1r Autograph 1v. Preface 2r  

ꝑo nō mabandona· Nepossono ne potranno lecose adverse ne
ilvostro turbato aspecto spengnere nellanima q̄lla fiāma la
quale mediante 35 lavostra belleçça essovaccese ançi essa piu
fervēte chemai cō isperança verdissima vinutrica· Sonoa
dūque del numero desuoi sb̉getti chomio solea vero eche
dove bene advēturato gia fui· hora īfelicissimo miritru
ovo si come voi volete di tāto solamēte appagato 40 chetor
re nō mi potete chio nōmi tengha pur vostro· ⁊chio nō
vami posto chevoi ꝑ vostro mirifiutate ⁊ ilmio amar
vi forse piu graveçça chepiacere riputiate· Et tāto mā
no oltre ad questo lecose traverse di conoscimēto lasciato
che io sento che ꝑ humilta ben ʆvendo 45 ongni dureçça si
vīce ⁊ merita buono guiderdone· Laqual cosa nō so se ad
me saverra ma come che seguir menedebba, ne dasse mi
vedra diviso umiltade· ne fedel ʆvire stanco giammai·
Et accio che loꝑa sia verissimo testimonio alle parole
ricordandomi che gia 50 nedi piu felici chelunghi io vi sē
tii vagha dudire ⁊ tal volta dileggere una ⁊ altra
hystoria ⁊ maximamēte lamorose· sicome quella che t
tutta ardavate nel fuoco nelquale io ardo· ⁊ questo for
se faciavate accio che itediosi tempi cō otio nō fosssero ca
gione dipēsier 55 piu nocevole chome volonteroso ʆvidore
ilquale nō solamēte ilcomādamēto aspecta dalsuo maggi
ore, ma quello oꝑando quelle cose che crede che piacciano
previene· Trovata una antichissima hystoria ⁊ allepiu
delle genti nō manifesta bella si ꝑ lamateria 60 della quale
parla che e damore· ⁊ si ꝑcoloro de quali dice che nobili gi
ovani furono, ⁊ direal sangue discesi· īlatino volgare ⁊
ꝑ rima accio chepiu dilectasse· ⁊ maximamēte ad voi che
gia cō sommo titolo lemie exaltaste· cō quella sollecitudi
ne che cōceduta 65 mi fu dalaltre piu gravi disiderando dipiacer
vi o ridocta· ⁊ che ella dame ꝑ voi sia compilata, due chose
fralaltre ilmanifestano · Luna sie che cio che sotto ilnome
delluno de due amāti ⁊della giovane amata si cōta esʆe stato
ricordandovi bene· ⁊ io ad voi 70 dime· ⁊ voi ad me divoi· senō
mētiste potreste conoscere essere stato decto ⁊ facto ī parte
quale de due sisia nō discuopro· che so che vene advedrete,
Se forse alchune cose soꝑchie vifossero ilvolere bene copri
re cio che nō e honesto manifestare da noi due 75 īfuori ⁊ il
volere lastoria seguire ne son cagioni· Et oltre accio dove

An inelegant 16th-17th century hand, C-3, has retraced much of the preface in fols. 1v, 2r and 3r. His work is evident on the first twenty lines of fol. 1v. The retracer, whose hand also appears in the first half of the poem, was concerned to preserve the text that had faded significantly since its composition. This fading is particularly evident in the hair sides of the parchment, such as fols. 1v and 2r. While the flesh sides of the parchment generally retain the original copying in good condition, many hair sides were not well prepared and have therefore lost ink. Although C-3 was well intentioned, many of his conjectured restorations in the glosses are inaccurate and have required correction in this edition.
Hand C-2: dil. Bocc.'s del is legible under the retracing done by C-2.
Hand C-2 has retraced subgetti, leaving intact Bocc.'s abbreviation for sub-: sb̉. The original reading, in infra-red and ultra-violet photographs, appears in Dets. 3 and 4, which confirm Batt's suggestion (p. 4, n.2) that the original might have been subgetti. The word appears three other times in Aut, in each case with the prefix sub- spelled out: Pref. 7 and Poem 9.45.6 and 9.75.2. The abbreviation also appears in subiectione (6.58.6).
