DOCSLIB.ORG

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS Medieval and Renaissance Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy *(Readings and Classe

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS Medieval and Renaissance Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy *(Readings and Classe LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS COURSE SYLLABUS FRENCH H295-033 MW 3:30-4:45, Spring 2021 Professor: Dr. Tomás Martin, Ph.D. Email: [email protected] Office Number: 311 Bobet Hall Office Phone: (504) 865-2690 Office Hours: According to current Loyola University regulations, all office hours are to be held remotely (Zoom, Skype, etc.) Please do not hesitate to make an appointment. Medieval and Renaissance Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy *(Readings and classes are in English)* Read the following information carefully to ensure your success in this course. You are expected to read and understand this syllabus in its entirety and complete all assignments as indicated. If you have any questions about the information on this syllabus, please ask me. Despite a first semester of COVID-era teaching and learning, faculty and students alike continue to adapt to our new academic and social realities. We are evolving as a community, but the difficulties remain quite real. Please remain in close contact with me and with your other faculty members; be certain to communicate any difficulties that you may be experiencing (academic or otherwise). Your faculty are one of many primary points of contact between you and all available resources of our University. Your academic and personal well-being are extremely important to me. In this syllabus, you will find important information on the following: 1. Course Description 4. Grading (*Self-Assessed) 7. Midterm Textual Analysis 2. Course Topics 5. Participation and Preparation 8. Creative Final Project 3. Required Materials 6. Reading Presentations, Notes, Quizzes 9. Course Calendar 1. COURSE DESCRIPTION The Crusades, the establishment of the eastern Crusader States, and the flow of merchants, pilgrims, and warriors from Western Europe encouraged a flow of Old French chivalric epic poetry and Arthurian romance into Italy and ultimately across the wider Mediterranean Basin. As a point of embarkation to the East, as well as its function as commercial and cultural intermediary between Western Europe and Byzantium, the Italian Veneto and surrounding city-states evolved into an important francophone literary center. Great patrician families such as the Visconti, the Este of Ferrara, and the Gonzaga of Mantua commissioned works in French that gradually incorporated Arthurian Romance into the epic chansons de geste (Songs of Deeds) which spoke of the historical Frankish emperor, Charlemagne, and of the fictional paladin, Roland. The end result of French Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 1 Carolingian epic blended with Arthurian romance in Italy was the fifteenth and sixteenth century Italian- language romance epic epitomized by Matteo Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato and Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso. 2. COURSE TOPICS Topics include: • Romanticized oppression: Chevalerie/knighthood in medieval literature • Understanding traditional binary mis-readings of Christianity and Islam in medieval literature • Postcolonialism and the Middle Ages • Women and agency in medieval literature • King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table • The Grail in medieval literature • Genres: Chanson de geste (epic poetry), Arthurian romance, the Italian romance epic • The Republic of Venice and medieval and Renaissance Italian city-states • Noble Italian families of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: The Gonzaga, Visconti, Este • Medieval Franco-Venetian language and Franco-Italian literature 3. REQUIRED MATERIALS Brault, Gerard, ed. The Song of Roland: An Analytical edition. 2 vols. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1978. *Volume II only – contains the English/French text. Chrétien de Troyes. Perceval or the Story of the Grail. Translated and edited by Nigel Bryant, D. S. Brewer, 2006. (Any edition of the Bryant translation published by Brewer will do; the paperback is inexpensive – not the hardcover) Texts in the original French: Students are required to read and wherever possible to produce assignments in the French in order to receive credit towards the French minor or major: Mela, Charles, ed. Le Conte du graal ou le roman de Perceval. Librairie Générale Française, 1990 ISBN-13: 978-2253053699 Short, Ian, ed. La Chanson de Roland. Librairie Générale Française, 1990. ISBN-13: 