From Francesco Caglioti, “Francesco Sforza e il Filelfo, Bonifacio Bembo e 'compagni': nove prosopopee inedite per il ciclo di antichi eroi ed eroine nelle corte ducale dell'Arengo a Milano (1456-61 circa), Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, 38, Bd., H. 2/3 (1994), pp. 183-217.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27654380

Zusammenfassung

Verstreute Dokumente und Quellen der Kunstliteratur unterrichen uns darüber, dass unter der Herrschaft von Francesco I. Sforza Bonifacio Bembo und andere lombardische Maler im Auftrag des Herzogs im Hof des wiederhergestellen Palastes der Visconti einen Zyklus von Helden des Altertums ausführten – also in demselben auch “Arengo” oder “Corte Ducale” genannten Gebäudekomplex in der Nähe des Domes, den Giotto mit einem thematisch verwanden Fresko geschmückt hatte. Aus einer berühmte Humanist, der in den 50er Jahren des 15. Jahrhunderts als Hofdichter in Mailand weilte, poetische Epigramme für die einzelnen Gestalten verfassen sollte. Diese Unternehmung lässt sich nach Abwägung aller Zeugnisse in die Jahre 1456-61 datieren.
Hier werden die neun bisher unbekannten Epigramme nach drei Manuskripten veröffentlicht, von denen zwei dem Nicodemo Tranchedini, einem Ratgeber des Herzogs und Freund von Filelfo, gehört haben, als Teil einer Neuedition des gesamtem Zyklus nach Kollationierung aller nachweisbaren Handschriften auch für die anderen neun, seit dem 18. Jahrhundert mehrfach abgedruckten Gedichte.
Nach der Vervollständigung des Zykols werden seine klassischen Quellen erkennbar. Für einzelne sonst unbekannte Gestalten beruht die Ikonographie auf Xenophon (Kyropaedie), im übrigen vor allem auf Plutarch (Moralia), während die Struktur des Darstellungsprogramms, das neun Paare vorsah, dessen Vitae parallelae entlehnt ist. Von hier aus eröffnetsich ein Blick auf das Nachleben Plutarchs im Mailänder Quattrocento, wo – ein Zeichen für die fruchtbare Weschselwirkung zwischen bildender Kunst und Literatur – Antonio Cornazzano aus Piacenza in seiner der Herzogin Bianca Maria gewidmeten Dichtung De mulieribus admirandis Filelfos Schema aufgenommen hat.
Weitere Beobachtungen zu einem zweiten Sforza-Zyklus berühmter Männer, den die Medici unmittelbar nach dem im Arengo für ihren Palast in der Via de' Bossi in Auftrag gaben, erlauben es, die Zusammenhänge zwischen den beiden Ausmalungen zu erfassen, indem sich beide als Instrumente zur Verherrlichung und Legitimation des neuen Herzogshauses zu erkennen geben.

Abstract:

Scattered documents and sources of art literature inform us that under the rule of Francesco I Sforza, Bonifacio Bembo and other Lombard painters executed a cycle of heroes from antiquity on behalf of the Duke in the courtyard of the restored Visconti Palace. This palace complex, also known as "Arengo" or "Corte Ducale," was located near the cathedral and adorned by Giotto with a thematically related fresco. A renowned humanist, who resided in Milan as a court poet in the 1450s, was tasked with composing poetic epigrams for each figure. Based on various testimonies, this endeavor can be dated to the years 1456-1461.
This publication presents the nine previously unknown epigrams found in three manuscripts, two of which were owned by Nicodemo Tranchedini, an advisor to the Duke and a friend of Filelfo. These epigrams are part of a new edition of the entire cycle, collating all available manuscripts, including the other nine poems that have been printed multiple times since the 18th century.
Upon completion of the cycle, its classical sources become apparent. The iconography for individual, otherwise unknown figures is based on Xenophon's "Cyropaedia" and primarily on Plutarch's "Moralia," while the structure of the program, which included nine pairs, is derived from his "Parallel Lives." This sheds light on the reception of Plutarch in 15th-century Milan and illustrates the fruitful interaction between visual art and literature. Antonio Cornazzano from Piacenza incorporated Filelfo's scheme in his poem "De mulieribus admirandis," dedicated to Duchess Bianca Maria, reflecting this interchange.
Further observations on a second Sforza cycle depicting famous men, commissioned by the Medici immediately after the one in the Arengo for their palace in Via de' Bossi, allow us to grasp the connections between the two decorations. Both serve as instruments for glorifying and legitimizing the new ducal house.

---------------------------------------

Philelfi versus ante reges hos, super cuiusdam Mediolanensis aula pictos.

Ninus
Ninus ab Assyriis sum primus regibus ausus
Non modo finitimos populos regesque potentes
Imperio pressisse meo, sed viribus omnem
Paene Asiam domui terraeque marique timendus.

Semiramis
Te stola ne dubium teneat cultusque venusti
Corporis ambiguus: sum clara Semiramis, alto
Non minor ipsa viro, belli pacisque probatis
Artibus insignis, nato miserabilis uno.

Cyrus
Quantum fata valent atque inmutabilis ordo
Astrorum, docui Cyrus: quem nulla domare
Vis potuit, non Astyages Babylonve superba,
Massagetis eadem me fata dedere tremendis.

