The Italian sources of the Catalan translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses by Francesc Alegre (15th c.)

Abstract

The singularity of Francesc Alegre's translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses into Catalan has been associated with its dependence on the Latin poem in contrast to the other versions of this text that circulated in print prior to 1500. This article argues that the Catalan translation is the work of a learned author who places himself in relation to the Italian tradition and draws on different sources to complete a work influenced by humanist ideas. Moreover, the evidence strongly supports the impact of Giovanni Bonsignori's Ovidio Metamorphoseos Vulgare (c. 1375-1377) throughout the fifteen books of Alegre's translation and in his allegorical interpretations in the second part of the work. I also contend that he may have known the Expositio and the Allegorie written by Giovanni del Virgilio (1322-1323).