Paolo Marsi or Paolo Marso, in Latin Paulus Marsus or Paulus Marsus Piscinas (1440–1484) was an Italian humanist and poet known primarily for his

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

on the ''

Fasti In ancient Rome, the ''fasti'' (Latin plural) were chronological or calendar-based lists, or other diachronic records or plans of official and religiously sanctioned events. After Rome's decline, the word ''fasti'' continued to be used for simil ...

'' of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

. Marsi was born at

Pescina Pescina () is a township and ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, central Italy. It is a part of the mountain community Valle del Giovenco. Geography Pescina borders on the communes of Celano, Collarmele, Gioia dei Marsi, Ortona de ...

, and was the brother of the Pietro Marsi who was an acquaintance of

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...

. He was a student of

Pomponio Leto Julius Pomponius Laetus (1428 – 9 June 1498), also known as Giulio Pomponio Leto, was an Italian humanist. Background Laetus was born at Teggiano, near Salerno, the illegitimate scion of the princely house of Sanseverino, the German historian ...

, and became a professor of rhetoric. He was a friend of

Lodovico Lazzarelli Ludovico Lazzarelli (4 February 1447 – 23 June 1500) was an Italian poet, philosopher, courtier, hermeticist and (likely) magician and diviner of the early Renaissance. Born at San Severino Marche, he had contact with many important thinkers ...

, and a member of the

Roman Academy Roman academies refers to associations of learned individuals and not institutes for instruction. Such Roman Academies were always connected to larger educational structures conceived during and following the Italian Renaissance, at the height of w ...

who participated in

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

activities such as celebrating the

founding of Rome The tale of the founding of Rome is recounted in traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves as the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth. The most familiar of these myths, and perhaps the most famous o ...

. In the 1460s, several of the sodality's members, including the Marsi brothers, were imprisoned for fomenting "republicanism, paganism, and conspiracy". Marsi was among the poets who addressed

homoerotic Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

praise in the manner of

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...

to Lucio Fazini, a handsome young scholar who was also incarcerated and tortured for pursuing classical studies. Marsi died in 1484, shortly after he delivered the funeral oration for Andrea Brenta. Marsi's commentary had a "supplemental influence" on ''

The Rape of Lucrece ''The Rape of Lucrece'' (1594) is a narrative poem by William Shakespeare about the legendary Roman noblewoman Lucretia. In his previous narrative poem, '' Venus and Adonis'' (1593), Shakespeare had included a dedicatory letter to his patron, ...

'' by

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, who drew primarily on Ovid's account in the ''Fasti''.Richard Hillman, "Gower's Lucrece: A New Old Source for ''The Rape of Lucrece''," ''The Chaucer Review'' 24.3 (1990), p. 263, citing T.W. Baldwin.

References

External links

* ''Fastorum Libri'', edition of Ovid's ''Fasti'' with a frontispiece depictin
Paulus Marsus
Italian Renaissance humanists Ovid People from Pescina 1440 births 1484 deaths {{Italy-writer-stub