Olympia
Morata, the daughter of a Protestant citizen, was chosen as the companion
and instructress of the Princess Anna. They passed a quiet life among
their books until a time of persecution arrived, when Olympia found a
hope of safety in marrying Andrew Grundler of Schweinfurt. Her love for
books appears in the letters written towards the close of her life. In
1554 she tells Curio of the storming of Schweinfurt, where she lost her
library: 'when I entered Heidelberg barefoot, with my hair down, and in a
ragged borrowed gown, I looked like the Queen of the Beggars.' 'I hope,'
she said, 'that with the other books you will send me the Commentary on
Jeremiah.' Her friend answers that Homer and Sophocles are on their way:
'and you shall have Jeremiah too, that you may lament with him the
misfortunes of your husband's country.' Olympia replied from her
death-bed, returning her warmest thanks for the books. 'Farewell,
excellent Curio, and do not distress yourself when your hear of my death.
I send you such of my poems as I have been able to write out since the
storming of Schweinfurt; all my other writings have perished; I hope that
you will be my Aristarchus and will polish the poems; and now again,
Farewell.'
The Ducal Library of Ferrara was transferred to Modena when the Duchy was
added to the States of the Church. The collection at Modena is still
famous for its illuminated MSS., and for the care bestowed by Muratori
and Tiraboschi in their selection of printed books.
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