ChristopherS.

Wood, TheCredulityProblem
(INPRESSin conferenceproceedings,EarlyModernAntiquarianisminEurope
andChina,BardGraduateCenter,ed.PeterMillerandFranoisLouis,YaleUniversity
Press)
EarlymodernEuropeanantiquariansmadeplentyofblundersbuttheywere
such interestingblunders.
1
Inthefirstthirdofthefifteenth century,forexample,Italian
scholarsdevelopedafluidandlegiblehandwritingbasedonthemanuscriptsof classical
texts that they hadfoundinmonasticlibraries.
2
Theytheninstructedpainterstoadorn
theinitiallettersandpageborders oftheirownbookswith crawling,interlockinggrowths
ofvine,curlingwhitestemsandshoots,muchlikethosetheyhadseenintheoldbooks.
AninitialEfromaBolognesemanuscriptofSuetonius,databletothemiddleofthe
fifteenthcentury,adorningatextwritteninaroundhumanisthand,isagoodexample
(fig.1).
3
Butthewhitevinescroll andtheminusculealphabetwerebornofa
1
ThispaperiscloselytiedtoalongtermcollaborativeprojectwithAlexanderNagel.
SeeourpaperTowardaNewModelofRenaissanceAnachronism,ArtBulletin87
(2005):40332.
2
B.L.Ullmann,TheOriginandDevelopmentofHumanisticScript(Rome:Edizioni di
StoriaeLetteratura,1960) JamesWardrop, TheScriptofHumanism:SomeAspectsof
HumanisticScript,14601560 (Oxford:ClarendonPress,1963) StanleyMorison,
PoliticsandScript(Oxford:OxfordUniversity Press,1972),chap.6 MartinSteinmann,
"DiehumanistischeSchriftunddieAnfngedesHumanismusinBasel,"Archivfr
Diplomatik22(1976):376437.
3
BarbaraA.Shailor,CatalogueoftheMedievalandRenaissanceManuscriptsinthe
BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,YaleUniversity,vol.3, MarstonMSS
(Binghamton:MedievalandRenaissanceTextsandStudies,1992),MarstonMS52,pp.
1012.Onhumanistwhitevinedecorationgenerally,seeOttoPcht,"Notesand
ObservationsontheOriginofHumanisticBookDecoration,"FestschriftFritzSaxl,ed.
D.J.Gordon(LondonandEdinburgh:Nelson,1957),pp.18494Pcht, Italian
IlluminatedManuscripts,exhibitioncatalogue(Oxford:BodleianLibrary,1948)and
J.J.G.AlexanderandA.C.delaMare,TheItalianManuscriptsintheLibraryofMajor
2
chronologicalmisconception,fortheancientmodelsthatscribesandpainterslooked to
werenotsoancient.Theirmodelswereactually twelfthcenturyItalianmanuscripts
whichinturn transmittedinterlacedformsdevelopedin transalpinemonasteriessuchas
St.Gall between theninth andeleventh centuriesforexampleaninitialCfroma
Homiliary,anItalianmanuscriptoftheearlytwelfthcentury (fig.2).
4
Therecanbeno
mistakeaboutthederivation,forfifteenthcenturywhitevineornamentduplicatedeven
theblue,green,andredcolorschemeoftheintervalsbetweenthevinesfoundinthe
medievalsources.
5
Thephilologistsintheirenthusiasm wererevivingnotanancient
RomanbutanearlymedievalandnorthernEuropeanform.
Anarthistorianmightdescribesuchacrosswiringasapseudomorphosis,
followingErwinPanofskywhousedthistermtocharacterizeanhistorical form invested
by Renaissanceartistswith ameaningthatithadnotpossessedin thepast.
6
Whitevine
J.R.Abbey (London:FaberandFaber,1969),xxxiiixxxiv.Forstillfinerdistinctions
amongdifferenttypesofwhitevinescroll,seeMelaniaCeccanti,Proposteperlastoria
dieprimicodiciumanisticiabianchigirari,Miniatura5/6(1993/96):1116,whose
researchessuggestthattheimitationsofmedievalwhitevineornamentimprovedin
accuracybetween1400and1425andFabrizioCrivello,Vetustiorisliteremaiestas:
unmanoscrittodiSantAgostinodelPetrarca,gliumanistiequalcheosservazionesulle
inizialiabianchigirari,Italiamedioevaleeumanistica44(2003):22734.
4
RobertG.Babcocketal.,CatalogueoftheMedievalandRenaissanceManuscriptsin
theBeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,YaleUniversity,vol.4,MSS481485
(Turnhout:Brepols,2004),MS481.35,pp.6162,pl.23.
5
Pcht,NotesandObservations,189.
6
Panofsky,StudiesinIconology: HumanisticThemesintheArtoftheRenaissance(New
York:OxfordUniversityPress,1939),pp.7071.Panofskyborrowedtheterm
pseudomorphosisfromOswaldSpengler,althoughwithoutnaminghim.Spenglerinturn
hadadaptedthetermfrommineralogy.SeeSpengler,DeclineoftheWest(1918,1922
NewYork:Knopf,1957),vol.1,p.209seealsovol.2,pp.189190.Onlytwoyears
earlier.PanofskysteacherAdolph Goldschmidthadargued,undertherubric
Formenspaltungor"formaldisintegration,"thatthehistoryofmedievalarthadbeen
drivenbyaseriesofprofitablemisunderstandingsofearlierartisticformulas.
Goldschmidt,"DieBedeutungderFormenspaltunginderKunstentwicklung,"in
Independence,Convergence,andBorrowinginInstitutions,Thought,and Art,Harvard
3
ornamentandotherfalseantiquitieswerenotthefantasmsof mereillinformedartists,
however.Theywerepromulgatedbyscholars,thepioneersofthemoderndisciplinesof
philologyandarcheology,criticalmindswhodefinedthemselvesastheenemiesofall
hopefulorblurrythinkingaboutthepast. Justas thereformmindedtheologiansofthe
day deploredsuperstitionandthecultofrelics,sotoodidnewmodel historiansridicule
thecredulitiesofunletteredclerics,professorialimposters,and thecommonfolk. In his
BavarianChronicleof1526thehistorian Johann Aventinustoinvoke only one
distinguishedfiguredrilymockedthe"good,foolish,andignorantcathedralcanon"in
RegensburgwhoonthebasisofaninscriptionmistookthetombstoneofAurelia,a
Romanwoman,forthetombofacertain SaintAurelia,whoinfacttherewasnoreason
tobelievehadeverbeeninRegensburg.
7
Thelocalcleric,untutoredinepigraphyand
archeology,hadnoideahowtodateaninscription.
Andforallthatthehumanists,notexceptingAventinushimself,managedtofind
theirownwindingpathintoerror. Renaissancescholarsoften display thesame
combination ofseverityandsuggestibility thatwefindtwocenturieslaterin Giambattista
Vico,whoderidedtheunclear,frivolous,inept,conceited,andridiculousopinionsof
otherscholarsontheoriginsoflanguages,andthenwentontoassertthatthemost
ancientpeopleshadspokenanatural,nonarbitrarylanguageandthatthiswasthe
languageofAtlantis,justasPlatohadsaid orwhodismissedasgroundless,
inappropriate,orsimplyfalsetheviewsofotherauthoritiesonthereasonsforthe
monstrousstatureofancientgiants,butwashimselfcompletely confidentofthe
TercentenaryPublications(Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress,1937),pp.167
177.
7
JohannAventinus,BayerischeChronikI,2 (=SmtlicheWerke,IV,2)(Munich,1883),
chap.49,p.699.
4
historicalrealityofgiants.
8
Fifteenthandsixteenthcenturyscholarswerepeculiarly
pronetocredulity,asifarcheologyitself,theepochal turntomaterialevidenceasa
supplementtooralandtextualauthority,onlyledthem toevermorewonderfulandlucid
errors.
Credulity wasthematrixof creativity. ErnstGombrich,in oneofhismost
ingeniousessays,associatedLeonBattistaAlbertiandFilippoBrunelleschi'sreformof
architecturewithPoggioBracciolini andColuccioSalutati'sinventionoftheminuscule
script.
9
Inbothcases,themodernpointinginnovationsweregroundedinwhatIngrid
Rowlandcallsan"antiquarianismoffalsepremises."
10
JustastheFlorentinescribeshad
modeledtheirantiquaalphabeton Carolingian precedents,sotoodidthepioneering
architectFilippoBrunelleschi selectashisparagonstheBaptistery andthebasilicaof SS.
Apostoli,both eleventhcenturystructures.
11
ForhisownS.Lorenzo(begun1421),as
Gombrich andothershaveshown,Brunelleschi borrowedfromSS.Apostolinotonlythe
planbuttheRomanesquedeviceofarchesrestingdirectlyoncolumns. Theentablature
blocksheinterposedbetweencapitalandarch,meanwhile,werederivedfromtheexterior
8
GiambattistaVico,ScienzaNuova (1725), 43031,170 NewScience,transl.David
Marsh(London:Penguin,1999),pp.17172,86.
9
E.H.Gombrich,"FromtheRevivalofLetterstotheReformoftheArts:NiccolNiccoli
andFilippoBrunelleschi"(1967),inGombrich,TheHeritageofApelles:Studiesinthe
ArtoftheRenaissance(Oxford:Phaidon,1976),pp.93110.
10
IngridD.Rowland,AntiquarianismasBattleCry,inAllenJ.Griecoetals.,ed., The
ItalianRenaissanceintheTwentiethCentury,ActsofanInternationalConference,
Florence,VillaITatti,1999(Florence:Olschki,2002),p.407.
11
SeethegeneraldiscussioninPanofsky,RenaissanceandRenascencesinWesternArt
(NewYork:Harper,1969),pp.2023.ThereisavastliteratureonBrunelleschisand
Albertisreceptionofancientandmedievalarchitectureseetherecentsurvey
of.GiuseppeRocchiCoopmansdeYoldi,Riflessionisullastoriografiadelleoriginidell
architetturafiorentinaesullosvolgimentodellafabbricadelBattistero,andIl
BrunelleschieilBattistero,in CoopmansdeYoldi,ed.,SantaMariadelFiore,II,
Piazza,Battistero,Campanile(Florence:IlTorchio,1996),pp.27346465.
5
oftheBaptistery.
