-emphasizing the influence of his association with Beatrice.
In his collection Wicksteed also included short articles wrtten by the Florentine banker and diplomat Giovanni Villani (c. 1276 – 1348), his nephew, the historian Filippo Villani (fl. 15th century) and Boccaccio.

Read by Algy Pug

Run Time 3 Hours 52 minutes in 3 Audio CDs

1 01 - Preface and introduction - 22:32
2 02 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - Proem - 08:13
3 03 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - Dante’s Birth and Studies - 11:50
4 04 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - His Love of Beatrice, and his Marriage - 20:15
5 05 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - His Family Cares, Honours and Exile - 08:28
6 06 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - His Flight from Florence and his Wanderings - 07:28
7 07 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - His Death and Funeral Honours - 07:31
8 08 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - Denunciation of the Florentines - 13:26
9 09 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - His Appearance, Habits and Character - 10:16
10 10 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - Digression concerning Poesy - 09:22
11 11 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - The difference between Poesy and Theology - 09:44
12 12 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - The Laurel granted to Poets - 04:47
13 13 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - Dante’s Excellencies and Defects - 08:26
14 14 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - Diverse Works written by Dante - 04:38
15 15 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante - Incidents that came to pass concerning the Divine Comedy - 08:55
16 16 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante -Dante's Use of the vernacular - 03:38
17 17 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante -The De Monarchia and other Works - 06:07
18 18 - Boccaccio's Encomium on Dante -The Dream of Dante’s Mother. Conclusion - 15:25
19 19 - Lionardo Bruni - Life of Dante - Part 1 - 10:57
20 20 - Lionardo Bruni - Life of Dante - Part 2 - 11:55
21 21 - Lionardo Bruni - Life of Dante - Part 3 - 13:04
22 22 - Appendix 1 - Extract from Giovanni Villani’s Florentine Chronicle - 05:10
23 23 - Appendix 2 - Extract from Filippo Villani’s Life of Dante in his De Origine Civitatis... - 03:20
24 24 - Appendix 3 - A Document preserved in a MS. of Boccaccio’s - 07:29
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