Iohannes Boccacius: De mulieribus claris

IVNO REGINA in nummo Augustae Iuliae
Soaemiae, ca. AD 220

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375) ja De mulieribus claris vuodelta 1362

Giovanni Boccaccion nykyajan parhaiten tuntema teos lienee italiaksi kirjoitettu Decamerone (1348-51). Tätä voi kuitenkin pitää pikemminkin poikkeuksena hänen tuotannossaan: varhaiset kirjoitukset olivat elegantteja hovirunoja ja romansseja. Myöhemmin hän kiinnostui erityisesti ystävänsä Petrarcan vaikutuksesta humanismista, ja Boccaccion myöhäisempi tuotanto onkin latinankielisiä ensyklopedioita ja biografioita.

De claris mulieribus on ensimmäinen ainoastaan naisista kertova biografiakokoelma. Sen esikuvana on ollut Petrarcan De viris illustribus. Boccaccion teos alkaa Eevasta, ja käy läpi kreikkalais-roomalaisen maailman kuningattaria ja sankarittaria. Hahmoja on myös Raamatusta, mutta kristillisiä, antiikin jälkeen eläneitä naisia Boccaccio ei juurikaan käsittele. Tämän hän perustelee hagiografioiden runsaan pyhimysnaisista kertovan materiaalin olemassaololla. Kirjoittaja ei mainitse kovinkaan monia lähteitä (Paavali, Raamattu, Hieronymus), ja taustoiden tutkimuksessa on vielä työtä. Mm. kirjoitustyylistä ja esitetyistä tiedoista on kuitenkin päätelty Boccaccion lukeneen ainakin Liviusta, Ovidiusta, Plinius vanhempaa, Statiusta, Suetoniusta, Valerius Maximusta, Vergiliusta.

Kertomusten rakenne seuraa kirjoittajan mainitsemia esikuvia (Petrarca ja Hieronymus). Otsikko esittelee käsiteltävän henkilön, ja tarina alkaa hänen sukutaustansa ja sosiaalisen asemansa selvittämisellä. Tämän jälkeen kerrotaan miksi henkilö tunnetaan, jota seuraa esitys hänen elämästään ja teoistaan yksityiskohtaisemman tarinan muodossa. Kertomus päättyy usein pieneen opetukseen tai selitykseen tekojen merkityksesyä. Boccaccion tyyli ja kirjoituksen sisältö on tyypillistä varhaiselle renessanssihumanismille. Huomiota kiinnitettiin erityisesti moraaliseen ja älylliseen kasvatukseen, jota ei humanistien mielestä harjoitettu riittävästi. Boccaccionkin ihanteena oli antiikin roomalainen hyveellisyys, virtus, ja tätä kohti pyrittiin klassista kirjallisuutta ja historiankirjoitusta opiskelemalla.

De mulieribus claris käsittää 104 lukua, jotka koskevat sekä hyveellisiä että vähemmän ansioituneita naisia. Esitystapa on aikakauden mukainen: suurin naisia koskeva ylistys oli tämän miehen veroisuutensa. Joka tapauksessa Boccaccio ei säästele ylistäviäkään sanoja. Teoksesta tunnetaan yli 100 käsikirjoitusta, joten sitä voi pitää ajallaan hyvin suosittuna. Se käännettiin pian ilmestymisensä jälkeen italiaksi, ja seuraavilla vuosisadoilla lukuisille muille eurooppalaisille kielille. Meidän tässä lukupiirissä käyttämä Laurenziana Plut. 90 sup 98 -käsikirjoitus on voitu tunnistaa Boccaccion itse kirjoittamaksi. Sitä säilytetään Firenzen Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana -kirjastossa ja se on luettavissa editoituna verkossa.

