“Perfetto, buono, lucido e sereno”: l’innocenza del mondo creato nelle rielaborazioni laudistiche del Credo

Abstract

One of the most prevalent lauda tradition subgenres is using paraphrase to create an amplificatio of liturgical prayers such as the Pater and Ave (but also Salve Regina, Requiem aeternam, or Angelus Domini). Paraphrases of the Creed also enjoy popularity, consistent with the intent of confraternal laude to “fish for souls”, that is, to tradere delectando fidem to the lay brothers who also constituted the contemporary audience of sermons. This essay compares several examples of reworkings of the Creed, through full or partial paraphrase, in the laud tradition (from Iacopone da Todi to Bianco da Siena and Leonardo Giustinian, up to the Bolognese laudario of Santa Maria della Morte), focusing on the celebration of natural beings in their intrinsic creaturely innocence, «perfect, good, lucid, and serene», evidence of the invisible Light that mediated their creation.