12
Alberti styledhisfaadeforS.MariaNovella(begunc.1458),with
itscornerpillarswithhorizontalincrustationsandblindarcades,after theBaptisteryand
thefaadeofthetwelfthcenturybasilicaof S.MiniatoalMonte.
13
Throughoutthe
fifteenthcentury,themostarcheologicallymindedandantiquityorientedarchitectswere
asattentivetolocal preGothicchurchesastheyweretoancientruins.
14
Theparadox
wasexplainedalreadybyGiorgioVasari,whofollowingtwocenturiesofcommentary
describedtheBaptistery asamostancienttempleandwentontoargue thatbecausethe
architectsofmedievalbuildingslikeSS.Apostolihademulatedthegoodantiqueorder
thattheyhadfoundintheBaptistery,BrunelleschiwasthereforejustifiedintakingSS.
Apostoliashismodel.
15
Gombrichsparadoxicalargumentstrippedthenarrativeoftherebirthofantiquity
of someitsrevolutionarygrandeur.Heshowedhowapedanticcompulsiontoemend
12
Gombrich,"FromtheRevivalofLetterstotheReformoftheArts,p.106.
13
RudolfWittkower, ArchitecturalPrinciplesintheAgeofHumanism(1949NewYork:
Norton,1971),434,describedS.MariaNovellaasaposthumousmemberofthe
twelfthcenturyfamilyofProtoRenaissancebuildings.
14
SimonedelPollaiuolo,calledIlCronaca,activeinthe1480s,combinedinasingle
modelbookdrawingsofancientbuildingsinRomewiththeBaptisteryandSS.Apostoli
inFlorence. GiulianodaSangallowasalsointerestedintheBaptistery.Hubertus
Gnther,DasStudiumderantikenArchitekturindenZeichnungnenderHochrenaissance
(Tbingen:Wasmuth,1988),pp.7071,9442.Anincisiveandparadoxicalanalysisof
thisgeneralphenomenonisMariaFabriciusHansen,RepresentingthePast:The
ConceptandStudyofAntiqueArchitecturein15thCenturyItaly,AnalectaRomana
InstitutiDanici,vol.23(1996):83116.
15
IntheprefacetoBookOneofhisLives,VasarisaysthatthearchitectsofS.Miniato
wereableto"recognize"andemulatel'ordinebuonoantico theyfoundnell'antichissimo
tempiodiS.Giovanni [theBaptistery]nellacittloroVasari,Levitedepieccellenti
pittoriscultoriedarchitettori,9vols.,ed.GaetanoMilanesi(Florence:Sansoni,1906),1:
23637.IntheLifeofAndreaTafiherefersagaintotheBaptisteryasqueltempio
antico...laqualedagliarchitettimodernicomecosasingolarelodata,emeritamente:
perciocchellahamostratoilbuonochegiavevainsquell'arte,andconfirmsthat
Brunelleschi,Donatello,andothermastersusedboththeBaptisteryandSS.Apostolias
modelsfortheirownwork Levite,1:332.
6
couldyieldserendipitousresults. YetdespiteGombrichswarning,modernscholarshave
foundfewwaystodescribecreativemisidentificationsof oldformsandartifactsother
than aserrors. ThingsonlygetworsewhentheRenaissancescholarsfigurenotmerely as
passivegulls,butasactiveforgers,interventionistswithinthemonumentalrecord. Forit
isthecasethathumanistscholarsinthisperiodactuallyfabricatedfacts. Theepigraphers
copiedmanydozensoffascinatingbutinauthentictextsintotheirsylloges,oranthologies
ofclassicalinscriptions.
16
TheearlysyllogesincludedtheepitaphsofLucretia,Caesar,
andLucan,andmuchelseoflittlehistoricalvalue. Mostsyllogistsknewwhichtexts
weregood andwhichwerenot.
17
Still,theultimatetruth content of agiven tradition
wasneverquiteclear. Scholarshipoften driftedintoadisorientingmiddlegroundwhere
thefabricatedsupplementstofactcouldcyclebackandbecomecorroboratingtestimony
totheirownreality,especiallybeforetheeraofprint(whichantiquariansentered
alarminglylate
18
). Confusingly,someofthepseudepigraphictexts,aswellas
inscriptionsrecordedinclassicaltextssuchasLivy,hadbeen carvedinstoneinmodern
times. Butsuch stoneswouldhavebeenhardtodateonstylisticgroundsalone.
19
The
lasttoseetheepitaphofLucanM.A.LucanoCordubensipoetebeneficioNeronis
16
FritzSaxl,"TheClassicalInscriptioninRenaissanceArtandPolitics,"Journalofthe
WarburgandCourtauldInstitutes4(1940/1941):1946.IdaCalabiLimentani,"Primi
orientamentiperunastoriadell'epigrafialatinaclassica,"Acme19(1966):155219,esp.
1623andsectionIII,2,Falsificazioni. SeealsotheAppendixonmedievaland
RenaissancepseudoantiquetextsandinscriptionsinWolfgangSpeyer,Dieliterarischen
FlschungimheidnischenundchristlichenAltertum(Munich:Beck,1971),pp.315320.
17
Insomecases,thesyllogistssurely suspectedinauthenticitybutcopiedthetexts
anywayafterall,theysometimesincludedopenlymoderntexts,includingtheirown
inventions,alongsidetheancientones.Therefore onecannotalwaysassumemaximum
credulityeverytimeascholarcopiesaspurioustext.
18
Onthispointseemyarticle"NotationofVisualInformationintheEarliest
ArcheologicalScholarship,"WordandImage17(2001):94118.
19
CalabiLimentani,"Primiorientamenti,p.162.
7
Caesarisfamaservata,someonesoutrightinventionwastheFlorentinephilologist
PietroCrinito(d.1507),whoreportedthatitwasdonein priscislitteris,"ancient
letters."
20
Throughrepetition,circulation,andassociationwithmaterialevidence,suchludic
contrivancescouldtakeon aspeciousfactualexistence. HuiusNymphaLoci wasa
modern poem,devisedperhapsasearlyasthe1460sbythehumanistGiovanniAntonio
Campani,invokingtheclassicalandpastoral topos ofagirl sleepingnearwater. The
poemthenappearedintheanthologyofancientinscriptionscompiledbyMichael
FabriciusFerrarinusinthe1470sor1480s,togetherwiththeexplanationthatthepoem
hadbeenfoundsuperripamDanuvii,abovethebanksoftheDanube,inscribedona
tabletandaccompaniedbyastatueof asleepingnymph.
21
Fromthatpointonthe
inscriptionandthestatuewerehandedonfromsyllogetosylloge,oftenaccompaniedby
adrawingofthestatue. TheDanubianlocationwasremoteenoughthatnoonewould
bothertocheckthatwaspartofthejoke. InRome,thepseudoantiquepoem andstatue
fellintoamutuallycorroboratingrelationwith afamilyof real statuesofrecumbent
sleepingfemales,ancientandmodern. ThemostcelebratedwastheAriadne,knownin
theRenaissanceasCleopatra,aRomancopyofasecondcenturyB.C.E. Pergamene
original,firstrecordedintheMaffeicollection atthebeginningofthesixteenthcentury.
Pope JuliusIIacquiredthework1512andmounteditintheBelvedereasafountain.
22
20
CorpusInscriptionumLatinarum(Berlin,1862ff.),no.VI.5.6*,II.200*.IdaCalabi
Limentani,"SulnonsapereleggereleepigraficlassicheneisecoliXIIeXIIIsulla
scopertagradualedelleabbreviazioniepigrafiche,"Acme23(1970):261.
21
ThehistoryoftheepigramiscomplicatedseeElizabethMacDougall,TheSleeping
Nymph:OriginsofaHumanistFountain,ArtBulletin57(1975):35765,esp.35859 .
22
VaticanMuseums,inv.no.548.SeePhyllisPrayBoberandRuthRubinstein,
RenaissanceArtistsandAntiqueSculpture(London:HarveyMillerOxford:Oxford
8
Thestatueandanotherlikeit,nowlost,servedasthebasisformoderncopiesand
adaptations.
23
ThehumanistscholarAngeloColocci,forexample,installedanude
versionofthesleepingnymphtogetherwiththeinscribedpoem asafountaininhis
gardenon thePincio. Eventuallyinscriptionandstatueenteredintothepublished
sylloges(fig.3).
24
Printrecreatedthemodernworkasafalseantiquity.
25
Meanwhile,
thesymbiosisofstatueandpoem wasextendedindrawingsandpaintingsbyAlbrecht
DrerandLucasCranach,whoasDanubians,moreorless,claimedaproprietory
relationship.
26
UniversityPress,1986),no.79andp.97FrancisHaskellandNicholasPenny,Tasteand
theAntique:TheLureofClassicalSculpture,15001900(NewHaven:YaleUniversity
Press,1981) ,pp.18487andBarkan,UnearthingthePast,pp.23347.SeeRobertW.
Gastonscommentsontheintertwiningoftheliteraryandarcheologicaltraditionsofthe
sleepingnymph,"LigorioonRiversandFountains:ProlegomenatoaStudyofNaples
XIII.B.9,inGaston,ed., PirroLigorio:ArtistandAntiquarian (Milan:Silvana,1988),
pp.17677.
23
BoberandRubinstein,RenaissanceArtistsandAntiqueSculpture,no.62.Seemost
recentlyGunterSchweikhart,NympheninStatuengarten:ZueinerZeichnungdes
DresdenerKupferstichkabinetts,inVictoriaV.FlemingandSebastianSchtze,eds., Ars
naturamadiuvans,FestschriftMatthiasWinner(Mainz:PhilippvonZabern,1996),pp.
24451.
24
JeanJacquesBoissard,Romanaeurbistopographiae,partVI(Frankfurt,1602),plate
25,basedonBoissardsresearchesinRomehalfacenturyearlier,andreproducingthe
fountaininColoccisgarden.JacopoMazzocchipublishedtheinscriptioninhis
Epigrammataantiquaeurbis(Rome1521),p.158,givingalocationinTrastevere.On
Coloccisinstallation,seeMacDougall,TheSleepingNymph,pp.36162,andIngrid
D.Rowland,TheCultureoftheHighRenaissance:AncientsandModernsinSixteenth
CenturyRome(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1998),pp.18284.
25
SeetheingeniousargumentbyMadeleineViljoen,PrintsandFalseAntiquitiesinthe
AgeofRaphael,PrintQuarterly21(2004):23547.