Tomyris
Quantum ego claruerim Mavortis in agmine, Cyrus
Ipse ferus novit, qui dum mea regna profanus
Spargapise insidiis rapto popularier audet,
Quam Thomyris turbata valet, cognovit in utre.

Alexander
Magnus Alexander bellisque horrendus et armis,
Qui terrore mei trepidantem nominis orbem
Usque sub Eoum parvo cum milite Gangen
Undique concussi, nulli sum laude seeundus.

Mirina
Inter Amazonidas, quas insula celsa Tritonis
Hespera progenuit, qui me nescire Myrinam
Dixerit, ignarum sese fateatur oportet
Eximiae laudis: Libyamque Asiamque subegi.

Julius Caesar
Sum genus Aeneadum Gaius cognomine Caesar
Iulius, Assyrios, Cyrum, Macedumque ferocem
Qui iuvenem probitate animi, qui corporis acer
Viribus exsuperans, fueram pater Urbis et orbis.

Pentesilea
Graiugenas acies superans passimque fugatas
Penthesilea premens ulcisci nobilis umbram
Hectoris ipsa mei potui, ni dirus Achillis
Ille Neoptolemus me clam misisset ad Orcum.

Panthea
Pantheam quicunque minus me nosse fatetur
magnarum sese rerum ignarumve rudemve
damnat. Ego Cyrum castae probitatis et oris
egregii magnique animi mihi convoco testem.

Polycrita
Sola Diognetum quae flectere, sola cadentem
Quae patriam valui servare Polycrita Naxon,
Laudibus occurrunt dum nostris undique cives
Laetior in mediis animam gratantibus efflo.

Eryxo
At ne te lateat viduam quam cernis: Erixo
Magna Cyrenaeos inter regina vocabar,
Quae domui merita truculentum caede Laharcum,
Consilio pollens et linguae nobilis usu.

Xenocrita
Ast ego magna meo Cymaea Xenocrita ductu
Nomina promerui, Malacum quae sola tyrannum
Immitem dirumque dedi civilibus armis,
Servitio patriam mecum simul ulta trementem.

Camma
Kamma, virum Synorix quem dira caede peremit
Impius ulta meum, nulli nec laudis honore
Cedo maritalis, nec mentis acumine fortis:
Clara pudicitae titulis, mirabilis astu.

Megisto
Ni sum forte meo tibi Timoleonte Megisto
Nota satis, saltem me notam fecerit ille
Servus Aristotimus, cuius sum prima furores
Civibus attonitis cohibere ferocius ausa.

Stratonice
Deiotare, tua felix es coniuge, natos
Quae sibi Stratonice miro pietatis amore
Supposuit generosa tuos: Electra tetrarche
Quos tibi serva parit genitos tibi vendicat uxor.

Timoclea
Si Timoclea tuas nunquam Thebana sub auris
Forsitan intrarit, me barbarus ille prophanus
Novit Alexander, rabie qui caecus habendi
Dum putei petit ima furens mihi plectitur uni.

Hannibal
Hannibal Ausonidas unus Romamque superbam
Imperio potui Libyes summittere, ni me
Humanos quae sola valet Rhamnusia fastus
Frangere victorem victo revocasset ab hoste.

Scipio Africanus
Scipio, cui titulos clari dedit Africa primo
Nominis, extinctos cives patriamque ruentem
Servavi domuique ferum belloque manuque
Hannibalem: invidiam pariter cum sorte subegi.


Italian translation of Annarita Ferranti, La influencia clásica de Plutarco en el humanista Francisco Filelfo. El ciclo de los hombres y mujeres famosas de Francisco Esforza, ca. 1455, doctoral thesis, Università degli Studi di Siena, 2014, pp. 62-125.
https://digibug.ugr.es/bitstream/handle ... sAllowed=y


Nino
Io Nino, primo fra i re Assiri, osai
soggiogare al mio dominio non solo i popoli confinanti
e i re potenti ma a forza sottomisi quasi tutta l'Asia
temibile per terra e per mare.

Semiramide
Che la veste e la scarsa cura dello splendido corpo
non ti facciano cadere nel dubbio: sono la famosa Semiramide, non meno
importante essa stessa dell'augusto marito, insigne per le doti
dimostrate in guerra e in pace, degna di commiserazione per l'unico figlio.

Ciro
Io, Ciro, insegnai quanto valgano il fato e
l'ordine immutabile degli astri, che nessuna forza poté domare,
non Astiage o la superba Babilonia.
Il fato stesso mi consegnò ai tremendi Massageti.

Tomiri
Quanto io mi sia resa illustre nella schiera di Marte,
il fiero Ciro stesso lo sa bene, lui che empio,
dopo aver catturato con l'inganno Spargapise, mentre osava saccheggiare i miei regni,
quanto sia valorosa Tomiri sconvolta, lo conobbe nell'otre.

Alessandro
Io, il Grande Alessandro, terribile per le imprese militari nelle guerre e nelle armi,
cho sconvolsi il mondo trepidante per il terrore del mio nome,
fin sotto il Gange orientale con un piccolo esercito,
non sono secondo a nessuno per la gloria.

Mirina
Che dice di non conoscere me, Mirina, fra le Amazzoni,
che generò Espera, l'alta isola di Tritone,
è necessario che si definisca ignaro di una grande gloria:
io ho sottomesso l'Africa e l'Asia.

