Pier Angelo Manzolli was a name used for the author of the book ''Zodiacus vitae'',
who is believed to be the Neapolitan poet Marcello Stellato, in Latin Marcellus Palingenius Stellatus (born ca. 1500 - died in
Cesena before 1551).
The persona of Pier Angelo Manzolli was created by
Jacopo Facciolati in the eighteenth-century.
[Jacobi Facciolati in Patavina Academia professoris, ''Epistolae latinae'', Patavii: Ex Typographia Seminarii, 1765, pp. 155, 163, 173, 177 e segg.]
Writing
''Zodiacus vitae'' is a Latin poem divided into 12 books, one for each sign of the zodiac, published at
Basel in 1537 and 1543 (3rd edition), but first published in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
in 1536, and dedicated to
Ercole II d'Este
Ercole II d'Este (5 April 1508 – 3 October 1559) was Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio from 1534 to 1559. He was the eldest son of Alfonso I d'Este and Lucrezia Borgia.
Biography
Through his mother, Ercole was a grandson of Pope Alexander ...
,
duke of Ferrara. The didactic poem addresses the subject of human happiness in connection with scientific knowledge, and combines metaphysical speculation with satirical attacks on ecclesiastical hypocrisy, and especially on the
Popes and
Martin Luther.
It was translated into several languages, but fell under the ban of the
Inquisition on the ground of its rationalizing tendencies. In 1551. After Stellato's death, the Catholic Church burned his heretical bones and
Pope Paul IV placed his book in the first
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden ...
, ("Index of Prohibited Books"), in 1559.
Influence in England
As a Christian humanist poet, he features strongly in the grammar-school education of 16th century England, translations including that of 1565 by
Barnabe Googe. His specific influence on
William Shakespeare has been noted especially in the
Seven ages of man speech from ''
As You Like It
''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...
''.
[R. Soellner, ''Shakespeare's Patterns of Self-knowledge'' (1972) p. 8-9]
See also
References
Further reading
* F. Watson, ''The Zodiacus Vitae'' (nd)
* C. B. Garrigus, ''A Study of the Parallels Between Shakespeare and Palingenius'' (Illinois 1938)
* Peter Nahon,
De Marcelli Palingenii Stellati carmine, anno 1534 vulgato, quod 'Zodiacus vitæ' inscribitur», ''Melissa, Folia perenni Latinitati dicata'' 210, 2019, 11-14.
External links
Marcellus Palingenius Stellatus, ''Zodiacus Vitae''
* [https://www.academia.edu/39401512/Peter_Nahon_De_Marcelli_Palingenii_Stellati_carmine_anno_1534_vulgato_quod_Zodiacus_vit%C3%A6_inscribitur_Melissa_Folia_perenni_Latinitati_dicata_210_2019_11-14 Essay in Latin about the ''Zodiacus Vitae'']
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manzolli
People from the Province of Ferrara
Italian poets
Italian male poets
Italian medical writers
16th-century Latin-language writers
New Latin-language poets
1500s births
1543 deaths