Two Renaissance Readers of Apuleius: Filippo Beroaldo and Henri de Mesmes

Abstract

Part I attempts to give an impression of the lasting impact of Filippo Beroaldo's commentary on Apuleian scholarship by focusing on a few examples of his philological acumen and interpretative powers, which have persisted in shaping our understanding of Apuleius' Golden Ass for more than 500 years. Part II focuses on the kinds of linguistic details that Henri de Mesmes, a member of the sixteenth-century bourgeoisie du savoir, thought worthy of note.

Gerald Sandy is currently professor emeritus of classics, University of British Columbia. He has published books, book chapters, and articles on Apuleius, Petronius, Heliodorus, fragments of ancient Greek novelists, and the reception of ancient Greek novels. In recent years his research has focused on Hellenism in France in the first third of the sixteenth century.