Historia De Un Amor Text

[Gunilla]

The text which is now offered furnishes, of course, but the initial constituent of a complete edition of Guido. For over thirty years I have been collecting material for a descriptive catalogue and critical evaluation of the manuscripts and printed editions of the Historia, a study of its sources and influence, and of the life of its author. It is for the proper execution of these undertakings that I have begun with the editing of the text.

From each of these ninety-four manuscripts I copied four brief equidistant passages. A comparison of these passages revealed absolute sameness in content accompanied by innumerable variations of orthography and phraseology. There was some disagreement among the scribes respecting the chaptering of books. Moreover the scribes of certain manuscripts had added, at the end of the text, after the epitaphs, a dating of the Fall of Troy or a metrical Deploratio Troiae or both. These scribal vagaries might, of course, have furnished some initial clue to a classification of the manuscripts. But the ninety-four manuscripts examined were by no means all the manuscripts of Guido that have existed. While in Europe I located forty-two others, making one hundred and thirty-six manuscripts in all. Listed in catalogues I did not see and uncatalogued there must be many more, not to mention the number that must have perished or become lost. Obviously from so many manuscripts no authoritative stemma could be constructed. Accordingly I decided to depend upon scribal dates and to select from among those of my ninety-four manuscripts that were dated by the scribes the five that bore the earliest dates. Of the five manuscripts chosen the earliest bears the date 1334 and the latest the date 1353. The earliest manuscript was written forty-seven years after the original, which was composed in 1287, as stated by Guido in his colophon (vid. p. 276), and the latest sixty-six years thereafter. Two of the manuscripts certainly, three in all probability, and not improbably all five were written in widely separated localities (vid. pp. xii-xiii). Hence they present a fairly early, and, in all likelihood, a fairly broad cross-section of the manuscript tradition.

I have used P1, the earliest manuscript, as the basis of my text, though I should have saved myself a considerable amount of unnecessary labor in the recording of variants by using P2 as my basis instead. P2 shows on the whole better readings than P1. But the superiority of P2 to P1, as indeed the interrelationship of the manuscripts in general, did not emerge at first, nor could it have been safely predicated for the entire text until all the manuscripts had been compared to the end. It accordingly seemed better to choose the basic manuscript on the ground of date and thus provide against the possible necessity of subsequent retraction or modification of practice. What has seemed the best reading has, at any rate, always found its way into the text, though not always by the most direct route.

The contractions of the manuscripts have been expanded, improper word-divisions corrected, and punctuation and capitalization modernized, not only in the text but also, contrary to usual practice, in the footnotes as well, the present editor being unable to see why, if he be trusted to intervene between the manuscript and reader in the one case, he should not in the other as well.

On the outer margins of the text will be found printed opposite the opening of each paragraph of text a summary of the story of that paragraph. In this summary proper names have been spelled as in the first entry form in the Index of Proper Names.

The Historia of Guido is appropriately written in prose. It is an essentially pedestrian piece of work, devoid of any claim to high literary excellence, and extremely wordy. Nevertheless it is not without minor merits. The narrative is easy, fluent, evenly sustained, and capable at all times of holding the attention of the reader.

