Hilarius Cantiuncula and his book of poems

Abstract

• THE present brief investigation arose out of the discovery of an unfortunate error in the British Museum's Short-title Catalogue of Italian Books 1463-1600 (1958), where on page 327 we read the following entry: 'Hilarius, a writer of Latin verse in Germany. Cantiunculae hendecasyllaborum liber. Apud P. Petramsanctam: [Gualtiero Scotto:] Venetijs, 1555. 8°. (11409.aa.43(1)).' It was not realized at the time that in fact Cantiuncula is the author's surname, not part of the title of the book. He was Hilarius Cantiuncula, in the vernacular Hilaire Chansonnette, whom nowadays we should look upon rather as a Frenchman than a German.