Bel-Vedére or the Garden of the Muses

"Bel-vedére, or The Garden of the Muses is an early modern printed commonplace book consisting of 4,482 one- or two-line passages of decasyllabic verse, arranged under topical headings, including at least 240 quotations of William Shakespeare, 232 of Edmund Spenser, and 51 of Christopher Marlowe. It appeared in 1600 and received a second edition in 1610. It has never been properly edited (a facsimile reprint was produced in 1875). The book is of exceptional importance for the early reception history of early modern authors such as Shakespeare, Spenser and Marlowe, for the late Elizabethan practice of commonplacing, for the rising status of English literature (including dramatic literature) and for early modern English canon formation. Our aim in producing the present edition has thus been to fill a significant gap in the study of early modern English literature. Many individuals contributed to the first edition of Bel-vedére, and the same can be said about the present edition. We are grateful to all those who have helped us in our labours, and it is a pleasure to acknowledge our indebtedness. The Swiss National Science Foundation generously funded research towards this edition, its external readers provided incisive advice, and Katharine Weder and Susanne Grossniklaus provided practical assistance along the way. At the University of Geneva, we received kind assistance from Aleida Auld, Nadège Berdoz, Guillemette Bolens, Philippe Coet, Frédéric Goubier, Patrick Grespan, Eric Perruchoud, Angela Simondetto, Clare Tierque and Roxana Vicovanu. We also benefited from conversations with Damien Nelis and Radu Suciu"--