Sicco Polenton information

Sicco Polenton (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsikko polenˈtɔn; -ton]; 1375–1447) was an Italian jurist, Neo-Latin author, and Renaissance humanist. His last name is also spelled Polentone, Polentonus. His first name is also spelled Xico, or Xicho. Sometimes his name also contains "Patavinus" meaning "of Padua".

His son is named Polydorus, and he dedicated his De scriptoribus to his son, as the first page of his book started with "Sicconis Polentoni Liber Scriptom Illustrium Latinae Linguae Incipit Primus ad Filium Polydor Feliciter" ["Here begins Sicco Polentone's First Book on the Illustrious Writers of the Latin Language, for his Son Polydorus"]^{[note 1]} (plate IV ^[1]).

Sicco Ricci (Rizzi) was born at Levico Terme in either 1375 or 1376. He took the name "Polenton" (Polentonus) from his father Bartolomeo. His first name "Sicco" probably came from that Sicco's father was commander of the guard at Borgo, and named his son after his employer, Siccone di Telvana (vii, ^[1]).

He studied grammar and rhetoric at Padua under Giovanni Conversini and periodically with Vittorino da Feltre. In 1396, he began his career as a notary of the ruling Carrara family, and then sometime later became a public notary. He obtained Paduan citizenship sometime around 1402 -- 1403. He became the chancellor of the Comune sometime between 1413 and 1424.

In 1408 Sicco married Antonia Enselmini and thereafter his life was devoted mostly to literary endeavours. In 1413 he completed his first Latin work, the Argumenta super aliquot orationibus et invectivis Ciceronis ["Arguments on some speeches and invectives of Cicero"]. In 1419 he published his most successful work, Catinia, a comedy in seven scenes. Thereafter he worked on his Scriptorum illustrium latinae linguae, the first history of the Latin language and its literature, which he had begun by 1425 but did not finish until 1437. He erroneously attributed a piece De puellis ("On girls"), perhaps De tribus puellis, to Ovid.

in 1430, he resigned from chancellorship, due to low salary. In 1431 he ceased to act as notary. After that, he devoted himself to literary pursuits, but still he held various public offices, including that of mayor in 1440-1441. He spent his final years writing various tracts expounding religious arguments and died in Padua in 1446 or 1447. He was buried in the church of San Leonardo, now disappeared.

He understood that classical learning had gone to sleep for a thousand years, but the Muses were waking up again (Ullman, 1928, xv).

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