Bartolomeo Goggio

Bartolomeo Goggio (ca.1430 – after 1493), also known as Goggi, Gogio and Gogo, was an Italian notary and author.

Goggio was born in Ferrara around 1430. There is little reliable information available about his family or education. He worked as a notary for prominent local families, including the rulers of Ferrara, the Este family. His name also features in the Catalogo dei notai [Catalogue of notaries] of Ferrara’s state archives.

His most important work is De laudibus mulierum [On the Merits of Women], dedicated to Eleanor of Naples (1450 – 1493), the wife of Duke Ercole I d’Este. Notwithstanding its Latin title, this work was written in the Italian vernacular, likely around 1487. Although it was never published and survives in a single manuscript in the British Library’s possession, indicating a limited circulation, it has been identified as a key work in the querelle des femmes. In De laudibus mulierum, Goggio: refutes the misogynistic claims of authors and preachers; uses the biblical account of creation to prove women’s superiority; re-evaluates Eve’s role in the Fall in a positive light; and considers the physical beauty of women to be further proof of their superiority. He also wrote the unpublished Latin treatise, De nobilitate humani animi opus [Work on the Nobility of the Human Soul], dated around 1493.

The date of Goggio’s death is unknown, but would have occurred after 1493.

Sources

Saso, Anna Lauro. “Goggio, Bartolomeo.” Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani volume 57 (2001). http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/bartolomeo-goggio_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ (accessed 24/10/16)