A Basilisk in Vicentino’s «L’antica musica»

There is a basilisk in Nicola Vicentino’s L’antica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica. It is hidden inside one of the five big capital letters, illustrated with a mythological scene, which open the different books of the treatise: precisely in the ‘P’ opening the third book of the Prattica (fol. 43r). In the capital letter we see, on the left side, a young man with a viola at his feet, who covers his face with his hands; on the right side, a monster with the bust of a rooster and the tail of a snake. The scene depicted so far has represented an enigma without solution. Neither Franca Petrucci Nardelli (1991, p. 80), nor Maureen E. Buja (1996, p. 166) have been able to interpret it.Capital Letter ‘P’. Nicola Vicentino, L’antica musica ridotta alla moderna prattica (Rome 1555), fol. 43r, detail (Basel, Private collection) © Martin KirnbauerTo understand the scene it is necessary to start from…