Materia troiana e materia ovidiana nel ms. Gaddi 71 della Biblioteca Laurenziana di Firenze

The ms. Gaddi 71 of the Laurentian Library of Florence contains four texts, linked by their interest in the subject of Troy, among which are the Istorietta troiana and the Italian translation of some Ovidian Heroides, accompanied by glosses. Both of these texts derive from a French model and are in some way connected with the Angevin court of Naples, at the time when the young Boccaccio was in the Parthenopean city. Despite the stylistic differences between the two texts, the Istorietta troiana and the glosses of the Heroides show some linguistic and structural affinities and share a new approach with respect to the French model of commented translation. The glosses in particular indicate a stratified nature, the result of a progressive accumulation of texts of different origins, natures and interests. Some of them are short stories of considerable literary and linguistic value, and along with monuments such as the Novellino and the Conti di antichi cavalieri are among the first successful attempts of nascent Italian narrative prose. Several elements of the Gaddian commentary on the Heroides can also be found in Boccaccio's early works, showing the evidence of a cultural and linguistic proximity that deserves to be better studied.