cerned with courtiers. Vasconcelos’s novel, Memorial da
Segunda Távola Redonda (c. 1554), defends the old values
of chivalry; lyrical passages are interspersed in a narrative
that involves both the Arthurian knights of the Round
Table and deities from classical mythology.
Vatican Library (Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) The
LIBRARYhousing the papal collections in the Vatican City,
Rome. The Vatican Library developed from a library es-
tablished in Rome in the 15th century by Pope Nicholas V,
who gathered together valuable manuscripts from Ger-
many, England, Greece, and other countries and presented
them to the public view, although an inventory (1295) of
443 works survives of an earlier papal collection in the
time of Boniface VIII (pope 1294–1303). The present
building was erected by Domenico FONTANAat the end of
the 16th century and the collection was moved there from
the Floreria beneath the Borgia apartments by Sixtus V
(pope 1585–90). In later years the library has been en-
riched by a number of major bequests and now houses
about 60,000 manuscripts, 7000 incunabula, and 950,000
other printed books. The present library comprises 12
basic collections, including the Palatini (see PALATINA, BIB-
LIOTHECA), the Reginenses (formerly belonging to Queen
Christina of Sweden), the Borghesiani, and the Barberini-
ani.
Further reading: Anthony Grafton (ed), Rome Reborn:
The Vatican Library and Renaissance Culture (New Haven,
Conn.: Yale University Press, 1993).
Vecchi, Orazio (1550–1605) Italian composer
Born in Modena, Vecchi took holy orders. He is known to
have been active in Venice, and became maestro at Salò
cathedral in 1581. Three years later he was appointed to
the same post at Modena. In 1586 he worked for a short
period in Reggio Emilia and then became maestro at Cor-
reggio. He returned to his original post at Modena in
1593, and in 1598 also became maestro at the court chapel
of Duke Cesare d’Este. In this capacity he was celebrated
as a composer of entertainments; though a priest and a
composer of sacred works, it is for his madrigals and can-
zonettes that Vecchi is remembered. His most famous
work is his L’Amfiparnaso (1597), a madrigal comedy com-
prising 14 madrigals for five voices setting a COMMEDIA
DELL’ARTEtext.
Vecchietta, Lorenzo di Pietro, Il (c. 1412–1480)
Italian painter, sculptor, and architect
A native of Siena, Vecchietta was a pupil of Stefano di SAS-
SETTAand was greatly influenced by Florentine art. The in-
fluence of DONATELLO is particularly strong upon
Vecchietta’s masterpiece, the painting The Assumption of
the Virgin (1461–62; Pienza cathedral), which is distin-
guished by its linear but naturalistic style. The influence
of Donatello is also evident upon his marble and bronze
sculptures, notably the relief The Resurrection (1472; Frick
Collection, New York). Other works include an illumi-
nated codex of the Divine Comedy (British Museum), a ci-
borium in Siena cathedral (1467–72), the painting St.
Bernardino Preaching (Liverpool), and frescoes (1441–49)
in the Ospedale di Sta. Maria della Scala, Siena. His pupils
included MATTEO DI GIOVANNI.Veen, Otto van (Vaenius) (1556–1629) Flemish painter
Van Veen, who although illegitimate was of patrician
birth, studied under Isaac Swanenburgh in his native Ley-
den before moving briefly to Liège (1573). He then spent
time in Italy (1575–80), during which he acquired under
Federico ZUCCAROin Rome an Italian mannerist overlay to
his original Flemish style. On his return to the Catholic
Netherlands, he became court painter (1585–92) to the
duke of Parma and later held the equivalent post with the
archduke Albert. Between 1596 and 1600 RUBENSdid his
final training in van Veen’s Antwerp studio. Religious, his-
torical, and allegorical subjects feature among van Veen’s
output, and his self-portrait, showing him at his easel sur-
rounded by his extensive family, is in the Louvre, Paris.Veer, Gerrit de (late 16th century) Dutch explorer and
surgeon
Veer accompanied Willem BARENTSon his three voyages in
search of the NORTHEAST PASSAGE, and his Waerachtighe
beschryvinghe van de drie seylaegien by Noorden (1598)
gives a lively account of these journeys, in particular the
winter of 1596/97 passed by Barents’s men in their make-
shift shelter on the ice of Novaya Zemlya. The book
quickly became famous, and was translated into English
(1609) and other European languages.Vega Carpio, Lope Félix de (1562–1635) Spanish
dramatist, poet, and novelist
He attended a Jesuit school in his native Madrid, perhaps
studied at Alcalá, and spent a period at Salamanca. He had
numerous romantic entanglements throughout most of
his life. That with Elena Osorio in the 1580s inspired in
part his dialogue novel La Dorotea (1632). Shortly after
marrying the aristocrat Isabel de Urbina, he sailed with
the SPANISH ARMADA(1588), which he survived. In 1590
he became secretary to the duke of ALBA; his pastoral
novel, La Arcadia, dates from this period. His wife died in
1594, and in 1598 he married Juana de Guardo, while
continuing an affair with Micaela de Luján. In 1610 he set-
tled in Madrid. After his second wife died in 1613, he had
several other relationships but nevertheless prepared to be
ordained as a priest. His final tragic affair was with Marta
de Nevares Santoyo, whom he met in 1616. She gradually
became blind and then insane, dying in 1632. Though
long famous, he himself died poor.
Lope established the form of Spanish comedy in the
17th century. Of more than 1500 theatrical works creditedVVeeggaa CCaarrppiioo,, LLooppee FFeeíí lliixx ddee 4 48855