ALBERTANO DEGLI ALBERTANI

ALBERTANO degli ALBERTANI. - A judge of Brescia from the 13th century. From the explicit of his first treatise, dedicated to his son Vincenzo: *De dilectione Dei et proximi et aliarum rerum, de formula vitae honestae*, it is learned that he wrote this work in 1238 while imprisoned in Cremona for having defended the territory of Gavardo, on behalf of Brescia, against Frederick II.
He also wrote *De arte tacendi et loquendi* (1245) in six chapters, which Brunetto Latini abridged in his *Trésor*; the *Liber consolationis et consilii* (1246) in fifty chapters, dedicated to his sons Stefano and Giovanni, and five *Sermones*. The first two works are a fabric of quotations from sacred and profane authors, stitched together with some observations by the author: the exposition is therefore somewhat airy. More lively and original is his third treatise: Prudence consoles her husband Melibeo, maltreated in his own home, and urges him to forgiveness with quotations drawn from the Bible and Roman authors. This little work inspired Chaucer in a tale of the *Canterbury Tales* (14th century). The favor enjoyed by Albertano’s treatises is attested by Tuscan vernacular versions, famous as models of language, by Andrea da Grosseto (1268; ed. Selmi, Bologna 1873) and by the notary Soffredi del Grazia of Pistoia (1275; ed. Ciampi, Florence 1832), as well as by the anonymous version published in Florence (1610) by Bastiano dei Rossi. The *Sermones* remain unpublished.