Natale Conti or LatinNatalis Comes, also Natalis de Comitibus and FrenchNoël le Comte (1520–1582) was an Italian mythographer, poet, humanist and historian. His major work Mythologiae,[1] ten books written in Latin, was first published in Venice in 1567[2] and became a standard source for classical mythology in later Renaissance Europe. It was reprinted in numerous editions;[3] after 1583, these were appended with a treatise on the Muses by Geoffroi Linocier. By the end of the 17th century, his name was virtually synonymous with mythology: a French dictionary in defining the term mythologie noted that it was the subject written about by Natalis Comes.[4]
Natale Conti
Title page of the second edition of Mythologiae sive Explicationum fabularum libri decem (1568)
Conti believed that the ancient poets had meant for their presentations of myths to be read as allegory, and accordingly constructed intricate genealogical associations within which he found layers of meaning.[5] Since Conti was convinced that the lost philosophy of Classical Antiquity could be recovered through understanding these allegories, "The most apocryphical and outlandish versions of classical and pseudo-classical tales," notes Ernst Gombrich,[6] "are here displayed and commented upon as the ultimate esoteric wisdom."
Taking a Euhemeristic approach, Conti thought that the characters in myth were idealized human beings, and that the stories contained philosophical insights syncretized through the ages and veiled so that only "initiates" would grasp their true meaning. His interpretations were often shared by other Renaissance writers, notably by Francis Bacon in his long-overlooked De Sapientia Veterum, 1609.[7] In some cases, his interpretation might seem commonplace even in modern mythology: for Conti, the centaur represents "man's dual nature," both animal passions and higher intellectual faculties.[8]Odysseus, for instance, becomes an Everyman whose wanderings represent a universal life cycle:
Conti creates an ahistorical mythology that he hopes will reconnect his readers to their own primordial archetypal hero. He assumed that his readers wanted to see their reflections in the literary mirror of the archetypal Greek hero, but when gazing into such a 'mirror,' the reflection must be divested of its particular ethnicity and historicity. For Conti, myth was a literary artifact on which the mythographer could freely use his imagination to reinvent the literal subject matter into a kind of 'metatext,' which the interpreter reconstructs into his idealized self-imaging text.[9]
Despite or because of its eccentricities, the Mythologiae inspired the use of myth in various art forms. A second edition, printed in Venice in 1568 and dedicated to Charles IX, like the first edition, was popular in France, where it served as a source for the Ballet comique de la Reine (1581), part of wedding festivities at court. The Ballet was a musical drama with dancing set in an elaborate recreation of the island of Circe. The surviving text associated with the performance presents four allegorical expositions, based explicitly on Comes' work: physical or natural, moral, temporal, and logical or interpretive.[10]
The allegorization of myth was criticized during the Romantic era; Benedetto Croce said that medieval and Renaissance literature and art presented only the "impoverished shell of myth." The 16th-century mythological manuals of Conti and others came to be regarded as pedantic and lacking aesthetic or intellectual coherence.[11]
Nor were criticisms of Conti confined to later times: Joseph Scaliger, twenty years his junior, called him "an utterly useless man" and advised Setho Calvisio not to use him as a source.[12]
Conti, whose family (according to his own statement) originated in Rome, was born in Milan.[13] He described himself as "Venetian"[14] because his working life was spent in Venice.
NotesEdit
^In full Mythologiae sive explicationis fabularum libri decem, in quibus omnia prope Naturalis & Moralis Philosophiae dogmata contenta fuisse demonstratur
^A supposed 1551 edition is a phantom, as Barbara Carman Garner has demonstrated (see Garner, "Francis Bacon, Natalis Comes and the Mythological Tradition", Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes33 (1970), pp. 264-291. A publication date of 1551 is still cited frequently, though erroneously, in scholarship of the late-20th and early-21st centuries.
^H. David Brumble, "Let Us Make Gods in Our Image: Greek Myth in Medieval and Renaissance Literature," in The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology p. 420 online.
