SOURCE: Fordyce, Cristiana. “The Pro Ligario: Volgarizzamento as a Means of Profit.” In The Politics of Transition in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, edited by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Luise von Flotow, and Daniel Russell, pp. 107-20. Ottawa, Canada: University of Ottawa Press, 2001.

In the following essay, Fordyce studies Brunetto's updating of Cicero's Pro Ligario in his La Rettorica, a translation and commentary on Cicero's De Inventione.

In 1267, the illustrious citizen Brunetto Latini was allowed to return to victorious Guelf Florence after six years of exile in France. The notary and chancellor, who had served the city until the defeat of his party, had continued his commitment to the city abroad by assisting rich Florentine merchants residing in France. Providing support to the mercantile class, the primary function of most lawyers, meant for Brunetto the backing of the commune not only economically, but politically. Before and after his exile...