Peter Alboini of Mantua: Philosopher-Humanist

Peter Alboini of Mantua: Philosopher-Humanist THEODORE E. JAMES SO FAR AS [ HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DISCOVER, very little is known of the life of Peter Alboini of Mantua (Petrus Mantuanus). The earliest reference to him is found in the records of the University of Padua, where, under the date of September, 1389, he is referred to as "Pietro A1boini da Mantova, figlio di Giovanni. ''1 At the end of a letter that he wrote November 5, 1392 from Bologna to Pietro Tomasi in Padua he signs himself as "Petrus de Alboinis de Mantua. ''2 On August 26, 1398, Coluccio Salutati wrote him a letter from Florence and addressed it, "Magistro Petro Albuino de Mantua. ''a Thanks to these references we are certain about his name and some of his personal connections. In the letter of Salutati Peter is mentioned as a compatriot of Vergil, and his relationship to Mantua is further emphasized by the fact that at the time of his death he held a benefice or some similar kind of revenue from the Lord of Mantua. 4 I presume that Peter received his elementary education in one of the many schools maintained by the cathedrals or town councils at the time, where he became acquainted with grammar, rhetoric and the fundamentals which would enable him to pursue his studies at the University.5 The exact extent of his university study is unknown. In 1389 he is listed among the "Scolari della filosofia, logica dal 1355 at 1390" at the University of Padua, but there is no evidence for the length of his stay there. 6 In 1392 we find his name on the official rolls of the University of Bologna as a teacher of natural philosophy.7 1 A. Gloria, Monumenti delia Universitd di Padova (1318-1405) (Padova: 1888), I, 512. z R. Cessi, "La giovinezza di Pietro Tomasi erudito del secolo XV," Athenaeum, I, 2 (Aprile, 1913), 131. The letter is actually dated November 5 though Segarizzi refers to it as of the 18th: A. Segarizzi, "La corrispondenza familiare d'un medico erudito del Quattrocento (Pietro Tomasi)," Atti dell'l. R. Accadernia di Scienze Lettere ed Arti degli Agiati in Rovereto, Ser. III, XIII (1907), 220, n. 2: "La lettera, del 18 novembre 1392, diretta al Tomasi scolare a Padova, e datata da Bologna.... " Both articles are based on a manuscript in the Archivio di Stato in Venice: Procurator di S. Marco di Citra, Atti Congregazione di Carit~, Busta 120. P. O. Kristeller checked for me and found that the letter is no longer in that manuscript. 3 Epistolario di Coluccio Salutati, a cura di Francesco Novati, III (Roma: 1896), Letter XXII, Fonti per la Storia d'Italia XVII 318-322; reference to the name is found on p. 318 and in n. 2. 4 Novati, ibid., 322 and note on p. 319 concerning a letter of Rainerius di Fanctellinis to the secretary of the Lord of Mantua requesting that the "beneficium aut elericam (sic) vel archisacerdatum (sic)" allotted to Peter be turned over to him now that Peter is dead. D. Hay, Europe in the Fourteenth and FiJteenth Centuries (New York: 1966), pp. 333-338. e Gloria, op. cit., 511: "XXIV Scolari della filosofia, logica dal 1355-1390; p. 512, 1003-Pietro Alboini da Mantova figlio di Giovanni, (Sett. 1389) a S. Margherita nella casa di Giovanni da Marliano milanese abate di S. Cipriano di Murano e dottore dei decreti: n. 9. Mon. 1389, 3 Settembre." 7 Novati, op. cit., 318, n. 2, "afferma G. N. Pasquali-Alidosi,Li dottori forestieri, etc., Bologna, MDCXXIII, p. 60, che 'dal 1392 lesse filosofia naturale e poi la morale fin'al 1400 hello studio Bolognese'." U. Dallari, 1 Rotuli dei Lettori Legisti e Artisti dello Studio Bolognese dal 1384 al [161] 162 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY We have a confirmation of this fact from the previously mentioned letter to Pietro Tomasi, in which he also mentions his fellow faculty members, Jacobus de Armis and Franciscus de Camerino, whose names appear on the official rolls along with Peter's.s The letter of Alboini to Tomasi reveals a great deal of affection for his friend Tomasi and for many others in...