^Jean Seznec, The survival of the pagan gods: the mythological tradition and its place in Renaissance humanism and art, translated by Barbara F. Sessions (Princeton University Press, 1935, 1995), p. 308, note 69.
^Arthur B. Ferguson, Utter Antiquity: Perceptions of Prehistory in Renaissance England (Duke University Press, 1993), p. 37 online.
^Ernst Gombrich, "The Subject of Poussin's Orion," in Symbolic Images: Studies in the art of the Renaissance II (1972), p.120 [1]
^Charles W. Lemmi, The Classic Deities in Bacon: a study in mythological symbolism, 1933: Bacon "accepted Natale Conti as the leading light on the subject", p. 45; F.H. Anderson, The Philosophy of Francis Bacon, 1948, p. 57; Paolo Rossi (Sacha Rabinovitch, tr.) Francis Bacon: From Magic to Science (1957) 1968.
^Jonathan Bate, Shakespeare and Ovid (Oxford University Press, 1993), p. 195, note 34 online.
^Elliott M Simon, The Myth of Sisyphus: Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2005), pp. 98–101 online.
^Frances A. Yates, The French Academies of the Sixteenth Century (Taylor & Francis, 1948, 1988), pp. 237–240 online.
^Stephen Campbell, The Cabinet of Eros: Renaissance Mythological Painting and the Studiolo of Isabella d'Este (Yale University Press, 2004), p. 7 online.
^Jean Seznec, The survival of the pagan gods, p. 232 online.
^For example, on the title page of his translation of Athenaeus' Deipnosophists: "Athenaei Dipnosophistarum sive coenae sapientium libri XV, Natale de Comitibus Veneto nunc primum e Graeca in Latinam linguam vertente" (Venice, 1556).
Further readingEdit
Natale Conti's Mythologiae, translated and annotated by John Mulryan and Steven Brown, vol. 1-2 (Tempe: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (ACMRS), 2006) (Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 316).
Natale Conti, Mitología, translation with notes and introduction by Rosa María Iglesias Montiel and Maria Consuelo Álvarez Morán (Universidad de Murcia, 1988). In Spanish. Navigate table of contents to download chapters.
Maria Consuelo Álvarez Morán and Rosa María Iglesias Montiel, "Algunas lecturas de textos latinos en la Mythologia de Natalis Comes," Cuadernos de Filología Clásica 20 (1986) 31-39, full text
Maria Consuelo Álvarez Morán and Rosa María Iglesias Montiel, "Natale Conti, estudioso y transmisor de textos clásicos" in Los humanistas españoles y el humanismo europeo (Murcia, 1990), pp. 33–47.
Maria Consuelo Álvarez Morán, Rosa María Iglesias Montiel, "Isacius en la Mythologia de Natalis Comes", Euphrosyne 31 (2003) 395-402.
Virgilio Costa, "I frammenti di Filocoro tràditi da Boccaccio e Natale Conti", in E. Lanzillotta (ed.), Ricerche di Antichità e Tradizione Classica (Edizioni TORED, Tivoli [Roma], 2004), pp. 117–147.
Virgilio Costa, "Natale Conti e la divulgazione della mitologia classica in Europa tra Cinquecento e Seicento", in E. Lanzillotta (ed.), Ricerche di Antichità e Tradizione Classica (Edizioni TORED, Tivoli [Roma], 2004), pp. 257–311.
Virgilio Costa, "«Quum mendaciis fallere soleat». Ancora sui frammenti della storiografia greca tràditi da Natale Conti", in C. Braidotti - E. Dettori - E. Lanzillotta (eds.), οὐ πᾶν ἐφήμερον. Scritti in memoria di Roberto Pretagostini, vol. II (Università di Roma Tor Vergata, 2009), pp. 915–925.
Rosa María Iglesias Montiel and Consuelo Álvarez Morán, "Los manuales mitológicos del Renacimiento", Auster 3 (1998). 83-99.
Robert Thake, "A largely unexplored account of the Great Siege", Treasures of Malta, Vol XVIII No.1, (Christmas, 2011).
