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''Jerusalem Delivered'', also known as ''The Liberation of Jerusalem'' ( it, La Gerusalemme liberata ; ), is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, first published in 1581, that tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Christian knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem. Tasso began work on the poem in the mid-1560s. Originally, it bore the title ''Il Goffredo''. It was completed in April, 1575 and that summer the poet read his work to Duke Alfonso of Ferrara and Lucrezia, Duchess of Urbino. A pirate edition of 14 cantos from the poem appeared in Venice in 1580. The first complete editions of ''Gerusalemme liberata'' were published in Parma and Ferrara in 1581. Tasso's choice of subject matter, an actual historic conflict between Christians and Muslims (albeit with fantastical elements added), had a historical grounding and created compositional implications (the narrative subject matter had a fixed endpoint and could not be endlessly spun out in multiple volumes) that are lacking in other Renaissance epics. Like other works of the period that portray conflicts between Christians and Muslims, this subject matter had a topical resonance to readers of the period when the Ottoman Empire was advancing through Eastern Europe. The poem was hugely successful, and sections or moments from the story were used in works in other media all over Europe, especially in the period before the French Revolution and the Romantic movement, which provided alternative stories combining love, violence, and an exotic setting. The poem is composed of 1,917 stanzas in ottava rima (15,336
hendecasyllabic In poetry, a hendecasyllable (sometimes hendecasyllabic) is a line of eleven syllables. The term may refer to several different poetic meters, the older of which are quantitative and used chiefly in classical ( Ancient Greek and Latin) poetry, an ...
lines), grouped into twenty cantos of varying length. The work belongs to the Italian Renaissance tradition of the romantic epic poem, and Tasso frequently borrows plot elements and character types directly from
Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...
's '' Orlando Furioso''. Tasso's poem also has elements inspired by the classical epics of Homer and Virgil (especially in those sections of their works that tell of sieges and warfare). One of the most characteristic literary devices in Tasso's poem is the emotional conundrum endured by characters torn between their heart and their duty; the depiction of love at odds with martial valour or honor is a central source of lyrical passion in the poem.


