Caelius Rhodiginus

Caelius Rhodiginus (born Lodovico Ricchieri; 1469, Rovigo–1525, Rovigo) was a Venetian writer, and professor in Greek and Latin.

His original name was Ludovico or Lodovico Celio Ricchieri. He took the name Rhodiginus from his birthplace, Rovigo.^[1] He studied at Ferrara and Padua. He was a professor in Greek and Latin at Rovigo from 1491-9, and again from 1503-4.^[2] He was sacked by the council of Rovigo on 26 May 1504 because of his high-handedness in dealing with the city. He subsequently taught in many places including Bologna, Vicenca, Padua, and Ferrara.^[2] In 1515, he became the chair of Greek at Milan; he returned to Rovigo in 1523, and died two years later.^[2] His pupil Julius Caesar Scaliger described him as the Varro of his age.

His principal work was the Antiquarum Lectionum in sixteen books published in 1516.^[2] It was a collection of notes on the classics and general topics.^[2] He also wrote commentaries on Virgil, Ovid, and Horatius Flaccus.^[2]

Notes

1. Hugh James Rose, A New General Biographical Dictionary,1853
2. Peter G. Bietenholz, Thomas B. Deutscher, (2003), Contemporaries of Erasmus: a biographical register of the Register of the Renaissance and Reformation, Volumes 1-3, page 155. University of Toronto Press