C. Giulio Cesare
Sono Gaio Giulio, per stirpe appartenente agli Eneadi, di cognome Cesare
che, dotato per l'intelligenza dell'animo e la forza del corpo,
superando gli Assiri, Ciro, e il fiero giovane Macedone
sono stato padre dell'Urbe e del mondo.

Pentesilea
Superando le schiere greche e incalzandole, dopo averle messe in fuga
per ampio tratto, avrei potuto io stessa, la nobile Pentesilea, vendicare l'ombra del mio
Ettore, se il crudele Neottolemo, figlio di Achille, non
mi avesse mandato inaspettatamente nel regno dei morti.

Pantea
Chiunque ammetta di non riconoscere me, Pantea,
si dichiara ignaro di grandi cose e inesperto
Da parte mia invoco a testimone Ciro della casta probità e della bellezza
del volto e del grande animo.

Policrita
Io Policrita, che da sola ho avuto il coraggio
di persuadere Diogneto, da sola di salvare Nasso, la patria in rovina,
mentre a nostra lode i cittadini da ogni parte accorrono,
emetto l'anima fra loro che si congratulano.

Erisso
Non ti sfugga la vedova che tu scorgi:
mi chiamavo Erisso, grande regina presso gli abitanti di Cirene,
dotata di intelligenza e abile nell'uso della lingua
io che, con meritato assassinio piegai il truculento Learco.

Xenocrita
Ma io Xenocrita di Cuma con il mio comportamento
meritai il nome di grande, io che da sola
consegnai alle armi dei miei concittadini lo spietato tiranno Malaco,
liberando la patria dalla schiavitù che insieme con me soffriva.

Camma
Io Camma, vendicato mio marito
che l'empio Sinorige uccise con tremenda strage,
non sono inferiore a nessun'altra per l'onore della gloria maritale e la forza della mente acuta:
famosa per il titolo di pudicizia, ammirevole per l'astuzia.

Megisto
Se io, Megisto, non ti sono abbastanza nota per il mio
Timoleonte, almeno mi avrà reso nota
lo schiavo Aristotimo, di cui per prima osai reprimere
con grande coraggio i furori fra i cittadini attoniti.

Stratonice
O Deiotaro, se felice per la tua sposa Stratonice,
la quale riconobbe generosamente come propri i tuoi figli
per un meraviglioso segno d' affetto: o tetrarca,
la moglie rivendica a te quei figli che la schiava Elettra ti genera.

Timoclea
Se per caso la tebana Timoclea non è giunta
alle tue orecchie, mi conobbe bene quell'impuro barbaro Alessandro,
il quale, mentre furibondo, reso cieco dalla brama del possesso,
si getta nel pozzo e' punito da me sola.

Annibale
Io Annibale da solo avrei potuto sottomettere all'impero libico
gli Ausoni e la superba Roma, se Ramnusia, che sola può
infrangere i fasti umani, non mi avesse richiamato
quado ero vincitore lontano dal nemico sconfitto.

Scipione
Io Scipione, a cui per primo l'Africa diede il titolo
del nome famoso, salvai i cittadini affranti e la patria
cadente e sottomisi il fiero Annibale con la guerra e la lotta,
allo stesso tempo grazie alla sorte sottomisi l'invidia.


ChatGPT translation, emended:

Filelfo's verses upon these kings, above which they are painted in a certain Milanese court.

Ninus

I, Ninus, first among the Assyrian kings, dared
to subjugate not only the neighboring peoples
and the powerful kings, but forcefully subjected almost all of Asia,
feared on land and sea.

Semiramis

Let not the attire and the neglect of the splendid body
make you doubt: I am the renowned Semiramis, no less
important than my august husband, distinguished for the qualities
demonstrated in war and peace, worthy of pity for the only son.

Cyrus

I, Cyrus, taught the worth of fate and
the unchanging order of the stars, which no force could tame,
neither Astyages nor the proud Babylon.
Fate itself delivered me to the fearsome Massagetae.

Tomyris

How I made myself illustrious in the ranks of Mars,
fierce Cyrus himself knows well, he who impiously,
after deceitfully capturing Spargapises while he dared to plunder my kingdoms,
learned how formidable Tomyris is, in the skin.

Alexander

I, the Great Alexander, terrible in military exploits, in wars and arms,
who shook the trembling world with the terror of my name,
even under the eastern Ganges with a small army,
am second to none in glory.

Mirina

Whoever claims not to know me, Mirina, among the Amazons,
who gave birth to Espera, the lofty island of Triton,
must declare themselves ignorant of great glory:
I have subdued Africa and Asia.

C. Julius Caesar

I am Gaius Julius, by lineage belonging to the Aeneads, by surname Caesar,
endowed with intelligence of spirit and strength of body,
surpassing the Assyrians, Cyrus, and the fierce young Macedonian,
I have been the father of the City and the world.

Penthesilea

By surpassing the Greek ranks and pursuing them, after putting them to flight
for a long stretch, I myself, noble Penthesilea, could have avenged the shade of my
Hector, if the cruel Neoptolemus, Achilles' son, had not
unexpectedly sent me to the realm of the dead.

