2-999-952 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Panegyric of Leonardo Loredan, 21 April, 1503. The Panegyricus Serenissimo Principi Leonardo Lauredano, anglicised as Panegyric to the Most Serene Prince Leonardo Loredan, is an early 16th-century Latin manuscript in honour of Leonardo Loredan, who reigned as the 75th Doge of Venice from 1501 until his death in 1521. The manuscript is a ceremonial facsimile of a panegyric, (a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing), pronounced by Sigismundus Burgus, a knight and lawyer from the city of Cremona. The Latin script is elaborately illuminated with a Roman-style inscription of gold letters on a blue background. The placement of the Lion of Saint Mark, a symbol of the Republic of Venice, in the upper margin above the inscription, confirms that the manuscript is an official document. Below are mermen holding a shield with a lion rampant.