On the threshold: The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili’s Narrative Network
Gentle reader, hear Poliphilo tell of his dreams,
Dreams sent by the highest heaven.
You will not waste your labour, nor will listening irk you,
For this wonderful work abounds in so many things.
From: Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Francesco Colonna
With these encouraging and much-promising words the reader of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is welcomed into the book. The writer tells the reader to listen to the story of Poliphilo, the protagonist, and encourages the reader to dive into the pool of adventures and knowledge that is being presented.
The Hypnerotomachia is a book that has puzzled readers for five centuries. Who was the author and why did he decide to publish the book anonymously? Why is the book written in a peculiar linguistic blend of Greek, Latin, Tuscan and Venetian? These are some of the questions that surround the work. Although the broad public may recognize the book’s title from Ian Caldwell’s bestselling novel The Rule of Four – a fictionalized story in which the Hypnerotomachia contains a hidden message – the book has received a considerable amount of scholarly attention.
Dreams sent by the highest heaven.
You will not waste your labour, nor will listening irk you,
For this wonderful work abounds in so many things.
From: Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Francesco Colonna
With these encouraging and much-promising words the reader of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is welcomed into the book. The writer tells the reader to listen to the story of Poliphilo, the protagonist, and encourages the reader to dive into the pool of adventures and knowledge that is being presented.
The Hypnerotomachia is a book that has puzzled readers for five centuries. Who was the author and why did he decide to publish the book anonymously? Why is the book written in a peculiar linguistic blend of Greek, Latin, Tuscan and Venetian? These are some of the questions that surround the work. Although the broad public may recognize the book’s title from Ian Caldwell’s bestselling novel The Rule of Four – a fictionalized story in which the Hypnerotomachia contains a hidden message – the book has received a considerable amount of scholarly attention.
There is a small but nonetheless important part
of the book that hasn’t been examined enough: the set of seven letters and
poems that are presented to reader before the actual story begins. A famous and
influential writer and literary theorist, Gérard Genette, called these texts paratexts. He described a paratext as ‘that
usually textual matter which surrounds and mediates the author’s literary text
to its readership’. So, paratexts are those texts that refer to the book and
are published around it; sometimes
apart and sometimes physically attached to it, as is the case with the Hypnerotomachia’s paratexts. Gérard
Genette also wrote that these paratexts have a profound influence on the way a
book is read. This phenomenon is called framing:
the paratexts are shaping or influencing the way a reader views and reads the
book. Genette compared a paratext to a threshold. To enter a house, you have
step over the threshold; to understand a book in the right way, you have to
read the paratext. The opening quotation of this page
is part of the Hypnerotomachia’s
paratexts. They are written by a number of different persons, most notably
Francesco Colonna, the author, and Leonardo Grassi, the financier. The
paratexts are written for everyone who is determined to read the book. Studying
texts like these can result in very valuable information about the book and its
readership. A paratext can be considered as a ‘product’ of the age it was
written in and therefore it mirrors the circumstances that surrounded its
publication. In this way, a paratext provides insight into a text’s cultural
context, which is essential when trying to understand the functioning of a book
and the way contemporary readers viewed it. It can also show relationships
between people who were involved in the book’s publication. The goal of this
page is to examine this network aspect of the Hypnerotomachia, focusing on the publication, the distribution and
the reception of the book. To what extent can the paratexts reveal us
information about these three aspects?
‘A
somewhat novel and admirable work’
The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili was written and published in Venice in 1499. Although there is no solid evidence, most historians agree that the author of the book was Francesco Colonna, a Venetian retired priest and monk. The book’s title can be translated as ‘Poliphilo’s strife of love in a dream’. In the book Colonna, disguised as the main hero Poliphilo, tells the story of an extraordinary dream that he had in 1476. After a sleepless night, the heartbroken Poliphilo falls asleep and makes a journey through the land of dreams, where he stumbles upon fantastic buildings, landscapes and creatures. By the end of the story, Poliphilo finds his beloved Polia and awakes from his dream to the nightingale’s song. Poliphilo’s story is accompanied by 168 well-carved woodcut illustrations, echoing the events in the text. Although the paratexts have a lot of information to offer, the division over the three central aspects (publication, distribution and reception) is uneven. As we will see, the texts have a lot more to say about the publication and reception than about the distribution.
The Hypnerotomachia’s paratexts are very clear about the network surrounding its publication. One of the most important persons is the already mentioned Leonardo Grassi, a prominent Venetian lawyer. In the first paratext he dedicates the book to Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, who was the duke of Urbino, and he writes:
There has recently come into my hands a somewhat novel and admirable work of Poliphilo (for such is the name of the book), which, in order that it shall not remain in darkness, but be of timely benefit to mortals, I have had printed and published at my own expense.
