Catalogue entries of copies of the Italian translation of Celestina not in my revision of Scoles’ catalogue

As part of the preliminar work for my current research I am revisiting my catalogue of the known editions of the Italian translation of Celestina (recently made available at CORE, because it does not seem as if I will be working on that for a while). Even if I thought that it was quite complete, I have found new copies in the on-line catalogues of different American and European libraries. Here is the list (26 “new”copies):

  • Tragicocomedia di Calisto e Melibea, Roma, Eucario Silber, 29th of January 1506 (R06): 4 “new” copies

    1. Madrid, Biblioteca de D. Francisco Zabálburu (last leaves wanting)
    2. Trent, Biblioteca Diocesana Vigilianum, dvgg2Y 106 (no title page)
    3. Saint Petersburg, Rossijskaja Nacional’naja Biblioteka, 6.19.4.87
    4. Santander, Biblioteca de Menéndez Pelayo, 30.023 (first leaves wanting)
  • Tragicocomedia di Calisto e Melibea, Vicenzo Minuziano, January 1515 (M15): 4 “new” copies

    1. Huesca, Biblioteca Pública del Estado (according to CCPB)
    2. Milan, Biblioteca Sormani, VET.F VET.493
    3. Orvierto, Biblioteca Pubblica Luigi Fumi (according to EDIT16)
    4. Parma, Biblioteca Palatina (according to EDIT16)
  • Tragicocomedia di Calisto e Melibea, Milan, Ioanne Angelo Scinzenzeler, 16th March 1519 (M19): 1 “new” copy

    1. Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional de España, R/11194
  • Tragicocomedia di Calisto e Melibea, Venecia, Cesare Arrivabene, 10th of December 1519 (V19): 3 “new” copies

    1. Ferrara, Biblioteca Comunale Ariostea, L 11.4.3
    2. Venice, Biblioteca del Museo Correr, INC. I 116
    3. Como, Biblioteca Comunale (according to EDIT16)
  • Tragicocomedia di Calisto e Melibea, Venecia, Gregorio de Gregori, November 1525 (V25a): 3 “new” copies

    1. Parma, Biblioteca Palatina (according to EDIT16)
    2. Prague, Národni Knihovna České Republiky, 9 K 547 (not in the on-line catalogue but in Google Books)
    3. Stockholm, Kungliga Biblioteket, 137 P c Celestina (not sure if V25a, V25b or V25c)
  • Tragicocomedia di Calisto e Melibea, Venecia, Francesco Caron, November 1525 (V25b): 1 “new” copy

    1. Verona, Seminario Vescovile (according to EDIT16)
  • Tragicocomedia di Calisto e Melibea, [Venecia], Marchiò Sessa, 10th of February 1531 (V31a): 3 “new” copies

    1. Los Angeles, Getty Research Institute, PQ6427 .I8 1531 (ejemplar digitalizado en Archive.org y Hathi Trust)
    2. Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III, F.DORIA 3. 27
    3. Semur-en-Auxois, Bibliothèque Municipale, I XI 2263
  • Tragicocomedia di Calisto e Melibea, Venecia, Francesco di Alessandro Bindoni e Maffeo Pasini, June 1531 (V31b): 1 “new” copy

    1. Saint Petersburg, Rossijskaja Nacional’naja Biblioteka, 6.17.7.47
  • Tragicocomedia de Calisto y Melibea, [Venecia], Pietro de Nicolini da Sabio, julio de 1535 (V35): 3 “new” copies

    1. Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, 8° 44885 (lost since 1958)
    2. Saint Petersburg, Rossijskaja Nacional’naja Biblioteka, 6.17.7.48
    3. Verona, Biblioteca del Seminario Vescovile (according to EDIT16)
  • Tragicocomedia de Calisto y Melibea, [Venecia], Giovanni Antonio e Pietro de Nicolini da Sabio, marzo de 1541 (V41): 3 “new” copies

    1. Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, 8° 44535-1 [Res]
    2. Paris, Univeristé de la Sorbonne, RXVIB 6= 30
    3. Parma, Biblioteca Palatina (according to EDIT16)

Catalogue entries of copies of Celestina not in Philobiblon and/or COMEDIC (until 1600)

In order to optimise time and money, I decided to make a list of all the known copies of Celestina kept at public libraries in Europa and America, so that I can check the biggest amount of editions with the smallest number of trips. As a result, I have found some copies of Celestina that are neither included in Philobiblon, nor in COMEDIC, or, at least, the on-line catalogue entries for them. In case you should be planning a trip to check Celestina editions as well, I am sharing this information with you.

  • Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, Antwerp, Guillaume Montano, 1539: 1 “new” copy

    1. Cambridge (UK), University of Cambridge (Queen’s College Old Library), E.16.2: I am not really sure if this copy exists or not, as the catalogue entry states that there are no available copies. In any case, it seems very likely to me that this means just missing information on the digital catalogue, not that it does not exist or is lost.
  • Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, Venice, Gabriel Giolito de Ferrariis and his brothers, 1553: 3 “new” copies
    1. Burnaby, Simon Fraser University, PQ 6427.5 C35
    2. Cuenca, Seminario Mayor o Conciliar de San Julián, CU-BSC, 209-D-04: It is catalogued as Introductione del signor Alphonso di Uglioa, but it is very unlikely that it is limited to that piece, as the description implies a copy of 160 leaves (the  IntroductioneEspositione in lingua thoscana is but 24 leaves long –last blank–, that is, signatures *, **, ***). This is but an incomplete copy: signatures **, *** and A seem to be wanting, and the Introductione seems to have been at the beginning and not at the end.
    3. Los Angeles, University of California Los Angeles, Z233.G4 R64ce 1553
  • Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, Venice, Gabriel Giolito de Ferrariis and his brothers, 1556: 1 “new” copy
    1. Schwäbisch Hall, Ratsbibliothek beim Stadtarchiv Schwäbisch Hall, Oct.294
  • Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, Antwerp, widow of Martín Nucio, 1558: 1 “new” copy

    1. Hannover, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Bibliothek, Lr 4591: more interesting than this new copy is the fact that Philobiblon does not include this edition in its database, despite there being several surviving copies and it appearing in the USTC
  • Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, Amberes, Philippo Nucio, 1568: 5 “new” copies

    1. Hannover, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Bibliothek, Lr 4592
    2. Mannheim, Universität Mannheim, Mf s 052
    3. Milan, Biblioteca Sormani, VET.C VET.58
    4. Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 0001/8 P.hisp. 55: the curious bit about this is, again, that this edition is not included in Philobiblon, despite a lot of copies and surviving and this one being digitised in BSB
    5. Solothurn, Solothurn Zentralbibliothek, ZBS QC 184
  • Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, [Leiden], Oficina Plantiniana, 1595: 1 “new” copy

    1. Göttingen, Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, 8 FAB II, 270 RARA
  • Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, [Leiden], Oficina Plantiniana, 1599: 11 “new” copies

    1. Erfurt, Universitätsbibliothek Erfurt, 03 – Lp. 8° 00551
    2. Göttingen, Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, 8 FAB II, 272 RARA
    3. Halle, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt, Dk 1224 y an Dl 2593 (3) (1): I am not quite sure about the second copy, as it is photocopiable and might be a moder reproduction or facsimile. However, until I confirm or refute this, it counts.
    4. Moscow, Российская государственная библиотека (Russian State Library), 50-6459047: I could not find a permalink to this record, but it is easy to find in the on-line catalogue
    5. Oldenburg, Landesbibliothek, SPR XVII A 57,1
    6. Salzburg, Universität Salzburg, I 73403
    7. Schwerin, Landesbibliothek Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Ol V 890
    8. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, HB 420
    9. Trent, Biblioteca Diocesana Vigilianum, dvd-S.M.C. 89
    10. Winchester, Winchester College, M12 Bk1936: No permalink for this one, as well, but it is in COPAC
    11. Wroclaw, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka, 451607 y 451608

Having a look at the list, I would not be surprised if we keep finding new copies at German libraries, as they seem not to have been researched in depth until now. Not for nothing, a totally unknown edition of Celestina (Seville, [Jacobo Cromberger], 1502 [but 1516, before April]) was recently found at Gotha, Universitäts- und Forschungsbibliothek Erfurt/Gotha (signature 03 – Lp. 8° 00550). Moreover, I think I might have located a further edition neither present in Philobiblon nor in COMEDIC at an Italian library, but I have still not been able to confirm this.