External linksEdit
Media related to Natalis Comes (1520–1582) at Wikimedia Commons
Images from a 1616 edition
October 17, 2023
natalis, comes, natale, conti, latin, also, natalis, comitibus, french, noël, comte, 1520, 1582, italian, mythographer, poet, humanist, historian, major, work, mythologiae, books, written, latin, first, published, venice, 1567, became, standard, source, classi. Natale Conti or Latin Natalis Comes also Natalis de Comitibus and French Noel le Comte 1520 1582 was an Italian mythographer poet humanist and historian His major work Mythologiae 1 ten books written in Latin was first published in Venice in 1567 2 and became a standard source for classical mythology in later Renaissance Europe It was reprinted in numerous editions 3 after 1583 these were appended with a treatise on the Muses by Geoffroi Linocier By the end of the 17th century his name was virtually synonymous with mythology a French dictionary in defining the term mythologie noted that it was the subject written about by Natalis Comes 4 Natale ContiTitle page of the second edition ofMythologiae sive Explicationum fabularum libri decem 1568 BornNatale Conti1520MilanDied1582NationalityItalianOccupation s writer historian mythographerConti believed that the ancient poets had meant for their presentations of myths to be read as allegory and accordingly constructed intricate genealogical associations within which he found layers of meaning 5 Since Conti was convinced that the lost philosophy of Classical Antiquity could be recovered through understanding these allegories The most apocryphical and outlandish versions of classical and pseudo classical tales notes Ernst Gombrich 6 are here displayed and commented upon as the ultimate esoteric wisdom Taking a Euhemeristic approach Conti thought that the characters in myth were idealized human beings and that the stories contained philosophical insights syncretized through the ages and veiled so that only initiates would grasp their true meaning His interpretations were often shared by other Renaissance writers notably by Francis Bacon in his long overlooked De Sapientia Veterum 1609 7 In some cases his interpretation might seem commonplace even in modern mythology for Conti the centaur represents man s dual nature both animal passions and higher intellectual faculties 8 Odysseus for instance becomes an Everyman whose wanderings represent a universal life cycle Conti creates an ahistorical mythology that he hopes will reconnect his readers to their own primordial archetypal hero He assumed that his readers wanted to see their reflections in the literary mirror of the archetypal Greek hero but when gazing into such a mirror the reflection must be divested of its particular ethnicity and historicity For Conti myth was a literary artifact on which the mythographer could freely use his imagination to reinvent the literal subject matter into a kind of metatext which the interpreter reconstructs into his idealized self imaging text 9 Despite or because of its eccentricities the Mythologiae inspired the use of myth in various art forms A second edition printed in Venice in 1568 and dedicated to Charles IX like the first edition was popular in France where it served as a source for the Ballet comique de la Reine 1581 part of wedding festivities at court The Ballet was a musical drama with dancing set in an elaborate recreation of the island of Circe The surviving text associated with the performance presents four allegorical expositions based explicitly on Comes work physical or natural moral temporal and logical or interpretive 10 The allegorization of myth was criticized during the Romantic era Benedetto Croce said that medieval and Renaissance literature and art presented only the impoverished shell of myth The 16th century mythological manuals of Conti and others came to be regarded as pedantic and lacking aesthetic or intellectual coherence 11 Nor were criticisms of Conti confined to later times Joseph Scaliger twenty years his junior called him an utterly useless man and advised Setho Calvisio not to use him as a source 12 Conti whose family according to his own statement originated in Rome was born in Milan 13 He described himself as Venetian 14 because his working life was spent in