Pantea

Anyone who admits not recognizing me, Pantea,
declares themselves ignorant of great things and inexperienced.
As for me, I invoke Cyrus as a witness to my pure virtue, beauty
of face, and noble soul.

Polycrita

I, Polycrita, who alone had the courage
to persuade Diognetus, alone saved Naxos, the ruined homeland;
while citizens from all sides flock to our praise,
congratulating each other, I release my soul among them.

Eryxo

Do not overlook the widow you see:
my name was Eryxo, great queen among the inhabitants of Cyrene,
endowed with intelligence and skilled in the use of language,
I, who with a deserved assassination brought down the cruel Learchus.

Xenocrita

But I, Xenocrita of Cumae, with my actions
earned the name of great, I who alone
handed over the ruthless tyrant Malacus to the arms of my fellow citizens,
freeing the homeland from the slavery we suffered together.

Camma

I, Camma, avenged my husband,
whom the wicked Sinoriges killed in a terrible massacre,
I am not inferior to any other in the honor of marital glory and the strength of acute mind:
famous for the title of chastity, admirable for cunning.

Megisto

If I, Megisto, am not sufficiently known to you for my
Timoleon, at least the slave Aristotimus
will have made me known, of whom I first dared to suppress
with great courage the frenzy among the astonished citizens.

Stratonice

O Deiotarus, if happy for your wife Stratonice,
who generously recognized your children as her own
as a wonderful sign of affection: O tetrarch,
the wife claims from you those children that the slave Electra bears you.

Timoclea

If by chance the Theban Timoclea has not reached
your ears, that impure barbarian Alexander knew me well,
who, while in a frenzy, blinded by the desire for possession,
throws himself into the well and is punished by me alone.

Hannibal

I, Hannibal, alone could have subdued under the Libyan empire
the Ausonians and proud Rome, if Ramnusia, who alone can
shatter human triumphs, had not called back
the conqueror from the conquered enemy.

Scipio

I, Scipio, to whom Africa first gave the title
of a famous name, saved the oppressed citizens and the falling homeland
and subdued the fierce Hannibal through war and struggle,
at the same time, thanks to fate, I subdued envy.

This looks similar to the 22 trumps of the Boiardo Tarocchi poem. Also a lttle bit similar to the Sola Busca Tarocchi ... well, this had only pictures.
In our early researches we had already suspicions about Heroes and and other groups of famous persons.
9 male figures and 9 female figures developed also from the 9-heroes-development in Germany, Netherlands. France and relative late in Italy.

9 Worthies ... Castello della Manta .... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castello_della_Manta


"Coluccio Salutati's 22 epigrams for frescoes of Florentine heroes in the Palazzo Vecchio" ... much earlier ... comes from a similar direction.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2677

Huck,
Both of us and others were engaged in a muli-page thread on this very article but I can't find it (you even dug up images of the Arengo, etc. and posted those). The search function is not bringing up anything for me regarding that.

Ross,
I did write this in the Francesco Filelfo: the "Odes" (early 1450s) thread (23 Oct 2013, 18:51)

Phaeded wrote: 24 Oct 2013, 00:51 Just to clarify something I wrote above -

Filelfo hardly thought of himself as an artistic program director but rather as the leading rhetor/orator of his age (mainly due to his advantage in Greek). Flawlessly aping the ancients was the name of the game, not associating one’s name with a new leisure that had no pedigree in the classical world of antiquity. We’re not even talking about a cycle of frescos for a church or palazzo after all…just paper cards!

Filelfo did write the epigrams for a fresco cycle of great men and women painted by Bembo (a repeat performance of a prior collaboration on the PMB?) in the ducal palace behind the duomo, when rebuilt after the Ambrosian Republic by Sforza; see:
"Francesco Sforza e il Filelfo, Bonifacio Bembo e 'compagni': Nove prosopopee inedite per il ciclo di antichi eroi ed eroine nella Corte Ducale dell'Arengo a Milano (1456-61 circa)", Francesco Caglioti, Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, 38. Bd., H. 2/3 (1994), pp. 183-217 [available via JSTOR]

Phaeded

Phaeded wrote: 05 Jul 2023, 01:54 Huck,
Both of us and others were engaged in a muli-page thread on this very article but I can't find it (you even dug up images of the Arengo, etc. and posted those). The search function is not bringing up anything for me regarding that.

Phaeded, I don't understand this 2 sentences. Perhaps you misunderstood something. The picture is from the Castello della Manta as an example of 18 famous men and women. .

Huck wrote: 05 Jul 2023, 07:41

Phaeded wrote: 05 Jul 2023, 01:54 Huck,
Both of us and others were engaged in a muli-page thread on this very article but I can't find it (you even dug up images of the Arengo, etc. and posted those). The search function is not bringing up anything for me regarding that.

Phaeded, I don't understand this 2 sentences. Perhaps you misunderstood something. The picture is from the Castello della Manta as an example of 18 famous men and women. .

