Mario Esposito
Encyclopedia
Mario Esposito was an Irish-born scholar who specialised in Hiberno-Latin
studies.
He was born in Dublin, the third of four children of Michele Esposito
, an Italian, and Natalia Klebnikoff (1857-1944) who hailed from St Petersburg. Michele was an influential music professor at the Royal Irish Academy of Music
. The couple met in Naples
, were married in London in 1879, and their oldest daughter was born in Paris, before the family settled in Ireland in 1882.
The children were raised speaking English, German, Italian, French and Russian. The family were well known in the artistic and literary circles of Dublin and numbered James Joyce
and Samuel Beckett
among their acquaintances. The 1901 census
lists the family living at 50 Serpentine Avenue in Dublin and renders Mario's first name as 'Marius'.
In 1905 Esposito entered Trinity College Dublin and was awarded a BA in 1912. He was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy
in 1910. Much of his early researches were undertaken in the manuscript
collections of Irish and British libraries. Esposito moved to Florence
in 1920, a move which facilitated his, already advanced, work on Hiberno-Latin material in continental libraries and particularly in Italy and the Vatican.
Although Esposito never held a formal academic post, his scholarly output was prolific. He published his first article (on Dicuil
) in the Dublin Review
at the age of eighteen and produced a steady stream of publications for much of the rest of his life.
According to Michael Lapidge
, Esposito "did more than any scholar before or since to appreciate and define Latin learning in medieval Ireland".
In 1988 twenty of his publications were anthologised and published as Latin Learning in Mediaeval Ireland.
In the last decade of his life he suffered with poor eyesight. He never married and died in Florence, aged 87, and was cremated.
Hiberno-Latin
Hiberno-Latin, also called Hisperic Latin, was a learned sort of Latin literature created and spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the tenth century.-Vocabulary and Influence:...
studies.
He was born in Dublin, the third of four children of Michele Esposito
Michele Esposito
Michele Esposito was an Italian-born musical composer and pianist who lived most of his professional life in Dublin, Ireland.- Training :Esposito was born at Castellamare di Stabia, near Sorrento...
, an Italian, and Natalia Klebnikoff (1857-1944) who hailed from St Petersburg. Michele was an influential music professor at the Royal Irish Academy of Music
Royal Irish Academy of Music
The Royal Irish Academy of Music is a linked college of Dublin City University located in Dublin, Ireland.It was founded in 1848 by a group of music enthusiasts and moved to its present address in Westland Row in 1871. The following year it was granted the right to use the title "Royal"...
. The couple met in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, were married in London in 1879, and their oldest daughter was born in Paris, before the family settled in Ireland in 1882.
The children were raised speaking English, German, Italian, French and Russian. The family were well known in the artistic and literary circles of Dublin and numbered James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
and Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
among their acquaintances. The 1901 census
United Kingdom Census 1901
A nationwide census was conducted in England and Wales on 31 March 1901. It contains records for 32 million people and 6 million houses, It covers the whole of England and Wales, with the exception of parts of Deal in Kent. Separate censuses were held in Scotland and Ireland...
lists the family living at 50 Serpentine Avenue in Dublin and renders Mario's first name as 'Marius'.
In 1905 Esposito entered Trinity College Dublin and was awarded a BA in 1912. He was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy , based in Dublin, is an all-Ireland, independent, academic body that promotes study and excellence in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is one of Ireland's premier learned societies and cultural institutions and currently has around 420 Members, elected in...
in 1910. Much of his early researches were undertaken in the manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
collections of Irish and British libraries. Esposito moved to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in 1920, a move which facilitated his, already advanced, work on Hiberno-Latin material in continental libraries and particularly in Italy and the Vatican.
Although Esposito never held a formal academic post, his scholarly output was prolific. He published his first article (on Dicuil
Dicuil
Dicuil, Irish monk and geographer, born in the second half of the 8th century.-Background:The exact dates of Dicuil's birth and death unknown...
) in the Dublin Review
Dublin Review
The Dublin Review may mean either of these journals:*Dublin Review , a Catholic publication*The Dublin Review , a literary magazine...
at the age of eighteen and produced a steady stream of publications for much of the rest of his life.
According to Michael Lapidge
Michael Lapidge
Michael Lapidge D.Litt. is a Canadian historical linguist, fellow of Clare College, Cambridge and Fellow of the British Academy A lecturer in Anglo-Saxon studies at Cambridge from 1974 onwards, Lapidge was Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon from 1991 to 1998...
, Esposito "did more than any scholar before or since to appreciate and define Latin learning in medieval Ireland".
In 1988 twenty of his publications were anthologised and published as Latin Learning in Mediaeval Ireland.
In the last decade of his life he suffered with poor eyesight. He never married and died in Florence, aged 87, and was cremated.
Further reading
- J. Bowyer Bell, "Waiting for Mario: the Espositos, Joyce and Beckett", Éire-Ireland 30.2 (1995), pp. 7–26.
- Mario Esposito, Latin learning in mediaeval Ireland, ed. M. Lapidge (London, 1988), ISBN 9780860782339.
- Hubert Silvestre, "Mario Esposito: brève évocation de sa vie et de son oeuvre", Studi Medievali, 30 (1989), pp. 1–13.
- Michael Gorman, "Mario Esposito (1887–1975) and the study of the Latin literature of medieval Ireland", Filologia mediolatina, 5 (1998), pp. 299–322