Sordello da Goito or Sordel de Goit (sometimes ''Sordell'') was a 13th-century Italian

troubadour 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 '' trobair ...

. His life and work have inspired several authors including

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

Robert Browning Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical sett ...

, and

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

Life

Sordello was born in the municipality of Goito in the province of

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

. About 1220 he was in a tavern brawl in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

; and in 1226, while at the court of Richard of Bonifazio in

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

, he abducted his master's wife, Cunizza, at the instigation of her brother,

Ezzelino III da Romano Ezzelino III da Romano (25 April 1194, Tombolo7 October 1259) was an Italian feudal lord, a member of the Ezzelino family, in the March of Treviso (in modern Veneto). He was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II ( r. 1220–1250), and ruled ...

. The scandal resulted in his flight (1229) to

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 bo ...

, where he seems to have remained for some time. He entered the service of

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...

, and probably accompanied him (1265) on his

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

expedition; in 1266 he was a prisoner in Naples. The last documentary mention of him is in 1269, and he is supposed to have died in Provence. His appearance in

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

'' among the spirits of those who, though redeemed, were prevented from making a final confession and reconciliation by sudden death, suggests that he was murdered, although this may be Dante's own conjecture.

Works

So far as we have authentic facts about his life, Sordello was the most famous of the Italian troubadours. His didactic poem ''L’ensenhamen d’onor'', and his love songs and satirical pieces have little in common with Dante's presentation, but the invective against negligent princes which Dante puts into his mouth in the 7th canto of the ''Purgatorio'' is more adequately paralleled in his ''

sirventes The ''sirventes'' or ''serventes'' (), sometimes translated as "service song", was a genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry practiced by the troubadours. The name comes from ''sirvent'' ('serviceman'), from whose perspective the song is allegedly wr ...

planh A genre of the troubadours, the or (; "lament") is a funeral lament for "a great personage, a protector, a friend or relative, or a lady."Elisabeth Schulze-Busacker, "Topoi", in F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis, eds., ''A Handbook of the T ...

'' (1237) on the death of his patron

Blacatz Blacatz, known in French genealogy as Blacas de Blacas III (1165–1237), was the feudal lord of Aups and a troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Age ...

, where he invites the princes of

Christendom Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwin ...

to feed on the heart of the hero. Dante and Virgilio (Trento)

Legacy and reception

Medieval literature

Sordello was praised by

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

around 1305 in his treatise '' De vulgari eloquentia''. He also appears as a character in the ''

'', composed between 1308 and 1321, where he is featured in cantos 6, 7, and 8 of ''

Purgatorio ''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the '' Inferno'' and preceding the '' Paradiso''. The poem was written in the early 14th century. It is an allegory telling of the climb of D ...

''. The pilgrim meets Sordello among the souls who repented late in life or were violently murdered in Ante-Purgatory, which suggests that Dante thought that Sordello was murdered. When first approached by Dante and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

in ''Purgatorio'' 6, Sordello is clearly distinguished from other souls and stays silent. Sordello's first appearance is comparable to a lion eyeing the approaching travelers attentively. It is only when Virgil begs him for the best upward path that Sordello engages with the two poets and asks them about their city and life. Once Virgil mentions his city,

, Sordello embraces him and expresses his excitement at hearing the sound of his city. Sordello thus shows that he regards himself as Virgil's neighbor and friend due to their common birthplace, and the love they both share for Mantua is enough to prompt their warm reaction to one another. Sordello continues to walk with the pair for three cantos. Dante uses Sordello's patriotism as a starting point for an aside that presents a breakdown of Italian politics to denounce Italy and its corrupted morals, violence, and lack of effective leadership (''Purgatorio'' 6.76-151). In the narrative, Sordello also serves to teach Dante and Virgil about the workings of Ante-Purgatory, and he leads them out of it, until they all reach of the Valley of Rulers. Upon reaching the Valley of Rulers, Sordello points out the notable kings and princes surrounding the trio. Those mentioned are Rudolph of Hapsburg,

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his dea ...

, Philip III the Bold of France,

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon ( November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he conquered the Kingdom of Sicily and became King of Sicily in 1282, pre ...

, among others.

Modern and contemporary literature

Sordello is also the hero of the well-known poem '' Sordello'' by

, published in 1840. He is praised for his passion in

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's 1881 poem "Amor Intellectualis".

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

also references him in the Cantos. Furthermore, Sordello is briefly referred to in

's 1951 novels ''

Molloy Molloy or O'Molloy is an Irish surname, anglicised from Ó Maolmhuaidh, maolmhuadh meaning 'Proud Chieftain'. (See also Malloy.) They were part of the southern Uí Néill, the southern branch of the large tribal grouping claiming descent from Ni ...

'' and '' Malone Dies''. Numerous references to Sordello occur in

Roberto Bolaño Roberto Bolaño Ávalos (; 28 April 1953 – 15 July 2003) was a Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet and essayist. In 1999, Bolaño won the Rómulo Gallegos Prize for his novel ''Los detectives salvajes'' (''The Savage Detectives'' ...

's 2000 novella ''

By Night in Chile ''By Night in Chile'' (Spanish title: ''Nocturno de Chile'') is a novella by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño, first published in 2000. It was the first of Bolaño's novels to be published in English, with Chris Andrews's English translation, whic ...

'', and he is a principal character in

Robert Shea Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy '' Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turne ...

's two-volume historical novel '' The Saracen'', published in 1989.

Notes

References

* Endnotes: **For Sordello's life and works, the edition of Cesare de Lollis (Halle, 1896) **For Browning's poem see: * *

External links

*Sordello'
Complete works
at trobar.org {{Authority control 13th-century Italian troubadours People from the Province of Mantua