Phaeded is referring to this thread from 2013 - viewtopic.php?p=14367#p14367

The church of Saint Gottardo is visible in the upper right of the photo you posted, with the polygonal bell tower. In the 14th century this church was attached to a Visconti palace that evolved into the Arengo palace later. In this palace about 1335 Azzo Visconti had a "gloria mondana" with "famous men" fresco cycle painted, part of which was by Giotto (hence one of his last works), an attribution convincingly argued by Creighton Gilbert in 1977 https://www.jstor.org/stable/43105104

The six figures in the only surviving description of the paintings (which were destroyed by 1353, I believe) are:

Hercules
Hector
Aeneas
Charlemagne
Attila
Azzo Visconti

This is only the second such cycle known after the "sala dei uomini famosi" of King Robert of Naples, in Castelnuovo, also painted by Giotto, sometime between 1328 and 1332.

It had nine figures:

Solomon
Samson
Alexander
Hector
Aeneas
Achilles
Paris
Hercules
Caesar

Despite the number, there doesn't seem to be a connection to the Nine Worthies schema, of which, it seems, the earliest visual representation was in 1347.

IN WORK

Well, I got to Arengo in Milan ...
search.php?st=0&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&keyw ... o&start=10

May 2010

Letter from Filippo Maria Visconti, 25th of November 1427, installing a Chess and Table salon probably at the ducal palace Arengo "near the Cathedral" in Milan in a sort of official act ("Franciscus" at the end of the letter likely refers to the writer).

Franco Pratesi 1993: http://naibi.net/b/037.pdf
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=460&p=7032&hilit=Arengo#p7032

automatical translation of the Visconti letter ... (with a riddle about 1427 or 1412)

Duke of Milan, etc. Papie, count of Anglerie and lord of Janue.
Trusting in the faith and sufficiency of our beloved Socinus de Seregni, who has been appointed to feed our singing birds, the same Socinus officiant and custodian of the Pusterle Nove syte within the New Gate and through the East Gate of this city of Milan, of this city of Milan, and further of the boarders with whom, namely, from the chesses and from the boards that in our court Arengi are accustomed to be held, so that no one is allowed to play chess or at tables in the said court without his permission or consent with the authority, bail, discretion, salary, benefits, commoditabis and prerogatives ordered and such legitimately pertaining to and belonging to the office and through Comasin de Catis, the late deceased, who presided over the aforesaid offitis, having been lawfully held and perceived from the day of the death of Comasinus himself in the former until our good pleasure, we establish, depute and do in this series, commanding all and every one to whom he may look and see to the extent that the said Socinus is placed in the possession of the said offitis and let them lead and maintain the position and defend each other for the exercise of the same office, provide assistance and do not favor us with respect to the said salary, benefits, conveniences and prerogatives, answer with integrity and agree to be answered, and because the said Socinus, having the care of our poultry and other services for us gratuitously, do not intend to exercise the said office personally if he can, we are content with the said Socinus that he may depute (?) to (?) in his place a suitable person to exercise the said office in his place. In witness whereof we ordered to be present and registered, and to be most strongly strengthened with our seals. Given at Milan, on the 20th day of November 1412, the sixth indictment.

Francis

Added later: The automatic translation had an error, as Ross later explained. 1412 is indeed 1427.



November 2016

At 12 ottobre 1449: "Grande spettacolo in piazza dell'Arengo per celebrare la pace con Venezia. Due personaggi che rappresentano san Marco e sant'Ambrogio si abbracciano e così fanno tutti gli altri membri delle due repubbliche."
http://www.storiadimilano.it/cron/dal1426al1450.htm
Big festivity in Milan, the people believe in peace between Milan and Venice.

At 9th of December, 1449: Giovanni di Domenico in Florence sells playing cards to the silk dealers. It is his first known activity with them. Between the sold cards are 6 Trionfi decks, the first known Trionfi production note since 1445.

The piazza dell'Arengo has in 1449 enough place to celebrate a great Trionfi-festivity in October 1449 for the peace between Milan and Venice. 2 months later Giovanni di Domenico restarts the Trionfi card business, possibly as a reaction on the peace betwwn Milan and Venice.

Here is the appointment letter and ChatGPT translation for comparison.

Where do you get 1412 from? (you have a typo, "2012") Franco's publication say MCCCC vigesimoseptimo (1427), and Santoro's first notice of it (without transcription) also says 25 November 1427:

1427 novembre 25, VI, Milano

Il duca di M. nomina Socino de Seregnio, il quale è incaricato della nutrizione del suoi uccelli cantanti, in custode della pusterla Nuova, posto tra p. N e p. O., e dei tavolieri da scacchi e "a tabullis", che sono nella corte ducale dell'Arengo, in luogo del q. Comasino de Catiis, dal giorno della morte di questo sino a suo beneplacito. De fide. Francesco.

Caterina Santoro, I registri dell'Ufficio di Provvisione e dell'Ufficio dei Sindaci sotto la dominazione viscontea, (Milano, 1932), p. 342, number 50.