Plot summary

The poem, which in detail bears almost no resemblance to the actual history or cultural setting of the Crusades, tells of the initial disunity and setbacks of the Christians and their ultimate success in taking Jerusalem in 1099. The main historical leaders of the First Crusade feature, but much of the poem is concerned with romantic sub-plots involving entirely fictional characters, except for Tancredi, who is identified with the historical
Tancred, Prince of Galilee Tancred (1075 – December 5 or December 12, 1112) was an Italo-Norman leader of the First Crusade who later became Prince of Galilee and regent of the Principality of Antioch. Tancred came from the house of Hauteville and was the great-grandson ...
. The three main female characters begin as Muslims, have romantic entanglements with Christian knights, and are eventually converted to Christianity. They are all women of action: two of them fight in battles, and the third is a sorceress. There are many magical elements, and the Saracens often act as though they were classical pagans. The most famous episodes, and those most often dramatised and painted, include the following: Sofronia (in English: Sophronia), a Christian maiden of Jerusalem, accuses herself of a crime in order to avert a general massacre of the Christians by the Muslim king. In an attempt to save her, her lover Olindo accuses himself in turn, and each lover pleads with the authorities in order to save the other. However, it is the arrival and intervention of the warrior-maiden Clorinda which saves them (Canto 2). Clorinda joins the Muslims, but the Christian knight Tancredi (in English: Tancred) falls in love with her (Canto 3). During a night battle in which she sets the Christian siege tower on fire, she is mistakenly killed by Tancredi, but she converts to Christianity before dying (Canto 12). The character of Clorinda is inspired in part by Virgil's Camilla and by
Bradamante Bradamante (occasionally spelled Bradamant) is a fictional knight heroine in two epic poems of the Renaissance: ''Orlando Innamorato'' by Matteo Maria Boiardo and ''Orlando Furioso'' by Ludovico Ariosto. Since the poems exerted a wide influence ...
in
Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic ''Orlando Furioso'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's ''Orlando Innamorato'', describes the ...
; the circumstances of her birth (a Caucasian girl born to African parents) are modeled on the lead character (Chariclea) from the ancient Greek novel by
Heliodorus of Emesa Heliodorus Emesenus or Heliodorus of Emesa ( grc, Ἡλιόδωρος ὁ Ἐμεσηνός) is the author of the ancient Greek novel called the '' Aethiopica'' () or ''Theagenes and Chariclea'' (), which has been dated to the 220s or 370s AD. Id ...
. To prevent the crusaders from cutting timber for siege engines, the Muslim sorcerer Ismen protects the forest with enchantments, which defeat the Christian knights, even Tancredi (Canto 13). Eventually, the enchantments are broken by Rinaldo, and the siege engines built (Canto 18). Another maiden of the region, the Princess Erminia (or "Hermine") of
Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...
, also falls in love with Tancredi and betrays her people to help him, but she grows jealous when she learns that Tancredi loves Clorinda. One night she steals Clorinda's armor and leaves the city, in an attempt to find Tancredi, but she is attacked by Christian soldiers (who mistake her for Clorinda) and she flees into the forest, where she is cared for by a family of shepherds, with an old man who weaves baskets (Cantos 6–7). Later in the poem, we find her again in the company of Armida's ladies, but Erminia abandons her Muslim people and goes over to the Christian side. When Tancredi is dangerously wounded in combat, she heals him, cutting off her hair to bind his wounds (Canto 19). The witch
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
(modeled on
Circe Circe (; grc, , ) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. She is either a daughter of the Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeëtes. Circe was renowned for her vast kno ...
in Homer and the witch
Alcina ''Alcina'' ( HWV 34) is a 1735 opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of ''L'isola di Alcina'', an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after during his travels in Italy. Par ...
in Ariosto's epic) enters the Christian camp asking for their aid; her seductions divide the knights against each other and a group leaves with her, only to be transformed into animals by her magic (Canto 5). Armida comes across the sleeping Rinaldo, the greatest of the Christian knights, and abducts him in her chariot (Canto 14). He has the same name as a Carolingian paladin count who is a character in Ariosto's '' Orlando Furioso'' II, 30 he is the son of Bertoldo and was the reputed founder of the House of Este. She intends to kill him but she falls in love with him instead and takes him away to a magical island where he becomes infatuated with her and forgets the crusade. Carlo and Ubaldo, two Christian knights and close companions of Rinaldo, seek out the hidden fortress, brave the dangers that guard it and find Rinaldo and Armida in each other's arms. By giving Rinaldo a mirror of diamond, they force him to see himself in his effeminate and amorous state and to return to the war, leaving Armida heartbroken (Cantos 14–16). Rinaldo is deposited on a shore where he finds a shield and sword, and the "Mago d'Ascalona" ("Wizard of Ascalon") shows him a vision of the future in the shield, including the glories of the House of Este (Tasso drops in several prophecies of the time between 1099 and his own at various points). Rinaldo resolves to pursue the crusade with all his might (Canto 17).Armida is grief-stricken and raises an army to kill Rinaldo and fight the Christians, but her champions are all defeated. She attempts to commit suicide, but Rinaldo finds her in time and prevents her. Rinaldo then begs her to convert to Christianity, and Armida, her heart softened, consents (Canto 20). (This sequence echoes a similar storyline in Ariosto: the witch Alcina ensnares the knight Ruggiero, but the spell is broken by a magic ring that the good sorceress Melissa brings him; earlier antecedents include Calypso's attempt to keep Odysseus on her island Ogygia and
Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...
taking Ogier the Dane off to a faraway island.) After the enchantments on the forest are broken, finally the Crusaders breach the walls and take the city, with some Muslims remaining in the Temple Mount. But an Egyptian army is known to be arriving in a few days (Canto 18). When they arrive there is a great battle outside the walls, which the Christians win, completing their quest (Canto 20).


