The Library of a 'Humanist Prince' Federico da Montefeltro and His Manuscripts [by M.G. Critelli]

Federico Veterani (scribe)

d. after 1526

He was, with Matteo Contugi, one of the most famous and active scribe at the court of Federico da Montefeltro. He copied numerous Urbinati manuscripts, including Urb. lat. 326, Urb. lat. 349, Urb. lat. 419, Urb. lat. 420, Urb. lat. 651, Urb. lat. 1221; his activity as a illuminator remains a matter of dispute. Under Guidubaldo he became librarian of the Urbino collection, for which he also compiled an inventory.

Two notes in Urb. lat. 419 and Urb. lat. 651, dated between 1471 and 1472, cite that these were the first codices he copied, while he was still an adolescent. On f. 136v of this last manuscript, following the colophon («Terrentii [sic] Afri comici poetae clarissimi comoediarum liber explicit feliciter 1471 laus Deo»), he attaches a note that was certainly added after 1474, since on the inside it refers to the conferral of the ducal title: «Divo principi Federico Mon(te)fel(trensi) Urbini comiti qui postea dux a Sixto pont(ifice) 4° creatus est, ego Federicus Veteranus Urbinas transcripsi: et hic liber fuit primus qui alios complures transcribendi causam dedit: et tanti principis liberalitatem mihi conquisivit: cum in dies pulcriora conscripserim: et minio decoraverim»).

The same priority is claimed in a note written in Urb. lat. 419 after Federico’s death. The note is also in this case immediately after the colophon («Manu Federici Veterani Urbinatis pro ill(ustrissi)mo ac divino duce Federico Feretrano»), followed by a date that was later erased and interpreted as 1471 or 1472: «Scriptum Eugubii, in eius magnificentissima curia, fuitq(ue) hoc volumen in ordine scribendi p(ri)mum, et post hoc multa quoq(ue) exaravi bona cum gratia optimaq(ue) mercede ill(ustrissi)mi eiusdem ducis, cuius post obitum vitam mihi ace(r)bam putavi, quo cum interiisse satius erat, cum omnis spes omneq(ue) refugium meum interiisse cognovi et expertus sum» (f. 161r).

Urb. lat. 651, f. 136v - Urb. lat. 419, f. 161r 

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Together with Urb. lat. 419, Urb. lat. 420 contains the Historia Romana of Appian translated by Pier Candido Decembrio. The second volume of the work is devoid of a colophon, but Veterani adds two notes, evidently written long afterwards, claiming to have copied the manuscript as a teenager; one is placed along the lower margin of f. 1r («Manu mei Federici Veterani Urbinatis q(ui) hunc scripsi et hoc minio decoravi du(m) adhuc adolescens essem»); the other is rubricated and inscribed in a frame that takes the shape of a scroll placed at the bottom of the page, written at the end of the text, like a colophon («Et ego Federicus Veteranus Urbinas cum adhuc adolesce(n)s esse(m) imperante Ferico [sic] duce scripsi sed heu spes omnis mea periit illo decedente», f. 288v).

Urb.lat.420.f.1r.JPG
Urb. lat. 420, f. 1r

Urb. lat. 420, f. 288v 

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It has been observed that the manuscripts written by Veterani are generally «fairly incorrect, arbitrary in their interpolations, with lacunas of brief omissions due to the inattentiveness of the scribe» (original text: Campano, Braccii Perusini vita, p. XVIII). From the codicological point of view, they present a peculiarity in the shelfmarks of the quires in various manuscripts, which, in imitation of ancient models, are numbered with Roman numerals preceded by the letter Q, written to the lower right corner of the back of the last folio, inside the small column of internal justification, following the catchwords (e.g. Urb. lat. 326, 349, 419, 420, 651; see Derolez, La codicologie des manuscrits, I, pp. 40, 42). 

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A note in Urb. lat. 351 states that this was the last code he produced, due to the death of Federico («et cu(m) circiter sexaginta volumina exaraverit ultimu(m) hoc fuit ob principis interitu(m) cuius eterne dolendu(m) est», f. CCCLXXXIIr). After Federico's death, Veterani often wrote memoirs and nostalgic verses on the manuscripts he himself had copied years before. He died certainly after 1526 because in Urb. lat. 324 (f. 216v) he recalls the death of Elisabetta Gonzaga, which occurred that year.

Urb. lat. 351, f. CCCLXXXIIr - Urb. lat. 324, f. 216v 

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STORNAJOLO, Cod. Urb. Graeci, pp. XXIV-XXVIII; BÉNÉDICTINS DU BOUVERET, Colophons de manuscrits occidentaux, II, pp. 123-126, nrr. 4518-4544; CLOUGH, Federigo Veterani, pp. 772-783; DEROLEZ, La codicologie des manuscrits, I, p. 136 nr. 119; DE LA MARE, New research, p. 449 nt. 224; PERUZZI, Cultura potere immagine, pp. 74-76; FACHECHI, Federico Veterani, p. 989; FUMIAN, Autografia, prassi di bottega, pp. 55-66.

General Bibliography