Tekstit

Luetaan kolme naismuotokuvaa. Englanninnokset ovat peräisin teoksesta Boccaccio, Giovanni, Famous Women. Virginia Brown (ed. and transl.) Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge 2001, joka perustuu seuraavaan teokseen: Branca, V., ed., Tutte le opere di Giovanni Boccaccio, vol. X: V. Zaccaria, ed., De mulieribus claris, Milano, 1967. Latinankieliset tekstit ovat saatavilla Biblioteca italianasta. Tekstit pdf-muodossa.

IV. De Iunone regnorum dea.

Iuno, Saturni et Opis filia, poetarum carmine et errore gentilium toto orbi pre ceteris mulieribus, gentilitatis infectis labe, celeberrima facta est, in tantum ut nequiverint taciti temporum dentes, cum cuncta corrodant, adeo infame exesisse opus, quin ad etatem usque nostram notissimum eius non evaserit nomen. Verum ex hac potius fortunam egregiam recitare possumus, quam opus aliquod memorabile dictum referre. Fuit enim cum Iove illo cretensi, quem decepti veteres celi finxere deum, eodem edita partu et ab infantia transmissa Samum ibique ad pubertatem usque cum diligentia educata, Iovi demum fratri nupta est; quod per multa secula eiusdem est statua in templo Sami testata. Nam existimantes Samii non modicum sibi posterisque suis afferre glorie quod se penes alta atque desponsata Iuno sit, quam celi reginam arbitrabantur et deam, ne memoria hec dilueretur facile, templum ingens et pre ceteris orbis mirabile construxere numinique dicavere suo et ex marmore pario, in habitu nubentis virginis, eiusdem ymaginem sculpi fecere temploque preposuere suo. Hec tandem regi magno nupta, excrescente eius in dies imperio atque fama longe lateque nomen ipsius efferente, non modicum et ipsa splendoris consecuta est. Sane, postquam poeticis fictionibus et insana antiquorum liberalitate celi regina facta est, que mortalis regina fuerat, Olympi regnis eam divitiisque prefecere nec non et illi coniugalia iura atque parientium auxilia commisere; et alia longe plura, ridenda potius quam credenda. Ex quibus, sic humani generis hoste suadente, multa illi undique constructa sunt templa, altaria plurima, sacerdotes, ludi et sacra, more veteri instituta; et, ut de reliquis taceam, post Samos, celebri veneratione ab Argivis Achaye populis et a Cartaginensibus diu honorata est; et postremo a Veiis Romam delata in Capitolio et in cella Iovis optimi maximi, non aliter quam viro iuncta suo, locata, sub vocabulo Iunonis regine, a Romanis, rerum dominis, cerimoniis multis et diu culta est, etiam postquam in terris comparuit Deus homo.

IV Juno, Goddess of Kingdoms

Thanks to the poets and pagan error, Juno, the daughter of Saturn and Opis, has become the most famous of all the women in the world who were stained with the plot of paganism. So great is her fame that the silent teeth of time, which gnaw all things to pieces, have not been able to consume her notorious deeds and prevent her name, well know to all, from reaching even our age. Nonetheless, it is easier to speak of Juno's singular good fortune than to relate any great deed of hers that is worthy of comment.  

She and that Jupiter of Crete (whom the ancients wrongly imagined to be the god of heaven) were born twins. In her infancy Juno was sent to Samos and there was carefully brought up until she reached puberty and finally married her brother Jupiter. To this her statue in the temple at Samos for many centuries bore witness. Indeed, the people of Samos considered Juno a goddess and queen of heaven and believed that her upbringing and marriage in their country brought glory to them and their descendants. To keep alive the memory of this connection, they built a huge temple consecrated to her divinity, more marvelous than any other in the world. They also ordered a statue of Juno, dressed as a young girl for her wedding, to be carved out of Parian marble, and they placed it in front of her temple.  

Juno herself gained no little glory through her marriage to the great king, whose power and fame were steadily increasing and spreading his name far and wide. Later the fictions of poets and the extravagant folly of the ancients made this woman, who had been a mortal queen, into the queen of heaven. They placed her in charge of the kingdom and wealth of Olympus and entrusted to her conjugal rights, the protection of women in childbirth, and many other things that arouse our amusement rather than our belief.  