26
CorpusInscriptionumLatinarumVI.5.3*e.OttoKurz,"HuiusNymphaLoci:A
PseudoclassicalInscriptionandaDrawingbyDrer,"JournaloftheWarburgand
CourtauldInstitutes16(1953):17177. SeealsoMillardMeiss,SleepinVenice:
AncientMythsandRenaissanceProclivities,PapersoftheAmericanPhilosophical
Society110(1966):34882. EdgarBierendeconnectsCranachspaintingofthenymph
tolocalinterestinamiraculousspringassociatedwiththeprehistoricfoundationofthe
cityofMeissenandmoregenerallytoTacitussaccountoftheearlyGermanscultof
natureandattentivenesstoprophetesses LucasCranachd..underdeutsche
9
Anotherexampleof ahumanistscholar'scriticalcharitytoward recentmaterial
evidenceisthediscovery ofapparentlyantiquemedalsbytheGermanpoetand
antiquarianConradCeltis. PetrusApianusandBartholomeusAmantiusintheir
anthologyofantiquities,Inscriptionessacrosanctaevetustatis(1534), publishedwoodcut
illustrationsoftheartifacts. Acircularimagerepresentsanudemanseatedinarocky
landscapeandaccompaniedbyawingedchildandaskull(fig.4).Themanholdshis
headinhishandsasifanguishedbycontemplationoftheskull.Thecaptionreads:
"FoundbyConradCeltisnotlongagoonaleadplate[orcoin]inStyria,onthehillwith
thechurchnearSt.Andreas,intheyear1500"(NuperaCon.Cel.inventuminplumbea
laminainStiriainColle:inquoestEcclesiacircaSanctumAndream.AnnoM.D.).
27
Thewoodcutinfactreproducesthereverseofaselfportraitby theVenetianmedallist
GiovanniBold(d.before1477).
28
Bizarrely,theman,thechild,andtheskullare
Humanismus:TafelmalereiimKontextvonRhetorik,ChronikenundFrstenspiegeln
(Munich andBerlin:DeutscherKunstverlag,2002),pp.22734.
27
PetrusApianusandBartholomeusAmantius,Inscriptionessacrosanctaevetustatis
(Ingolstadt,1534),p. 385.
28
G.F.Hill,ACorpusofItalianMedalsoftheRenassance(London:BritishMuseum,
1930),nos. 421,423. StephenK.Scher,ed., TheCurrencyofFame:PortraitMedalsof
theRenaissance(Washington:NationalGalleryofArtNewYork:FrickCollection,
1994),no.27,pp.1023.Ontheselfportraitmedal,thereversewiththeallegory is
inscribedOPVSIOANISBOLDVPICTORISVENETVSXOGRAFI(=zographos,
painterfrom life)anddated1458. A versionbyanotherartistreplacesBoldsimage
withaportraitofCaracallabutpreservestheallegoryonthereverse,thoughwitha
differentinscription: IOSONFINEandthedate1466. Neitheroftheseinscriptionsor
datesappearsinthewoodcutinApianusnordoestheobverse,obviously. Forthe
receptionoftheimage,seeWilliamR.Levin,ed.,ImagesofLoveandDeathinLate
MedievalandRenaissanceArt,ex.cat.,UniversityofMichiganMuseumofArt(1975),
no.84 WendySteadmanSheard,ed., AntiquityintheRenaissance,exhibition catalogue
(Northampton,Mass.:SmithCollegeMuseumofArt,1978),no.80andHorstW.
Janson,"ThePuttowiththeDeath'sHead,"ArtBulletin19(1937):423449.
10
labelledinthewoodcutreproduction Cloto,Lachesis,andAtropos,i.e., theThreeFates.
29
Celtiswasapparentlynottheonlyoneto overestimatethecompositionsantiquity.Inthe
1490sthesculptorCristoforoSolaritransposedthecompositiontoamarblemedallion
andmounteditonthefaadeoftheCertosadiPavia,alongsideotherantiquities,
includingcopiesofRomancoinsaswellasthemedallicportraitofEmperorConstantine,
thefamousremakeofanonexistentlateantiqueobject.
30
OnhistravelsCeltiswasconstantlydetectingtracesofthepresenceoftheDruids,
theancientpriestlycastethatsupposedlybroughtreligiontotheGermansfromGreece:
forestmonasteries,pentagramsstampedonFrankishcoins,echoesofGreekinthe
modernGermanlanguageidentificationsthatwerereceivedwithinterestandrespectby
such authoritiesasJohannesAventinus,hisownpupil.
31
IfCeltissnumismatic
discoveriesmuddlepaganandneopaganiconographies,thenhispursuitoftheDruids
amongtheGermanicantiquitiespointstoacomparableperiodconfusionsurrounding
medievalartifacts.
ConradCeltiswasavoyagerinthatmiddleterritoryofsemibelief,where
scholarshipappealedtothepowerofsuggestionandtothecharismaofnamesand
29
TheconnectionCeltismadetotheThreeFatesmayhavederivedfromapassagein
ApuleiusseePeterLuh,KaiserMaximiliangewidmet:DieunvollendeteWerkausgabe
desConradCeltisundihreHolzschnitte(Frankfurt:PeterLang,2001),p.331,n.25.
30
CharlesR.Morscheck,Jr., ReliefSculpturefortheFaadeoftheCertosaofPavia,
14731499(NewYorkandLondon:Garland,1978),p.245andfig.61.Themedallionis
onthenorthsideofthesocle.ForthemedalportraitsofConstantineandHeraclius,
contrivancesofaBurgundiancourtartistofaround1400whichwereunderstoodas
antiquitiesbymanyscholarsthroughoutthesixteenthcentury,seeScher,ed., The
CurrencyofFame,pp.3237.
31
ConradCeltis,Norimberga,ed.AlbertWerminghoff(Freiburg:Boltze,1921), pp. 123
125Celtis,Quatuorlibriamorvm(Nuremberg,1502),I,12II,9,III,13Celtis,Liber
odarum(Strasbourg,1513),III,28.ForAventinussreceptionofCeltissreports,seehis
BayerischeChronik,v.4,cap.26,106,andGermaniaillustrata(1531), Smmtliche
Werke,v.6(Munich,1908),pp.15657.
11
associations. Hishistoriographicalandiconographicalinquirieswereguidedbyhis
poeticimagination. Likehiscontemporary AnniusofViterbo, theDominicanhistorian,
Celtiswasalsosomethingofaconfidenceman,aHochstapler.Buttheseare
complicatedstates ofmind,notsimpleones. Whatevertracesof recentfabricationthe
Italianmedal ortheFrankishcoinsmighthaveborne,Celtisbelievedthatthemodern
artifactsreliablytransmittedtheessential contentof theirancientprototypes.Hefelt
licensed,oreven compelled,toassigntheworkstheir"correct"iconographiclabels. And
thisisthethesisthatwillbeadvancedin thisessay:antiquarianerrorinthisperiodwas
oftenjustamatter oflookingthroughtherecentnessoftheartifacttoa referential
targetfarbehinditandsotoitstruemeaning.
Theturntomaterialevidencewasoneofthekeystothedevelopmentofmodern
historicalconsciousness,asArnaldoMomigliano,RobertoWeiss,FrancisHaskell,Alain
Schnapp,IngoHerklotz,andmany othershavedemonstrated.
32
Materialrelicsofthe
pastfurnishedapowerfulrhetoricalcounterweighttotheauthorityoftexts.Inasense,
thescholarswereonlyfollowingtheleadoftheclerics,whohadbeenmanipulatingrelics
forcenturiesintheirbattleswithoblivion.
33
Buttheimaginationisnotcooledbyrelics,
32
ArnoldoMomigliano,"AncientHistoryandtheAntiquarian,"JournaloftheWarburg
andCourtauldInstitutes13(1950):285315reprintedinMomigliano,Studiesin
Historiography(London:WeidenfeldandNicolson,1969),pp.139RobertoWeiss,The
RenaissanceDiscoveryofClassicalAntiquity (Oxford:Blackwell,1969)Francis
Haskell,HistoryanditsImages:ArtandtheInterpretationofthePast(NewHaven:
YaleUniversityPress,1993)AlainSchnapp,TheDiscoveryofthePast(NewYork,
1997)IngoHerklotz, CassianodalPozzounddieArchologiedes17.Jahrhunderts
(Munich:Hirmer,1999).SeealsothevolumeseditedbySalvatoreSettis,Memoria
dell'anticonell'arteitaliana,3vols.(Torino:Einaudi,19841986).
33
Oncredulityandcriticisminthechurchcontext,seeesp.KlausSchreiner,"'Discrimen
veriacfalsi':AnstzeundFormenderKritikinderHeiligenundReliquienverehrungdes
Mittelalters,"ArchivfrKulturgeschichte48(1966):153,andFrantiekGraus,
"FlschungenimGewandderFrmmigkeit,"in:FlschungenimMittelalter,vol.5,
12
butheated.J.B.Trapp, whowroteperceptively on thebogustombsoftheRomanpoets,
spokeof"learnedcredulity,"andwiththisphrasesuggestedthattheerrorsofthe
fifteenthandsixteenthcenturyantiquarianswerenotsimplymissteps,butwereinsome
senseafunctionofthenewerudition.
34
Learnedcredulity,inthisview,wasneithera
regressiveholdovernoraweaknessofmind,butaphenomenoncatalyzedby
antiquarianismitself.
Thefacileenlightenedviewofthehistoryofscholarshipasaprogressive
illuminationofdarknessobstructedonlybyfoolsorknavesaviewvoicedbyEdward
Gibbonhimselfwhenhedescribedhisseventeenthcenturypredecessorsas"antiquarians
ofprofoundlearningandeasyconfidence,"
35
implyingthatthetrueenemyofcritical
scholarshipwasaselfservingandsuperstitiousreligiosityhasuntilrecentlydominated
thehistoricalstudy oftheoriginsof modern scholarship.Foriftruthbetold,neither
RobertoWeissinhisRenaissanceDiscoveryofClassicalAntiquitynorFrancisHaskellin
hisHistoryanditsImageshadanythingreallyinterestingtosayaboutantiquarian
credulity. Inhistoriesofscholarship,iconographicmisadventuressuchasCeltisstoo
oftenfigureasincompletenessesordelaysinthedevelopmentofmodernarcheological
andphilologicalmethod,nomore,noless. Yetonemusthesitatebeforeregrettingor
dismissingthedoublethink
36
ofthescholarsasbadfaithorcrassopportunism,even
FingierteBriefeFrmmigkeitundFlschungRealienflschungen(Hannover:Hahn,
1988),pp.26182.
