The editorial tradition of Fortunio’s "Regole grammaticali della volgar lingua" from the 1516 princeps until today

Abstract

This paper gives a summary of the editorial vicissitudes of Fortunio’s Regole grammaticali della volgar lingua, the first printed grammar of the Italian language, from the 1516 princeps until today. In particular, it offers an overview divided into three parts: a summary of the events that compelled Fortunio to print the first copy in the typography of Bernardino Guerralda, in Ancona, and some remarks about the difficult relationship between Fortunio and Pietro Bembo; a brief excursus through the ancient editions following the first one, including the reprints in miscellaneous works and the two projects of re-elaborated versions made by Marcantonio Flaminio and Fulvio Pellegrino Morato; finally, a list of the four modern editions of the Regole, up to the critical edition by Brian Richardson, which offers a reliable text and a throughout reconstruction of Fortunio’s role in the history of Italian grammar.