Dux Mediolani etc. Papie Anglerieque comes ac Ianue dominus. De fide et sufitientia dilecti nostri Socini de Seregnio ad nutrituram cantantum avicularum nostrarum deputati confidentes, eundem Socinum offitialem et custodem pusterle Nove syte intus portam Novam et per portam Horientalem huius urbis Mediolani et ulterius tabulleriorum quorumcumque tam videlicet a schachis quam a tabullis que in curia nostra Arengi teneri consueverunt, ita quod nemini liceat in dicta curia ludere ad schachos nec ad tabullas sine sui licentia nec consensu cum auctoritate, balia, arbitrio, salario, utilitatibus, commoditatibus et prerogativis ordinatis et huiusmodi officii legiptime spectantibus et pertinentibus ac per Comasinum de Catis nuper defunctum, qui dictum presidebat offitium, licite habitis et perceptis a die obitus ipsius Comasini in antea usque ad beneplacitum nostrum harum serie constituemus, deputamus et facimus, mandantes universis et singulis ad quos spectat possitque spectare quatenus dictum Socinum in possessionem dicti offitii ponant et inducant positum- que manuteneant et deffendant sibique ad ipsum exercendum offitium auxilium prebeant et faverem necminus de dictis salario, utilitatibus, comoditatibus et prerogativis cum integritate respondant et fatiant responderi, et quia dictus Socinus habens cure avicularum nostrarum et aliis servitiis nobis gratis inten- dere dictum offitium personaliter exercere non possit, contentamur dictoque Socino concedimus ut loco sui deputare possit atque deputet personam idoneam que dictum offitium exerceat loco sui. In quorum testimonium presentes fieri et registrari iussimus nostrique sigilli munimine roborari. Datum mediolani, die xx quinto novembri MCCCC vigesimoseptimo, sexta indictione. Franciscus.

"The Duke of Milan, etc., Count of Pavia and Angleria, Lord of Genoa. With confidence in the faith and sufficiency of our beloved Socinus de Seregnio, appointed for the nourishment of our singing birds, we hereby appoint the same Socinus as the official and custodian of the New Syte Postern, both inside the New Gate and through the Eastern Gate of this city of Milan, and furthermore, of any boards, namely chess and backgammon, which are usually kept in our court of Arengi, in such a way that no one is allowed to play chess or backgammon in the said court without his permission and consent, with authority, jurisdiction, salary, benefits, conveniences, and prerogatives duly established and pertaining to such office. These rights and responsibilities were lawfully held and received by the recently deceased Comasino de Catis, who presided over the said office, from the day of his death until our further pleasure. We hereby establish, appoint, and make this arrangement in this series of letters, commanding all and each person to whom it concerns and may concern, to put the said Socinus in possession of the said office, to introduce him to it, to maintain and defend him in his position, and to provide him with assistance and favor in carrying out the said office. Furthermore, they are to faithfully account for and ensure the payment of the said salary, benefits, conveniences, and prerogatives in their entirety. And since the said Socinus, who takes care of our birds and is engaged in other services for us without remuneration, cannot personally carry out the said office, we are satisfied and grant permission to the said Socinus to appoint and designate a suitable person to exercise the said office in his place. In witness whereof, we have ordered these present letters to be made and registered, and to be strengthened by the security of our seal. Given in Milan, on the 25th day of November 1427, in the sixth indiction. Francis."

Ross Caldwell wrote: 05 Jul 2023, 13:50 "The Duke of Milan, etc., Count of Pavia and Angleria, Lord of Genoa. With confidence in the faith and sufficiency of our beloved Socinus de Seregnio, appointed for the nourishment of our singing birds, we hereby appoint the same Socinus as the official and custodian of the New Syte Postern, both inside the New Gate and through the Eastern Gate of this city of Milan, and furthermore, of any boards, namely chess and backgammon, which are usually kept in our court of Arengi, in such a way that no one is allowed to play chess or backgammon in the said court without his permission and consent, with authority, jurisdiction, salary, benefits, conveniences, and prerogatives duly established and pertaining to such office. These rights and responsibilities were lawfully held and received by the recently deceased Comasino de Catis, who presided over the said office, from the day of his death until our further pleasure. We hereby establish, appoint, and make this arrangement in this series of letters, commanding all and each person to whom it concerns and may concern, to put the said Socinus in possession of the said office, to introduce him to it, to maintain and defend him in his position, and to provide him with assistance and favor in carrying out the said office. Furthermore, they are to faithfully account for and ensure the payment of the said salary, benefits, conveniences, and prerogatives in their entirety. And since the said Socinus, who takes care of our birds and is engaged in other services for us without remuneration, cannot personally carry out the said office, we are satisfied and grant permission to the said Socinus to appoint and designate a suitable person to exercise the said office in his place. In witness whereof, we have ordered these present letters to be made and registered, and to be strengthened by the security of our seal. Given in Milan, on the 25th day of November 1427, in the sixth indiction. Francis."

Huck or Ross,
Either one of you care to offer a reason for the odd juxtaposition of singing birds and gaming boards? Was the courtyard warden also to regulate board gaming in order to keep loud (gambling?) parties from disturbing the prized birds? Probably completely unconnected, but an odd coincidence that Marziano's suits are birds for yet a different type of game, involving cards instead of moving pieces. On the most general level, I would hazard listening to the birds and playing Marziano's card (a palace game restricted to Filippo and his invited intimates) were part and parcel of Marziano's own intended program of leisure - "fitting for a man to find recreation from the weariness of virtue in some kind of game....if sometimes it happens that you will find it pleasant to be diverted to playful things by it [the game]."