Reception

The poem was immensely successful throughout Europe and over the next two centuries various sections were frequently adapted as individual storylines for madrigals, operas, plays, ballets and masquerades. Upon publication, two thousand copies of the book was sold in a day. For the work's immense popularity as a subject for dramatic settings, see "Works based on..." below. Certain critics of the period however were less enthusiastic, and Tasso came under much criticism for the magical extravagance and narrative confusion of his poem. Before his death, he rewrote the poem virtually from scratch, under a new title (''La Gerusalemme Conquistata'', or "Jerusalem Conquered"). This revised version, however, has found little favor with either audiences or critics.


In art

Scenes from the poem were often depicted in art, mainly by Italian or French artists in the
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...
period, which began shortly after the poem was published. Most paintings showed the love stories, typically with lovers as the two main figures. Common scenes depicted include several with Rinaldo, some including Armida. These include: Armida sees the sleeping Rinaldo, and draws her sword to kill him, but Cupid restrains her hand; instead she abducts him in her chariot; Carlo and Ubaldo in Armida's garden; the knights find the lovers gazing at each other; Rinaldo abandons her. Also popular were Tancredi baptising the mortally wounded Clorinda and Erminia finding the wounded Tancredi, a moment of high emotion in the poem and perhaps the most often depicted. She is also shown nursing him, cutting off her hair to use as bandages. Most depictions until the 19th century use vaguely classical costume (at least for the men) and settings; by then
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
, Sir Walter Scott and other romantic writers had begun to replace Tasso as sources of exotic love stories to adapt into other media. Some use more contemporary
armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...
, but attempts at authentic 11th-century decor are not seen. The scenes almost all take place outdoors, in an idealized
pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music ( pastorale) that depic ...
landscape, which can occupy much of the composition, as in the 18th-century fresco cycles. Series of works in paint or tapestry decorated some palaces. A set of ten large canvases by
Paolo Domenico Finoglia Paolo Domenico Finoglia, or Finoglio (c. 1590 – 1645), was an Italian painter of the early-Baroque period, active mainly in South Italy, including Naples and towns in Apulia. Life Finoglia was born in Orta di Atella, near Naples, but sometim ...
were painted from 1634 on for the Palazzo Acquaviva in
Conversano Conversano ( Barese: ) is an ancient town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic coast, at above sea level. The counts of Conversano owned a stud that they ...
in Apulia, home of the local ruler, where they remain. Scenes from the poem were also depicted in fresco cycles at the Palace of Fontainebleau, by the second School of Fontainebleau in France, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in the
Villa Valmarana (Lisiera) The Villa Valmarana (also known as Valmarana Scagnolari Zen) is a Renaissance villa situated in Lisiera, a locality of Bolzano Vicentino, province of Vicenza, northern Italy. Designed by Andrea Palladio, it was originally built in the 1560s for ...
in the Veneto (c. 1757), and in the bedroom of King
Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of t ...
at Schloss Hohenschwangau. Another set of four oil paintings by Tiepolo were painted c. 1742–45 as part of a decorative scheme, including a ceiling and other panels, for a room in a Venetian palace of the
Cornaro family The House of Cornaro or Corner are a family in Venice who were patricians in the Republic of Venice and included many Doges and other high officials. The name ''Corner'', originally from the Venetian dialect, was adopted in the eighteenth cent ...
, but are now in the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mil ...
. They show the story of Rinaldo, with three covering his time with Armida. As in many paintings, Rinaldo's companions Carlo and Ubaldo are also shown. Among 18th-century rooms with sets of paintings of the poem that survive intact are two in Florence, at the Palazzo Temple Leader and Palazzo Panciatichi. The first illustrated edition was in 1590, in Italian, and others followed. A set of 35 etchings by
Antonio Tempesta Antonio Tempesta, also called il Tempestino (1555 – 5 August 1630), was an Italian painter and engraver, whose art acted as a point of connection between Baroque Rome and the culture of Antwerp. Much of his work depicts major battles and his ...
better reflect the actual balance of the poem, also showing the military parts of the story. The series of ten large paintings by Finoglio has the following scenes, which may be taken as typical: * ''The Torture of Olindo and Sofronia'' * ''The encounter of Clorinda and Tancredi'' * ''The duel between Raimondo di Tolosa and Argante'' * ''Baptism and death of Clorinda'' * ''Rinaldo and Armida in the enchanted forest'' * ''Carlo and Ubaldo urge Rinaldo to fulfill his duty'' * ''Armida tries to restrain Rinaldo '' * ''Rinaldo abandons the enchanted Island '' * ''Erminia discovers the wounded Tancredi'' * ''Rinaldo, victorious, puts the enemy into flight''


