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Cielo d'Alcamo (; also spelled Ciullo) was an
Cielo d'Alcamo (; also spelled Ciullo) was an Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
poet, born in the early 13th century. He is considered one of the fathers of Italian medieval jester
A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests during the medieval and Renaissance eras. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and ...
poetry. His traditional surname (which would mean "from Alcamo
Alcamo (; scn, Àrcamu, italic=no) is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilo ...
", a town in northwestern Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
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, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
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) has been differently identified by other scholars as Dalcamo. (The modern form of the name "Cielo" is "Michele" or "Michael".) Cielo d'Alcamo and fellow 13th century poet Giacomo da Lentini are credited as the inventors of the love sonnet.
D'Alcamo is known exclusively from the poem "Rosa Fresca Aulentissima" ("Fresh and Very Perfumed Rose"), which contained in a single codex now in the Vatican Library
The Vatican Apostolic Library ( la, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, it, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. Formally es ...
. This work is written in a southern Italian language, with several continental influences: it represents a parody of the themes of the contemporary Troubador
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
poetry of Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
, as well as of the language used in the "Magna Curia" of literates and scholars at the court of Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusa ...
at the time. The date of execution has been assigned between 1231This date has been set as the poem (verses 21-25) mentions the ''augustari'', a coin introduced in the Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
in 1231. and 1250.
Identified by some scholars (such as Francesco De Sanctis) as a popular work, "Rosa fresca aulentissima" was most likely written by an acculturated author, as testified by his knowledge of works such as the ''Roman de la Rose
''Le Roman de la Rose'' (''The Romance of the Rose'') is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegorical dream vision. As poetry, ''The Romance of the Rose'' is a notable instance of courtly literature, purporting to provid ...
'' and by his likely vicinity to Frederick II's court.
See also
*Sicilian School
The Sicilian School was a small community of Sicilian and mainland Italian poets gathered around Frederick II, most of them belonging to his imperial court. Headed by Giacomo da Lentini, they produced more than 300 poems of courtly love betwee ...
References
Sources
* * * * Mendola, Louis (2015). ''Sicily's Rebellion against King Charles'' (includes poem of Cielo d'Alcamo in Sicilian and English), . {{DEFAULTSORT:dAlcamo, Cielo Italian poets Italian male poets People from Alcamo Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown Sicilian School poets 13th-century Italian poets