Johannes Reuchlin's "Scaenica progymnasmata" or "Henno" (1498) and Jacob Spiegel's Commentary (1512)

Johannes Reuchlin’s comic Latin farce Henno (1498) is one of the best-known and most influential plays of early modern Europe. It was reprinted and translated many times and inspired other playwrights. One of the boy actors at the first performance, Jacob Spiegel, wrote an extensive commentary on the play that was published in 1512 and reprinted in 1519.
Both the play itself and the commentary are transnational: the motifs of the play are drawn from French farce and Italian commedia dell’arte, and inspired others in Europe; the commentary cites texts from Italy, France, and Germany, among other countries. The present edition presents Henno, for the first time with an English translation, Spiegel’s commentary, with notes tracking the sources of the commentary, and an introduction with a bibliography of all editions.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction 9
Johannes Reuchlin 9
Early Comedy in Germany 15
Scaenica progymnasmata / Henno—The Play Itself 19
Reuchlin’s Sources for Scaenica progymnasmata 23
Reception of Scaenica progymnasmata / Henno 25
History of Interpretation of Henno 29
Jacob Spiegel 36
Spiegel’s Commentary on Reuchlin’s Scaenica progymnasmata 39
Transnational Aspects of Reuchlin, Spiegel and Henno 44
Editions of Scaenica progymnasmata / Henno 45
This Edition 53


Reuchlin, Scaenica progymnasmata / Henno—Text and Translation 55


Preliminary Texts of Scaenica progymnasmata 89


Jacob Spiegel’s Commentary 97
Prologus 99
Actus primus 109
Actus secundus 158
Actus tertius 190
Actus quartus 208
Actus quintus 226
Post scripta 244


Notes on Spiegel’s Commentary 261


Dictionum index 403


Bibliography 409
Abbreviations 409
Primary Sources Antiquity–16th Century 410
Bible Books Quoted 417
Other Abbreviations 417
References and Editions Used 420
Primary Sources 420
Humanist Works: Modern Editions, Translations and Commentaries 433
Secondary Sources 440


Figures 459