Giuseppe Artale (

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

, 29 August 1628 – Naples, 11 February 1679) was a Sicilian poet, novelist, and

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

ist, known for his

Marinist 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 ...

works. He was also a knight of the Constantinian Order of Saint George.

Biography

Giuseppe Artale was born at

, in 1628. He was descended from an ancient Aragonese family. At fifteen he made a hurried departure from his native city, where he had killed a rival in a duel. He entered the army soon after, and rendered himself conspicuous by his bravery. For a time, he served as Captain of the Guard to the palatine Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg, and was highly esteemed by the emperor

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

. He distinguished himself in the Cretan War against the Ottoman Empire, and was made a knight of the Constantinian Order of Saint George, with permission to add the imperial eagle, or Double-headed eagle, to his family arms. As a swordsman he was unrivalled, and was commonly known by the appellation of ''the sanguinary knight'', conferred upon him for his success as a well practised duelist. He died at Naples in 1679, worn out by excess. Artale was a member of the principal academies of Italy, and enjoyed considerable reputation as a poet. He is best known today for his

heroic romance Heroic romances refers to a distinguished class of imaginative literature that flourished in the 17th century, principally in France. Characteristics Today, heroic romances are more often grouped into the larger Romance (heroic literature), romanc ...

''Cordimarte'' (1660), and his ''Enciclopedia poetica'' (1658-1664), recognised as the last flowering of the pessimistic vein of Neapolitan Marinism. The ''Enciclopedia poetica'', one of the most remarkable italian poetry collection of the Baroque period, pushes ''

conceptismo ''Conceptismo'' (literally, conceptism) is a literary movement of the Baroque period in the Spanish literature. It began in the late 16th century and lasted through the 17th century, also the period of the Spanish Golden Age. ''Conceptismo'' is ch ...

'' to its most extreme forms. The ''Cordimarte'', written in an elaborate rhetorical style, is one of the last and most conspicuous examples of Italian Baroque chivalric romance.

Works

* ''Dell’Enciclopedia Poetica parte prima'', Perugia, 1658; Venice, 1660 and 1664. * ''Dell’Enciclopedia parte seconda; ovvero la Guerra fra i vivi e morti, Tragedia di lieta fine; e Il Cor di Marte, historia favoleggiata'', Venice, 1660; the fifth edition was published at Naples, 1679. * * * * *

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Works of Artale
at Italian Wikisource {{DEFAULTSORT:Artale, Giuseppe Writers from Sicily Italian male poets Knights Hospitaller People from Catania 1628 births 1679 deaths Baroque writers Italian Baroque people Italian duellists