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List of literary descriptions of cities (before 1550)

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Initial folio of De laude Cestrie, a c.1195 eulogy to the English town of Chester

Literary descriptions of cities (also known as descriptiones urbium) form a literary genre that originated in Ancient Greek epideictic rhetoric. They can be prose or poetry. Many take the form of an urban eulogy (variously referred to as an encomium urbis, laudes urbium, encomium civis, laus civis, laudes civitatum; or in English: urban or city encomium, panegyric, laudation or praise poem) which praise their subject. Laments to a city's past glories are sometimes also included in the genre. Descriptiones often mix topographical information with abstract material on the spiritual and legal aspects of the town or city, and with social observations on its inhabitants. They generally give a more extended treatment of their urban subject than is found in an encyclopedia or general geographical work. Influential examples include Benedict's Mirabilia Urbis Romae of around 1143.

The Greek rhetorician Dionysius of Halicarnassus, in the first century AD, was the first to prescribe the form of a eulogy to a city in detail. Features he touches on include the city's location, size and beauty; the qualities of its river; its temples and secular buildings; its origin and founder, and the acts of its citizens. The Roman rhetorician Quintilian expounds on the form later in the first century, stressing praise of the city's founder and prominent citizens, as well as the city's site and location, fortifications and public works such as temples. The third-century rhetorician Menander expands on the guidelines further, including advice on how to turn a city's bad points into advantages. These works were probably not directly available to medieval writers, but the form is outlined in many later grammar primers, including those by Donatus and Priscian. Priscian's Praeexercitamina, a translation into Latin of a Greek work by Hermogenes, was a particular influence on medieval authors.

Surviving late Roman examples of descriptiones include Ausonius's Ordo Nobilium Urbium, a fourth-century Latin poem that briefly describes thirteen cities including Milan and Bordeaux. Rutilius Namatianus's De reditu suo is a longer poem dating from the early fifth century that includes a section praising Rome.

Numerous medieval examples have survived, mainly but not exclusively in Latin, the earliest dating from the eighth century. They adapt the classical form to Christian theology. The form was popularised by widely circulated guidebooks intended for pilgrims. Common topics include the city walls and gates, markets, churches and local saints; descriptiones were sometimes written as a preface to the biography of a saint. The earliest examples are in verse. The first known prose example was written in around the tenth century, and later medieval examples were more often written in prose. Milan and Rome are the most frequent subjects, and there are also examples describing many other Italian cities. Outside Italy, pre-1400 examples are known for Chester, Durham, London, York and perhaps Bath in England, Newborough in Wales, and Angers, Paris and Senlis in France. The form spread to Germany in the first half of the 15th century, with Nuremberg being the most commonly described city.

J. K. Hyde, who surveyed the genre in 1966, considers the evolution of descriptiones written before 1400 to reflect "the growth of cities and the rising culture and self-confidence of the citizens", rather than any literary progression. Later medieval examples tend to be more detailed and less generic than early ones, and to place an increasing emphasis on secular over religious aspects. For example, Bonvesin della Riva's 1288 description of Milan, De Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani, contains a wealth of detailed facts and statistics about such matters as local crops. These trends were continued in Renaissance descriptiones, which flourished from the early years of the 15th century, especially after the popularisation of the printing press from the middle of that century.

Selected examples

The following chronological list presents urban descriptions and eulogies written before the end of the 14th century, based mainly on the reviews of Hyde and Margaret Schlauch, with a selection from the many examples written from 1400 to 1550.

