Attributive philology is rooted in stylistic evaluation. Boiardo’s volgarizzamenti are widely debated and provide data for stylistic assessment in the light of literary genres, i.e. literary (but not “highbrow”) prose rather than lyric or narrative poetry. This approach sheds light on an individual style that is different from Boiardo’s as a poet, especially in his translation of Cornelius Nepos’ work. A stylistic analysis needs to be complemented by a philological study of the text to explain miscomprehensions and gaps in the translation in the light of the typical errors of the Medieval tradition, which probably characterised the manuscript Boiardo used for his translation. The combination of a stylistic and philological approach is necessary for correct authorship attribution, since the traits deriving from the literary genre and Diskurstradition contribute to the evaluation of the text against its historical background.
