Original scientific paper
Petrić’s ars historica in the Abridgement of Thomas Blundeville
STJEPAN ŠPOLJARIĆ
Abstract
The first English work on the art of history (ars historica) written by Thomas Blundeville was published in 1574 under the title The true order and Methode of wryting and reading Hystories. His work Blundeville compiled from the works of two writers: Frane Petrić’s Della historia dieci dialoghi and Giacomo Aconcio’s treatise Dell osservationi et avvertimenti che aver si nel debbono legger della historia.
Blundeville’s work can be considered as a collection because he selects only the second half of Petrić’s dialogues on history, from the sixth to tenth and also because he does not translate the selected dialogues entirely. Blundeville often shortened the selected parts of Petriće’s dialogues. In this process he often made use of inversion and interpolation. Therefore Blundeville’s work does not represent a translation, but an abridgement of the Petrić’s work. In his abridgement the English author ignores Petrić’s theoretical efforts and as a result offers a collection of precepts in which prevails Blundeville’s interest for the utilitarian character of history.
Keywords
Frane Petrić; Della historia dieci dialoghi; Thomas Blundeville; collection of precepts; Giacomo Aconcio; ars historica
Hrčak ID:
52167
URI
Publication date:
10.2.2010.
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