Grassi emphasizes his own role in the creation of the book: he funded the printing and the publishing process. He is praised for this in the second paratext, written by Giovan Battista Scita, a well-known Venetian teacher. It appears Grassi and Scita were acquaintances. The missing link between them is a man who, although very important for the book, is entirely absent in the paratexts: Aldus Manutius. He was a famous Venetian printer who was responsible for the lay-out and the printing of the Hypnerotomachia. Manutius, along with the author, can be regarded as one of the central persons in the book’s network. Francesco Colonna seems to be absent too, but this is not the case. At least two of the seven paratexts are written by Colonna himself. His identity is protected in the sixth paratext: a poem by a poet named Andrea Marone. He writes:
‘Say, Muse, whose work is this?’ (…) ‘We do not wish to tell.’ (…)
‘We would not deem ourselves worthy of Poliphilo’s true name.’
When it comes to the book’s distribution, the texts do not have much information to share. There are but a few things that are worth mentioning. One of them is the fact that Leonardo Grassi shares some insight in the target audience of the Hypnerotomachia:
These matters are not to be exposed to the vulgar or proclaimed at the crossroads, but brought forth from the sanctuary of philosophy and drawn from the Muses’ springs with a novel refinement of speech, deserving thanks from all superior men.
A second and last hint about the distribution process is found in the fifth paratext, written by Francesco Colonna:
Accept the work which offers a cornucopia (horn of plenty, TH),
emending it, should it be incorrect.
These words point to Colonna’s preparedness to have his book, if needed, corrected by his audience.
The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili was written and published in Venice in 1499. Although there is no solid evidence, most historians agree that the author of the book was Francesco Colonna, a Venetian retired priest and monk. The book’s title can be translated as ‘Poliphilo’s strife of love in a dream’. In the book Colonna, disguised as the main hero Poliphilo, tells the story of an extraordinary dream that he had in 1476. After a sleepless night, the heartbroken Poliphilo falls asleep and makes a journey through the land of dreams, where he stumbles upon fantastic buildings, landscapes and creatures. By the end of the story, Poliphilo finds his beloved Polia and awakes from his dream to the nightingale’s song. Poliphilo’s story is accompanied by 168 well-carved woodcut illustrations, echoing the events in the text. Although the paratexts have a lot of information to offer, the division over the three central aspects (publication, distribution and reception) is uneven. As we will see, the texts have a lot more to say about the publication and reception than about the distribution.
The Hypnerotomachia’s paratexts are very clear about the network surrounding its publication. One of the most important persons is the already mentioned Leonardo Grassi, a prominent Venetian lawyer. In the first paratext he dedicates the book to Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, who was the duke of Urbino, and he writes:
There has recently come into my hands a somewhat novel and admirable work of Poliphilo (for such is the name of the book), which, in order that it shall not remain in darkness, but be of timely benefit to mortals, I have had printed and published at my own expense.
Grassi emphasizes his own role in the creation of the book: he funded the printing and the publishing process. He is praised for this in the second paratext, written by Giovan Battista Scita, a well-known Venetian teacher. It appears Grassi and Scita were acquaintances. The missing link between them is a man who, although very important for the book, is entirely absent in the paratexts: Aldus Manutius. He was a famous Venetian printer who was responsible for the lay-out and the printing of the Hypnerotomachia. Manutius, along with the author, can be regarded as one of the central persons in the book’s network. Francesco Colonna seems to be absent too, but this is not the case. At least two of the seven paratexts are written by Colonna himself. His identity is protected in the sixth paratext: a poem by a poet named Andrea Marone. He writes:
‘Say, Muse, whose work is this?’ (…) ‘We do not wish to tell.’ (…)
‘We would not deem ourselves worthy of Poliphilo’s true name.’
When it comes to the book’s distribution, the texts do not have much information to share. There are but a few things that are worth mentioning. One of them is the fact that Leonardo Grassi shares some insight in the target audience of the Hypnerotomachia:
These matters are not to be exposed to the vulgar or proclaimed at the crossroads, but brought forth from the sanctuary of philosophy and drawn from the Muses’ springs with a novel refinement of speech, deserving thanks from all superior men.
A second and last hint about the distribution process is found in the fifth paratext, written by Francesco Colonna:
Accept the work which offers a cornucopia (horn of plenty, TH),
emending it, should it be incorrect.