Guido de Columpna explains why he has retold the story of Troia according to Dares and Ditis. He has supplied many particulars which Cornelius, in his translation of them, improperly omitted.Licet6 cotidie uetera recentibus obruant,7 nonnulla tamen iam dudum uetera precesserunt que sic sui magnitudine uiuaci sunt digna memoria ut nec ea cecis morsibus uetustas abolere preualeat nec exacti8 temporis antiqua curricula sopita taciturnitate concludant. Vigent enim in illis pro gestorum magnitudine continuata recordia dum preteritorum in posteros sermo dirigitur. Et antiquorum scripta, fidelia conseruatricia9 premissorum, preterita uelud presentia representant, et viris strenuis quos longa mundi etas iam dudum per mortem absorbuit per librorum uigiles lectiones, ac10 si viuerent, spiritum ymaginarie uirtutis infundunt. Troyane11 igitur urbis excidium nulla dignum est12 longeui13 temporis uetustate detergi. Vt continuis recordiis successorum floreret in mentibus, multorum scribentium calamus fideli scriptura depinxit. Nonnulli enim iam14 eius ystorie poetice alludendo ueritatem ipsius in figurata commenta
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quibusdam fictionibus transsumpserunt, vt non uera que scripserunt uiderentur audientibus perscripsisse sed pocius fabulosa.1 Inter quos suis diebus maxime auctoritatis Homerus apud Grecos eius ystorie puram et simplicem ueritatem in uersuta uestigia uariauit, fingens multa que non fuerunt et que fuerunt aliter transformando. Introduxit enim deos quos coluit antiqua gentilitas impugnasse Troyanos et cum eis fuisse uelut uiuentes homines debellatos. Cuius errorem postmodum poete curiosius insecuti, ut darent intelligi non solum Homerum2 fuisse uitiorum3 auctorem,4 multa deludia in libris eorum scribere presumpserunt. Vnde Ouidius Sulmonensis prodigo5 stilo in multis libris suis utrumque contexuit. Addidit enim multa commenta commentis, intermixtim6 etiam ueritatem non7 obmittens. Virgilius etiam8 in opere suo Eneydos,9 si10 pro maiori parte gesta Troum,11 cum de eis tetigit, sub ueritatis luce narrauit, ab Homeri tamen fictionibus noluit in **f. 1valiquibus abstinere. Sed ut fidelium ipsius ystorie uera scribentium scripta apud occidentales omni tempore futuro uigeant successiue, in12 vtilitatem eorum precipue qui gramaticam legunt, ut separare13 sciant uerum a falso14 de hiis que de dicta ystoria in libris gramaticalibus sunt descripta, ea que per Dytem Grecum et Frigium15 Daretem,16 qui tempore Troyani belli continue in eorum exercitibus fuere presentes et horum que uiderunt fuerunt fidelissimi relatores, in presentem libellum per me iudicem Guidonem de Columpna de17 Messana transsumpta legentur, prout in duobus libris18 eorum inscriptum quasi una uocis consonantia inuentum est in Athenis.19 Quamquam autem hos libellos quidam Romanus, Cornelius nomine, Salustii magni nepos, in Latinam linguam transferre curauerit,20 tamen, dum laboraret nimium esse21 breuis, particularia ystorie ipsius que magis possunt allicere animos auditorum pro22 nimia breuitate indecenter obmisit. In hac igitur serie libelli totum inuenietur23 inscriptum quod de tota ystoria uniuersaliter et particulariter gestum fuit: que fuit24 origo inimicitiarum et scandali que aduersus Frigios Greciam concitauit (vt appellatione Grecie non Magna Grecia, Ytalia25 uidelicet, ut uoluerunt nonnulli, debeat comprehendi, dicentes aduersus Troyanos et26 Magnam Greciam,
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id est Ytaliam,1 quam appellamus hodie Romaniam, confluxisse, cum parua scilicet sola, licet paucis aliis sibi adiunctis, uenerit expugnatura Troyanos, prout ipsius ystorie series per ea que infra legentur apertius demonstrabit). Sic ergo successiue describetur2 in ipsa qui reges et qui duces Grecorum armata manu et quot nauibus se in predictum exercitum contulerunt, quibus armorum3 insigniis4 usi sunt, qui reges et qui5 duces in Troyane urbis defensionem aduenerunt,6 quanto tempore fuit7 protracta uictoria, quotiens bellatum extitit et quo anno, quis in bello ceciderit et cuius ictu (de quibus omnibus pro maiori parte Cornelius nihil dixit). Superest ergo8 ut ad eius narrationis seriem accedatur.9 Explicit10 prologus.

