Ritmo bellunese
Encyclopedia
The Ritmo bellunese or Cantilena bellunese is a brief vernacular Italian
passage in an anonymous fragment of a medieval Latin
chronicle of events in the history of Belluno
between 1183 and 1196. From circa 1198, it is the earliest securely datable text in an Italian vernacluar. It is preserved in manuscript in the Catalogo de Vescovi (bishops' catalogue) of the Museo Civico (civic museum) in Belluno.
The Ritmo consists in a single hendecasyllabic quatrain
surrounded by prose. The German historian Phillipp August Becker argued that it was not in fact verse, and Carlo Salvioni believed it was composed of alexandrines. It is a not stricly syllabic, but the rhyme scheme is clear. It forms part of the narration of the war Belluno and its ally Feltre
waged against Treviso
, in which they acquired territory in the proximity of the latter (1193). There is no transition between prose and verse, nor between Latin and vernacular. The four lines describe the destruction of Casteldardo, a Trevisan outpost near Trichiana
, which was dismantled and its parts thrown into the river Ardo
. The capture of six Trevisan knights is also boasted:
Linguistically, the text is in a form of Venetian
(in which it is called the Ritmo Belumat or Belunéxe), as indicated by the conjugation of the third person masculine with the clitic i (as in i lo zetta, which in modern Venetian would be i lo ga getà or i l'à getà) and the northern tendency to lose final vowels (as in Ard, part, cavaler). The preterite tense, now all but disappeared in Italian, is used (as in duse).
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
passage in an anonymous fragment of a medieval Latin
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
chronicle of events in the history of Belluno
Belluno
Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...
between 1183 and 1196. From circa 1198, it is the earliest securely datable text in an Italian vernacluar. It is preserved in manuscript in the Catalogo de Vescovi (bishops' catalogue) of the Museo Civico (civic museum) in Belluno.
The Ritmo consists in a single hendecasyllabic quatrain
Quatrain
A quatrain is a stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines of verse. Existing in various forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and China; and, continues into the 21st century, where it is...
surrounded by prose. The German historian Phillipp August Becker argued that it was not in fact verse, and Carlo Salvioni believed it was composed of alexandrines. It is a not stricly syllabic, but the rhyme scheme is clear. It forms part of the narration of the war Belluno and its ally Feltre
Feltre
Feltre is a town and comune of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about 4 km from its junction with the Piave, and 20 km southwest from Belluno...
waged against Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
, in which they acquired territory in the proximity of the latter (1193). There is no transition between prose and verse, nor between Latin and vernacular. The four lines describe the destruction of Casteldardo, a Trevisan outpost near Trichiana
Trichiana
Trichiana is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 70 km north of Venice and about 10 km southwest of Belluno.-External links:*...
, which was dismantled and its parts thrown into the river Ardo
Ardo
Ardo was "the last of all the Visigothic kings" of Hispania, reigning from 713 or, more probably 714, until his death...
. The capture of six Trevisan knights is also boasted:
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Linguistically, the text is in a form of Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
(in which it is called the Ritmo Belumat or Belunéxe), as indicated by the conjugation of the third person masculine with the clitic i (as in i lo zetta, which in modern Venetian would be i lo ga getà or i l'à getà) and the northern tendency to lose final vowels (as in Ard, part, cavaler). The preterite tense, now all but disappeared in Italian, is used (as in duse).
Editions
- In Rime giullaresche e popolari d'Italia. Vincenzo de Bartholomaeis, ed. Bologna: Zanichelli, 1926.
- In Carlo Salvioni. "Ancora del Cavassico: la cantilena bellunese del 1193". Nozze Cian=Sappa-Flandinet. Bergamo: 1894.