Hand C-3 has traced fato, but an examination under infra-red light indicates that the original reading was tāto. (See Det. 4.) The Eds. emended the reading to tanto since it commonly occurs in the MSS. Batt. and Ronc. silently emended the reading, while Lim. (p. 876) noted the emendation.
Hand C-3: no. Bocc.'s nō is legible under infra-red light. See Det. 5.
Hand C-3: siasta. Noting that the reading had been rewritten with a form that lacked sense, Batt. (p. 4, n.3) emended it to forse, the common reading in the α MSS. Dets. 5 and 7 document a re-traced original that was most likely forse. (The NO reading, fore, is a mistranscription of forse.)
In the left margin, a drawing of a pointing hand, not by Bocc. The hand points to a line of text concerning the lover's need for humility: che io sento ... durezza.
Because hand C-3 over-traced buono, the original reading was not visible to Batt., who changed the retraced buono to uom. Batt. based his emendation on huom (and its variant spellings), which he identified as the α reading (p. 4 n. 4). Bocc.'s original buono is visible under ultra-violet light, however; see Dets. 5 and 7.
One reason for Battaglia's editorial decision is that he knew significantly fewer MSS than are known today. Battaglia's catalogue in the edition (pp. xi- xxxiii) lists Aut plus 27 other Teseida MSS in four libraries in Florence and Rome. Since then, due largely to the fundamental research of Vittore Branca, many more MSS have been identified. We editors have been able to consult Aut plus 65 Teseida MSS and one incunabulum (which is a witness to a missing MS) in 28 libraries in 22 European and American cities.
Battaglia suggested that a limited number of MSS contain Bocc.'s prefatory letter (p. 4 n. 1); however, the preface appears in most of the Teseida MSS. Fifty-seven of the extant MSS are 14th and 15th century copies. Seven of these are fragmentary, so it is not possible to determine whether they once contained the preface. Of the remaining 50 MSS, however, 36 contain Bocc.'s preface: Ai, Ar, Bg, Ch, Cn, L2, L1, L4, Aut, S, M1, M2, M3, M6, P2, Pn, R1, R3, R4, R5, G, MA, MA1, MT, NO, Pr, Pr2, Pr3, Re, RN, SanF, Si, V3, V4, Vz, and VzQ. An additional four fragmentary MSS contain some portion of the preface: L3, L8, Ma, V1. Only ten MSS were copied without the preface: CaM, A, M4, F, P1, P3, RL, RL1, T, and V2. In sum, then, 40 of the 50 surviving 14th and 15th century Teseida MSS (80%) were composed with the Bocc.'s preface.
While huom is the reading in the majority of 23 α MSS with the preface, the three branches of the α family also have other readings. The most common alternate variant is buon or buono: in ακ (S, R1), in αζ (M3, MA1, Pr3, R3), and in αζ / ζζ (Pn, R4). An additional two αζ MSS (Bg, L1) have ogni. Of the six β MSS with the preface, four have buono (NO, L4, MT, Pr) and two (G, M1) omit the reading; buono is thus the only β reading. The single γ MS (P2) has hom.
For Bocc's. use of buono before the noun that it modifies, see buono porto (gl.12.86.7). (Note that Bocc.'s buon guiderdone in the poem [10.28.2] is not a useful example, since buon is required in order to preserve the poetic meter.)
Hand C-3 retraced the word as guidardone, which is an alternate form that appears in several MSS. The retracing has obscured the original. (See Dets. 5 and 7.) However, Bocc.'s constant spelling is guider-: in the poem, see 1.23.6, 5.100.4, 7.123.3, 10.28.2, and 10.35.1.
Retracing by hand C-3 ends at this point on fol. 1v. Boccc.'s occasional retracing, which is evident by the darker brown ink, continues intermittently until the end of the page.
`