Title Date Author City Country Format Language Notes
Antiochicus c. 360 Libanius Antioch Syria Prose Latin Also called Oration in Praise of Antioch, this is Libanius' Oration XI.
Ordo Nobilium Urbium 4th century Ausonius Various Poetry Latin
De reditu suo Early 5th century Rutilius Namatianus Rome Italy Poetry Latin
Laudes Mediolanensis civitatis ~738 Milan Italy Poetry Latin Or Versum de Mediolano civitate
De laude Pampilone epistola 7th century Pamplona Spain Prose Latin The laudatio is known from a composite with an unrelated text dating from c. 410
Versiculi familiae Benchuir 8th century Bangor Ireland Poetry Latin The Versiculi form a "religios laus civitatis in praise of a monastic community.
Poema de Pontificibus et Sanctis Eboracensis Ecclesiae Early or mid-780s Alcuin York England Poetry Latin
Versus de Destructione Aquileiae Late 8th century Paulinus of Aquileia or Paul the Deacon Aquileia Italy Poetry Latin Attribution disputed
Laudes Veronensis Civitatis 796–806 Verona Italy Poetry Latin Or Veronae rhythmica, Versus de Verona
The Ruin 8th – late 9th century An unnamed Roman spa, probably Bath England Poetry Old English Date uncertain; subject has also been suggested to be Chester or a town near Hadrian's Wall
Versus de Aquilegia 844–855 Aquileia Italy Poetry Latin
De Situ Civitatis Mediolani ~780–1000 Milan Italy Prose Latin Or De situ urbis Mediolanensis
Durham Mid-11th century to ~1107 Durham England Poetry Old English Or De situ Dunelmi; date disputed
Liber Pergaminus 1112–33 Moses de Brolo Bergamo Italy Poetry Latin
Mirabilia Urbis Romae ~1140–43 Benedict Rome Italy Prose Latin
Descriptio Nobilissimae Civitatis Londoniae 1173–74 William Fitzstephen London England Prose Latin Or Descriptio Nobilissimi Civitatis Londoniae
De mirabilibus urbis Romae 1150–1200 Master Gregory Rome Italy Latin
De laude Cestrie ~1195 Lucian of Chester Chester England Prose Latin Or Liber Luciani de laude Cestrie
In Ymagines historiarum ~1180–1200 Ralph de Diceto Angers Angevin Empire Prose Latin
Graphia Aureae Urbis Romae ~1154–1280 Rome Italy Latin
De Laude Civitatis Laude ~1253–59 An unnamed Franciscan Lodi Italy Poetry Latin
Liber de preconiis ciuitatis Numantine 1282 Juan Gil de Zamora Zamora Spain Prose Latin
De Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani 1288 Bonvesin della Riva Milan Italy Prose Latin
De Mediolano Florentissima Civitate ~1316 Benzo d'Alessandria Milan Italy Prose Latin
Visio Egidii Regis Patavii ~1318 Giovanni da Nono Padua Italy Prose Latin
Byzantios post 1312 Theodore Metochites Constantinople Byzantium Prose Greek
Recommentatio Civitatis Parisiensis 1323 Paris France Prose Latin
Tractatus de Laudibus Parisius 1323 Jean de Jandun Paris, Senlis France Prose Latin Written in response to Recommentatio Civitatis Parisiensis