Influence in English literature

The fame of Tasso's poem quickly spread throughout the European continent. In England, Sidney,
Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
and Drayton seem to have admired it, and, most importantly, Edmund Spenser described Tasso as an "excellente poete" and made use of elements from ''Gerusalemme liberata'' in '' The Faerie Queene''. The description of Redcrosse's vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem in the First Book owes something to Rinaldo's morning vision in Canto 18 of ''Gerusalemme''. In the twelfth canto of Book Two, Spenser's enchantress Acrasia is partly modelled on Tasso's Armida, and the English poet directly imitated two stanzas from the Italian. The portrayal of Satan and the demons in the first two books of Milton's ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. A second edition followed in 1674, ...
'' is also indebted to Tasso's poem. The first attempt to translate ''Gerusalemme liberata'' into English was made by Richard Carew, who published his version of the first five cantos as ''Godfrey of Bulloigne or the recoverie of Hierusalem'' in 1594. More significant was the complete rendering by
Edward Fairfax Edward Fairfax (c. 1580 – 27 January 1635) was an English translator. He translated Torquato Tasso's ''Jerusalem Delivered''. He also wrote an original work on demonology. Life He was the natural son of Sir Thomas Fairfax the elder, of D ...
which appeared in 1600 and has been acclaimed as one of the finest English verse translations. (There is also an eighteenth-century translation by
John Hoole John Hoole (December 1727 – 2 August 1803) was an English translator, the son of Samuel Hoole (born 1692), a mechanic, and Sarah Drury (c. 1700 – c. 1793), the daughter of a Clerkenwell clockmaker. He became a personal friend of Samuel Johnso ...
, and there are modern versions by Anthony Esolen and Max Wickert.) Tasso's poem remained popular among educated English readers and was, at least until the end of the 19th century, considered one of the supreme achievements of Western literature. Somewhat eclipsed in the Modernist period, its fame is showing signs of recovering. It seems to have remained in the curriculum, formal or informal, for girls, in times when it was not taught at boys' schools. The English critic
George Saintsbury George Edward Bateman Saintsbury, FBA (23 October 1845 – 28 January 1933), was an English critic, literary historian, editor, teacher, and wine connoisseur. He is regarded as a highly influential critic of the late 19th and early 20th centu ...
(1845–1933) recorded that "Every girl from Scott's heroines to my own sisters seem to have been taught Dante and Petrarch and Tasso and even Ariosto, as a matter of course."


