Vêtir l’humilité: de Bono Giamboni à Boccacce

Representations of humility deserve far more scholarly attention and analysis than they have thus far received only by way of exception. This paper aims at partially filling this historiographical gap by considering topical accounts of humility in some Italian sources from the late 13th - early 14th centuries, especially in Bono Giamboni, Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio. In particular, the paper focuses on the recurring theme of “dressing humility” in the works of the above mentioned authors with the aim to study and contextualize semantic shifts and usages of a literal and metaphorical juxtaposition – that of humility and dress – which already knew a long biblical and monastic tradition.