As a result, through the persuasion of the Enemy of humankind, numerous temples and altars were erected to Juno everywhere, and priests, games, and sacrifices were assigned to her according to ancient custom. For a long time she was honoured with solemn reverence, after Samos, by the Argive peoples of Achaia and by the Carthagenians, not to mention others. At last Juno was brought to Rome from Veii and placed in the sanctuary of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill, just as she were joiningher husband. The Romans, masters of the world, long honoured her with many ceremonies under the name of Queen Juno, even after the time of Christ. 

LXXXI. De Iulia Gaii Cesaris dictatoris filia.

Iulia et genere et coniugio forsan totius orbis fuit clarissima mulierum; sed longe clarior amore sanctissimo et fato repentino. Nam a Gaio Iulio Cesare ex Cornelia coniuge, Cynne quater consulis filia, unica progenita est. Qui Iulius ab Enea, inclito Troianorum duce, per multos reges et alios medios paternam duxit originem, maternam vero ab Anco, quondam Romanorum rege; gloria bellorum atque triunphorum et dictatura perpetua insignis plurimum homo fuit. Nupsit preterea Pompeio magno, ea tempestate Romanorum clarissimo viro, qui in vincendis regibus, deponendis eisque de novo faciendis, nationibus subigendis, pyrratis extinguendis, favorem romane plebis obtinendo, et regum orbis totius clientelas acquirendo, non terras tantum, sed celum omne fatigavit diu. Quem adeo illustris mulier, esto iuvencula et ille provectus etate, ardenter amavit, ut ob id immaturam mortem quesierit. Nam cum Pompeius in comitiis edilitiis sacrificaturus ab hostia, quam tenebat, ex suscepto vulnere se in varia agitante, plurimo respergeretur sanguine, et ob id, vestibus illis exutus, domum alias induturus remicteret, contigit ut deferens ante alios Iuliam pregnantem haberet obviam. Que cum vidisset viri cruentas vestes, ante quam causam exquireret, suspicata non forsan Pompeio fuisset violenta manus iniecta, quasi non illi dilectissimo sibi viro occiso supervivendum foret, in sinistrum repente delapsa timorem, oculis in tenebras revolutis, manibus clausis, concidit et evestigio expiravit: non solum viri atque civium romanorum, sed maximo totius orbis ea etate incomodo.

LXXXI Julia, Daughter of the Dictator Julius Caesar

Her ancestry and her marriage made Julia perhaps the most famous woman in the world, but her inviolable love and sudden death added much more luster to her reputation.  

She was the only child of Julius Caesar and his wife Cornelia, whose father Cinna had been consul four times. On his father's side, Julius was descended through many kings and other intermediaries from Aeneas, renowned leader of the Trojans; on his mother's side, from Ancus Marcius, a former king of the Romans. Caesar was especially famous for the glory attached to his military campaigns and triumphs and also for his permanent dictatorship.  

Julia married Pompey the Great, one of the most distinguished Romans of the time, who for many years gave heaven and earth no rest as he vanquished kings, deposed and created new ones, subdued nations, destroyed pirates, gained the favor of the Roman populace, and became the patron of kings throughout the world. Pompey was much older than Julia, who was still a mere girl, but she loved him ardently. This love caused her to seek an untimely death.  

One says, as Pompey was engaged in sacrifice at the aedilician elections, the animal he was holding jerked in all directions after it was wounded, spattering him with a great deal of blood. Pompey then took off his clothes and sent them back to his house to be exchanged for other garments. The first person to meet was Julia, who was pregnant. She saw her husband's bloody clothing and, without asking the reason, assumed that Pompey had been murdered. Ominous fear overcame her. Almost as if she could not bear to survive her beloved husband, Julia fell to the ground, her eyes shrouded in darkness and her hands clenched. She died immediately, to the great distress not only of her husband and her compatriots but the whole world at the time.  