Works based on


Music and operas

* Madrigals ''La Gerusalemme Liberata'' by
Giaches de Wert Giaches de Wert (also Jacques/Jaches de Wert, Giaches de Vuert; 1535 – 6 May 1596) was a Franco-Flemish composer of the late Renaissance, active in Italy. Intimately connected with the progressive musical center of Ferrara, he was one of the lea ...
(c. 1595) * '' Ballet de la Delivrance de Renaud'' by Pierre Guedron (Paris, 1617) * '' Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda'' by
Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...
(1624) from his eighth book of madrigals * '' Le lagrime d'Erminia'' song-cycle by
Biagio Marini Biagio Marini (5 February 1594 – 20 March 1663) was an Italian virtuoso violinist and composer in the first half of the seventeenth century. Marini was born in Brescia. He may have studied with his uncle Giacinto Bondioli. His works were p ...
(Parma, after 1620) * '' Il Tancredi'' by Girolamo Giacobbi (Bologna, before 1629) * '' Erminia sul Giordano'' by
Michelangelo Rossi Michelangelo Rossi (Michel Angelo del Violino) (ca. 1601/1602 – 1656) was an important Italian composer, violinist and organist of the Baroque era. Rossi was born in Genoa, where he studied with his uncle, Lelio Rossi organist (from 1601 t ...
(Rome, 1633) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by
Benedetto Ferrari Benedetto Ferrari (ca. 1603 – 1681) was an Italian composer, particularly of opera, librettist, and theorbo player. Ferrari was born in Reggio nell'Emilia. He worked in Rome (1617–1618), Parma (1619–1623), and possibly in Modena at some t ...
(Venice, 1639) music lost * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by Marco Marazzoli (Ferrara, 1641) * '' Armide'' by Jean-Baptiste Lully (Paris, 1686) * ''
La Gerusalemme liberata ''Jerusalem Delivered'', also known as ''The Liberation of Jerusalem'' ( it, La Gerusalemme liberata ; ), is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, first published in 1581, that tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade i ...
'' by
Carlo Pallavicino Carlo Pallavicino (Pallavicini; c. 1630 – 29 January 1688) was an Italian composer. Pallavicino was born at Salò. From 1666 to 1673, he worked at the Dresden court; from 1674 to 1685, at the '' Ospedale degli Incurabili'' (a conservatory where ...
(Venice, 1687) * '' Gli avvenimenti di Erminia e di Clorinda'' by
Carlo Francesco Pollarolo Carlo Francesco Pollarolo (ca. 1653 – 7 February 1723) was an Italian composer, organist, and music director. Known chiefly for his operas, he wrote a total of 85 of them as well as 13 oratorios. His compositional style was initially indebted t ...
(Venice, 1693) music lost * '' Amori di Rinaldo con Armida'' by Teofilo Orgiani (Brescia, 1697) music lost * ''
Tancrède ''Tancrède'' is a 1702 ''tragédie en musique'' (a French opera in the lyric tragedy tradition) in a prologue and five acts by composer André Campra and librettist Antoine Danchet, based on ''Gerusalemme liberata'' by Torquato Tasso. The oper ...
'' by
André Campra André Campra (; baptized 4 December 1660 – 29 June 1744) was a French composer and conductor of the Baroque era. The leading French opera composer in the period between Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau, Campra wrote several '' tr ...
(Paris, 1702) * '' Suite d'Armide ou Jerusalem Delivree by Philippe II duke of Orleans (Fontainebleau, 1704) * ''
Armida abbandonata ''Armida Abbandonata'' (''Armida Abandoned'') is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Niccolò Jommelli. The libretto, by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, is based on the epic poem ''Jerusalem Delivered'' by Torquato Tasso. The opera was fi ...
'' by Giovanni Maria Ruggieri (Venice, 1707) * ''
Armida abbandonata ''Armida Abbandonata'' (''Armida Abandoned'') is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Niccolò Jommelli. The libretto, by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, is based on the epic poem ''Jerusalem Delivered'' by Torquato Tasso. The opera was fi ...
'' by
Claudio Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considered ...
(Venice, 1626) - only the libretto survives * '' Armida al campo'' by Giuseppe Boniventi (Venice, 1708) * '' Armida regina di Damasco'' by Teofilo Orgiani (Verona, 1711) music lost * '' Rinaldo'' by
George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training ...
(London, 1711) * '' Armida in Damasco'' by Giacomo Rampini (Venice, 1711) * ''
Armida abbandonata ''Armida Abbandonata'' (''Armida Abandoned'') is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Niccolò Jommelli. The libretto, by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, is based on the epic poem ''Jerusalem Delivered'' by Torquato Tasso. The opera was fi ...
'' by Giuseppe Maria Buini (Bologna, 1716) * ''
