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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 adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions into many sideplots. The poem is transformed into a satire of the chivalric tradition. Ariosto composed the poem in the ottava rima rhyme scheme and introduced narrative commentary throughout the work. Ariosto also coined the term "humanism" (in Italian, ''umanesimo'') for choosing to focus upon the strengths and potential of humanity, rather than only upon its role as subordinate to God. This led to Renaissance humanism. Birth and early life Ariosto was born in Reggio nell'Emilia, where his father Niccolò Ariosto was commander of the citadel. He was the oldest of 10 children and was seen as the successor to the patriarchal position ...
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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 not published in its complete form until 1532. ''Orlando furioso'' is a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's unfinished romance ''Orlando innamorato'' (''Orlando in Love'', published posthumously in 1495). In its historical setting and characters, it shares some features with the Old French '' Chanson de Roland'' of the eleventh century, which tells of the death of Roland. The story is also a chivalric romance which stemmed from a tradition beginning in the late Middle Ages and continuing in popularity in the 16th century and well into the 17th. Orlando is the Christian knight known in French (and subsequently English) as Roland. The story takes place against the background of the war between Charlemagne's Christian paladins and the Sa ...
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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 ottava rima stanza in English consists of eight iambic lines, usually iambic pentameters. Each stanza consists of three alternate rhymes and one double rhyme, following the ABABABCC rhyme scheme. The form is similar to the older Sicilian octave, but evolved separately and is unrelated. The Sicilian octave is derived from the medieval strambotto and was a crucial step in the development of the sonnet, whereas the ottava rima is related to the canzone, a stanza form. History Italian Boccaccio used ''ottava rima'' for a number of minor poems and, most significantly, for two of his major works, the ''Teseide'' (1340) and the '' Filostrato'' (c. 1335). These two poems defined the form as the main one to be used for epic poetry in Ital ...
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Reggio Nell'Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 171,944 inhabitants and is the main '' comune'' (municipality) of the Province of Reggio Emilia. The inhabitants of Reggio nell'Emilia are called ''Reggiani'', while the inhabitants of Reggio di Calabria, in the southwest of the country, are called ''Reggini''. The old town has a hexagonal form, which derives from the ancient walls, and the main buildings are from the 16th–17th centuries. The commune's territory lies entirely on a plain, crossed by the Crostolo stream. History Ancient and early Middle Ages Reggio began as a historical site with the construction by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus of the Via Aemilia, leading from Piacenza to Rimini (187 BC). Reggio became a judicial administration centre, with a forum called at first ''Re ...
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Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 171,944 inhabitants and is the main ''comune'' (municipality) of the Province of Reggio Emilia. The inhabitants of Reggio nell'Emilia are called ''Reggiani'', while the inhabitants of Reggio di Calabria, in the southwest of the country, are called ''Reggini''. The old town has a hexagonal form, which derives from the ancient walls, and the main buildings are from the 16th–17th centuries. The commune's territory lies entirely on a plain, crossed by the Crostolo stream. History Ancient and early Middle Ages Reggio began as a historical site with the construction by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus of the Via Aemilia, leading from Piacenza to Rimini (187 BC). Reggio became a judicial administration centre, with a forum called at first ...
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Chivalric Romance
As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric knight-errant portrayed as having heroic qualities, who goes on a quest. It developed further from the epics as time went on; in particular, "the emphasis on love and courtly manners distinguishes it from the ''chanson de geste'' and other kinds of epic, in which masculine military heroism predominates." Popular literature also drew on themes of romance, but with ironic, satiric, or burlesque intent. Romances reworked legends, fairy tales, and history to suit the readers' and hearers' tastes, but by c. 1600 they were out of fashion, and Miguel de Cervantes famously burlesqued them in his novel '' Don Quixote''. Still, the modern image of "medieval" is more influenced by the romance than by any other medieval genre, and the word ''m ...
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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 Matter of France. The historical Roland was military governor of the Breton March, responsible for defending Francia's frontier against the Bretons. His only historical attestation is in Einhard's ''Vita Karoli Magni'', which notes he was part of the Frankish rearguard killed in retribution by the Basques in Iberia at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass. The story of Roland's death at Roncevaux Pass was embellished in later medieval and Renaissance literature. The first and most famous of these epic treatments was the Old French '' Chanson de Roland'' of the 11th century. Two masterpieces of Italian Renaissance poetry, the ''Orlando Innamorato'' and ''Orlando Furioso'' (by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Ludovico Ariosto respectively), are even f ...