These words point to Colonna’s preparedness to have his book, if needed, corrected by his audience.
The
ideal reader
The paratexts have quite a lot to say about the reception of the book. But the information is not about the historical reception. This is not possible, because the paratexts were all written before the book was read by the audience, resulting in zero information about the historical reader. But, the texts do share information about a different kind of reception: the ideal reception. They impose a certain way of reading the book; they are intended to influence the way the book is read – just like Genette wrote. The ideal, non-historic reader is not aware of this fact and reads the book in exactly the way he is meant to read it. Now, what are key elements in the way the ideal reader reads the Hypnerotomachia?
Firstly, and most importantly, he reads the letter of Leonardo Grassi, in which the book is dedicated to Guidobaldo da Montefeltro:
Lest this book, bereaved of its parent, should appear like a pupil without a tutor or guardian, we commit it to your present patronage so that it may flourish boldly under your name.
The reader is to be impressed by the fact that the book is connected to such a famous and prominent man. Is this way, the high status of the official is reflected on the book, and the book’s status is raised because the reader associates it with him.
A second main aspect of an ideal reading is the way the ideal reader perceives the book. Does he consider it to be a long story, a set of independent stories or something else? The paratexts promote a specific way thinking about the book, as is shown by Grassi’s letter:
For it contains not only knowledge, but, as you will see, more secrets of nature than you will find in all the books of the ancients.
These words, along with several long descriptions of the book’s contents in the paratexts and an extensive index, give the reader a basic overview of all that is available to read. They promote to view the Hypnerotomachia als a kind of encyclopaedia – one that is filled with both knowledge of the present and the ancient times. Because of this, the ideal reader does not read the book from cover to cover, but instead he is able to select the parts he would like to read carefully.
A third and last core aspect of the ideal reader is participation. He is invited to indulge himself in all knowledge that is offered, as is mainly apparent in the opening quote of this webpage. The ideal reader feels as if he is being addressed directly by the author, invited to join him and participate in what is written. Another important feature of the Hypnerotomachia that encourages or perhaps even forces the reader to participate is the language in which it has been written: a mix of Greek, Latin, Tuscan and Venetian. To read and understand the story, the reader has to have knowledge of all four languages and use all of it to get an idea of what is going on in the text. Because of this, the ideal reader engages himself in an active way with the text and participates in it.
Concluding our discussion of the ideal reader, we can say that the Hypnerotomachia’s network has played a large role in constructing the paratexts and the way our ideal reader reads the book. Some of the most important paratexts – especially the ones in which it is tried to enhance the book’s status – are the ‘products’ of a network and relations, for instance the relation between Leonardo Grassi and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. This gives us a glimpse of insight in how networks influence the world of books.
The paratexts have quite a lot to say about the reception of the book. But the information is not about the historical reception. This is not possible, because the paratexts were all written before the book was read by the audience, resulting in zero information about the historical reader. But, the texts do share information about a different kind of reception: the ideal reception. They impose a certain way of reading the book; they are intended to influence the way the book is read – just like Genette wrote. The ideal, non-historic reader is not aware of this fact and reads the book in exactly the way he is meant to read it. Now, what are key elements in the way the ideal reader reads the Hypnerotomachia?
Firstly, and most importantly, he reads the letter of Leonardo Grassi, in which the book is dedicated to Guidobaldo da Montefeltro:
Lest this book, bereaved of its parent, should appear like a pupil without a tutor or guardian, we commit it to your present patronage so that it may flourish boldly under your name.
The reader is to be impressed by the fact that the book is connected to such a famous and prominent man. Is this way, the high status of the official is reflected on the book, and the book’s status is raised because the reader associates it with him.
A second main aspect of an ideal reading is the way the ideal reader perceives the book. Does he consider it to be a long story, a set of independent stories or something else? The paratexts promote a specific way thinking about the book, as is shown by Grassi’s letter:
For it contains not only knowledge, but, as you will see, more secrets of nature than you will find in all the books of the ancients.
These words, along with several long descriptions of the book’s contents in the paratexts and an extensive index, give the reader a basic overview of all that is available to read. They promote to view the Hypnerotomachia als a kind of encyclopaedia – one that is filled with both knowledge of the present and the ancient times. Because of this, the ideal reader does not read the book from cover to cover, but instead he is able to select the parts he would like to read carefully.