Libellus de Descriptione Papie 1330 Opicino de Canistris Pavia Italy Prose Latin Or Liber de laudibus civitatis Ticinensis
Polistoria de virtutibus et dotibus Romanorum 1320–46 Giovanni Caballini Rome Italy Prose Latin
Cronaca Extravagans 1329–39 Galvano Fiamma Milan Italy Prose Latin Contains material from Bonvesin della Riva's text
Cronica Book XI 1338 Giovanni Villani Florence Italy Prose Italian
Florentie Urbis et Reipublice Descriptio 1339 Florence Italy Prose Latin Manuscript is untitled
Cywydd Rhosyr Mid 14th century Dafydd ap Gwilym Newborough Wales Poetry Welsh Date and attribution uncertain
Laudatio florentinae urbis ~1400 Leonardo Bruni Florence Italy Prose Latin
Laudatio Urbis Romae et Constantinopolis ~1411 Manuel Chrysoloras Rome Italy Prose Greek
"O wunnikliches Paradis" 1414–18 or after 1430 Oswald von Wolkenstein Konstanz Holy Roman Empire Poetry German Von Wolkenstein also wrote poems on other cities, including Nuremberg and Augsberg
Descriptio urbis Romae eiusque excellentiae ~1430 Niccolò Signorili Rome Italy Prose Latin
Roma instaurata 1446 Flavio Biondo Rome Italy Prose Latin
Lobspruch auf Nürnberg 1447 Hans Rosenplüt [de] Nuremberg Germany Poetry German
Ye Solace of Pilgrimes ~1450 John Capgrave Rome Italy Prose Middle English
Canmol Croesoswallt Mid 15th century Guto'r Glyn Oswestry England Poetry Welsh
I Varedydd ab Hywel ab Morus, ac i Drev Croes Oswallt Mid 15th century Lewys Glyn Cothi Oswestry England Poetry Welsh
"Y ddewistref ddiestron" Mid 15th century Ieuan ap Gruffudd Leiaf Conwy Wales Poetry Welsh
Die Bamberger Traktate 1452 Albrecht von Eyb Bamberg Germany Latin
"" Late 1450s Enea Silvio Piccolomini Nuremberg Germany Prose Latin
Lobspruch auf Bamberg ~1459 Hans Rosenplüt [de] Bamberg Germany Poetry German
Brodyr aeth i Baradwys Late 15th century Ieuan ap Huw Cae Llwyd [cy] Brecon Wales Poetry Welsh
"Cistiau da, 'n costio dierth" End of the 15th century Tudur Aled Oswestry England Poetry Welsh
Lobspruch auf Nürnberg ~1490–92 Kunz Hass Nuremberg Germany Poetry German
De Venetae urbis situ / Del sito di Vinegia 1492 Marcantonio Sabellico Venice Italy Prose Latin, Italian
De origine, situ, moribus et institutis Norimbergae ~1492–96 Conrad Celtis Nuremberg Germany Prose Latin
To the City of London ~1501 Sometimes attributed to William Dunbar London England Poetry English Or In Honour of the City of London
It is the basis for the cantata In Honour of the City of London (1937).
Tractatus de civitate Ulmensi By 1502 Felix Fabri Ulm Germany Latin
Blyth Aberdeane ~1511 William Dunbar Aberdeen Scotland Poetry Middle Scots
Ein Lobspruch der statt Nürnberg ~1530 Hans Sachs Nuremberg Germany Poetry German Sachs also wrote praise poems to Salzburg (1549), Munich (1565), Frankfurt (1568) and Hamburg (1569)
Ein Lobspruch der Hochloeblichen weitberuembten Khuenigklichen Stat Wienn in Osterreich 1547 Wolfgang Schmeltzl Vienna Austria Poetry German