Armida al campo d'Egitto ''Armida al campo d'Egitto'' is an opera in three acts by Antonio Vivaldi to a libretto by Giovanni Palazzo. It was first performed during the Carnival season of 1718 at the Teatro San Moisè in Venice. Vivaldi's version is different from the m ...
'' by
Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread ...
(Venice, 1718) * '' Armida delusa'' by Giuseppe Maria Buini (Venice, 1720) * '' Renaud, ou la Suite d'Armide'' by Henry Desmarest (Paris, 1722) * '' Das eroberte Jerusalem, oder Armida und Rinaldo'' by Georg Caspar Schurmann (Brunswick, 1722) * ''
Armida abbandonata ''Armida Abbandonata'' (''Armida Abandoned'') is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Niccolò Jommelli. The libretto, by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, is based on the epic poem ''Jerusalem Delivered'' by Torquato Tasso. The opera was fi ...
'' by Antonio Bioni (Prague, 1725) * '' Armida al campo'' by Antonio Bioni (Breslau/Wrocław, 1726) * '' Il trionfo di Armida'' by Tomaso Albinoni (Venice, 1726) * '' L'abbandono di Armida'' by Antonio Pollarolo (Venice, 1729) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by
Ferdinando Bertoni Ferdinando Bertoni (15 August 1725 – 1 December 1813) was an Italian composer and organist. Early years He was born in Salò, and began his music studies in Brescia, not far from his birthplace. Around 1740 he went to Bologna, where he studie ...
(Venice, 1747) * '' Armida placata'' by Luca Antonio Predieri (Vienna, 1750) * '' La Armida aplacada'' by Giovanni Battista Mele (Madrid, 1750) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by
Carl Heinrich Graun Carl Heinrich Graun (7 May 1704 – 8 August 1759) was a German composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time. Biography Graun was born in Wahrenbrüc ...
(Berlin, 1751) * ''The Inchanted Forrest'' by
Francesco Geminiani 230px Francesco Saverio Geminiani (baptised 5 December 1687 – 17 September 1762) was an Italian violinist, composer, and music theorist. BBC Radio 3 once described him as "now largely forgotten, but in his time considered almost a musical god, ...
(London, 1754) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by
Tommaso Traetta Tommaso Michele Francesco Saverio Traetta (30 March 1727 – 6 April 1779) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic ref ...
(Vienna, 1761) * ''
Armida abbandonata ''Armida Abbandonata'' (''Armida Abandoned'') is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Niccolò Jommelli. The libretto, by Francesco Saverio De Rogatis, is based on the epic poem ''Jerusalem Delivered'' by Torquato Tasso. The opera was fi ...
'' by
Niccolò Jommelli Niccolò Jommelli (; 10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic reforms including reduc ...
(Naples, 1770) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by
Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarch ...
(Vienna, 1771) * '' Armide'' by
Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...
(Paris, 1777) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by Josef Mysliveček (Milan, 1780) * '' Renaud'' by
Antonio Sacchini Antonio Maria Gasparo Gioacchino Sacchini (14 June 1730 – 6 October 1786) was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Sacchini was born in Florence, but raised in Naples, where he received his musical education. He made a name for him ...
(Paris, 1783) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
(1784) * '' Armida e Rinaldo'' by
Giuseppe Sarti Giuseppe Sarti (also Sardi; baptised 1 December 1729 – 28 July 1802) was an Italian opera composer. Biography He was born at Faenza. His date of birth is not known, but he was baptised on 1 December 1729. Some earlier sources say he was born o ...
(St Petersburg, 1786) * '' Tancredi'' by Gioacchino Rossini (Venice/Ferrara, 1813), based on the play ''
Tancrède ''Tancrède'' is a 1702 ''tragédie en musique'' (a French opera in the lyric tragedy tradition) in a prologue and five acts by composer André Campra and librettist Antoine Danchet, based on ''Gerusalemme liberata'' by Torquato Tasso. The oper ...
'' by Voltaire (1760) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by Gioacchino Rossini (Naples, 1817) * '' Torquato Tasso'' by
Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera style duri ...
(Rome, 1833) * '' Rinaldo'' by Johannes Brahms (1863, 1868) cantata * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...
(1904) * ''
Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic ''Jerusalem Delivered'' ( it, Gerusalemme liberata, link=no), Rinaldo is a fierce and determ ...
'' by
Judith Weir Judith Weir (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer serving as Master of the King's Music. Appointed in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir is the first woman to hold this office. Biography Weir was born in Cambridge, England, to Scottish parent ...
(2005)


