ABSTRACT
The reception of Boccaccio in medieval and Renaissance Italy is a rich and complex one, which varied over time and ref lected established cultural trends, as well as the tastes of less culturally prominent readers. Studies which have focused on critical evidence have effectively illustrated how aspects of Boccaccio’s authorial image were selected and manipulated in accordance with the reader’s individual relationship to humanism, since it was readers who helped to shape, or were shaped by, the development of humanism who tended to express their views on Boccaccio and his works in written documents. The emphasis on material evidence adopted in this study can both confirm the conclusions generated by the critical evidence, and reveal aspects of Boccaccio’s reception which might otherwise be hidden or overlooked. For example, in manuscript form De mulieribus seems to have commanded the most consistently cultured and wealthy owners, supporting the impression given by the critical responses that this work enjoyed a higher status than many of the vernacular works. It is thus no surprise that Salutati, who pre sented an image of himself as a cultivator of Latin works and of Boccaccio in his letters, owned a copy of De mulieribus. Likewise, Vespasiano let it be known that the Duke of Urbino owned copies of Boccaccio’s Latin works. However, Lorenzo de’ Medici is best known in the context of Boccaccio’s reception for his promotion of the Tuscan vernacular and his support for the Decameron. The fact that he owned an extremely high quality copy of Boccaccio’s collected works in Latin reveals an additional dimension to the cultural taste he promoted in public and indicates that his private interest in the author extended beyond linguistic concerns.
