Ways of Copying the Past

Abstract The Renaissance principle of imitation was two separate concepts. One was the imitation of Nature (Mimesis), the other involved imitating earlier works. The second type is generally known nowadays as “the imitation of art.” When a Renaissance artist or writer copied an already-existing work, they might do it in different ways. The most common were: translatio, absolute copying or replication; imitatio, or eclectic borrowing; and emulatio or emulation, copying with improvement or enhancement. This chapter discusses emulation and replication, imitation in the canonic system, style-copying and work-copying, the shelf life of historical evidence regarding music of the past, and anachronisms.