LEONARDI, Giovanni Giacomo (1498-1522). Delle... Lot n° 97

Exceptional unpublished manuscript by Gian Giacomo Leonardi, diplomat, intellectual and condottiero in the service of the Della Rovere family, probably a part of the work Principe Cavaliero on which he worked in his mature years and for which he obtained a printing privilege but remained unpublished. The work is dedicated to Duke Guidobaldo II, son of Francesco Maria presented as the condottiere prince capable of redeeming Italian liberty You alone who with li studii with the essercitatione of your ordinances and those of the Venetian lords and their soldiers ite thinking of liberating Italy . In the dedication Leonardi presents the approach he followed in the writing of his work: starting from the classical texts of military history and tactics, without reducing himself to a simple and trivial commentary, he intends to propose a punctual comparison with the war experience he himself lived all read Vegetio, Elliano et simili, no one is that investigating what they wrote in their times curiar find the best bring it to our intelligence so [that] we can imitate them (sic) . In the proem he also proposes a comparison of the structure and management of the army with that of the human body; With the saying of this (*Michelangelo) huomo vado ancora io considerando che il principe cavalliero ha da mettere insieme un corpo di un esercito come formare un uomo venisse immaginando il pittore . This is followed by a vademecum with 39 short rules in which one can detect the modernity of the author's military theories, which considers numerical superiority, order and organization fundamental to victory, the pike and the arquebus the weapons necessary for battle , and relegates cavalry to a subordinate role noting its criticalities; he also polemicizes those in Italy who had a chivalrous view of battle Those modern writers who desired the shield of ancient Romans did not remember the arquebus . This is followed by 100 pages with 91 short theses dealing with practical problems of military organization, such as troop selection and management, armaments, deployments, attack and defense tactics, and comparisons between modern and ancient armies. Bound here in the text are 9 figures, including two double-page spreads, which serve to illustrate troop arrangements according to the various figures proposed by Leonardi executed by an artist probably close to the Urbino court. The work is set between 1540, the year in which Gian Giacomo Leonardi was created count of Castellabate, and 1552, the year in which Guidobaldo II's appointment as captain general of the Serenessima was not renewed; in fact, the author signs himself at the end Giova Jacomo Leonardi da Pesaro count of Monte l'Abbate and in the dedication addresses Guidobaldo della Rovere still as commander of the Venetian army. This places the manuscript in close relation to the already known works, the Trattato di armi e artiglieria, written in 1540, the Cavaliero ambasciatore (mss 216) of 1542 and the Libro delle fortificazioni dei nostri tempi of 1553 (mss 220); other works referable to the corpus of the Prince-Knight are the Libro sopra l'alloggiar d'un esercito (mss 221) and the Principe cavaliere in duello (mss 219, 223) all preserved at the Oliveriana library in Pesaro. An important and unpublished record of the war experience in late Renaissance Italy and its politics. Folio, (320 x 220mm). Manuscript on paper, 63 papers (of which 53 are numbered) and 9 off-text illustrations including 2 double-page illustrations and an accompanying manuscript bifolio, watermark with anchor and star. Composition : 1 blank card, 1 card with manuscript title on cardstock and applied, 1 blank card, 3 dedication cards to Guidobaldo II, 1 Prohemio card, 1 card with a list of 39 short rules for conducting battles, 51 cards containing 91 theses, 4 final blank cards and 9 drawings of soldier formations including 2 double-page illustrations out of text, the first accompanied by an unnumbered bifolio of explanation inserted between cards 15 and 16; In beards (Water mark to upper and lower margins, no loss of text, minor paper loss to margins). Inset within 16th-century binding richly decorated in gold rollers with figure of archbishop saint in center probably of Roman manufacture (minor defects). Contact the department to receive a detailed description of the contents. LEONARDI, John James (1498-1522). Delle battaglie de nostri tempi. [1540-1552]. LEONARDI, Giovan Giacomo (1498-1522), from Pesaro, completed his legal studies in Bologna and Ferrara, where he graduated in 1522. He began his military career in the service of Francesco II Sforza by taking care of the fortification of Pavia during the French siege of 1525 and then moved in 1528 to the service of Francesco Maria I Della Rovere, duke of Urbino and captain general of the land forces of the Republic of Venice. Among his functions was that of d