Antonio Tebaldeo (1463–1537) was an Italian poet. He figured among the writers of the time who engaged in the discussion concerning the nature of literary Italian.

Life

Tebaldeo was born at

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

. He changed his family name (Tebaldi) to Tebaldeo, in consonance with the practice of the Humanists, who sought to Latinize the form of their appellation as much as possible. After serving as tutor to

Isabella d'Este Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whos ...

and secretary to

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

, he came to the court of

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

at Rome, enjoying the favour of the pope and the companionship of many erudite men and artists. He lost all his means in the sack of Rome (1527), and spent the remainder of his life in very narrow circumstances.

Works

He wrote verse in both Latin and Italian. His Italian verse is remarkable for diction and style rather than for any poetical excellence. With his artificial manner, his abuse of metaphor, and his studied imagery he was a forerunner of those extravagant versifiers who, in the seventeenth century, developed the movement called

Marinism Marinism (Italian: ''marinismo'', or ''secentismo'', "17th century") is the name now given to an ornate, witty style of poetry and verse drama written in imitation of Giambattista Marino (1569–1625), following in particular ''La Lira'' and ''L'Ad ...

or Secentismo. A redaction of Poliziano's play ''Orfeo," which has been ascribed to Tebaldeo, aims to make that piece accord better with the principles of classic composition. See his verse in the edition of Venice, 1530, "Di M. Antonio Tebaldeo ferrarese l'opere d'amore".

References

*D'Ancona, ''Del secentismo nella poesia cortegiana del sec. XV'' in Nuova Antologia (1876); *Can, ''Un decennio della vita di Bembo'' (Turin, 1885), 234; *Luzio, ''I precettori di Isabella d'Este'' (Ancona, 1887)

External links

''Catholic Encyclopedia'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tebaldeo, Antonio 1463 births 1537 deaths Writers from Ferrara Italian poets 15th-century Italian writers 16th-century Italian writers Italian Renaissance humanists