34
Trapp,Preface,EssaysontheRenaissanceandtheClassicalTradition(Aldershot:
Variorum,1990).
35
Gibbon,DeclineandFalloftheRomanEmpire(NewYork: ModernLibrary,[1932]),
1:189.
36
Forthisconcept,seeRichardKrautheimersPostscripttohisseminalarticleof1942,
IntroductiontoanIconographyofMedievalArchitecture,inKrautheimer,Studiesin
13
orperhapsespeciallyin thecasesof ConradCeltisandAnniusofViterbo.Theremust
beaway toredescribetheseepisodesinperiodterms,andpreciselynotin thetermsof
thosecriticaldisciplinesthatwere onlyjustemergingintheRenaissanceandwerenot
institutionalizedandinternalizeduntilthenineteenthcentury.
Iwouldliketoreviewseveral recentandimaginativeapproachestolearned
credulity thatavoidsimplecondemnationorjudgmentinmoderntermsandthen offer
myown structuralexplanationforthecredulityoftheRenaissancearcheologists.That
explanationaimsatvaliditybeyondlocalcircumstancesandmaythereforepossibly
contributetoasystematic,nontrivialcomparisonofEuropeanantiquarianismwith
patternsofscholarlyinquiryandpresentationinChinaandelsewhere.
ThefirstoftherecentapproachesIwishtoidentify mightbecalledthe"poetic"or
"romantic"model,followingtheleadofCharlesMitchellwhoinawellknownessayof
1960broughtoutthefanciful,enthusiasticdimensionofQuattrocentoerudition,showing
forexamplehowreadilyCyriacusofAnconafellintoafervent,"goliardic"thatis,ludic
andfestiveworshipofMercuryorwithwhatingenuityFeliceFelicianoinvented
monumentalframesfortheinscriptionshediscovered.
37
Scholarship,Mitchellshowed,
EarlyChristian,Medieval,andRenaissanceArt(NewYork:NewYorkUniversityPress
London:UniversityofLondonPress,1969),pp.149150.
37
CharlesMitchell,"ArchaeologyandRomanceinRenaissanceItaly,"in:E.F.Jacob,
ed., ItalianRenaissanceStudies(London:FaberandFaber,1960),pp.45583.On
inventedframes,seeMitchell,FeliceFelicianoAntiquarius,ProceedingsoftheBritish
Academy47(1961),pp.197221,esp.21617AnnegritSchmitt,Antikenkopienund
knstlerischeSelbstverwirklichunginderFrhrenaissance,inRichardHarprathand
HenningWrede,eds.,AntikenzeichnungundAntikenstudieninRenaissanceund
Frhbarock(Mainz:Zabern,1989),pp.120(ontheinterplayofaccuracyandfreedomin
14
flowedsmoothlyintoornamentalizingplay.Indeedoneisstruckbyhowreadilya
suggestivesequenceofcarvedletterstriggeredthesupplementingimaginationsofthe
scholars. TheVenetianscholarMarinSanudo(intheaccountofRobertoWeiss),on
beingshownbythelocalhumanistGiustodeiGiustitheinscriptionwiththenameL.
VITRVVIVSonthearchoftheGavi,whichwaslocallybelievedtohavebeenpartofthe
Arena[ofVerona],jumpedtotheconclusionthatthisVitruvius,whomhefeltcertain was
thegreatarchitect,hadalsobeenresponsibleforthebuildingofit.
38
Scholarshipwasa
matteroffillingoutthebareskeletonofantiqueremains. TochargescholarslikeCeltis
withcredulity,Mitchell taught,istomisunderstandthatimaginationwasinextricable
fromscholarship. Mitchellpointedoutthatlaterantiquariansappreciatedthis: the
sixteenthcenturyantiquarianAntonioAgustindespisedclumsyforgeries,butadmired
cleverpractitionerslikeAnniusofViterboandPirroLigorio.
39
Mitchell'sapproachunfoldsintothemorerecent,andstillmoresophisticated,
analysesofLeonardBarkan,whoinhisbookUnearthingthePastshowshow
Renaissancearcheologybecameaframeworkforpoeticstorytellingaboutobjectsand
origins,dovetailinginthefirstdecadesofthesixteenthcenturywiththeemergenceofa
cultureofart.
40
Fromthispointofview,theerrorsoftheantiquarieswerenoterrorsat
theantiquariandrawingsofJacopoBelliniandMarcoZoppo)andWood,"Notationof
VisualInformationintheEarliestArcheologicalScholarship,pp.96100.
38
Weiss,RenaissanceDiscoveryofClassicalAntiquity,pp.11718.
39
OnAnnius,seebelow,pp.000000.OnPirroLigorio,whoseattitudetowardtruthis
onlynowemerginginallitscomplexity,seethevolumeofessayseditedbyRobertW.
Gaston,PirroLigorio:ArtistandAntiquarian andGaston,MerelyAntiquarian:Pirro
LigorioandtheCriticalTraditionofAntiquarianScholarship,inAllenJ.Griecoetal,
eds.,TheItalianRenaissanceintheTwentiethCentury,ed.(Florence:Olschki,2002),pp.
35573.
40
LeonardBarkan,UnearthingthePast:ArcheologyandAestheticsintheMakingof
RenaissanceCulture(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,1999).
15
all,butratherfrictionproducedbytheinterferencebetweenscholarlycultureand
aestheticcultureattheverymomentwhenthemodernboundariesbetweenthetwo
realmswerefirstestablished. Thepoeticmodelofantiquariancredulityinthe
Renaissanceindeedalwaysemergesincloseproximitytoworksof art, whetherpoems,
pictures,effigies,ortemples.Thepoem isfundamentally atimebendingmachine,as
ThomasGreenesprofoundstudyofRenaissanceintertextualityshowed,andforthatvery
reasonisseldommistakenforadocument.
41
Thepoetsknewtowork with andnot
againstanachronismlearnedtomakeavirtueoutof theconditionof intertextuality,in
otherwords. Theworkofvisualart, however,wasfrequently expected,inlatemedieval
andRenaissanceculture,todoubleasahistoricaldocument.Theconfusionswehave
beendetectingaroundartifactsweregeneratedbytheinterferencebetweenthe
documentaryandaestheticidentitiesoftheartifact.
Untilthoseidentitieshadbeensortedoutiftheyeverhavebeenpoetry
occupiedaspecialnichewithin thearcheologicalimagination. Frequentwerethereports
ofdiscoveriesofthetombsoftheancientpoet. AstoneinscribedT.LIVIVSwas
unearthedinPaduaaround1320andimmediatelyhailedasthetombofthehistorian,a
nativeson.Acenturylaterhisboneswerefoundinasarcophagusverynearthefindsite
oftheinscription.
42
In1508aclericofBratislava,LeonhardCreutzer,reportedthe
41
ThomasGreene,TheLightinTroy:ImitationandDiscoveryinRenaissancePoetry
(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,1982).OntheselfemancipationofRenaissance
poetryfromreferentialresponsibilitytowardsorigins,seeDavidQuint,Originand
OriginalityinRenaissanceLiterature:VersionsoftheSource(NewHaven:Yale
UniversityPress,1983).
42
J.B.Trapp,"TheImageofLivyintheMiddleAgesandtheRenaissance,"Lecturasde
historiadelarte2(1992):211238orThePoetandtheMonumentalImpulse,Society
forRenaissanceStudies,OccasionalPapers,no.6(1980),pp.1214. Juliusvon
16
excavationofthetombofOvidinSzombathely,outfittedwithsixstonelampsandtwo
platesengravedwithverses,thoughCreutzercouldnotrememberwhattheysaid.
43
The
tombofthepoetwasthepointofintersectionofarcheologicalandaestheticcultures.
Asecondmodelthatattemptstocontextualizeantiquarianmisdatingsand
mischiefmightbedesignated the"forgersascritics"model,followingtheleadof
AnthonyGrafton whowroteaninfluentialshortbook withasimilartitle.Graftonargued
thatforgerslikeAnniusofViterboweremanipulatingthesamesetsofskillsthathonest
scholarsweredevelopingtoworkwithancienttexts. Thepassiveandactiveapproaches
tothepast,inotherwords,weresymmetrical. Anniushelpedestablish thebindingrules
forthechoiceandevaluationofsources."Aforgeremerges,"Graftonwrote,"asthefirst
reallymoderntheoristofcriticalreadingofhistoriansaparadoxthatonlyareaderwitha
heartofstonecouldreject."
44
ThisparadigmappliesnotonlytoAnniussphilologicalwork,butalsotohis
archeologicalprojects. Anniusannouncedaround1492the"discovery"ofacacheof
"vases,bronzes,andmarblesincisedwitholdletters"nearViterbo.
45
Thefakedfinds
Schlosser,"VommodernenDenkmalkultus,"VortrgederBibliothekWarburg1926
1927(1930):89.
43
Trapp,"Ovid'sTomb,"JournaloftheWarburgandCourtauldInstitutes36(1973):47.
44
Grafton,ForgersandCritics:CreativityandDuplicityinWesternScholarship
(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1990),p.104.SeealsoGrafton,Defendersofthe
Text:TheTraditionsofScholarshipinanAgeofScience,14501800 (Cambridge,Mass.:
HarvardUniversityPress,1991),chap.3onAnnius.
45
Annius,DemarmoreisVolturrhenistabulis,discussedby RobertoWeiss,"An
UnknownEpigraphicTractbyAnniusofViterbo,"ItalianStudiesPresentedtoE.R.
Vincent,ed.C.P.Brand(Cambridge:Heffer,1962),pp.10120.WalterStephens,
17
becamethearcheological basisforAnniussextravaganttheses,whichhepublishedonly
afewyearslaterintheformofcounterfeitedtextsattributedtotheChaldeansage
Berosuson theearliesthistoryofEurope,involvingthepostdiluvianmovementsof
NoahandhisprogenyandtheEgyptiangods. ThemostpuzzlingofAnniuss
archeologicalfabricationsisthesocalledmarmoosiriano,anornamentallunetteina
framenotaforgery,infact,butafoundobject(fig.5).
