Il manoscritto L.V.29 della Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati di Siena e la tradizione coreutica quattrocentesca

Abstract

Manuscript L.V.29, preserved in Siena at the Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati, is a 15th-century parchment codex containing a choreographic treatise divided into two parts: the first, the theoretical part, contains most of the treatise by Domenico da Piacenza and Guglielmo Ebreo and some parts of other dance treatises; the second part collects a choreographic anthology. The practical part collects choreographies of different styles and popularity, about 70% of the preserved Italian dance repertoire of the 15th century. Many of the choreographies are unique. The manuscript has no musical notation. Some peculiarities of the content, the terminology and the choreographic repertoire suggest that the Codex bears the imprint of a specific choreographic school, of certain local traditions or even of a master. In fact, the codex was the work of a dancing master, whom the author of this contribution was able to identify thanks to the illuminated emblem on the title page of L.V.29. Thanks to research at the Archivio di Stato di Siena, the Archivio di Stato di Firenze, and the Biblioteca Nazionale di Firenze, the author was able to draw an initial picture of this dance master’s family, some information on his life in Siena and some news on his descendants, among whom other dancers and choreographers appear.