Muratori, Ludovico Antonio

Muratori, Ludovico Antonio (ldōvē`kō äntô`nyō mrätô`rē), 1672–1750, Italian historian, a Roman Catholic priest. One of the foremost scholars of his age, he was long archivist and ducal librarian at Modena. He discovered the Muratorian Canon, a scrap of early Christian literature (c.A.D. 190) containing the earliest known list of the New Testament books. Muratori edited the important source collections Rerum Italicarum scriptores (28 vol., 1723–51) and Antiquitates Italicae medii aevii (6 vol., 1738–42). He also wrote a history (12 vol., 1744–49) of Italy from Christian times.

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Muratori, Ludovico Antonio 

Born Oct. 21, 1672, in Vignola; died Jan. 23, 1750, in Modena. Italian historian.

Muratori became curator of the Ambrosiana Library at Milan in 1695 and chief librarian and archivist for the dukes of Modena in 1700. He published the basic narrative sources of medieval Italian history. His Annals of Italy is a detailed exposition of Italian history, mainly political, from the first century A.D. to 1749. His Medieval Italian Antiquities is devoted to the history of the institutions, manners, and customs of the Italian states from the fifth to the 13th centuries. Muratori also wrote on paleography, numismatics, and philosophy.

PUBLICATION

Rerum italicarum scriptores, vol. 1. Bologna, 1961.

WORKS

Annali d’ltalia, 2 vols. Milan, 1744–49.
Antiquitates Italicae medii aevi, 6 vols. Bologna, 1965.

REFERENCES

Sorbelli, T. Bibliografia Muratoriana. Modena, 1943.
Bezzi, G. II pensiero sociale di L. A. Muratori. Turin, 1922.
Carli, F. de. L. A. Muratori. Florence, 1955.