46
Thisobjectwasnotpartofthe
staged"excavation"rather,itcouldbeseenbyanyone,Anniusreported,inthe
Cathedral,whichnaturallywasonceaTempleofHercules:"Ourforefathers...inorderto
keeptheeternalmemoryoftheantiquityofthiscitybeforeoureyes,placedbeforethe
rostraacolumnula,thatis,analabastertablet,monumenttothetriumphofOsiris."
47
Thelunette,withvines,birds,andalizard,sitsinarectangularframewithtwoclassical
lookingprofileheadsinthecorners.Anniusinterpretedthemonumentasafragmentofa
triumphalcolumnleftinViterbobyOsiris,theEgyptiangod. Hearguedthattheprofile
headsinthespandrelrepresentedOsirisandhiscousinSaisXantho,amuse.Thiswas
proofthatOsirisreallyhadbeentoItaly.Thebirdsandotherobjectsinthetreeinthe
lunetteweresacredEgyptianletterssymbolizingthehistoricalencounterbetweenthe
Italians,theGiants,andtheEgyptians.
48
BerosusChaldeus:CounterfeitandFictiveEditorsoftheEarlySixteenthCentury,Diss.
Cornell,1979,pp.15774.
46
ItaloFaldi,MuseoCivicodiViterbo,Dipintiesculture(Viterbo,1955),no.38. Weiss,
"AnUnknownEpigraphicTractbyAnniusofViterbo,"p.119,n.53.BrianCurran,
TheHypnerotomachiaPoliphiliandRenaissanceEgyptology,WordandImage14
(1998):16569,fig.17.
47
Annius,AntiquitatumvariarumvoluminaXVII (Paris,1512),fol.26rseealsohis
Auctoresvetustissimi(Rome,1498),fol.firectofiiiverso.
48
PaolaMattiangeli,"AnniodaViterboispiratorediciclipittorici,"in AnniodaViterbo:
Documentiericerche,vol.1(Rome:ConsiglioNazionaledelleRicerche,1981),pp.257
339,esp.297301. TheoakitselfwastheletterofOsiris.Thelizardorcrocodile
18
Anniuscanbeforgivenformistakingthelunettewithitstwistedvinesandanimal
symbolsforanantiquity,formodern scholarshipjudgeditalateRoman artifactuntil
1927,whenPietroToescadatedittothetwelfthcentury.Theframewiththeprofile
heads,meanwhile,belongstomoremoderntimes,though itisnotclearwhichtimes.
49
It
wasbynomeansunreasonableforAnniustomistaketheframe,eveniflessthan a
hundredyearsold,foranantiquity.Thewholeensemblewasstrangelookingandhardto
assimilatetoanycontemporaryiconographyorfunction.AndaswiththeCeltisfinds,
thereisnoevidenceofanydoubtonthepartofcontemporaries.Even GiorgioVasari
twogenerationslateradduced"thestatuesfoundatViterbo"asevidenceofthehigh
qualityofEtruscansculpture.
50
GraftonspointwasthatAnniuswasinmanywaysanexemplarytextualeditor.
Bythesametoken,hewasagiftedarcheologist. Anniusbelievedininscriptions,
artifacts,andnamesratherthanauthorities:things,ratherthanwhatpeoplesaidabout
them.
51
Heresentedtheprestigioustextualauthorities,amongthem theancientRoman
historians,whocontradictedhisversion ofthings,mistrustingtheirliterariness,their
symbolizedevil,thatis,theGiants.Thebirds,finally,weretheItalianswhoappealedto
Osirisforhelpandsoforth.Anniusalsobelievedhesawaneyeinthebranchesofthe
tree. Atabletwithanexplanatoryinscriptionwasappendedtotheobjectin1587.
49
CurranrightlycomparesthemtotheprofileheadsonthepulpitatRavelloin
Campania,TheHypnerotomachiaPoliphiliandRenaissanceEgyptology,n.76.That
pulpitdatesfromabout1270andhasbeenattributedtoNiccoldiBartolommeoda
Foggia,anartistnotfarfromNiccoloPisanoJohnPopeHennessy,ItalianGothic
Sculpture(London:Phaidon,1996),p.12LucilladeLachenal,Spolia:Usoerimpiego
dellanticodallIIIalXIVsecolo(Milan:Longanesi,1995),tav.XXXV.
50
Vasari,prefacetotheLives,LeVite,1:220.
51
SeetheremarksbyRiccardoFubini,AnniodaViterbonellatradizioneerudita
toscana(1981)inFubini,StoriografiadellUmanesimoinItaliadaLeonardoBruniad
AnniodaViterbo(Rome:EdizionidiStoriaeLetteratura,2003),pp.33542,esp.33738
comparingAnniussforgedViterbaninscriptionstotheetymologicalnucleithatlinked
thedistanttraditionsandconfirmedhishistoricaltheories.
19
rhetoric.
52
Anniusstruckbackbyinventingapurerancientsourcetoconfirmwhathe
knewwastrue,andpreemptedskepticismbyplantingsolidarcheologicalevidenceinthe
ground.
RetroactivemonumentslikeAnniussmarmoosirianoarebestunderstoodin
thecontextofmedievaldocumentforgery,awellresearchedandwellunderstood
phenomenon.
53
Medievalhistoriansandclerksgeneratedanenormousquantityof forged
documentsthatcametocarryreallegalforce. Forgeryflourished,ofcourse,inproximity
topower.Afamouscaseinpointisthefantasticalgenealogicaltreedreamtupby the
HabsburgEmperorMaximilianscourthistoriansLadislausSuntheimandJakob
Mennel.
54
ThescholarJohannesTrithemiusinventedanentiresource,Hunibald,to
52
C.R.Ligota,"AnniusofViterboandHistoricalMethod," JournaloftheWarburgand
CourtauldInstitutes50(1987):4456. LigotapointedoutthatAnniusfrequentlynoted
problemsinthetextshehadforged.Eitherthiswasallpartoftheruseorthetextshad
takenonsomemeasureofauthenticityinhiseyes.
53
SeeaboveallthesymposiumproceedingsFlschungenimMittelalter,5 vols.
(MonumentaGermanicaHistorica,Schriften,vol.33)(Hannover:Hahn,1988)the
exhibitioncatalogueFlschungenundFiktionen(Munich:Bayerisches
Hauptstaatsarchiv,1986)andP.HerdeandA.Gawlik,"Flschungen,"in Lexikondes
Mittelalters,vol.4(MunichandZurich:Artemis,1988),col.246ff. Anexcellentrecent
surveyandanalysisoftheproblemisAlfredHiatt, TheMakingofMedievalForgeries:
FalseDocumentsinFifteenthCenturyEngland(London:BritishLibraryToronto:
UniversityofTorontoPress,2004),esp.pp.121.BrianStock, TheImplicationsof
Literacy:WrittenLanguageandModelsofInterpretationintheEleventhandTwelfth
Centuries(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1983),pp.5962,arguesinterestingly
thatthehighartofforgerywascreatedbyliteracy,aspropertyclaimsincreasingly
cametobeunderstoodasrelationshipsbetweenwordsandthingsratherthanbetween
people.
54
OnMaximiliansgenealogicalprojects,seeLaschitzer,Simon. "DieGenealogiedes
KaisersMaximilianI.,"JahrbuchderkunsthistorischenSammlungen7(1888):1200
AlphonsLhotsky,"ApisColonna:FabelnundTheorienberdieAbkunftder
Habsburger,"MitteilungendesInstitutsfrGeschichtsforschunginWien55(1944):171
245andMarieTanner,TheLastDescendantofAeneas:TheHapsburgsandtheMythic
ImageoftheEmperor(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,1993),pp.1009.Seealso
ChristopherS.Wood,"MaximilianIasArcheologist, RenaissanceQuarterly58(2005):
112874.
20
provethegenealogicalconnectionbetweentheTrojansandtheFranks.
55
Tobesure,
manydocumentforgersweresimplycynicalopportunists.Medievalscholarsandjurists
werequitecapableofapplyingrationalistcriteriainacceptingorrejectingevidence.
56
Butithasalsobeenarguedthatconceptsoftheauthenticityorspuriousnessofa
documentarehistorically relativeandthatmedievalforgersweresimplycomplyingwith
theconventionsandexpectationsoftheirowntime.Itisargued,forexample,thatthe
overridingframeworkofsalvationaljustificationprovidedalegitimatingcontextfor
documentforgery,that thedeceitwasapiousfraud(piafraus)oritisarguedthatsuch
deceitswerejustifiedbyatraditional,popularsenseoffairness(aequitas)which
transcendedanysimplybinaryoppositionbetweenthetrueandthefalsedocument.
57
Withdocuments,theintenttodeceiveoutrightisdifficulttodisentanglefromthedesire
toestablishandpublicizehistoricalorlegalprecedentsthatweresimply knowntohave
beenrealeveniftheoriginalmaterialindexesofthoseprecedentshadgoneastray. The
forger,rationalandirrationalatonce,thoughtdoubly. Theforgerofferedthe
fabricateddocumentsasalegitimatesubstituteforanabsentdocumentthatmusthave
existed. Tofabricateadocumentwasjusttocompleteapaperrecordthatwas
55
KlausArnold, JohannesTrithemius(14621516),2nded.(Wrzburg:Schningh,
1991),pp.167179 NikolausStaubach,"AufderSuchenachderverlorenenZeit:Die
historiographischenFiktionendesJohannesTrithemiusimLichteseines
wissenschaftlichenSelbstverstndnisses,"in:FlschungenimMittelalter,vol.1,pp.263
316.
56
Forsuchanonrelativistpositionin thedebateaboutthehistoricityofrationalist
skepticism,seethereply toHorstFuhrmannbyH.Patzein HistorischeZeitschrift197
(1963) andElizabethA.R.Brown,"'Falsitaspiasivereprehensibilis':MedievalForgers
andTheirIntentions,"in:FlschungenimMittelalter,vol.1,101119.
57
Forrelativistpositionsin thedebate,seeGilesConstable,"ForgeryandPlagiarismin
theMiddleAges,"ArchivfrDiplomatik29(1983):141HorstFuhrmann,"Die
FlschungenimMittelalter,"HistorischeZeitschrift197(1963):529554andFuhrmann,
"Mundusvultdecepi,"HistorischeZeitschrift241(1985):52942.
