What is it about?
This chapter brings to light a largely overlooked chapter in the history of European dream interpretation by uncovering a rich and influential Italian tradition of the Somniale Danielis, one of the most widespread dreambooks of the Middle Ages. While the Somniale circulated widely in Latin and in many European vernaculars, its Italian versions have long remained in the shadows. One reason for this neglect lies in ecclesiastical censorship of divinatory texts, which often removed the name of the apocryphal author. As a result, early Italian manuscripts from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries do not present the work as the Somniale Danielis, but instead circulate under more neutral titles. Far from being marginal or merely popular texts, Italian versions of the Somniale played an active role in the literary and intellectual culture of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. They were integrated into broader contexts that included literature, encyclopedic writing, and astrology, and were used not only to interpret dreams but also to shape ways of reading, writing, and organizing knowledge. Dream interpretation emerges here as a shared cultural practice rather than a private or superstitious activity. This chapter reconstructs the circulation and significance of these Italian texts, and a central focus is the discovery, attribution, transcription, and English translation of an Italian version preserved in the Florentine Laurentian Library (MS Pluteo 89 sup.35), which provides crucial new evidence for understanding how the Somniale Danielis was adapted and transmitted in Italy.
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Why is it important?
The chapter demonstrates the enduring continuity, adaptability, and cultural significance of the Somniale Danielis in late medieval and early Renaissance Italy. Crucially, this tradition acted as a bridge between learned and vernacular cultures, as well as between personal experience and collective knowledge, highlighting the text’s central role in Italian intellectual life and its influence on wider European practices of dream interpretation.
Perspectives
This chapter uncovers the rich Italian tradition of the Somniale Danielis, one of the most influential medieval dreambooks, long overlooked in scholarship. Drawing on newly identified manuscripts, including the Italian version in Florentine Laurentian MS Pluteo 89 sup.35, the study shows how these texts were more than tools for personal divination. Fully embedded in literary, encyclopedic, and astrological contexts, they shaped ways of reading, writing, and organizing knowledge. By highlighting the continuity, adaptability, and cultural significance of the Somniale Danielis, the chapter positions it as a bridge between learned and vernacular cultures, offering fresh insights into medieval and early Renaissance European practices of dream interpretation.
Valerio Cappozzo
University of Mississippi
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Newly Discovered Italian Tradition of the Somniale Danielis, January 2026, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004750944_007.
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