Pagan Gods in L. B. Alberti’s Philosophical Novel Momus

Abstract

The satirical novel Momus is one of the most interesting and mysterious works of the Renaissance humanist and theoretician of architecture Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472). In the form of amusing short stories, allegories and parables, it touches on a variety of subjects and topics, from the burdensome concerns of sovereigns to the reshaping of the world and the relationship between people and the gods. At the core of the transversal plot is the story of Momus, the ancient god of mockery, evil-speaking, and criticism. Expelled from the assembly of gods, he wanders through the Earth, talks to philosophers, returns to Olympus as Jupiter’s counsellor and table companion, though finally receives a severe punishment. The story of Momus allows Alberti to convey, as he himself writes, the serious thoughts in entertaining form. Written in the mid-fifteenth century, the book under study survives in several manuscripts, with the first printed editions dating from 1520, when the figure of Momus became popular in the polemical context of the early Reformation. Alberti himself, through the characters of his philosophical novel, discusses politics, religion, society, art, and other subjects familiar to Renaissance humanists. The ancient immortal gods, who differ little from humans with their passions and vices, also act as allegorical embodiments of abstract concepts and qualities (Virtue – Virtus, Rumour – Fama, Deceit – Fraus, and so on). Through the voices of the characters, Alberti expresses many non-trivial and even imprudent from the point of view of official canons judgements concerning politics and religion, but in general they do not go beyond the humanistic search for truth by comparing different opinions.

Keywords

• леон баттиста альберти
• «мом»
• политическая сатира
• античные боги
• античные философы
• плутовской роман
• латинская литература возрождения