21
incompleteonlybyaccident,unfairly.Ifatraditionwasoldenoughcustom beyond
memorythen therewasanalmostirresistibletendencytobelieveit.
58
Thefabrication
ofacorroboratingcharterorartifactwouldhaveappearedtomanyaroutinebureaucratic
procedure. Themosaicofsourceshadanumberofauthorsizedgapsinitwhynotfill
themwithcharacterslikeBerosusorHunibald?
A thirdrecentapproachtreatsscholarly errorinthecontextofmythicthought.
Credulity,inthisparadigm,isan effectgeneratedby amismatchbetweenscholarlyand
mythicalthinking. Mythisanarrativecodingof aculturescosmology andfirst
principles.TheancienthistorianPaulVeyneinhisbrilliantbookDidtheGreeksBelieve
inTheirMyths? sketchedoutan ancientintellectualworldof"pluraltruths,"anopen
competitionofmythsthatmadeperfectsenseaccordingtoitsowninternalrulesandeven
maderoomforwhatVeynecalledthescholarlypracticeof"criticalcredulity."
59
Veynes
modelisadaptabletoRenaissanceculture.AsFrankBorchardtdemonstratedinhisbook
GermanAntiquityinRenaissanceMyth, thecriticalhistoriography ofthefifteenthand
sixteenthcenturieswasoftenjustamatterofonemythreplacinganother. Although
Renaissancescholarswerequicktocondemntheerrorsoftheirpredecessors,theywere
apttoreplacethoseerrorswithmoreerrors. Borchardtcalledthisprocessthe"toposof
criticalrejection,"ortogiveititsperiodname,anasceva,or"dismantling."Borchardt
58
SeetheremarksbyUmbertoEco,"Tipologiadellafalsificazione,"in:Flschungenim
Mittelalter,vol.1(MonumentaGermanicaHistorica,Schriften,vol.33)(Hannover:
Hahn,1988),pp.6982.
59
PaulVeyne,DidtheGreeksBelieveinTheirMyths? AnEssayontheConstitutive
Imagination(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,1988),p. 54.
22
arguedthatscholarswerereluctanttodismantleatraditionandleavenothinginits
place.
60
Thatis,theywereneithersatisfiedwithVeynespluraltruths,norwillingto
faceapastcompletely unstructuredbymyth.
61
Becausemythandwrittenhistorysharethesamenarrativestructure,they are
easily knittedtogetherintoacommonfabric.Cosmogoniesormythsofnationalorigins
werefrequentlyretained,inthisperiod,asapreludetomorerecentandbetter
documentedhistories.Theinitiatedcouldeasilydetecttheseambetweenmythand
history,perhapstacitly sanctioningthemythicprologuethroughaneuhemeristic
assumption,thatis,thetheorythatheroicorfabulousnarrativeswererootedinrealbut
forgottenevents.Otherreadersallowedmythandhistorytoflowintooneanother.
Credulitywasawayofreading.
Antiquarianism,asIngoHerklotzpointsout,iscuriosityabouteveryaspectof
ancientlifeexceptevents.
62
Antiquarianism,therefore,isbyitsnatureoutofrhythmwith
bothmythandhistory.Itsfindings,whichneverquitesettleintotheirownnarrative
patterns,canbeusedeithertosupportortodisruptexistingnarratives.Objectsand
artifactsconnecttooneanotheracrossinvisiblewebs,generatingmysteriouseffectsof
survival,revival,andanachronism,astheimaginativeearlytwentiethcenturyart
60
FrankL.Borchardt, GermanAntiquityinRenaissanceMyth(Baltimore:JohnsHopkins
Press,1971)seealsohis"TheToposofCriticalRejectionintheRenaissance,"Modern
LanguageNotes81(1966):47688.
61
RiccardoFubini,evenwhilewarningagainstavoguishmoderncomplaisanceor
evenconnivancewithmyth,arguesthatAnniusofViterbowasanauthenticmyth
maker,capableofexpressingcuturalcrisisandmalaiseby symbolicmeansAnnioda
Viterbonellatradizioneeruditatoscana,p.341.
62
Herklotz, CassianodalPozzounddieArchologiedes17.Jahrhunderts,9.
23
historianAbyWarburgrecognized.
63
Antiquarianismopensmorereadilyontostories
aboutartthanontonarrativehistoriographyguidedbyhistoricalreason.
Inmodernity,theconceptofmythnamesaflightfromtheruleof fact.Myth
narratespoetically andsobecomestherecourse ofthosewhoareunconvincedthatlinear
sequencesofdocumentsorartifactscan tellthewholestoryorofthoseunwillingto
adapthuman existencetoahistoricalnarrativefencedinbythecardinalmysteriesof
beginningsandendings,asWolfgangIserhasputit.
64
Forculturesdeprivedofthe
frameworkofmeaningprovidedby,atoneend,etiologicalmythsand,attheother,
prophecyi.e.,devicesthatunlockthosecardinalmysteriesmustbepreparedtotake
seriouslythemereeventsofhumanhistory. Iserarguesthatsuchculturesdevelop
literatureandart,fictionalreenactmentsoflife,ascompensationsforthelossofits
cosmogoniesandeschatologies.Thecredulousearlymodernscholar,then,isthatseeker
oforiginswhoisalreadybeyondmythbutnotyetreadytosurrendertoart.Giambattista
Vico,whograspedthepowerofpoeticwisdom,foundhimselfinjustthatpredicament,
still protestingdeepintotheeighteenthcentury thedogmaoffactestablishedbythe
Renaissancescholars.Butthisalsomadehim thefirsttoanticipatethemodernrebellion,
initiatedbyNietzsche,againsthistoricalreason.
63
AbyWarburg,TheRenewalofPaganAntiquity(LosAngeles:GettyResearchInstitute,
1999).SeealsoGeorgesDidiHuberman,Limagesurvivante:Histoiredelartettemps
desfantmesselonAbyWarburg(Paris:Minuit,2002).
64
WolfgangIser,TheFictiveandtheImaginary:ChartingLiteraryAnthropology
(originalGermanedition,1991)(Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress,1993),p.
298.
24
Eachofthesethreeaccountsof learnedcredulityintheRenaissanceidentifiesa
mixingofcategoriesthatinmodernity arenotionallykeptdistinct: historicalscholarship
iscompromised,inthefirstinstance,by thepoeticaloraestheticimaginationinthe
secondby propagandisticordoctrinalendsandinthethirdbymythicthinking.
Iwouldliketo offerstill anotheraccountof earlymodernscholarlycredulity,here
tooattemptingtoovercomewhatGraftoncallsthe"distressinglyrectilinear"rationalist
accounts.
65
Inthisaccount, thetemporalinstabilityofhistorical artifactsfollowsfrom
theirmutualsubstitutabilityintheimaginationoftheantiquarian. Thebasicpremise
behindanypremodernuseofartifactsasdocumentswasthemembershipoftheartifact
withinatypologicalclass.
66
Theseclasseswerestructuredaschainsofartifacts
connectedtoacommonsourceandsucceedingandsubstitutingforoneanotheracross
time. Ingeneral,premodernculturecopedwithdeficitsofauthoritybyinventingchains
thatranbackwardstoaremote,identitygrantingorigin.Ifthetruemeaningofaword
wasdesired,etymologywouldyieldtheanswerifafamilyrequiredanewbasisforits
holdonpower,thegenealogistbuiltachain.
67
Thechainofsubstitutionsstretchingout
behindanygivenartifactwas,inpractice,invisibleandunreconstructible.Theargument
isnotthatproduction(of paintings,sculptures,or buildings)wasinrealityguidedby
65
Grafton,ForgersandCritics,103.
66
RichardKrautheimermadeasimilarpointaboutmedievalbuildingsinhisarticle,
IntroductiontoanIconographyofMedievalArchitecture,JournaloftheWarburgand
CourtauldInstitutes5(1942):1ff.Themodeloutlinedhereisbasicallyanextensionof
Krautheimersthesisbeyonditsoriginalchronologicalandmedialbounds.
67
SeeR.HowardBloch,EtymologiesandGenealogies:ALiteraryAnthropologyofthe
FrenchMiddleAges(Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,1983)MarianRothstein,
Etymology,Genealogy,andtheImmutabilityofOrigins,RenaissanceQuarterly43
(1990):33247.
25
constantreferencetoastableoriginpoint.Substitutionwasrather thetheoryof
production thatguidedtheperception,interpretation,anduseofartifacts.
68
Substitutionwasatheoryabouttheproductionandtransmission ofartifacts that
allowedpeopletoworkwithevidenceunderthetacitawarenessthatmaterialvehiclesdid
sometimesneedtobereplacedorrepaired,thatmessagesonmaterialvehiclesdid
sometimesneedtobereinscribedorredrawn,andthatmessagescouldevenbecopiedto
anewvehiclealtogether,justastextswerecopiedfrommanuscripttomanuscript.
Archeologicalthinkingisinprincipletheoppositeofsubstitutionalthinking,inthat
archeologyhasdecidednottoacceptpassivelythewrittentextsclaimtobetheendpoint
ofaninvisiblebutreliableprocessoftransmission andthereforeatrustworthysourceof
information.Butinitseagernesstoimproveuponthepoorevidenceoftexts,early
archeologyacceptedbadmaterialevidence,andsoendedup,paradoxically,repeating
patternsofreceptionpropertothesubstitutionalmodel.LorenzoValla,forinstance,
pointedoutinhistreatiseontheDonationofConstantinethattheevidenceproducedby
thePapacyinfavoroftheDonation'sauthenticitywasall textual.Whytherewasno
corresponding,clinchingmaterialevidence,hewondered,challengingthepapal
advocates: "Ishouldhaveexpectedyoutoshowgoldseals,marbleinscriptions,a
thousandauthors,"hewrote."ThisDonation ofConstantine,"hewenton,"so
magnificentandastounding,cannotbeprovedbyanycopies,ingold,insilver,inbrass,
inmarble,oreveninbooks,but only,ifwebelieveit,onpaper,orparchment"he
68
Onthedynamicroleofthesubstitutionalmodelwithintheselfunderstandingandself
theorizationofRenaissanceart,seeWoodandNagel,TowardaNewModel of
RenaissanceAnachronism(asinn.1).
26
wrote.
