Giovanni Villani

Giovanni Villani (v. 1276 - 1348) was a merchant, Chroniqueur and politician Florentin.

Biography

Giovanni Villani would have been born before 1276 in a family probably originating in the neighborhoods in Florence, of recent but related tradition to an big family of the city, and bound to the company of Buonaccorsi, whose his/her uncle, Mando del Bellincia, are deputy manager in 1307. No information came from to us on the intellectual formation of Giovanni during its youths.

Widower towards 1320 after a first marriage, it then marries a girl of the powerful family of the Pazzi. One realizes that by the means of the matrimonial policy followed by Villano, his/her father, it is the whole of the family which is binds to the business world: thus the sister, Lapa, marry it Pietro di Mando del Bellincia, their cousin and wire of the known as deputy manager of Buonaccorsi, whereas Matteo, the younger brother, marries LISA di Monte house of Buondelmonti. The two other brothers are as for them factors on behalf of Peruzzi. Thus, although of modest extraction and thanks to the clever matrimonial strategy carried out by their father, Giovanni and his brothers quickly enter to form integral part of the commercial upper classes florentine. Giovanni works initially for the company of Peruzzi, like his/her brothers Filippo and Francesco, and for which it goes to Bruges between 1301 and 1307; then the second time it enters to that of Buonaccorsi, where it joined his Matteo brother. The relations maintained with this last seem very strong and the two families remain dependant a long time after her death. From the years 1310 and its withdrawal of the company of Peruzzi, Giovanni is established in an apparently fixed way with Florence and starts there a political career, occupant successively various offices communal, in particular that of member of the college of the priors (1317, 1321,1328). The whole family enjoys obviously a solid reputation Guelfe, as the acts testify some to the lawsuits for Gibelin ism made an attempt vainly on Matteo.

It is about at the same time, probably in the third decade of the century, which it begins the drafting of the Nuova Cronica , contrary besides so that it announces itself. The political career of Giovanni however starts to decline after 1331. In load of a financial office between 1327-1328, it is indeed responsible for the taking away of the taxes intended to pay the heavy loads of the duke of Calabria and for this reason attracts itself the resentment of some of its fellow-citizens: shown embezzlements, it is cleared only after long years of lawsuit. It also suffers from the vagueness of bankruptcy, concerning with companies florentines. It does not occupy whereas some minor communal loads (envoy against its will like hostage with Ferrare in 1341).

He dies in 1348, victim of the epidemic of Peste. Matteo, his/her brother, continues the drafting of the chronicle then (over the period 1348-1363), imitated by his/her son, Filippo (1363-1364).

The point of view of the historian

The “ Nuova Cronica” represents for the historian a mine of information of all kinds on the political life, economic and cultural florentine of XIVe century. It is found thus very frequently mentioned like source in many studies on the subject: it will for this reason be enough for us to quote the history of Florence of Robert Davidsohn. Written in vulgar language (Florentin), it is in addition a text of a great literary interest, which places it among the fathers of the Italian language, with equal of its compatriot and contemporary Dante Alighieri.

In connection with the date of drafting of the Nuova Cronica

One knows that a first version in ten books circulated before 1333, when the large flood obliged Villani to mark a pause in its work. One second version, finished with the height of Book XI, chap. 51 was placed at the disposal of Antonio Pucci for a versification. Lastly, another version in twelve books existed, before Villani does not decide to re-examine the chapitrage of its work (division of the first chapter in two, origins of Florence then constituting the beginning of the second chapter in order to better underline the communal character of the chronicle). Moreover, as the letter shows it, already mentioned, of Francesco Buondelmonti in Giovanni Acciaiuoli, dated July 13rd, 1360, the chronicle knew a fast diffusion, at the point to arrive to the court of Naples in the decade following the death of the author. An important testimony to us is also provided by Villani itself when he tells the defeat florentine vis-a-vis Lucques and Pisa in 1341, date on which he was retained like official hostage with Ferrare.