LXII . De Claudia vestali virgine.

Claudiam vestalem virginem, digne ex Romanorum generoso sanguine procreatam crediderim, dum intueor insignem pietatem eius in patrem. Pompa quippe spectabili pre se ex senatus consulto triunphum pater agebat, frequenti Romanorum spectante plebe, cum se tribunorum plebis unus, ob privatam simultatem in eum non aliter quam in male meritum prorumpens, dedit in medium; et insolenti, more tribunitio, audacia violentas manus in triunphantem iniciens, eum de curru evolvere conatus est. Quod cum inter spectantes Claudia virgo conspiceret, illico urgente pietate commota, tristis et oblita sexus honestatisque victarum, quibus obtecta erat, pati non potuit, quin imo, repente medias inter catervas impetuosa prorumpens, et sibi audaci niso cedere turbam cogens, inter tribuni arrogantiam et patris gloriam se indefesso robore immiscuit et, quibuscunque ausis factum sit, amoto tribuno, liberum in Capitolium patri concessit ascensum.

O dulcis amor! o infracta pietas! Quid credemus vires imbecilli corpori prestitisse virginis, quid religionis oblivionem iniecisse, preter eum cernere iniuria opprimi quem meminerat infantie sue educatorem et piis delenitorem blanditiis, votorum in suam salutem exhibitorem, noxiorum amotorem omnium et provectioris etatis instructorem? Sed, ut de hoc satis dictum sit, queso: quis hoc tumultuantibus hominibus sanctimonialem immixtam virginem de inhonestate redarguet? Quis temerariam dicet? Quis tanquam in tribunitiam potestatem ausam iure damnabit, cum adeo pulchrum atque memorabile pietatis opus in tutandum patrium decus egerit, ut etiam robustissimus iuvenis acriori animo fecisse nequiverit? Equidem non immerito dubitem quis spectabiliorem triunphum: an pater in Capitolium traxerit, an nata in edem reportaverit Veste.

LXII. Claudia, a Vestal Virgin

Considering the remarkable devotion she had for her father, I am inclined to believe that Claudia, a vestal Virgin, was a worthy descendant of noble Roman stock. By decree of the Senate, her father was celebrating a triumph with great pomp before a large crowd of Romans. Suddenly, moved by private enmity, a tribune of the plebs stepped forward and lunged towards him as if against one who deserved ill. With the arrogant boldness characteristic of the tribunes, this man laid violent hands on the victor and tried to pull him down from the chariot. The virgin Claudia, who was among the spectators, saw what had happened and was distressed and saddened because of the love she bore her father. Unable to endure the situation, she forgot her sex and the dignity of the headbands she was wearing. At once she rushed impetuously into the midst of the crowd. Her bold dash compelled the bystanders to give way, and Claudia forced herself between the arrogant tribune and her father who was in the midst of his triumph. In her daring she somehow managed to push the tribune aside and assure her father free ascent to the Capitol.

What sweet love! What firm devotion! What shall we believe gave strength to the maiden’s weak body? What shall we believe made her forget to act as a Vestal, if not the sight of a shameful attack on ha father — the father she remembered nurturing her as a child, consoling her with his affectionate caresses, granting those desires which were for her own good, keeping her safe from all harm, and guiding her as she grew to womanhood? But enough of this, please. Who will use her action as a pretext to accuse a cloistered virgin of indecency because she mingled with riotous men? Who will say that she was rash? Who can in justice condemn her for defying the tribune's power in order to defend her father by an act of devotion so beautiful and memorable as to be impossible for even a young man of great strength and passion? Certainly I question, and not without reason, which of the two celebrated the more glorious triumph: the father ascending the Capitol or the daughter returning to the temple of Vesta.

Anna Vuolannon puolesta