1531, for having taken the earthquakes of that year as a text from which to rouse orthodox fanaticism against the Jews or “Neo-Christians”; the circumstances are related by Vicente in a letter to the king. The time and place of his death are alike uncertain; most probably it occurred at Evora not much later than 1536.
Vicente published various of his pieces during his lifetime, but the first collected edition of his works, edited by his son Luis, did not appear till 1562. It is in black letter folio, and only one copy, that in the Göttingen university library, is now known to exist. A second edition, “emended by the Holy Office,” appeared in 1585, of which also only a single copy is now extant (in Lisbon). The disfavour with which they were viewed by the Inquisition caused them to fall into unmerited neglect, and they do not appear to have been again reprinted till 1834, when they were carefully edited by Feio and Monteiro (Hamburg, 3 vols.). They number forty-two in all, of which seventeen are written wholly in Portuguese and ten wholly in Spanish, while in the remainder both languages are employed. The principles determining his choice of language are not easy to discover, and indeed he seems to have used either indifferently, perhaps in this accommodating himself to the aptitudes of particular actors. It may be observed, however, that, while in the 14th century it had been fashionable for all court poets in the western half of the peninsula to use Galician or Old Portuguese, the practice had changed in the days of John II. of Castile, when Castilian became the favourite speech. In writing chiefly in Portuguese Vicente thus reverted to the older practice; but, on the other hand, it is not surprising that he should have freely used Spanish at a court which stood in such intimate personal relations with that of Castile (of Emmanuel’s three wives two were Castilian princesses and the third was a sister of Charles V.), and where he had taken Encina as his avowed model. According to their form the works of Vicente are conveniently divided into—(1) obras de devoçao or autos, (2) comedies and tragi-comedies, and (3) farces. The first class includes twelve autos or sacred pieces, intended for performance at Christmas, Epiphany, and other religious festivals. The plots are quaint and conceived entirely in the mediæval spirit; in their working out many touches of poetical feeling and also of sarcastic humour are introduced. There is a vein of pleasing romance in such compositions as his Dom Duardos and Amadis de Gaula, while the genuine mirthfulness of his farces (Inez Pereira and others), as well as their originality, well entitle him to be spoken of by his compatriots as their “father of comedy” and the national Plautus.
Some typical examples of Vicente’s works may be read in Böhl von Faber’s Teatro Español anterior à Lope de Vega (Hamburg, 1832) and in Ochoa’s Tesoro del Teatro Español (Paris, 1838). An interesting essay, with analyses of many of the plays, occurs in vol. lxxix. of the Quarterly Review (1846–47); see also Ferdinand Wolf’s article “Gil-Vicente” in Ersch and Gruber’s Encykl. (sec. i. vol. lxvii.).
VICENZA, a town of Italy, capital of the province of Vicenza, lies at the northern base of the Monti Berici, on both sides of the Bacchiglione, immediately below its confluence with the Retrone, and 42 miles by rail to the west of Venice. It is surrounded by somewhat dilapidated walls, about 3 miles in circumference, and entered by six gates. Though many of the streets are narrow and irregular, the town has a number of fine public buildings, many of them the work of Palladio (q.v.). Among these are the town-hall, otherwise known as the Basilica, one of the finest works of the Renaissance period, of which Palladio himself said that it might stand comparison with the similar work of antiquity. The prefecture and the Barbarano and Chieregati Palaces are also his work; in the last-named the civic museum is housed. The Olympic theatre is also noteworthy. The cathedral, which is Gothic, dating mainly from the 13th century, consists of a nave with eight chapels on each side; it contains examples of the Montagnas and of Lorenzo da Venezia. Several of the other churches contain noteworthy paintings: thus the Romano-Gothic church of San Lorenzo has Montagnas, S. Corona Montagnas and a G. Bellini, and S. Stephano one of the most important works of Palma Vecchio. The principal square contains two columns, dating from the Venetian period, and a tall Gothic campanile. Of the Palladian villas in the neighbourhood La Rotonda or Villa Palladiana, 1 miles to the south-east, deserves special mention. Vicenza is the see of a bishop, and contains two gymnasia, a seminary, an academy, a public library, a botanic garden, and various hospitals. Some remains of antiquity, including ruins of a theatre and an aqueduct, have been preserved. The most important manufacture is that of silk, which employs a large proportion of the inhabitants. Great numbers of mulberry trees are grown in the neighbourhood. Woollen and linen cloth, leather, earthenware, paper, and articles in gold and silver are also made in Vicenza, and a considerable trade in these articles, as well as in corn and wine, is carried on. The population of the town in 1881 was 24,331, or, including the suburbs, 27,694.
Vicenza is the Vicentia or Vicetia of the Romans, noticed by Strabo as one of the minor towns of Venetia. It continued to be a municipal town of some importance till the fall of the Western empire, and suffered severely in the invasion of Attila, by whom it was laid waste. It was for some time during the Middle Ages an independent republic, but was subdued by the Venetians in 1405. Towards the end of the 15th century it became the seat of a school of painting, of which the principal representatives were, besides Bartolomeo Montagna, its founder, Giovanni Speranza and Bene detto Montagna. Palladio (1518–80) was a native of Vicenza.
VICH, a town of Spain, in the province of Barcelona, 38 miles by rail to the north of that town, lies in a small side valley of the Ter, about 1500 feet above sea-level. It is irregularly built on a hill slope, and has narrow ill-paved streets; there are some quaint old houses in the Plaza Mayor. The cathedral, begun about 1040, belongs chiefly to the first half of the 14th century, but with some mischievous alterations of the 18th. The interior, with three naves and a transept, is elegant, and the Gothic cloisters (1340) are particularly fine. The industries include tanning and the weaving of linen and woollen fabrics; and sausages are a speciality of the place. There are mines of copper and coal in the neighbourhood. The population within the municipal boundaries in 1877 was 12,478.
Vich, the Ausa of the ancient geographers, was the chief town of the Ausetani; in the Middle Ages it was called Ausona and Vicus Ausonensis, hence Vic de Osona, and simply Vich.
VICHY, a town of France, in the department of Allier, is situated on the right bank of the Allier, 227 miles by rail south-south-east from Paris and 6 south of St Germains-de-Fossés, where the railway lines to Lyons and Nîmes separate. The population in 1881 was 8322, and in 1886 10,072.
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Plan of Vichy. |