Re. The problem of "gaming boards" - tabulleriorum/tabullis - and Filelfo

Huck and I engaged in a fairly heated discussion of Filelfo's acrimonious complaint in his ode IV.7 (lines 4-5), an invective against Cremona, following his 1451 Cremona visit with the critical comment "Shrewd scholars of the gaming table" (aleae vafris doctoribis statutus est ingens honos). Huck wondered "'gaming tables' OR 'game statutes'" was meant in the poem. The problem is there is no table (Robins supplies that) but rather the offense is what matters to Filelfo: gambling (aleae). The Visconti court's own regulations, which frequent visitor Filelfo would have known, at least made the activity of gambling problematic, per above. Another way to contrast this is the series of images by Giotto (eventually supplemented by those of Filelfo/Bembo) within the refined culture of the palazzo with the louts playing board games outside, down in the courtyard. And the singing of the birds wafting in through open windows into the palazzo was not to be disturbed, apparently.

What happened in Cremona that prompted that remark? Did it not have something to do with why Filelfo was finally given safe-conduct out of plague-stricken Milan but only to Cremona, via the Po from Pavia?

The preceding Milanese dire context for Filelfo before his trip (from my Literary Source/Dante post):

“More in the manner of a diarist, Filelfo seemed in the Odes to be sketching the street scenes he saw as they unfolded” (Robins, 1991:97). Quotes from Ode 2.258-63). Individual Odes feverishly begging for work are dedicated to Sforza’s secretary in charge of his ducal chancery, Cicco Simonetta (Ode IV.2)and even Sforza’s wife, Bianca (Ode IV.1), whom he knew well through his former patron and her father, the late Filippo Visconti; relevant excerpts:

The ungrateful plebs are punished because they failed to honor the deserving shade of the sublime and celebrated Duke Filippo with funeral rites. But should Filelfo suffer for the sins of the Milanese…. (l.29-30, p. 223)….It is yours to ward off evil so that the poet may avoid death by fiery lightning. Let him depart from the city since lightning does not know how to check its wandering missiles (l.61-65, p. 225).…O warrior maiden, celebrated with the honors of an unblemished life, will you not provide assistance to the deserving poet who has exalted you to the stars? “This man of yours alone dared, amid the fiery passions of an angry plebs in a crowded temple and the flooding fury of the people, to smash the tyrants with his oratory. (l.74-76, p. 225)….Therefore if anything I have done is helpful to your father, if anything pleases your husband Sforza, and if anything helps you to live a learned and elegant life, look to the interests of your bard. The bristling plague and famine have equally oppressed him, and hemmed in by these twin dangers, he needs money, so that those harsh enemies may withdraw on both fronts (l. 110-117, p. 227).

ANYkind of commission, even the program for a series of images, was desperately sought by Fielfo at this juncture. Apparently one was given to him that allowed/required travel to Cremona. What was there of relevance besides Sforza's own occasional and moving court present there in these early years of his reign while plague raged in Milan, besides Bembo's studio? And we know Sforza specifically ordered decks of trionfi in the time period with the rediscovery of the Marziano in 1449, at least from 1450 while still camped outside of besieged Milan when ordering decks from Lodi (which he also camped at). The circumstantial evidence couldn't be stronger.

My original complete explanation in that "Filelfo Odes" thread:

Re: Francesco Filelfo: the "Odes" (early 1450s)
post by Phaeded » 21 Oct 2013, 19:35

Huck wrote:
Reading the invective against Cremona after his third visit it's hardly imaginable, that Filelfo influenced in strong manner a successful trionfi deck production produced just in this time, when the invective was written, in just this city of Cremona. … And at least once he commented on something with playing cards with ""Shrewd scholars of the gaming table""

Exactly - why attack Bianca's own dowry city of Cremona with such vehemence?

Instead of something remaining incapable of being of interest to Fielfo (garnering dismissiveness at best) he has to implicitly contrast his own standing as a dottore at Pavia with the “shrewd scholars (doctoribus)” involved with table gaming in Cremona. Why, unless the game in question impudently touched on something Fielfo found himself involved in? More on that after describing the context again.

Filelfo hardly thought of himself as an artistic program director but rather as the leading rhetor/orator of his age (mainly due to his advantage in Greek). Flawlessly aping the ancients was the name of the game, not associating one’s name with a new leisure that had no pedigree in the classical world of antiquity. We’re not even talking about a cycle of frescos for a church or palazzo after all…just paper cards! The humanists' world had gotten even more classically correct (Ciceronian, etc.) after Marziano had invented his game for Filippo and passed on.

In my scenario the PMB program was a commission - not an ode, idyll or satire that Filelfo produced with the initiative of his own genius. He asks Bianca (Ode 5.1) what he can do for her for money and she (theoretically) assigns him what would become the PMB; not unlike the Muses program commissioned by Leonello from Guarino (who still preferred medals when it came to art).

....[ deleting the possible inspiration of Alberti, On Painting, Book 3, a reference already remade in another post....]