Venice Notes Edit In full Mythologiae sive explicationis fabularum libri decem in quibus omnia prope Naturalis amp Moralis Philosophiae dogmata contenta fuisse demonstratur A supposed 1551 edition is a phantom as Barbara Carman Garner has demonstrated see Garner Francis Bacon Natalis Comes and the Mythological Tradition Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 33 1970 pp 264 291 A publication date of 1551 is still cited frequently though erroneously in scholarship of the late 20th and early 21st centuries H David Brumble Let Us Make Gods in Our Image Greek Myth in Medieval and Renaissance Literature in The Cambridge Companion to Greek Mythology p 420 online Jean Seznec The survival of the pagan gods the mythological tradition and its place in Renaissance humanism and art translated by Barbara F Sessions Princeton University Press 1935 1995 p 308 note 69 Arthur B Ferguson Utter Antiquity Perceptions of Prehistory in Renaissance England Duke University Press 1993 p 37 online Ernst Gombrich The Subject of Poussin s Orion in Symbolic Images Studies in the art of the Renaissance II 1972 p 120 1 Charles W Lemmi The Classic Deities in Bacon a study in mythological symbolism 1933 Bacon accepted Natale Conti as the leading light on the subject p 45 F H Anderson The Philosophy of Francis Bacon 1948 p 57 Paolo Rossi Sacha Rabinovitch tr Francis Bacon From Magic to Science 1957 1968 Jonathan Bate Shakespeare and Ovid Oxford University Press 1993 p 195 note 34 online Elliott M Simon The Myth of Sisyphus Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 2005 pp 98 101 online Frances A Yates The French Academies of the Sixteenth Century Taylor amp Francis 1948 1988 pp 237 240 online Stephen Campbell The Cabinet of Eros Renaissance Mythological Painting and theStudioloof Isabella d Este Yale University Press 2004 p 7 online Jean Seznec The survival of the pagan gods p 232 online Mythologiae III 17 see p 205 For example on the title page of his translation of Athenaeus Deipnosophists Athenaei Dipnosophistarum sive coenae sapientium libri XV Natale de Comitibus Veneto nunc primum e Graeca in Latinam linguam vertente Venice 1556 Further reading EditNatale Conti s Mythologiae translated and annotated by John Mulryan and Steven Brown vol 1 2 Tempe Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies ACMRS 2006 Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies 316 Natale Conti Mitologia translation with notes and introduction by Rosa Maria Iglesias Montiel and Maria Consuelo Alvarez Moran Universidad de Murcia 1988 In Spanish Navigate table of contents to download chapters Maria Consuelo Alvarez Moran and Rosa Maria Iglesias Montiel Algunas lecturas de textos latinos en la Mythologia de Natalis Comes Cuadernos de Filologia Clasica 20 1986 31 39 full text downloadable Maria Consuelo Alvarez Moran and Rosa Maria Iglesias Montiel Natale Conti estudioso y transmisor de textos clasicos in Los humanistas espanoles y el humanismo europeo Murcia 1990 pp 33 47 Maria Consuelo Alvarez Moran Rosa Maria Iglesias Montiel Isacius en la Mythologia de Natalis Comes Euphrosyne 31 2003 395 402 Virgilio Costa I frammenti di Filocoro traditi da Boccaccio e Natale Conti in E Lanzillotta ed Ricerche di Antichita e Tradizione Classica Edizioni TORED Tivoli Roma 2004 pp 117 147 Virgilio Costa Natale Conti e la divulgazione della mitologia classica in Europa tra Cinquecento e Seicento in E Lanzillotta ed Ricerche di Antichita e Tradizione Classica Edizioni TORED Tivoli Roma 2004 pp 257 311 Virgilio Costa Quum mendaciis fallere soleat Ancora sui frammenti della storiografia greca traditi da Natale Conti in C Braidotti E Dettori E Lanzillotta eds oὐ pᾶn ἐfhmeron Scritti in memoria di Roberto Pretagostini vol II Universita di Roma Tor Vergata 2009 pp 915 925 Rosa Maria Iglesias Montiel and Consuelo Alvarez Moran Los manuales mitologicos del Renacimiento Auster 3 1998 83 99 Robert Thake A largely unexplored account of the Great Siege Treasures of Malta Vol XVIII No 1 Christmas 2011 External links Edit nbsp Media related to Natalis Comes 1520 1582 at Wikimedia Commons Images from a 1616 edition Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Natalis Comes amp oldid 1153647185, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