Plays

* Max Turiel. ''Clorinda Deleste, El Camino del Sol''. Partially adapted from ''Gerusalemme Liberata''. . Ediciones La Sirena 2006.


Paintings

The numerous paintings inspired by the poem include:For a longer list, see the "Appendix" in Max Wickert's ''The Liberation of Jerusalem'' (Oxford University Press, 2009) *
Lorenzo Lippi Lorenzo Lippi (3 May 1606 – 15 April 1665) was an Italian painter and poet. Biography Born in Florence, he studied painting under Matteo Rosselli. Both Baldassare Franceschini and Francesco Furini were also apprenticed with Rosselli, t ...
: ''Rinaldo in the enchanted forest'' (1647/1650), and other subjects, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Gemäldegalerie, Wien. *
Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for ...
's illustration to ''Jerusalem Delivered'' (1630s): "Tancred and Erminia" c.1630 in at least two versions, one in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, another in the
Barber Institute of Fine Arts The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham. The Grade I listed Art Deco building was designed by Robert A ...
, Birmingham. * Theodor Hildebrandt – ''Tancred and Clorinda'' (ca. 1830) * Robert Seymour – ''Jerusalem Delivered'', with over 100 figures, exhibited at the Royal Academy, London 1822. * Eugène Delacroix – ''Clorinda Rescues Olindo and Sophronia'' *
François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegorie ...
– ''Rinaldo and Armida'' *
Francesco Hayez Francesco Hayez (; 10 February 1791 – 12 February 1882) was an Italian painter. He is considered one of the leading artists of Romanticism in mid-19th-century Milan, and is renowned for his grand historical paintings, political allegories, and ...
– ''Rinaldo and Armida'' * Paolo Finoglio – ''The pictorial series Jerusalem Delivered'' (1640) * Giovanni Battista Tiepolo – ''Rinaldo Enchanted by Armida'', 1742/45, Art Institute of Chicago, and many others * Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ''Rinaldo leaves Armida'', Villa Valmarana, province of Vicenza *
Domenico Tintoretto Domenico Robusti, also known as Domenico Tintoretto, (1560 – 17 May 1635) was an Italian painter from Venice. He grew up under the tutelage of his father, the renowned painter Jacopo Tintoretto. Life Apprenticeship Domenico was born in Ve ...
– ''Tancred Baptizing Clorinda'', 1586–1600,
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Buil ...


Fiction

* William Faulkner's short story "Carcassonne" uses imagery from the epic as its central thematic motif.


Film

* '' The Crusaders'', a 1918 Italian film * '' The Mighty Crusaders'', a 1958 Italian film


Citations


General sources

* ''Gerusalemme liberata'' ed. Lanfranco Caretti (Mondadori, 1983) * Christiansen, Keith, ed., ''Giambattista Tiepolo, 1696–1770'' (exhibition: Venice, Museum of Ca' Rezzonico, from September 5 to December 9, 1996; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, January 24 to April 27, 1997, 1996, Metropolitan Museum of Art, , 9780870998126
google books


External links (translations etc.)


''Jerusalem Delivered'', English translation (The Medieval and Classical Literature Library)

''Jerusalem Delivered'', English translations at Google Books (pdf download)


by Michael McGoodwin * {{Authority control Epic poems in Italian Italian poems Crusade literature Torquato Tasso 1581 books Romance (genre) Jerusalem in fiction Poems adapted into films Cultural depictions of Godfrey of Bouillon