Melozzo da Forlì (1438–1494) Italian painter
Melozzo trained in his native Forlì and in Urbino and
came under the influence of PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA. Al-
though Melozzo was acclaimed in his own time as master
of illusionism in his wall-paintings and ceiling decora-
tions, none of his frescoes have survived intact. In 1475 he
moved to Rome where he painted Sixtus IV investing
Platina as Vatican Librarian (1477; Vatican museum) and
the fresco of the Ascension (1477–80) in the church of SS.
Apostoli, now preserved in the Vatican and the Quirinale
Palace, Rome. In these and other works Melozzo devised
a style of extreme foreshortening known as sotto in sù.
Other works include frescoes at Loreto and for the dome
of San Biagio at Forlì (1493; destroyed in 1944).
Melville, Andrew (1545–1622) Scottish churchman,
reformer, and humanist
Melville was born at Baldovie, near Forfar, and learnt
Greek at Montrose grammar school from Pierre de Mar-
siliers. From 1564 to 1566 he read oriental languages, law,
and mathematics at Paris, where he was influenced by the
new methods of Petrus RAMUS, and later occupied the
chair of humanity (Latin) at Geneva (1568–73). From
1574 he held academic posts in Scotland. Several times
moderator of the general assembly of the church, he vehe-
mently opposed the remnants of episcopacy and was
largely responsible for the presbyterian constitution.
Although James VI of Scotland admired his learning,
Melville’s relationship with him was tempestuous; in one
confrontation in 1596 he famously addressed the king as
“God’s silly vassal.” Melville approved of the union of
Scotland and England under James in 1603, but in 1606
he was a prime mover in the calling of a Scottish general
assembly against the king’s express orders. When sum-
moned to London to explain himself he continued un-
abashed his attacks on royal supremacy and the
episcopacy as manifested in the Church of England, and
was sent to the Tower of London. After his release he went
to France (1611) and spent the rest of his life as professor
of biblical theology at Sedan.
Memling, Hans (Hans Memlinc) (active 1465–1494)
Flemish painter
Born in Seligenstadt but based in Bruges, Memling may
have been trained by Rogier van der WEYDEN, although the
influence of Dirk BOUTSis also apparent in his work. He
enjoyed a wide circle of patronage and several of his most
important pictures were produced for foreign clients.
These include the Donne triptych (London), a Last Judg-
ment altarpiece (destined for Florence, but now in
Gda[sk) and a Passion altarpiece (Lübeck). The finest col-
lection of his work is that in the Hans Memlingmuseum
(Sint Janshospitaal), Bruges. Many of his paintings are
precisely datable, but Memling’s style changed little and
the exact chronology of his oeuvre is elusive. His numer-
ous altarpieces and portraits are very highly accomplished
but add little to the repertory established by earlier
Netherlands painters.memory, art of The training and exercise of the memory,
partly as an adjunct to RHETORIC, widely practiced in both
antiquity and the Renaissance. Its effectiveness can be
judged by St. Augustine’s report of a certain Simplicius,
who was able to recite the whole of Virgil backwards. The
classical tradition survived the medieval period and found
its most extravagant Renaissance deployment in the
scheme devised by Giulio Camillo (1480–1544) and pub-
lished in his posthumous L’idea del theatro (1550). The
basic idea of such a system was to aid memory by system-
atically linking items to be memorized to a series of strik-
ing images. Camillo thus conceived of a theater divided
into a large number of blocks of seats, each one of which
could be used as a memory locus. Matteo RICCI con-
structed a “memory palace” which he used to good effect
in his missionary work at the imperial Chinese court. Al-
ternative systems were presented by, among others, Gior-
dano BRUNOand Robert FLUDD. For these, it has been
argued, the art was more than a mnemonic device and had
deep links with Renaissance occultism. Although the art
continues to be cultivated today it has long since returned
to its mnemonic role.
Further reading: Frances A. Yates, The Art of Memory
(London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966; repr. University
of Chicago Press, 1974).Mena, Juan de (1411–1456) Spanish poet and writer
Educated in his native Cordova and at Salamanca and
Rome, he returned to Spain to become Latin secretary to
King John II of Castile and later official court chronicler.
The king and Álvaro de LUNAwere his patrons, though he
also maintained a friendship with Luna’s great opponent,
SANTILLANA. The first Spanish poet to put his vocation
above all else, he showed a fine disregard for pleasing the
public in his own work. He refined Spanish style, both in
poetry and prose, bringing to bear the influences of Virgil,
Ovid, Lucan, and Italian poets, especially DANTEand PE-
TRARCH. In poetry one problem was the rapid, regular,
strongly accented beat of traditional Spanish verse. Mena,
imitating Dante and Petrarch, introduced a hendecasyl-
labic line and paved the way for a more varied and subtle
meter. He thus popularized the ARTE MAYOR and was
known as El Ennio español (“the Spanish Ennius,” after the
Roman poet who had introduced the Latin hexameter).
He ignored colloquial usage, developed an elaborate syn-
tax, introduced neologisms, and employed a range of
rhetorical devices to create a new, learned humanistic po-
etry. His major work, El laberinto de fortuna (The Labyrinth
of Fortune: written 1444, published 1481–88), is an alle-
gorical vision inspired by Dante and much indebted to33112 2 MMeelloozzzzoo ddaa FFoorrlliiìì