69
VallaimpliesthathewouldhavebeenconvincedoftheDonationsrealityif
suchamaterialcopycouldbefoundasifthatcopy,untestedbyanyscienceof
historicalepigraphy,wouldhaveprovenanything! ScholarsinVallastime,presented
withamaterialartifact, tended tounderratethevagariesofmaterialtransmission and
insteadtopresumeastrongconnectiontoanoriginalreferent.Thatunderratingwasthe
very basisinVallascentury fortheevidentiaryforceofartifacts.Archeologyisthought
ofasthedisciplinethatovercomesthelayersofmediationthatseparateusfromthepast.
Butearlyarcheology,totheextentthatitspreferenceforthematerialdependedonan
optimisticfaithintransmission,wasactuallyworkingwithmediation.
Thesubstitutableartifactparexcellencewasthepaintedicon,theportraitofa
holypersonageclaimingadirectlinkbacktoancienttimes.
70
Valla,whiledismissing
thespuriousLentulusletter,aneyewitnessaccountoftheappearanceofChrist,cameto
discussafamousRoman painting:"Similarly,thereareindeedtenthousandthingsof
thissortinRome,amongsacredobjectsisshownthepanelportraitofPeterandPaul."
Valla'spointwastocastdoubtonthelegendthatthepanelwasmiraculously producedas
aconfirmationofavisionbyEmperorConstantine.But,significantly,Valladoesnot
doubttheportraitsthemselves:"IdonotsaythisbecauseIdenythattheyareportraitsof
theapostles(wouldthatthelettersentinthenameofLentulusabouttheportraitofChrist
69
LorenzoValla,TreatiseontheDonationofConstantine, transl.ChristopherB.
Coleman(NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,1922),pp.7475,8081seealso8687on
thevalueofnumismaticandepigraphicevidence.
70
Forthenewhistoriographyofthemedievalicon,permittingatotalreconceptualization
ofitsrelationshiptotheartoftheRenaissance,seeGerhardWolf,SalusPopuli
Romani:DieGeschichtermischerKultbilderimMittelalter,Weinheim:Acta
Humaniora,1990 HansBelting,LikenessandPresence:AHistoryoftheImagebefore
theEraofArt (Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,1994)andWolf,Schleierund
Spiegel:TraditionendesChristusbildesunddieBildkonzeptederRenaissance(Munich:
Fink,2002).
27
wereasgenuine,insteadofbeingnolessviciousandspuriousthanthisprivilegewhich
wehaverefuted),butbecausethatpanelwasnotproducedforConstantinebySylvester.
Atthatstorymymindcannotrestrainitsastonishment."
71
Whenitcametopaintedicons,
inotherwords,Valladroppedhiscriticalguard. Hewasreadytobelievethattheicons
weresubstitutionallylinkedtotheirreferents. Theportraitofgod,saint,orking,the
reliefsculpture,thetomb,andtheroundtempleallsucceededinconcretizingapastthat
wasotherwiseghostlyandobscure.Reference,oncerecognized,appearedancient,
inevitable,incontrovertible. Amonumentalshaping ofthepast,nomatterhowspurious,
hadapowerful placeboeffectontheimaginationofthebeholder.
Earlierwenotedthatartifactsgeneratetheirowntemporalitiesthatdisableany
easycouplingwithhistoriesoftexts.Thesubstitutionalmodelisstillanotherway of
explainingwhyarcheology wasoutofsyncwithphilology inthisperiod,andwhy
antiquarianism retaineditssystematicandnonnarrativecharacterforsolong.
72
Thehypothesisofmutuallysubstitutablelinksinareferentialchainexplainshow
whitevinescroll andtheminusculealphabet,nomatterhowrecent themanuscriptsthat
transmitted them,wereheldtohavepreservedtheancientwaysofbookmakingorhow
thestrangeiconographiesofthemedalsfoundbyConradCeltiscouldhavebeen
understoodasantique. ThehypothesisofsubstitutabilityshowshowBrunelleschi was
abletolook through theeleventhandtwelfthcentury buildingsofFlorencetothetrue
meaningshidingbehindthem,thegoodformofancientRomanbuilding. Brunelleschi
understoodthemeaningofSS.ApostoliortheBaptistery tobeareferentialquantum
preservedacrossachainofartifacts,somepriorandnowlostsequenceofintermediary
71
Valla,TreatiseontheDonationofConstantine,pp.14243.
72
SeealsoMomigliano,"AncientHistoryandtheAntiquarian.
28
buildingsleadingfromantiquitytotheeleventhcentury.Anyknowledgethatone
happenedtopossessabouttheparticularorlocalcircumstancesofthebuilding'sabsolute
positionwithinachain ofimitationswasnotallowedtointerferewiththereferential
linkageandthepresumptionofsubstitutability. Brunelleschiprobably knewthathis
modelswereinanimportantsensemedieval.
73
But they substitutedforthemissing
ancientmodelsthathereallywanted. Neitherarchitectsnorscholarswerecapableof a
philologyofarchitecturethatmighthavedistinguishedbuildingfabricsandservedasthe
basisforareconstructionofbuildinghistories.Theidentityofthebuildingwasforthem
itsmeaning,notitsphysicalbeing,which distendedcomplexlyacrosstimeandwasfor
anypracticalpurposeunreconstructible.
ThechroniclerFilippoVillanireportedin1330thattheFlorentineBaptistery had
oncebeenatempleofMarsandthatChristianizationhadbroughtonlyminorchanges.
74
ItisnotclearwhetherVillanimeantthatthepresentBaptistery replacedanancient
temple,orwhetherhisculturehadforgotten after twoandahalfcenturieswhenthe
presentBaptistery wasactuallybuiltandbelievedthatitwasinfacttheancienttemple
itself,reconsecratedandrefurnished.Butthatambiguityistypical.Thedistinction
between"being"anoldbuildingand"replacing"anearlierbuildingisneverquitedrawn.
Itmay thereforesimplybeunhelpfultoaskwhetherBrunelleschiorforthatmatterVasari
reallythoughtthattheBaptistery wasexecutedinpreChristiantimes.They believedthat
73
JohnOniansarguedthatBrunelleschiknewperfectlywellthattheBaptisterywasnot
anancientbuilding ratherhewasattemptingtoreanimateandperfectamedieval Tuscan
traditionofbuilding BearersofMeaning:TheClassicalOrdersinAntiquity,theMiddle
Ages,andtheRenaissance(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1988),pp.13036.
74
Villani,Chroniche,I,42. CharlesDavis,"TopogaphicalandHistoricalPropagandain
EarlyFlorentineChroniclesandinVillani,"MedievoeRinascimento(1988):3351.
29
itstoodinareliablesubstitutionalrelationshiptosomeoriginalpagan buildingonthat
site,andthatwasenough.
Afewperiodvoicesactually spelledouttheprincipleofsubstitution. Anniusof
Viterbo,justifyinghisownfaithinthemarmoosiriano,admittedthepossibilitythatit
wasonlyareplacementofalostoriginal: "Whetherthisistrulythetablet,"hewrotein
hisCommentaries,"orasubstituteforitthe originalhavingcollapsedthroughagewe
cannotyetbecertain. Eitherway,weconsiderthetablettohavesurvived."(Anvero
haecillasit,aneivetustatelabenti,adeiusexemplarsuffecta,nondumcompertum
habemus.Existimamustameneandempermanere.
75
) WalterStephenscallsthisa
"doctrineofcongruence":anyinscriptionnomatterwhenfabricatedcouldbedefended
asasubstitutedcopyofalostoriginal. Equallyrevealingaretheargumentsthatthe
scholarVincenzoBorghiniin15651567assembledindefenceofthetraditionof
Florencesantiquity.
76
Borghini adducedtheBaptistery asevidence,butacknowledged
thatmanyexpertsconsideredthebuildingspolychromemarblerevetmenttohavebeen
appliedinthemiddleages.TomeetthisobjectionBorghiniexplicitlyintroduceda
substitutionalmodelofarchitecturalhistory:hearguedthattherevetmentimitatedan
earlierdecorativeschemeonthesamebuildingandthusreliablyreflectedantiquity.
77
75
Annius,Antiquitatumvariarum,fol.28v. Stephens,BerosusChaldeus:Counterfeit
andFictiveEditorsoftheEarlySixteenthCentury,p.174.
76
RobertWilliams,VincenzoBorghiniandVasarisLives(Ph.D.diss.,Princeton,
1988),pp.9699.OnthereconstructionofthesupposedtempleofMarsUltorinVasaris
frescoofancientFlorence,seeNicolaiRubinstein,VasarisPaintingofTheFoundation
ofFlorenceinthePalazzoVecchio,in EssaysintheHistoryofArchitecturePresented
toRudolfWittkower(London:Phaidon,1967),pp.6970.
77
Toprovethatancientbuildingshadbeenpolychromed,Borghinicitedapassagefrom
GregoryofToursonlateantiquechurches.Thereisevidencethatotherauthorities
agreedwithhimthatcoloredmarblewasanancientcustom,andthatthedecorationofthe
newCappellaSistinainS.MariaMaggiorewasimitatingprototypesunderstoodtobenot
30
Substitutionalthinkingiscompatiblewithmayevenencourageanormative
approachtotheachievementsofthepast. Gombrich showedthatscribesandarchitects
alikeweremoreinterestedinreformingwhattheysawtobeacorruptedtraditionsthanin
seekingoutwhatmightbetodayconsideredthehistoricalidentityoftheirmodels.They
wantedgoodmodels,notnecessarilyoldmodelsandtheytooktheirmodelswherethey
couldfindthem.
78
Thestrictlyhistorical studyof architecturewasoverwhelmedby the
normativeimperative.
