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Valla

Name: Lorenzo Valla

Nickname/Alias: Laurentius Vallensis

Achievements: Proved the Donation of Constantine was a forgery.

Born: 1407; Rome, Papal States, Italy

Died: August 1, 1457; Rome, Italy (Aged 50)

Field & Discipline: Philosophy; Humanist

Language: Latin; Italian

Father: Luca Valla

Mother: Caterina Sribani

Siblings: 10 siblings, 8 of which died young; surviving, Paolo (d. 1439); a sister

Spouse: None

Children: Three children by a Roman servant (c. 1450-52)

Education: Rome

Major Work:

“The Fine Points of the Latin Language” (1444)

Life & Times:

In 1430, after failing to get the position of papal secretary vacated by the death of his uncle, Valla left Rome and in early 1431 was appointed professor of rhetoric at the University of Pavia.  In the spring of 1433 he found it necessary to leave the university, and he spent the next year and a half in Milan and Genoa, supporting himself as a private teacher.

In 1434, Valla joined the court of Alfonso of Aragon in southern Italy, who was attacking the kingdom of Naples. Alfonso was greatly impressed by Valla's linguistic ability and extensive knowledge of classical philosophy and made him royal secretary and historian. Valla remained at Alfonso's court for the next 13 years, a period which proved

immensely fruitful and produced several major works.

In 1440 appeared his famous 'Oration on the Falsely Believed and Fabricated Donation of

Constantine,' which exposed the Donation of Constantine (in which the Roman Emperor [work related to] Constantine* gave Pope Sylvester I (314-35) primacy over Antioch, Constantinople, Alexandria, and Jerusalem, and dominion over all Italy) as a forgery. The forgery had previously been detected by [work related to] Nicholas of Cusa* (c.1426), but it was Valla who effectively demonstrated, on the basis of linguistic and historical evidence, that this was an early medieval forgery.

Since King Alfonso was at war with Pope Eugenius IV over Naples at this time, it proved politically convenient to attack the foundation of papal claims to political power in Italy.

During his stay in Naples, Valla also produced works more typical of Renaissance humanism, including a history of the deeds of King Alfonso's father, Ferdinand of Aragon, several translations of Greek classics, and many attacks on fellow humanists (especially one who would later become an arch-enemy, the Florentine humanist [arch-enemy was] Poggio Bracciolini*).

He also composed several dialogues, including his 'On Free Will', 1439, in which he questioned the relation of free will to divine foreknowledge, and attacked philosophy for corrupting Christian theology (a work later praised by [work praised by]  Luther*).

In 1442, Alfonso defeated the papal forces, and the court was established at Naples. Here Valla was able to start teaching rhetoric again, and the following year he composed his 'Collation of the New Testament,' in which he became the first to compare the Greek text of the New Testament with the Vulgate Latin translation made by St. Jerome.

His work revealed how humanists could use their philological and historical expertise as scriptural theologians to compete with medieval theologians and, although it was largely ignored in Italy (being on the Index of prohibited books), through the influence of Erasmus (who had it printed in 1505) it became an inspiration for humanist scripture scholarship elsewhere in 16th-century Europe during the Reformation.

In 1444 he produced what is generally considered his greatest work:  'The Fine

Points of the Latin Language,'  a study of Latin intended to teach the correct classical language. It the first textbook of Latin grammar to be written since Roman times and became popular in grammar schools all over Europe.

Meanwhile, in 1444, Valla had been denounced by the clergy and called before the Inquisition on the basis of a work in which he had unwisely suggested that the Apostles' Creed had not been written by the Twelve Apostles.  The Inquisition investigated his entire works and found him to be guilty of heresy on eight counts.  Only Alfonso's personal intervention saved him from the stake.

During the last decade of his life, Valla continued to revise his major works and teach rhetoric, and was appointed as papal secretary in the curia by Pope [appointed by] Nicholas V*, successor to Eugenius IV and a supporter of humanists.

Here he entered into a lengthy literary war with Poggio, and began his last major project, Latin translations of the works of the Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides,  as well as 'Annotations on the New Testament,'  aided by the encouragement and advice of two famous scholars, the cardinals [supported by] Bessarion* and Nicholas of Cusa.

In 1457, he made his last public appearances, when he spoke on Thomas Aquinas, as the best of the medieval theologians but inferior to the church fathers.

He died later the same year.

Extra Connections: Influenced humanist [influenced] Erasmus*

His work was later edited by [work later edited by] Estienne*

Assessment: Lorenzo Valla was the greatest of the 15th-century Roman humanists, whose exceptional proficiency in both Greek and Latin, combined with his sharply analytical mind and aggressive personality, made his attacks on medieval traditions  powerful.

Oneliner: Lorenzo Valla, who exposed the fake Donation of Constantine

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