Bracciolini, Poggio

(1380-1459)

   Italian humanist, Latinist, and collector of ancient art and manuscripts. Poggio Bracciolini belonged to the circle of the humanist Chancellor Coluccio Salutati in Florence, where he developed a keen interest in the recovery of ancient Roman manuscripts. In 1403 he was appointed apostolic secretary to the papal court, a charge that allowed him to travel to other parts of Europe. While in France, he discovered in the ecclesiastical libraries of Cluny and St. Gallen manuscripts of unknown texts by Cicero and Quintilian, and an ancient version of Vitruvius's De architectura. Later searches in France, Germany, and England led to the discovery of writings by Columella, Petronius, and Tacitus. In the 1430s, he began work on his De Varietate Fortunae where he described the ancient ruins of Rome. In 1453, he was appointed chancellor of Florence by the Medici. There he translated Lucian's Golden Ass and wrote the History of Florence.