Perhaps after the bad quarantine experience in Cremona he did resent the assignment, but again it was quite odd of him to include in the city’s supposed vices the “gaming table” unless he knew the studios there were turning out trionfi. And where after all did Sforza get his decks when in Lodi in December 1450 (a month when travel would be difficult) and yet expected to send out a rider on the 11th and receive the decks back on the 13th unless it was from somewhere nearby (75 km. by car from Lodi to Cremona)? Less than a year later, in November 1452, Malatesta is also asking for a “pack of the famous hand-painted trump cards from the highly praised artisans of Cremona” (Ross’s translation of Pizzagalli). Filelfo was in Cremona precisely in this time period – September 1451 (Robin, 415). What would have vexed him the most is not the bureaucratic treatment by customs officials but someone with the airs to disagree with him about something of which he would be an expert at – something scholarly, or at least with pretensions to being scholarly (a category to which the allegorical trumps can be said to loosely fall). But why in the hell would Filelfo have had even been in the position to have a “scholarly” argument with those of the gaming table…unless he had been asked to do something in regard to the game Cremona had become famous for: trionfi? If trionfi decks had been around since 1440 with the 14 trumps/suits structure, and the Duchess suddenly requests a new version (ultimately 21 trumps + Fool) for them to execute there would naturally be resistance; but its her city and her commission so of course they accede. But then a pretentious windbag, throwing Latin/Greek phrases around, shows up to inspect your work – the very person responsible for this deviation in the number of cards which affects the very way it must be played. Well, from there its not very hard to imagine Fielfo, who rubbed plenty of people wrong within his own station in life, getting an earful from the “shrewd scholars of the gaming table” who knew better to not ‘fix what isn’t broken.’ Does Filelfo even care how the game must be played now? He was told to add and describe a certain set of subjects to the trumps and he did that. Again, the fundamental question here is: Why the animosity and need to derisively and mockingly call [struck: card-makers] those related to gambling arts ‘scholars’ without a personal reason and/or incident being involved?

I haven't even seen a plausible alternate reason as to why Filelfo would bother to add that disparaging remark in an ode about Cremona. Yes, it is found in a litany of vices common to urban invectives (pimps, whores, tax collectors, gluttons, poisoners), but uniquely here we find a professional title otherwise associated with his own station in life, but used mockingly: doctoibus.



Phaeded

Phaeded wrote ...

Either one of you care to offer a reason for the odd juxtaposition of singing birds and gaming boards? Was the courtyard warden also to regulate board gaming in order to keep loud (gambling?) parties from disturbing the prized birds? Probably completely unconnected, but an odd coincidence that Marziano's suits are birds for yet a different type of game, involving cards instead of moving pieces. On the most general level, I would hazard listening to the birds and playing Marziano's card (a palace game restricted to Filippo and his invited intimates) were part and parcel of Marziano's own intended program of leisure - "fitting for a man to find recreation from the weariness of virtue in some kind of game....if sometimes it happens that you will find it pleasant to be diverted to playful things by it [the game].

Independent of your question I had reached the idea, that a man, who cared for chess game sets and table games, might easily also had been responsible for playing cards. This and the observation, that the Michelino deck had birds as suit signs and also old German decks used birds as decoration for playing cards, points to the possibility, that "singing birds" might be just another expression for playing cards in a group of players or gamblers.
Well, that's only a possibility and I don't see a chance to be secure about it.

Huck wrote: 05 Jul 2023, 20:05 Phaeded wrote ...

Either one of you care to offer a reason for the odd juxtaposition of singing birds and gaming boards? Was the courtyard warden also to regulate board gaming in order to keep loud (gambling?) parties from disturbing the prized birds? Probably completely unconnected, but an odd coincidence that Marziano's suits are birds for yet a different type of game, involving cards instead of moving pieces. On the most general level, I would hazard listening to the birds and playing Marziano's card (a palace game restricted to Filippo and his invited intimates) were part and parcel of Marziano's own intended program of leisure - "fitting for a man to find recreation from the weariness of virtue in some kind of game....if sometimes it happens that you will find it pleasant to be diverted to playful things by it [the game].

Independent of your question I had reached the idea, that a man, who cared for chess game sets and table games, might easily also had been responsible for playing cards. This and the observation, that the Michelino deck had birds as suit signs and also old German decks used birds as decoration for playing cards, points to the possibility, that "singing birds" might be just another expression for playing cards in a group of players or gamblers.
Well, that's only a possibility and I don't see a chance to be secure about it.

I can't offer a good guess as to why Socinus de Seregnio both fed his singing birds and was a good choice for overseeing the board-game players at the Aregno palace, but from Decembrio we know that he kept a lot of birds, and other animals. Chapter 59 is devoted to "The delight he took in caring for his horses, dogs, panthers, and birds." He imported

rare birds, especially hawks, from as far away as Dacia, Panonia, and even (dare I say) from the Rhipaean Mountains [legendary "northern" mountains, could be the Urals, but central Asia in general is a good bet - Ross]. The number of birds he owned grew so huge that just feeding them cost him three thousand pieces of gold per month. And to anyone who brought him these birds he would pay ten pieces of gold for each specimen.

(translation Gary Ianziti, p. 119)

In chapter 69, "The signs that predicted the defeat of his armies," Decembrio notes his love for doves:

Just before he lost the city of Brescia, an entire flock of doves - birds in which he took great delight - perished to the last one.

(Ianziti p. 143)

Decembrio makes other passing references to the duke's love of birds, but I haven't collected them all. I'll do it on my next reread.

I've thought about the connection with Marziano's choice for suit-signs too, and generally I think that Marziano, who was probably his mentor in Pavia 1411-1412, observed his love of birds and chose them as symbols for that reason. One obvious symbolic entry point is the dove as part of the family heraldry, and its connection to the legendary ancestor, Venus.