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NETWORKS OF RECEPTION: CONTEMPORARY READERS OF ENCOMIASTIC POETRY


A paper by Elisabeth Klecker and Lukas Ebert


In the 15th century, numerous epic poems were composed for Italian rulers, following the Homeric-Vergilian tradition and utilizing well-known literary conventions. Among these, four significant epics were written for Maximilian, along with shorter epic hexameter poems. This extensive body of work, seemingly anachronistic, raises questions about its intended audience and purpose. Even more, if one considered the complex interaction between literary conventions and socio-economic conditions, particularly the authors’ institutional ties and patronage relationships. Therefore the question how the audience is present, characterized and anticipated in the text, who is mentioned as a (possible) reader in paratexts, who becomes an empirically verifiable readership (through textual evidence) was posed.


By looking at Giovanni Stefano Emiliano’s “Encomiastica” and Ricardo Bartolini’s “Austrias,” we identify the implied reader within the text as the humanist educated elite of Maximilian’s circle. The paratexts also target humanists with access to power. However, Maximilian himself, lacking the necessary reading skills, is not the intended reader but remains a key figure whose recognition was sought. The role of intermediaries, who had both the educational background and access to the emperor, was crucial in the reception process. The reception network thus included both readers and non-readers, whose interactions facilitated the successful reception of encomiastic poetry in Maximilian’s milieu.


The full text can be read here or on the (Con)Textualising Maximilian’s blog.


Header Image Credits: Portrait of Giovanni Stefano Emiliano (17th c.), Venice, Biblioteca nazionale marciana, lat., XIV 50 (= 4239).


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
lukasebert (July 11, 2024). NETWORKS OF RECEPTION: CONTEMPORARY READERS OF ENCOMIASTIC POETRY. Managing Maximilian (1493-1519) - A blog on Persona, Politics, and Personnel through the Lens of Digital Prosopography at the time of Maximilian of Habsburg. Retrieved November 4, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/12043


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