The Case for Lorenzo's Authorship of the Epistola a Federico d'Aragona

The Raccolta Aragonese, often considered the first anthology of Italian poetry, was sent by Lorenzo de'Medici to Frederic of Aragon, probably in 1476.^ The collection was accompanied by an Epistola which both introduces and comments upon the vernacular poetic tradition. Like several other works associated with the name of Lorenzo, they present the critic with immediate problems; in the case of the Raccolta and the Epistola^ the most serious of these is the question of attribution. Although they were sent to Frederic in nome di Lorenzo, no autograph manuscript is known, ^ and it has frequently been suggested that both the Raccolta and the Epistola are the work of another hand, perhaps that of Poliziano. Because of the singular importance of these works, the question of their attribution is of far-reaching significance, especially as Lorenzo's own poetic production, as well as the extent of his involvement in the literary life of his time, remain difficult to assess. It is generally agreed that the Raccolta itself, in its selection of poems, reflects Lorenzo's poetic preference, and that the Epistola similarly reflects his general ideas;^ to consider them merely as evidence of his literary attitudes, as Bigi wrote, "non importa troppo in questo momento stabilité se VEpistola sia stata stesa da Lorenzo stesso, o, com'è più