XII 135: When the news of the defeat arrived, us Giovanni Villani, author of this work, were in Ferrare among the hostages left by our Commune near lord Mastino. One of our riding companions made me this request: “You who made ace and still memory of our last history and of the great events of the century, God did it makes let overcome Pisans, more sinners that us?

Thus, as of 1341, Villani is recognized by its entourage as Master of history. But it is difficult to know if the “riding companion” were informed of the work of Villani at the time of their common stay in the prisons ferraraises or if one must see in this extract a confirmation of the early and spread diffusion with Florence of certain passages, even of a first incomplete version, Nuova Cronica. Unfortunately, none the specimens arrived to us goes up beyond second half of XIVe century. The oldest copy identified by Giuseppe Carried date as for it of 1366-67. In connection with the drafting of the chronicle, here the stages suggested by Luigi Trenti :

starting from 1308 : Preparatory phase (retranscription of the old story, Books 1 to approximately 8)

starting from 1322 : Beginning of the recording of the facts, as from the year approximately 1280.

of 1333 to 1341 : Final drafting of the chronicle into vulgar, progressively continued until 1348.

There thus was well a phase of drafting or of final drafting, during which the maturation of the personal experience and the facts contemporary can have affected the rewriting of the chronicle. Giuseppe Porta thus distinguished some final improvements and additions, signs of a will of improvement or reinterpretation. Among those, one distinguishes two from them which testify to a negative consideration of the Islamic phenomenon. Franca Ragone identified the “book of the passage” or “delivers conquest”, mentioned three times by Villani, with the chronicle of Guillaume de Tyr, or rather with that of one of its continuators. However the portrait which Villani of the Saladin sultan paints us is completely deprived of the chivalrous and noble characteristics which are traditionally them his in the Christian literature, in particular in the work of the continuators of Guillaume de Tyr. To believing Giuseppe of it Carried, the chapter relating to the life of Mahomet also was the subject to him of final improvements and additions, in the direction of a more virulent reinterpretation of the vice of the sect mahométane. This revaluation of the moral type of the world arabo-Moslem, carried out at the time of the phase of final drafting of the years 1330-1348, can be read like a possible sign of the incidence in the work of second drafting of the contemporaneity of the Turkish projection in the East.
Another sign is the resumption of the idea of the passage overseas, or manner more general of the holy war carried out against the enemies of the Church (who can be also among the Christians, like the emperor Frederic II). Alphonse Dupront called XIVe century the “time of the back Croisade S”: the abandonment of the companies crossed after the fall of Saint-Jean-D' Acre in 1291 does not mark according to him the renouncement of the idea of crusade, which continues to be perpetrated throughout the next century. It will be enough to quote the sermons of the Dominican mystic Catherine of His: the example is certainly late (second half of XIVe century, after the death of Villani thus) but pilot of an ideological and mental situation which plunges its roots at least at the beginning of the century, even front still. Admittedly it is also necessary to take into account the weight of the ideology guelfe, which with its manner pushes the author to idealize the war with the service of the Church. But there is doubtless another thing: the Turkish attacks in Anatolia, then towards Constantinople even, strongly shake the Occident. The idea of crusade against the Turks is marked in 1344 per Clément VI, who invites the Tuscan cities (Pisa and Florence in particular) to support king Hugues of Cyprus, Venice and the Knights of Rhodos against the “hostes prophani and blasphemi and persecutores crudeles fidei Christi”. The Greek defeats vis-a-vis the Turkish armies in years 1330-1340 mark obviously Villani, conscious that it is doing without something more important than of simple confrontations. It thus gives an account of a change in the relationship between the Greeks and the Turkish world, of an inversion of domination and one period end.

XI 149: Turks reflect the Greeks in defeat, and little escaped from it compared with the number of dead and prisoners. And the Greeks lost all the ground beyond the Holy Arm George of the Bosphorus, and thereafter the Greeks had neither to be able nor seigniory any more.

(“E Turchi venuti idiot large esercito assalirono the oste de' Cristiani E Greci, E misongli inn-isconfitta, E pochi scamparono che not fossono presi O morti; E perderono tutta will terra it there di dal braccio San Giorgio, che poi not v' ebbono I Greci nullo podere O signoria”.)