A third and last core aspect of the ideal reader is participation. He is invited to indulge himself in all knowledge that is offered, as is mainly apparent in the opening quote of this webpage. The ideal reader feels as if he is being addressed directly by the author, invited to join him and participate in what is written. Another important feature of the Hypnerotomachia that encourages or perhaps even forces the reader to participate is the language in which it has been written: a mix of Greek, Latin, Tuscan and Venetian. To read and understand the story, the reader has to have knowledge of all four languages and use all of it to get an idea of what is going on in the text. Because of this, the ideal reader engages himself in an active way with the text and participates in it.
Concluding our discussion of the ideal reader, we can say that the Hypnerotomachia’s network has played a large role in constructing the paratexts and the way our ideal reader reads the book. Some of the most important paratexts – especially the ones in which it is tried to enhance the book’s status – are the ‘products’ of a network and relations, for instance the relation between Leonardo Grassi and Guidobaldo da Montefeltro. This gives us a glimpse of insight in how networks influence the world of books.
A conclusion
It seems that Ian Caldwell was wrong: the Hypnerotomachia does not contain any hidden message. Nevertheless, its paratexts have a lot more information to offer than the unsuspecting reader would expect. They carry valuable information about the book’s network and the way it was intended to read. On this webpage some of these features have been discussed, but it is important to mention that there is still a lot more to say about the book and its paratexts. However, discussing all of it on this webpage would, as Francesco Colonna himself puts it in the fifth paratext, ‘be tiresome’.
T.H.
It seems that Ian Caldwell was wrong: the Hypnerotomachia does not contain any hidden message. Nevertheless, its paratexts have a lot more information to offer than the unsuspecting reader would expect. They carry valuable information about the book’s network and the way it was intended to read. On this webpage some of these features have been discussed, but it is important to mention that there is still a lot more to say about the book and its paratexts. However, discussing all of it on this webpage would, as Francesco Colonna himself puts it in the fifth paratext, ‘be tiresome’.
T.H.
Further reading
Literature:
Barolini, Helen. Aldus and his Dream Book. New York: Italica Press, 1992.
Colonna, Francesco. Hypnerotomachia Poliphilli: The Strife of Love in a Dream. Translated by Joscelyn Godwin. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2005.
Genette, Gérard. Paratexts: Thresholds of interpretation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Lowry, Martin J.C. The world of Aldus Manutius: business and scholarship in Renaissance Venice. Oxford: Blackwell, 1979.
Fiction:
Caldwell, Ian. The Rule of Four. The Dial Press, 2004.
Literature:
Barolini, Helen. Aldus and his Dream Book. New York: Italica Press, 1992.
Colonna, Francesco. Hypnerotomachia Poliphilli: The Strife of Love in a Dream. Translated by Joscelyn Godwin. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2005.
Genette, Gérard. Paratexts: Thresholds of interpretation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Lowry, Martin J.C. The world of Aldus Manutius: business and scholarship in Renaissance Venice. Oxford: Blackwell, 1979.
Fiction:
Caldwell, Ian. The Rule of Four. The Dial Press, 2004.
Sources of the used images
Front page: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/716KZkpCSZL._SL1137_.jpg
Example architecture: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_xp-4mhm0lM/TbmMhod024I/AAAAAAAAAEY/-KX7-bbdcYU/s1600/sue%25C3%25B1o-14.jpg
Dragon: http://24.media.tumblr.com/0fabb1c1ab8be680a41cec8114151edc/tumblr_mx39ogE0Bh1s83h8do2_1280.jpg
The Elephant: http://www.gnosis.art.pl/iluminatornia/mysterion/hypnerotomachia/hypnerotomachia10.gif
Bernini: http://italytravelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/DSCN1014.JPG
Aldus Manutius' mark: http://www.library.mun.ca/qeii/FirstSpace/images/PM2.jpg
Reunion: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/Poliphilo_and_Polia.jpg
Front page: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/716KZkpCSZL._SL1137_.jpg
Example architecture: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_xp-4mhm0lM/TbmMhod024I/AAAAAAAAAEY/-KX7-bbdcYU/s1600/sue%25C3%25B1o-14.jpg
Dragon: http://24.media.tumblr.com/0fabb1c1ab8be680a41cec8114151edc/tumblr_mx39ogE0Bh1s83h8do2_1280.jpg
The Elephant: http://www.gnosis.art.pl/iluminatornia/mysterion/hypnerotomachia/hypnerotomachia10.gif
Bernini: http://italytravelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/DSCN1014.JPG
Aldus Manutius' mark: http://www.library.mun.ca/qeii/FirstSpace/images/PM2.jpg
Reunion: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/Poliphilo_and_Polia.jpg