978-2253053415 4. GRADING (*SELF-ASSESSED; Cf. PROSPECTUS AND ACCOUNTABILITIES ON CANVAS) Grades in this course will be calculated according to the following grading scale: A = 94-100 B+ = less than 90 C+ = less than 80 D+ = less than 70 A- = less than 94 B = less than 88 C = less than 78 D = less than 68 B- = less than 84 C- = less than 74 F = less than 60 Your course grade is based on your performance in the following categories: ▪ Participation, preparation, and attendance 15% ▪ Reading presentations and discussion points 15% ▪ Reading quizzes/Class notes 10% ▪ Midterm textual analysis 30% ▪ Creative Final project 30% Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 2 5. PARTICIPATION AND PREPARATION To help gauge your progress, you can earn up to five points per class for the following essential components: Participation: This course is highly collaborative. You are expected to read any assigned items or posted materials, as well as complete all assigned homework. Proper preparation and participation in class is crucial for accomplishing the shared academic and intellectual goals of the entire class. Attendance: Class attendance is mandatory. It is your responsibility to let me know in advance if you expect to miss a class or if you have a specific need to attend a class meeting online instead of in-person (does not apply to students enrolled online only). Since class meetings will be recorded, you can still watch any class that you miss. This second semester of COVID-era learning will require a great deal of flexibility and communication. Please be certain to communicate information about absences or particular needs in terms of flexibility. The more information that you communicate, the more equipped I am to help you during the semester. Electronic devices: Unless permitted or instructed during in-person sessions, all electronic devices (including laptops, cellphones, smartwatches, etc.) must be kept in your backpack, pocket, etc. and must be silenced (not on vibrate mode) during the entire class period. Students should be prepared to take notes by hand. During all class meetings, I ask that you courteously refrain from texting, messaging, etc. Please do not leave the room either in order to do so. Repeated disregard for other students’ ability to focus on our collaboration may have an adverse effect on your participation grade. We have little “face-time.” Let’s make the most of it. 6. READING PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSION PROMPTS; CLASS NOTES; QUIZZES Reading presentations: Students will take turns presenting the reading(s) for each class meeting. The presentation may take the form of an interpretation, close reading, or explanation of a complicated secondary source. The class needs and materials will determine the form of the assignment. Students will also be responsible for generating discussion prompts to accompany the reading(s). In essence, you will be helping one another learn. Class notes: In a fixed rotation, students will present their notes from the immediate prior class. The notes are to be presented both in class and posted to Canvas. Again, you will be helping one another learn. Reading quizzes: Brief, occasional quizzes will be given. They will test basic reading knowledge of passages to be covered in class. 7. MIDTERM TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: Taking the form of an essay exam, students will be presented with either a brief text or a thesis statement. Then, within the class period, students will formulate an argument or position in response. They will defend their response in a way that demonstrates their mastery of the subject matter and the critical skills they are developing in the seminar. 8. CREATIVE FINAL PROJECT: In consultation with the professor, students will construct their own synthesis of the Song of Roland narrative and the Perceval narrative (Quest for the Holy Grail). While this work is creative in nature, formal critical and historical elements will figure prominently. Thus, the final project is a hybrid of formal analysis, artistic license, and creative writing. Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 3 9. COURSE CALENDAR: FRENCH H295, SPRING 2021 January: 20 Course introduction/Syllabus 25 Song of Roland: Discussion; Menocal “A Brief History…”; Kinoshita “Introduction” 27 Roland Laisses 1-54 [Prospectus due] February: 1 Roland Laisses 55-113 3 Roland Laisses 114-159 8 Roland – Activity 10 Roland Laisses 160-200 15 Lundi Gras 17 Ash Wednesday Roland Laisses 201-251 22 Roland Laisses 252-291 24 Franco-Venetian Language and Literature: Venice 4 Chanson de Roland and Perceval March: 1 Medieval Literature in Pop Culture [Midterm Accountability due] 3 Chrétien de Troyes and Perceval: Discussion 8 Perceval “Prologue” to page 7 10 Perceval pp. 7-16 15 Perceval pp. 16-27 17 Perceval pp. 27-30 22 Perceval – Activity 24 Perceval pp. 30-37 29 Perceval pp. 37-42 31 Perceval pp. 42-49 April: 5 Perceval pp. 49-57 7 Perceval – Activity Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 4 12 Perceval pp. 57-63 14 “Rest Day (2)” – University Holiday 19 Perceval pp. 63-71 21 Perceval pp. 71-78 26 Italian Romance Epic: Orlando innamorato and Orlando furioso (extracts) 28 Italian Romance Epic: Orlando innamorato and Orlando furioso (extracts) May: 3 Medieval Literature in Pop Culture 5 Last Day of Class/Course Conclusion [Final Accountability due] Creative Final Project: Due Wednesday, 12 May by 5:00PM *This syllabus is subject to change; students will be notified in advance of any changes. Medieval Francophonie: Charlemagne and King Arthur in Italy – Spring 2021 5 Bibliography Allen, Graham. Intertextuality. Routledge, 2000. Auerbach, Erich. Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature. Trans. Willard R. Trask, Princeton University Press, 1953. Bermel, Albert. Farce: A History from Aristophanes to Woody Allen.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Fortune and Romance : Boiardo in America / Edited by Jo Ann Cavallo & Charles S
    Fortune and Romance: Boiardo in America xexTS & STuOies Volume 183 Fortune and Romance Boiardo in America edited b)' Jo Ann Cavallo & Charles Ross cr)eC>iev2iL & ReMAissAMce tgxts & STuDies Tempe, Arizona 1998 The three plates that appear following page 60 are reproduced by permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library. The map of Georgia that appears on page 95 is reprinted from David Braund's Georgia in Antiquity (Oxford University Press, 1994), by permission of Oxford University Press. Figures 8, 10 and 11 are reprinted courtesy of Alinari/Art Resource, New York. Figure 9 is reprinted courtesy of Scala, Art Resource, New York. ©Copyright 1998 The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University Library of Congress Cataloging'in'Publication Data Fortune and romance : Boiardo in America / edited by Jo Ann Cavallo & Charles S. Ross p. cm. — (Medieval & Renaissance texts & studies ; 183) Most of the essays in this volume stem from the American Boiardo Quincentennial Conference, "Boiardo 1994 in America," held in Butler Library, Columbia University, Oct. 7-9, 1994, sponsored by the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-86698-225-6 (alk. paper) 1. Boiardo, Matteo Maria, 1440 or 41-1494 — Criticism and interpreta- tion — Congresses. 1. Cavallo, Jo Ann. II. Ross, Charles Stanley. III. American Boiardo Quincentennial Conference "Boairdo 1994 in America" (1994 : Butler Library, Columbia University) IV. Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America. V. Series. PQ4614.F67 1998 85r.2— dc21 98-11569 CIP @ This book is made to last. It is set in Goudy, smyth-sewn, and printed on acid-free paper to library specifications.
    [Show full text]
  • Renaissance and Reformation, 1978-79
    Sound and Silence in Ariosto's Narrative DANIEL ROLFS Ever attentive to the Renaissance ideals of balance and harmony, the poet of the Orlando Furioso, in justifying an abrupt transition from one episode of his work to another, compares his method to that of the player of an instrument, who constantly changes chord and varies tone, striving now for the flat, now for the sharp. ^ Certainly this and other similar analogies of author to musician^ well characterize much of the artistry of Ludovico Ariosto, who, like Tasso, even among major poets possesses an unusually keen ear, and who continually enhances his narrative by means of imaginative and often complex plays upon sound. The same keenness of ear, however, also enables Ariosto to enrich numerous scenes and episodes of his poem through the creation of the deepest of silences. The purpose of the present study is to examine and to illustrate the wide range of his literary techniques in each regard. While much of the poet's sensitivity to the aural can readily be observed in his similes alone, many of which contain a vivid auditory component,^ his more significant treatments of sound are of course found throughout entire passages of his work. Let us now turn to such passages, which, for the convenience of the non-speciaUst, will be cited in our discussion both in the Italian text edited by Remo Ceserani, and in the excellent English prose translation by Allan Gilbert."* In one instance, contrasting sounds, or perhaps more accurately, the trans- formation of one sound into another, even serves the implied didactic content of an episode with respect to the important theme of distin- guishing illusion from reality.