See also

References

  1. ^ JK Hyde (1966), "Medieval descriptions of cities" (PDF), Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 48 (2): 308–40, doi:10.7227/BJRL.48.2.5
  2. ^ Helen Fulton (2006–2007), "The Encomium Urbis in Medieval Welsh Poetry", Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, 26/27: 54–72, JSTOR 40732051
  3. ^ Margaret Schlauch (1941), "An Old English "Encomium Urbis"", Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 40 (1): 14–28, JSTOR 27704714
  4. ^ C. David Benson (2009), "The Dead and the Living: Some Medieval Descriptions of the Ruins and Relics of Rome Known to the English", in Albrecht Classen (ed.), Urban Space in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age, Walter de Gruyter, pp. 147–182, ISBN 978-3110223897
  5. ^ Mark Faulkner (2011), "The Spatial Hermeneutics of Lucian's De Laude Cestrie", in Catherine AM Clarke (ed.), Mapping the Medieval City: Space, Place and Identity in Chester, c. 1200–1600, University of Wales Press, ISBN 978-1783164615
  6. ^ Christopher Abram (2000), "In Search of Lost Time: Aldhelm and The Ruin" (PDF), Quaestio (Selected Proceedings of the Cambridge Colloquium in Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic), 1: 23–44
  7. ^ Antonia Gransden (1972), "Realistic Observation in Twelfth-Century England", Speculum, 47 (1): 29–51, doi:10.2307/2851214, JSTOR 2851214, S2CID 163505360
  8. ^ David Blamires (1990), "The portrayal of towns in sixteenth-century German Volksbŭcher" (PDF), Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 72 (3): 49–61, doi:10.7227/BJRL.72.3.4
  9. Paul Oldfield (2019), Urban Panegyric and the Transformation of the Medieval City, 1100–1300, Oxford University Press.
  10. ^ Neil Christie (2006), From Constantine to Charlemagne: An Archaeology of Italy, AD 300–800, Ashgate Publishing, pp. 183–85, ISBN 1859284213
  11. Roger Collins (1986), The Basques, Blackwell, pp. 67–69
  12. Paolo Zanna (1991), "Descriptiones urbium and Elegy in Latin and Vernaculars in the Early Middle Ages: At the Crossroads Between Civic Engagement, Artistic Enthusiasm and Religious Meditation", Studi medievali, Ser. 3, 32: 523–596.
  13. D. A. Bullough (2010). "Alcuin (c.740–804)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/298. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  14. Anne L. Klinck (2001), The Old English Elegies: A Critical Edition and Genre Study, McGill-Queen's Press, pp. 15–16, 61–63, ISBN 0773522417
  15. H. S. Offler (1962), "The Date of Durham (Carmen de Situ Dunelmi)", Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 61 (3): 591–94, JSTOR 27714086
  16. Paul Oldfield (2019), Urban Panegyric and the Transformation of the Medieval City, 1100–1300, Oxford University Press, p. 32n, also citing Jeffrey S. Ruth (2011), Urban Honor in Spain: The Laus Urbis from Antiquity Through Humanism, Lewiston{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  17. ^ Albrecht Classen (2009), "Hans Sachs and his Encomia Songs on German Cities: Zooming Into and Out of Urban Space from a Poetic Perspective. With a Consideration of Hartmann Schedel's Liber Chronicarum (1493)", in Albrecht Classen (ed.), Urban Space in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age, Walter de Gruyter, pp. 567–94, ISBN 978-3110223897
  18. Daniel Williman (1999), "Reviewed Work: Polistoria de virtutibus et dotibus Romanorum by Ioannis Caballini de Cerronibus", International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 5: 489–91, JSTOR 30222468
  19. ^ Dafydd Johnston (2012), "Towns in Medieval Welsh Poetry", in Helen Fulton (ed.), Urban Culture in Medieval Wales, University of Wales Press, pp. 95–116, ISBN 978-0708323526
  20. ^ Charles L. Stinger (1998), The Renaissance in Rome, Indiana University Press, pp. 72–75, ISBN 0253334918
  21. ^ Albrecht Classen (2009), "Urban Space in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age: Historical, Mental, Cultural, and Social-Economic Investigations", in Albrecht Classen (ed.), Urban Space in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age, Walter de Gruyter, pp. 75–81, 136–37, ISBN 978-3110223897
  22. ^ Elizabeth McCahill (2013), Reviving the Eternal City, Harvard University Press, pp. 21, 26–33, 169–181, ISBN 978-0674726154
  23. Ruth Elisabeth Kritzer (2010), "Renaissance Rome Descriptions in Comparison", Bibliothèque d'Humanisme et Renaissance, 72 (1): 113–25, JSTOR 20680045
  24. Jeffrey A. White (2012), "Reviewed Work: Rome Restaurée: Roma Instaurata, Tome II Livres II et III by Flavio Biondo", Renaissance Quarterly, 65: 1169–70, doi:10.1086/669350, JSTOR 10.1086/669350, S2CID 163197187
  25. ^ Stephen Brockmann (2006), Nuremberg: The Imaginary Capital, Camden House, pp. 16–19, ISBN 1571133453
  26. E. A. Rees (2008), A Life of Guto'r Glyn, Y Lolfa, pp. 100–3, ISBN 978-0862439712
  27. de Vivo, Filippo (March 2016). "Walking in Sixteenth-Century Venice: Mobilizing the Early Modern City". I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance. 19 (1): 115–141. doi:10.1086/685830. ISSN 0393-5949. S2CID 225087287.
  28. Sabellico, Marco Antonio (2016). Del sito di Vinegia. La più antica guida di Venezia (in Italian). Vittoria Maurizio. ISBN 978-88-940999-0-4.
  29. full Latin text at https://archive.org/details/ita-bnc-in2-00000924-001
  30. Mazzaferro, Giovanni (February 2017). "Review of Maurizio Vittoria, ed., Marco Antonio Sabellico: Del sito di Vinegia; La più antica guida di Venezia 'On the Site of Venice; the Oldest Guide to Venice'". Letteratura Artistica: Cross-cultural Studies in Art History Sources.
  31. Joyce Kennedy; Michael Kennedy; Tim Rutherford-Johnson, eds. (2012), "In Honour of the City of London", The Oxford Dictionary of Music (6th ed.), Oxford University Press.
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