Lorenzo Valla y los "Nova verba"tradición y originalidad

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation deals with the problem posed by the neologisms in Latin and, more particularly, in humanistic Latin, taking into account the theoretical-practical perspective adopted by the distinguished Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457) as well as the different solutions provided by him. The study of neologisms stems from the ideas of classical authors and the doctrinal positions taken by, among others, Cicero, Horacio, Quintiliano, Aulo Gelio and other Latin grammarians and lexicographers afterwards. Based upon this doctrinal grounding, and within the humanistic controversy between the advocates and detractors of Cicero, different theoretical approaches and several solutions have been found among humanistic writings of such great authors as Tortelli, Poggio Bracciolini, Facio, Antonio Beccadelli, Antonio de Nebrija, among others, being the most outstanding Lorenzo Valla, especially as far as his historiography is concerned, that is to say, the humanistic prose, given that he is one of the first authors on defending openly the need to resort to neologisms based on praecepta, exempla, auctoritates and ratio. The core of this research is the historiographical work Historia de Fernando de Aragon and Antidota e Invectivae, which encapsulates the controversies between Valla with B. Facio and Poggio Bracciollini. The dissertation concludes with a corpus of texts taken from different Valla's texts which deal with the issue of nova verba together with an edition with an annotated translation and commentary of different fragments which come from the autobiographical manuscript Historia de Fernando de Aragon, which in turn reflects the new topics that could be part of "De novis rebus libellus".