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Isabella D'Este
Isabella d'Este (19 May 1474 – 13 February 1539) was Marchioness of Mantua and one of the leading women of the Italian Renaissance as a major cultural and political figure. She was a patron of the arts as well as a leader of fashion, whose innovative style of dressing was copied by numerous women. The poet Ariosto labeled her as the "liberal and magnanimous Isabella", while author Matteo Bandello described her as having been "supreme among women". Diplomat Niccolò da Correggio went even further by hailing her as "The First Lady of the world". She served as the regent of Mantua during the absence of her husband Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua, Francesco II Gonzaga and during the minority of her son Federico II, Duke of Mantua, Federico. She was a prolific letter-writer and maintained a lifelong correspondence with her sister-in-law Elisabetta Gonzaga. Isabella grew up in a cultured family in the city-state of Ferrara. She received a fine classical education and as ...
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Ippolito D'Este
Ippolito (I) d'Este ( hu, Estei Hippolit; 20 March 1479 – 3 September 1520) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal, and Archbishop of Esztergom. He was a member of the ducal House of Este of Ferrara, and was usually referred to as the Cardinal of Ferrara. Though a bishop of five separate dioceses, he was never consecrated a bishop. He spent much of his time supporting the ducal house of Ferrara and negotiating on their behalf with the Pope. Biography Born in Ferrara, Ippolito was the son of Duke Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, and Eleanor of Naples, daughter of Ferdinand I of Naples. His eldest brother, Alfonso became duke in 1505 (and married Lucrezia Borgia). He had another brother, Ferdinando, a brother Sigismondo, and two sisters, Beatrice (who married Ludovico Sforza) and Isabella (who married Duke Francesco of Mantua). He also had a half-brother, Giulio, and a half-sister, Lucrezia. Youth From infancy Ippolito was destined for a career in the Church, and at the ...
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Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located north. The town has broad streets and numerous palaces dating from the Renaissance, when it hosted the court of the House of Este. For its beauty and cultural importance, it has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. History Antiquity and Middle Ages The first documented settlements in the area of the present-day Province of Ferrara date from the 6th century BC. The ruins of the Etruscan town of Spina, established along the lagoons at the ancient mouth of Po river, were lost until modern times, when drainage schemes in the Valli di Comacchio marshes in 1922 first officially revealed a necropolis with over 4,000 tombs, evidence of a population centre that in Antiquity must have played a majo ...
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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 romance concerning the heroic knight Orlando ( Roland). It was published between 1483 (first two books) and 1495 (third book published separately, first complete edition). Composition and publication To material largely quarried from the Carolingian and Arthurian cycles, Boiardo added a superstructure of his own making. As the plot is not woven around a single pivotal action, the inextricable maze of most cunningly contrived episodes are seen to be linked, first, with the quest of beautiful Angelica by love-smitten Orlando and the other enamored knights, then with the defense of Albracca by Angelica's father, the King of Cathay, against the beleaguering Tartars, and, finally, with the Moors' siege of Paris and their struggle with Char ...
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Duchy Of Modena And Reggio
The Duchy of Modena and Reggio ( Emilian: ''Duchêt ed Mòdna e Rèz'', it, Ducato di Modena e Reggio, la, Ducatus Mutinae et Regii) was an Italian state created in 1452 located in Northwestern Italy, in the present day region of Emilia-Romagna. It was ruled since its establishment by the noble House of Este, and since 1814 by the Austria-Este branch of the family. The Este dynasty was a great sponsor of the arts, making the Duchy a cultural reference during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. House of Este In 1452 Emperor Frederick III offered the duchy to Borso d'Este, whose family had ruled the city of Modena and nearby Reggio Emilia for centuries. Borso in 1450 had also succeeded his brother as margrave in the adjacent Papal Duchy of Ferrara, where he received the ducal title in 1471. The Este lands on the southern border of the Holy Roman Empire with the Papal States formed a stabilizing buffer state in the interest of both. The first Este dukes ruled well and the ...
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Duchy Of Ferrara
The Duchy of Ferrara ( la, Ducatus Ferrariensis; it, Ducato di Ferrara; egl, Ducà ad Frara) was a state in what is now northern Italy. It consisted of about 1,100 km2 south of the lower Po River, stretching to the valley of the lower Reno River, including the city of Ferrara. The territory that was part of the Duchy was a fief of both the Holy Roman Empire and the Papal States ruled by the House of Este from 1146 to 1597. In 1471, the Holy Roman Empire transferred control to the Papal States. Borso d'Este, already Duke of Modena and Reggio, was appointed the Duke of Ferrara by Pope Paul II. Borso and his successors ruled Ferrara as a quasi-sovereign state until 1597, when it came under direct papal rule. Background The origin of Ferrara is uncertain. It was probably settled by the inhabitants of the lagoons at the mouth of the Po. There are two early centers of settlement: one round the cathedral, the other, the ''castrum bizantino'', being the San Pietro district, on ...
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