In the last books, where precisely the chronology of the account approaches the moment of the writing to arrive at a situation of quasi-simultaneity, the confrontations between Christian ships and Turkish, soldiers or merchants, are brought back in the shape of briefs chapters, very short, of some lines only: Villani arrives there at an almost spontaneous drafting, writing succession of the events progressively. Those are generally of low importance: here these are ten ships génois which are taken with Sinope, there they are forty Venetian merchants, génois and florentins which is taken with broad Tana. The facts of little importance are treated same manner that the crossed large companies, because all belong to the same phenomenon, too recent to allow a certain distance vis-a-vis the event and thus a relativistic attitude.

The poet Dante Alighieri, seen by Giovanni Villani ( Nuova Cronica , Delivers X, chapter 136)

Chi fue it poeta Dante Allighieri di Firenze. Nel detto ass MCCCXXI, LED mass di luglio, morì Dante Allighieri di Firenze it città di Ravenna in Romagna, essendo tornato of ambasceria da Vinegia in servigio de' signori da Polenta, idiot cui dimorava; E in Ravenna dinanzi with carried chiesa maggiore fue sepellito has large onore in abito di poeta E di large filosafo. Morì in Common esilio LED di Firenze in età circa LVI ass. Questo Dante fue onorevole E antico cittadino di Firenze di carried San Piero, E nostro vicino; E “L suo esilio di Firenze fu per cagione, che quando messer Carlo di Valos of put di Francia venne in Firenze ass MCCCI, E caccionne leaves it bianca, like adietro” tempi E fatta menzione, it detto Dante will era de' maggiori governatori of will nostra città E di quella leaves, bucket che Guelfo pit; E però sanza will altra colpa Co the detta leaves bianca fue cacciato E sbandito di Firenze, E andossene has lo Studio has Bologna, E poi has Parigi, E in più left LED mondo. Large Questi fue letterato quasi in ogni scienza, tutto pit laico; fue sommo poeta E filosafo, E rettorico perfetto tanto in dittare, versificare, as in aringa parlare, nobilissimo dicitore, in rima sommo, collar più pulito E bello stile che May pit in will nostra lingua infino Al suo tempo E più innanzi. Deposit in sweated giovanezza I•libro of Vita nova of amore; E poi quando fue in esilio deposits da XX canzoni morali E of amore molto eccellenti, E in will tra•the altre deposits tre nobili sprays; the una mandò Al reggimento di Firenze dogliendosi LED suo esilio sanza colpa; mandò has lo “mperadore Arrigo quand' will altra will era with the assedio di Brescia, riprendendolo beyond sweated stanza, quasi profetezzando; the terza has” cardinali italiani, quand' will era the vacazione dopo the dead di dad Chimento, acciò che accordassono has eleggere dad italiano; tutte in latino idiot viola dittato, E idiot eccellenti sentenzie E autoritadi, the quali furono molto commendate da' savi intenditori. E deposits Commedia, ove in pulita rima, E grown idiot E sottili questioni morali, naturali, strolaghe, filosofiche, E teologhe, idiot beautiful E nuove figure, comparazioni, E poetrie, compuose E trattò in cento capitoli, overo canti, dell' essere E istato LED ninferno, purgatorio, E paradiso così altamente as to say was not posed, sì like per lo detto suo trattato if può vedere E intendere, chi E di sottile intelletto. Bucket if dilettò in quella Commedia di garrire E sclamare has guisa di poeta, forse in leaves più che not if convenia; my forse it suo esilio gliele deposits. Deposit will ancora Monarchia, ove trattò of the oficio degli “mperadori. Questo Dante per lo suo savere fue alquanto presuntuoso E schifo E isdegnoso, E quasi has guisa di filosafo badly grazioso not bucket sapea conversare Co” laici; my per the altre sweats virtudi E scienza E valore di tanto cittadino does not avoid che if convenga di dargli perpetuated memoria in questa will nostra cronica, idiot tutto che per sweats it nobili operates lasciateci in iscritture facciamo di him vero testimonio E onorabile fama with will nostra cittade.

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