Olimpia Fulvia Morata (1526 – 26 October 1555) was an Italian classical scholar.

Biography

She was born in Ferrara to Fulvio Pellegrino Morato and a certain Lucrezia (possibly Gozi). Her father, who had been tutor to the young princes of the ducal house of Este, was on intimate terms with the most learned men of Italy, and the daughter grew up in an atmosphere of classical learning. At the age of twelve she was able to converse fluently in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. About this time, she was summoned to the palace as companion and instructor of the younger but equally gifted

Anna d'Este Anna d'Este (16 November 1531 – 17 May 1607) was an important princess with considerable influence at the court of France and a central figure in the French Wars of Religion. In her first marriage she was Duchess of Aumale, then of Guise, in h ...

, daughter of Renata, duchess of Ferrara. Many people with literary fame or

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

leanings, like John Calvin,

Vittoria Colonna Vittoria Colonna (April 149225 February 1547), marchioness of Pescara, was an Italian noblewoman and poet. As an educated, married noblewoman whose husband was in captivity, Colonna was able to develop relationships within the intellectual circl ...

and

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. Biography Youth Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496–1497. His father, Jean Marot (c.& ...

visited the court of the duchess. In her teens Olympia lectured on

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

and Calvin's works. In 1546, she left court to take care of her ailing father and, after his death, she took care of the education of her brothers and sisters. Olympia's father died a convert to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, and Olympia embraced the doctrines of

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

and Calvin. When she returned to court, Anna d'Este's marriage to

Francis, Duke of Guise Francis de Lorraine II, the first Prince of Joinville, also Duke of Guise and Duke of Aumale (french: François de Lorraine; 17 February 1519 – 24 February 1563), was a French general and statesman. A prominent leader during the Italian War of ...

left Olympia isolated. She spent her time studying philosophy and corresponded with Gasparo Sardi, who dedicated his ''De Triplici Philosophia'' to her. About the end of 1550, she married a young student of medicine and philosophy, Andreas Grundler of

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban ag ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. In 1554 she accompanied Grundler to his place of birth, where he had been appointed physician to the garrison of Spanish troops. In 1553 the margrave Albert of Brandenburg on one of his plundering expeditions took possession of

, and was in turn besieged by the Protestants. At length Albert evacuated the place, and Olympia and her husband made their escape. In the course of these events many of her writings were lost. They finally succeeded in reaching

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

in 1554 where a medical lectureship had been obtained for Grundler through the influence of the Erbach family, by whom they had been hospitably entertained during their flight. In 1558, after her death, a major collection of some of her Greek letters and Latin dialogues was published in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, a labour which she entrusted to her friend and correspondent

Caelius Secundus Curio Celio Secondo Curione (1 May 1503, in Cirié – 24 November 1569, in Basel) (usual Latin form Caelius Secundus Curio) was an Italian humanist, grammarian, editor and historian, who exercised a considerable influence upon the Italian Reformation. ...

.T. McCrie, ''History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Italy in the Sixteenth Century'' (William Blackwood, Edinburgh/T. Cadell, London 1827)
pp. 400-02
and see Appendix
No. 7, pp. 425-26
M.L. King, ''Renaissance Humanism: An Anthology of Sources'' (Hackett Publishing, 2014)
pp. 129-36

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morata, Olympia 1526 births 1555 deaths 16th-century Italian women writers Writers from Ferrara Italian classical scholars Women classical scholars Modern Greek-language writers 16th-century Latin-language writers Italian Renaissance humanists Italian Protestants