The Myrmidones are ruled by Peleus and Thetis, and live in Thesalia.In regno Thesalie, de predicte scilicet prouinciis Romanie cuius incole Mirmidones dicti sunt, quod nos hodie uulgari denominatione Salonicium13 appellamus, regnabat tunc temporis rex quidam iustus et nobilis nomine Pelleus14 cum eius consorte Thetide15 nuncupata. Ex quorum matrimonio processit vir ille tam fortis tam animosus tam strenuus denominatus Acchilles.16 Hos Mirmidones illi qui dicere uoluerunt Magnam Greciam, id est Ytaliam, in Troyanorum excidium aduenisse Aprutinos17 esse dixerunt, gens quedam uidelicet que in regni Sicilie18 finibus habitat constituta. Vnde prouincia illa Aprucium19 dicta est et ciuitatem Thetim20 que in ipsa prouincia sita est a predicta Thetide21 nomen asserunt assumpsisse. Sed sic dicentes perhibentur errare, cum Mirmidones habitatores Thesalie22 nuncupentur, quorum dominium, post obitum regis Pellei patris sui nactus,23 Acchilles in Troyano bello multa cum eis miracula bellicosa peregit. Sicut de eis24 testatur Ouidius, eorum originem fabulose commentans. Dixit enim hos Mirmidones in viio25 Methamorphoseos26 fuisse formicas, ad preces regis Thesalie diis porrectas in homines transformatas, dum diebus illis totum vulgus regni Thesalie, incumbente cuiusdam27 letifere infirmitatis peste,28 finaliter decessisset,
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solo illo rege superstite. Qui dum in quodam nemore iuxta radices cuiusdam arboris adhesisset, inspectis ibidem innumerabilium formicarum discurrentibus aciebus, in homines redigi suppliciter postulauit. Et in legenda beati Mathey1 apostoli Mirmidones esse habitatores Thesalie, in qua idem apostolus aliquamdiu moram traxit, aperte monstratur.2

Peleus, jealous of his nephew Iason, seeks secretly to compass his ruin. Hunc autem regem Pelleum3 describit ystoria habuisse quendam fratrem Hesonem4 nomine, sibi ex utroque parente coniunctum et eius in etate maiorem. Qui dum longeue5 etatis senio grauaretur, seipsum vix regere poterat. Et ideo regni Thesalie gubernaculis multo minus longa sibi senetute * confracto6 renunciauit et cessit moderamina regni Pelleo*f. 2v fratri suo. Post cuius Pellei regimen Heson legitur per tempora longa uixisse, ita ut, eo multa senetute defecto, eius occuli caligarent7 et eius corporeus uigor pre nimia tabesceret senectute. Quem dixit idem Ouidius in eodem libro Methamorphoseos8 postmodum in iuuentutis flores et iuueniles potentias renouatum, ita quod de senili umbra factus est anniculus9 medicabili cura et artifiosa uirtute Medee, de qua Medea infra proxime habendus est sermo. Ex hoc igitur Hesone supererat quidam natus, Iason nomine, vir fortis et strenuus et iuuenis, nimium speciosus, modestus, largus, affabilis, tractabilis, pius, et omni10 morum uenustate corruscus. Hunc Thesalie primates et nobiles, hunc plebei11 tenere dilectionis affectu pro suarum uirtutum excellentia sunt amplexi, non minus quam regem12 Pelleum13 uenerantes eundem.14 Erat et idem Iason non minus obediens regi patruo quam esset patri si regeret,15 nec erat molestus illi sed omni subiectione deuotus, licet Pelleus sceptro Thesalie potiretur. Eadem igitur relatione non sibi rex Pelleus respondebat, quod16 licet signis extrinsecis eum sibi carum esse monstraret,17 ardebat tamen et fluctuabat intrinsecus ne in uirtute sua et in tanta affectione suorum quam sui erga ipsum habebant Iason eum Thesalie regni dominio spoliaret. Longe igitur in mente secum seruauit ardorem, quem sagaci studio tegere ne actu aliquo publicatus euagari posset extrinsecus diu per fatigabilem tollerantiam est conatus. Quare disquisiuit in corde suo uiarum ymaginata proposita18 quibus posset Iasonem perdere absque sui sugillatione pudoris.