''La Spagna'' (English: "Spain"), also called ''La Spagna in rima'',Peter Brand and Lino Pertile, eds. ''The Cambridge History of Italian Literature''. Cambridge: 1996; revised edition: 1999, p.169. is a 14th-century Italian epic attributed to the Florentine Sostegno di Zanobi and likely composed between 1350 and 1360.Luigi Pulci: ''Morgante: The Epic Adventures of Orlando and His Giant Friend'', a complete English translation by Joseph Tusiani. Introduction and notes by Edoardo Lèbano (Indiana University Press, 1998). , notes, p. 765 and p. 890. The poem is in

ottava rima Ottava rima is a rhyming stanza form of Italian origin. Originally used for long poems on heroic themes, it later came to be popular in the writing of mock-heroic works. Its earliest known use is in the writings of Giovanni Boccaccio. The otta ...

, composed of 40 cantos (or cantari), each of about 40

octaves In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

. The work is an adaptation of the story of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

's battles in Spain and the adventures of his nephew, the

paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, where ...

Orlando (

Roland Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...

), including the tale of his mortal duel with

Ferragut Ferragut (also known as Ferragus, Ferracutus, Ferracute, Ferrakut, Ferraguto, Ferraù, Fernagu) was a character—a Saracen paladin, sometimes depicted as a giant—in texts dealing with the Matter of France, including the '' Historia Caroli Mag ...

o and his ultimate death at

Roncesvalles Roncesvalles ( , ; eu, Orreaga ; an, Ronzesbals ; french: Roncevaux ) is a small village and municipality in Navarre, northern Spain. It is situated on the small river Urrobi at an altitude of some in the Pyrenees, about from the French bord ...

. The material derives originally from the much translated and adapted '' Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle'' (''Historia Caroli Magni'', Book IV of the

Codex Calixtinus The (also ''Compostellus'') is the main witness for the 12th-century , or the Book of Saint James. It is a pseudepigraph attributed to Pope Callixtus II; its principal author or compilator is referred to as "Pseudo-Callixtus", often identified w ...

, a Latin chronicle concerning the feats of Charlemagne from the middle of the 12th century). The story of the death of Roland is also treated in ''

The Song of Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is t ...

''. An adaptation of the Pseudo-Turpin material also occurs in the anonymous

Franco-Venetian Franco-Italian, also known as Franco-Venetian or Franco-Lombard, was a literary language used in parts of northern Italy, from the mid-13th century to the end of the 14th century. It was employed by writers including Brunetto Latini and Rustichello ...

epic '' L'Entrée d'Espagne'' (; the author is thought to be from Padua).

Jessie Crosland Jessie Crosland (; 17 November 187916 June 1973) was a scholar of medieval French literature, Lecturer in French at Westfield College. Life Jessie Raven was the youngest daughter of the Plymouth Brethren preacher Frederick Edward Raven (18371903). ...

. ''The Old French Epic''. New York: Haskell House, 1951, 261–2. ''La Spagna'', which has been described by critics as "a darkly dramatic and often electrifyingly effective treatment of Ganelon's final treachery and Orlando's noble death", was an important source for the Italian romantic

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film with heroic elements Epic or EPIC may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and medi ...

s ''

Morgante ''Morgante'' (sometimes also called , the name given to the complete 28-canto, 30,080-line edition published in 1483See Lèbano's introduction to the Tusiani translation, p. xxii.) is an Italian romantic epic by Luigi Pulci which appeared in ...

'' by

Luigi Pulci Luigi Pulci (; 15 August 1432 – 11 November 1484) was an Italian diplomat and poet best known for his ''Morgante'', an epic and parodistic poem about a giant who is converted to Christianity by Orlando and follows the knight in many adventure ...

(the last five cantos of Pulci's work are based on ''La Spagna''), ''

Orlando innamorato ''Orlando Innamorato'' (; known in English as "''Orlando in Love''"; in Italian titled "''Orlando innamorato''" as the " I" is never capitalized) is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a roman ...

'' by

Matteo Maria Boiardo Matteo Maria Boiardo (, ; 144019/20 December 1494) was an Italian Renaissance poet, best known for his epic poem ''Orlando innamorato''. Early life Boiardo was born in 1440,

and ''

Orlando furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'', more loosely ''Raging Roland'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was no ...

'' by

Ludovico 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 ...

Plot

The poem is an imaginative retelling of the events of Charlemagne's war against the Moors of Spain commanded by King Marsilio, including the historical events of the siege of

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

, the siege of

Saragossa Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

and the rout of Roncesvalles. The author begins with Charlemagne's intention to subdue Spain and then give the crown to his nephew, the count Orlando. Charlemagne goes to Spain with his army and attacks several major cities, including Pamplona, ruled by King Isolieri. Orlando challenges the Saracen knight Ferragu/Ferraù to a duel and kills him on a bridge (Ferragu converts to Christianity at the point of death; the duel lasts three days and extends for 79 stanzas). Believed dead, Orlando has a series of travels and adventures that lead him to North Africa and elsewhere. In the end, the author tells the famous episode of the treachery of Gano of Maganza, envious of the glory of the family of Orlando. In the great battle of Roncesvalles, the main characters die, but are vindicated by Charlemagne, who is finally able to conquer Spain and to condemn the fraudulent Gano.

References

External links

Complete text
on the site Nuovo Rinascimento {{DEFAULTSORT:Spagna, La Matter of France Epic poems in Italian Italian poems Works based on The Song of Roland Cultural depictions of Charlemagne