Alessandro LAGIOIA (Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro)
Dal pulpito viene la dedica: Leone, Acceptus e l’iscri- zione dell’ambone di Monte Sant’Angelo [The Pulpit speaks from the pulpit: Leo, Acceptus, and the inscription on the pulpit of the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo]
Keywords: Acceptus sculptor, Leo archbishop of Siponto, Medieval Latin inscriptions, Leonine verses, Early Romanesque sculpture in Apulia.
Abstract: The Pulpit speaks from the pulpit: Leo, Acceptus, and the inscription on the pulpit of the Sanctuary of Monte Sant’Angelo. This article investigates the documentary and epigraphic evidence related to the figure of Leo, archbishop of Siponto († 1050). The profile of the sculptor Acceptus is then examined, along with a metrical inscription engraved on the bishop’s throne of Monte Sant’Angelo and two couple of leonine verses on the fragmentary beams of a pulpit carved by Acceptus in 1041. Conjectural supplements are then proposed with an explication of the content. The personified pulpit is given the floor, invoking the gift of everlasting life for the client (presumably the bishop commissioning the work) and divine protection for the sculptor Acceptus, the beloved by the people.