My resources: Revised catalogue of the editions of the Italian translation of Celestina

Following an interesting Twitter discussion started by our fellow medievalist Clara Jáuregui (whose blog can be read here), I decided to heed the advice given there and upload my revision of the catalogue of the editions of the Italian translation of Celestina by Emma Scoles to CORE, the digital repository of Humanities Commons.

Screenshot_CORE

In it, celestinesque scholars will find information on the known editions of the Italian translation of Celestina by Alphonso Hordognez, with or without known surviving copies, and on their current location. This catalogue identifies ghost editions and potentially lost editions, and provides extensive bibliographical information on the editorial history of Celestina in Italian as well.

This research dates from 2012 and my ideas on the topic might have changed since then, but it should still be up-to-date regarding the number of known copies and their location, although some of the links might be outdated. I aim to complete this catalogue some time with a preliminary study on the editorial history of Celestina in Italy and more detailed informations on the particular editions, however, I felt that it was a shame to keep this useful research tool to myself for so long. Luckily, CORE offers the opportunity to share unpublished work in a quotable way. So, please, take this as a late-Christmas present and feel free to use my catalogue for your research.

My resources collection: Title pages of Comedia de Calisto y Melibea.

Two on-line projects on the early Celestina: HSMS-DLOST and TeXTReD

The Early “Celestina” Electronic Texts and Concordances exist in CD-ROM since 1997 but, despite their native digital format, they have not been made available on-line until the past year. Concretely in 2015 the Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies added Celestina to their list of available corpora at the Digital Library of Old Spanish Texts (HSMS-DLOST), and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Wisconsin has only needed a few months to take advantage of this and launch their own website devoted to the early texts of Celestina as part of its own project TeXTReD.

Sin título 1The Early “Celestina” Electronic Texts and Concordances includes semi-paleographic transcriptions of all extant exemplars of the Comedia, of all known editions of the Tragicomedia in Castilian through 1530, and of the unique extant manuscript witness, totalling twenty-one transcriptions. In the HSMS-DLOST, these serve as a basis for interactive indexes (alphabetical, frequency, and reverse alphabetical) and concordances, their purpose being allowing scholars to do “detailed stylistic, lexical and textological studies to analyze more closely the questions of authorship and the relationship between Comedia and Tragicomedia printings”. Therefore, they serve a highly specialised function and are oriented towards a scholar audience.

Sin títuloBy contrast, the TeXTReD project sacrifices the interactivity of the HSMH-DLOST. It exclusively provides transcriptions, indexes, and concordances, in plain text, but it adds a visual component: besides the transcriptions, the indexes, and the concordances, of the HSMS-DLOST, the TeXTReD website provides links to digital facsimiles of some (three) of the transcribed texts; more specifically, those kept in the Hispanic Society of America. Moreover, there are digitisations of additional editions of Celestina kept at the Hispanic Society, in Spanish and in Italian, of the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, not relevant for the Early “Celestina” Electronic Texts and Concordances but still interesting for anyone working on Celestina. However, all this features are completely independent and there is no option for visualising text and facsimile simultaneously, therefore, this site is very interesting as a resource for teaching and/or research materials, but not a research tool in itself.

In conclusion, the TeXTReD project is particularly oblivious to the possibilities of Digital Humanities, while the HSMH-DLOST project takes advantage of the possibilities of linking contents, but is too static and does not include any visual component. However, despite these defects, both projects are a good point of departure and provide useful materials for further research and, above all, for future digital editions of Celestina.

Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search