Suetonius In Volgare: An Overlooked Italian Translation by Dante Popoleschi (London, British Library MS Harley 3390

Abstract

This article discusses the Italian translation of Suetonius's Lives of the Twelve Caesars by Dante Popoleschi, a little-known Florentine humanist and member of the Orti Oricellari in the early sixteenth century. Since Popoleschi's translation, which is preserved in a single manuscript copy dedicated to King François Ier of France (London, British Library MS Harley 3390), has never been studied in detail and, moreover, is unknown to present-day students of Suetonius, this contribution aims to examine the work both in its own right and in comparison to Popoleschi's volgarizzamenti of Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War and Donato Acciaiuoli's Life of Scipio. By placing Popoleschi's version of Suetonius in its original cultural-historical context, it also sheds new light on his life, works and translation activity.