Virtualordesiredtransmissionchainsweregeneratedthrough triagesofessential
andaccidentalfeatures. TheFlorentinearchitectssawonlythosefeaturesofthe
Romanesquebasilicastheywishedtoseeandignoredtherest. Onlytheessential,the
supposedlinkstoRome,madeitthrough,whilealltherestwasdismissedasmerely
accidental.Whatlookslikeerrortomoderneyesisjustthedrawingof adifferent
internalfrontierbetween theconstitutiveandthecontingent.Thefantasticalframedrawn
aroundarealinscriptionin afifteenthcenturysyllogeisignoredbythemodern
merelyearlyChristianbutancient.StefanKummer,"AntikerBuntmarmorals
DekorationselementrmischerKirchenim16.Jahrhundert,"inPoeschke,ed., Antike
SpolieninderArchitekturdesMittelaltersundderRenaissance,pp.32939alsoThomas
Weigel,"SpolienundBuntmarmorimUrteilmittelalterlicherAutoren,"inPoeschke,ed.,
AntikeSpolieninderArchitekturdesMittelaltersundderRenaissance,pp.11751.See
alsoStevenF.Ostrow,MarbleRevetmentinLateSixteenthCenturyRomanChapels,
in:IL60, FestschriftIrvingLavin,ed.MarilynAronbergLavin(NewYork:Italica,
1990),25376andtheinformativeappendixonmedievalandearlyRenaissancemarble
revetmentinOstrowsdissertation,TheSistineChapelatS.MariaMaggiore:SixtusV
andtheArtoftheCounterReformation,Diss.Princeton,1987.
78
SeealsoHubertusGnther,DieVorstellungvomgriechischenTempelundder
BeginnderRenaissanceindervenezianischenArchitektur,in:PaulNarediRainer,ed.,
Imitatio: VonderProduktivittknstlerischerAnspielungenundMissverstndnisse
(Berlin:Reimer,2001),pp.10443,onS.MarcoinVeniceandotherGreekchurchesas
transmittersofancientforms,andpp.13839generallyontheimportanceofpreGothic
architecturetotherevivalofantiquity.VasarimentionedS.MarcotogetherwithSS.
Apostoli(inFlorence),Levite 1:23536.
31
epigrapherasauselessandmisleadingsupplement.Butthatispreciselybecausethe
modernscholarconsidersthematerialsupportoftheinscriptiontobegoodevidence
aboutthepast,potentiallyasimportantas thecontentofthetext.TheRenaissance
antiquarianwasslowtoarriveatthisidea.
Renaissanceantiquariancredulitywasthereforetheresultofaclashbetweentwo
modelsoftheproductionofartifacts:ontheonehand,thesubstititionalmodel,that
underratesthetransmissionprocess andontheotherhand,thearcheological,thatreads
everyartifactasaninalienabletraceofitsoriginarypointandthereforeasapowerful
threattotextualauthority. Theyaretwocompetitivemodelsof artifactproduction,two
incompatibleconceptionsoftheoriginsofartifacts,eachwithitsowninternaltruth. The
nefariousorfarcicalaspectsofAnnius'sViterboexcavation,takeyourpick,areonlya
dramaticprojectionofthedeepstructuralinterferencebetweenthesubstitutionaland
archeologicalparadigmsasifallthelatentcontradictionsoflatefifteenthcentury
antiquarianism wereexposedinonescholarsproject. Thearcheologicalpreferencefor
materialrelicsovertextsandthemysticalconfidenceinthemutualsubstitutabilityof
artifactsacrosstimecollided,butheldtheirground,inAnniussmind.
ArcheologymadeCeltisandAnniuspossiblebytemptingthemintoan
overzealousimpositionofthesubstitutionmodelontorecentobjects,intotheimagining
or fabricatingoflinksinnonexistentchains.Thepoweroftheartifacttranslatedthe
scholarbackintotheveryframeofmind,confusedandcredulous,thatscholarshipwas
tryingtoovercome.CeltisandAnniuswereaccidentalartists,inthesensethattheyfell
uponthetruthoftheanachronismoftheartifact,itscapacitytobendtime.Butthey
exercisedtheircreativitywithinthewrongparadigm,scholarshipinsteadof art, andsoit
32
cametoresembleeitherfollyorcrime. Forarcheologyoverthecourseofthesixteenth,
seventeenth,andeighteenthcenturiesfounditsidentityinthestruggletocancel outthe
noiseanddistortionoftransmission.Error,inthatsameperiod,wastamedandcaged
withintheinstitutionofart.Onlyartistswereallowedtomakeerrortheirproject.The
scholars,meanwhile,foundthemselvesliberatedintoanunendingdialecticofcritique.
Modernscholarshiphasdefineditselfpreciselyagainstsuchdoubledthinking.The
empiricistalgorithmlocatesitsownoriginsinanovercomingoftheparticipatoryand
dividedconsciousness.Empiricismissofundamentallyinvestedin aprimalself
differentiationfromforgery thatwhenitdoublesbackonitself andtriestoperceiveits
own historical origins,itlosesitscapacityforobjectivity.
Beforelongtherinascimentodellantichitwasitself recedingintothepast,its
achievementsespeciallyinscholarshipandin thevisualartsbenchmarksforlater
generations,thenasnow.From theperspectiveofthelatersixteenthorseventeenth
centuries,thatfirstandmostcreativeRenaissance,theRenaissanceofthehumanists,
tookonaprestigiousthresholdcharacter,atoncefacingbackwardtothedeeppastand
forwardtothemodernera.Inthisway,somearcheologicalfictionsoftheRenaissance
enteredintoastrangesecondcareer,retainingtheirreferential,documentaryforce, their
rapportwithantiquity,even astheywerefully graspedasfabricationsofthemoderns.
AnexampleofsuchanillogicalretrospectiveappealtoaRenaissance
documentappearsinthediscussionoftheoriginsofMontepulcianobySpinelloBenci,
aseventeenthcenturyhistorian.TheRenaissancesculptorAndreaSansovinohad
modelledinterracottaacolossal portraitofLarsPorsenna,thesemilegendarykingof the
33
sixthcenturyB.C.E. accordingtoVasari thework wascommissionedby thecitizensof
Montepulciano.
79
TheportraitparticipatedintheinterurbanTuscanrivalrythatforsome
decadeshadhingedonclaimstoEtruscanorigins.ThesocalledsepulchreofLars
PorsennaatChiusi,infacttheruinsofanancienthydraulicengineeringsystem,was
investigatedbyAlberti,Filarete,Peruzzi,andAntoniodaSangallo. TheFlorentinecleric
LorenzoDati composedafanciful chronicle,theHistoriaPorsennae,posingasa
translationofanEtruscantextbyoneCaioVibenna.
80
In1492theSienesepresentedthe
funeraryurnofLarsPorsenna,inscribedconvenientlyinLatin,toLorenzodeMedici.
ThefifteenthcenturyknewEtruscancivilizationmainlythroughthetextualaccountsof
theRomans,andeveryonewantedmore.
81
TheMontepulciancolossusintervenedin this
story,fillingaportraitsizedgapinthemonumentalrecord.Sansovinodidnotconceal
hisauthorship,norwasitforgottenstill,theartistchoseaprestigiousandrareformat,the
colossus,andanunconventionalmediumforsuchacolossus,terracotta,lendingthe
figureanarchaicflavor. Aterracotta bust,46cm.inheight,onlyrecentlyresurfacedina
79
Vasari,Levite,4:522.
80
IngridD.Rowland,L HistoriaPorsennaeelaconoscenzadegliEtruschinel
Rinascimento,Respublica litterarum12(1989):18593.
81
OnfifteenthcenturyinterestinEtruscanantiquities,seeC.C.vanEssen,Elementi
etruschinelRinascimentotoscana,Studietruschi13(1939):49799AndrChastel,Art
ethumanisme FlorenceautempsdeLaurentleMagnifique: tudessurlaRenaissance
etlhumanismeplatonicien (Paris:PressesUniversitairesdeFrance,1959),pp.6371
CristinaFrulli,CaratterietruschinellasculturafiorentinaaltempodiLorenzoil
Magnifico,andFrancoBorsi,Architettura(onreconstructionsofEtruscanbuildings
byAntoniodaSangalloandothers),inBorsi,ed., FortunadegliEtruschi(Milan:Electa,
1985),pp.1028and3643respectivelyandGiovanniCipriani,Ilmitoetrusconel
rinascimentofiorentino(Florence:Olschki,1980),pp.136ontheEtruscanizing
imaginationoftheBiblicalscholar,theologian,andcardinalEgidiodaViterbo,see
Rowland,CultureoftheHighRenaissance:AncientsandModernsinSixteenthCentury
Rome(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1998),pp.14850.
34
privatecollection,seemstomatchtheaccountsbyVasariandothers.
82
Itwouldbe
difficulttoattributeittoSansovinowithoutthosenoticesindeeditwasstilljudgedan
antiquityby Luigi Lanziinthelateeighteenthcentury. Sansovinoscolossushad
evidently alreadybeen reducedtoabustwhenSpinelloBenci,secretaryto theMedici,
citedandreproduceditinwoodcutasthefrontispiecetohishistoryofMontepulcianoof
1641(fig.6).
83
BenciknewthatSansovinowastheauthorofthestatuehedescribesit
asamemorialerectedbythetowntoitsfounder.Andyettheworkfiguresinhis
accountalmostasifitwerecontributingtotheclaim,deartohim,of anancientEtruscan
presenceinMontepulciano. Itwasasif thefactthatthecitizensofMontepulcianohad
commissionedamemorialin theearly sixteenthcenturyrenderedthemythofEtruscan
originsalittlemoreprobable.Thefolkofthesixteenthcentury,afterall,werejustthat
muchclosertoantiquity,orsoBenciimpliestheoldtraditionswereperhapsstillintact
then,theinvisiblelinesofcommunicationtothedeepestpaststillopen.Modernity,by
contrast,ourownmidseventeenthcentury,Benciseemstobesaying,isforevercutoff
fromthelivingpastandhastomakedowithmerescholarship.Itisworthwondering
why athreedimensionalforgerylikeSansovinoswasperhapsstillismore
effectivethan LorenzoDatisobviouslyfictitiouschronicle. Thesculpteddocument
activatesthemagicoffiguration.Thehistoryofarcheology isalsoahistoryofworks,
andforthatreason canneverquitebeassimilatedtotherestofthehistoryofscholarship.
82
SeetheexhibitioncataloguesIlGiardinodiSanMarco:Maestriecompagnidel
giovaneMichelangelo(Florence:Silvana,1992),no.26andLOfficinadellamaniera:
varietefierezzanellartefiorentinadelCinquecentofraleduerepubbliche(14941530)
(Venice:Marsilio,1996),no.46. Thesurfaceoftheheadispainted,perhapstoresemble
bronze.Vasari,Levite,4:510,alsomentionedapairofterracottaheadsbySansovino
representingtheemperorsNeroandGalbaandritrattedamedaglieantiche.
83
SpinelloBenci,StoriadellacittdiMontepulciano(Florence,1641),frontispieceand
p.7.
35