Resumen de Giustina e Cipriano tra le «legendae novae» e il volgarizzamento di Domenico Cavalca
Domenico Cavalca translates the legend of Justina and Cyprian in the final section of the Vite dei santi padri (IV 78) on the basis of the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine and with references to Jean de Mailly’s Abbreviatio in gestis et miraculis sanctorum. The essay examines the dossier of the legendae novae, which reworked the most ancient hagiographic tradition summarized in two texts (Acta a and Acta b), and highlights the greater originality of Jacobus de Voragine, who changes the arrangement of the narrative cores and introduces new details (e.g. the attempted seduction of Justina by the devil disguised as a young lover). While faithfully following the traces of the Golden Legend, Cavalca derives some details from the previous hagiographic tradition, and he is innovative in the attention to the affective motivations of the actions and in the care for the narrative details. His work is intended for nonlearned readers and also for preachers: it seeks simplicity and evidence, avoids too learned metaphors, and omits terms that might seem inappropriate.
