Bellezza, retorica e linguaggio: attorno al principio dell’aptum nell’alto Medioevo

Abstract

In the system of rules of the ancient ars rhetorica, the principle of decor or aptum is fundamental, yet often misunderstood; according to this principle, beauty is, above all, that which is “appropriate” to the context, the register of writing and the arguments to be supported. This essay aims to demonstrate how this concept, which medieval aesthetics acquired from Augustine of Hippo, is as indispensable for understanding the aesthetics of the medieval wriBen page as that of pulchrum; indeed, the two elements seem to refer to two different but complementary concepts of beauty, one quantitative and the other qualitative. The thesis is supported with examples from Augustine himself, Raterius of Verona and Pier Damiani.