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Garnier's Bradamante (1582): an English Translation of Act IV, with An
    Robert Garnier's Bradamante (1582): An English Translation of Act IV, With an Introduction Concerning the Historical Development of the Title Character An Honors Thesis (HONRS 499) by Nathan Rush Thesis Advisor Dr. Donald Gilman Ball State University Muncie, Indiana May 2009 Expected Date of Graduation: December 2009 c I ( f '-11 ," -11 ! ( .~ ..;.3 0 Table of Contents ;.' ( , . k -il' ~ , ' f 1. Abstract .................................................................. '" .................................................... 3 2. Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 4 3. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 5 4. Difficulties of Translation .......................................................................................... 16 5. Works Cited ................................................................................................................ 18 6. Translation .................................................................................................................. 20 7. Endnotes ..................................................................................................................... 39 2 Abstract The title character of Robert Garnier's Bradamante (1582) was introduced to French literature through the matiere de France (Matter of France), epic poems written during the Middle Ages. The personage of Bradamante was expanded over time
    [Show full text]
  • The Moslem Enemy in Renaissance Epic: Ariosto, Tasso, and Camoens
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette History Faculty Research and Publications History, Department of 1-1-1977 The oM slem Enemy in Renaissance Epic: Ariosto, Tasso, and Camoens John Donnelly Marquette University, [email protected] Published version. Yale Italian Studies, Vol. I, No. 1 (1977): 162-170. © 1977 Yale Italian Studies. Used with permission. The Moslem Enemy in Renaissance Epic: Ariosto, Tasso and Camoens John Patrick Donnelly, S.J. The Renaissance produced many tracts and descriptions dealing with Mos- lems, such as those by Ogier de Busbecq and Phillipe du Fresne-Canaye,' which remain the main source for gauging western attitudes toward Moslems, but these can be supplemented by popular literature which reflects, forms, and gives classic expression to the ideas and stereotypes of a culture.' This study examines and compares the image.of the Moslem in the three greatest epics of the sixteenth century, Ariosto's Orlando furioso, Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata, and Camoens's Os Lusiadas." All three epics enjoyed wide popularity and present Christian heroes struggling against Moslem enemies. Ludovico Ariosto, courtier to the d'Este lords of Ferrara, first published Orlando furioso in 1516 but continued to polish and expand it until 1532. With 38,728 lines, it is the longest poem of the Renaissance, perhaps of west- ern literature, to attain wide popularity. It describes the defense of Paris by Charlemagne and his knights against the Moors of Spain and Africa. This was traditional material already developed by the medieval chansons de geste and by Orlando innamorato of Matteo Maria Boiardo, who preceded Ariosto as court poet at Ferrara.
    [Show full text]
  • Orlando Innamorato [Orlando in Love]
    Matteo Maria Boiardo: Orlando Innamorato [Orlando in Love] (1495) Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University ) Genre: Epic, Poetry (any). Country: Italy. Written for a fifteenth-century Italian court society hooked on Arthurian romance but also attuned to current world events, Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato [Orlando in Love] charts a complex imaginary course in which characters from diverse cultures encounter one another in ways that range from armed conflict to friendship and love. Although knights and damsels from around the globe are gripped by a number of passions, such as erotic desire, anger, ambition, compassion, and the desire for glory or revenge, their actions are not based on either religious or ethnic differences. The narrative thereby breaks out of the polarization of Christians and Saracens typical of Carolingian epic, presenting a broader cosmopolitan vision of humankind consonant with ancient, medieval, and fifteenth-century historical and geographical texts that were capturing the attention of the Ferrarese court. In the chansons de geste, or historical songs, that formed the basis of the medieval Carolingian epic genre, the hero Roland (later Italianized as Orlando) was celebrated as Charlemagne’s most stalwart paladin. In the twelfth-century The Song of Roland, a Basque ambush of Charlemagne’s retreating army at the mountain pass of Roncesvalles (Einhard) was refashioned into an Armageddon of sorts in which Roland and his companions who formed the rearguard were massacred by Saracens due to his stepfather Ganelon’s treachery. Subsequent elaborations of Frankish exploits in Spain prior to the fatal battle of Roncesvalles, most notably the Franco-Venetian Entrée d’Espagne (c.
    [Show full text]
  • The Orlando Innamorato, by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Francesco Berni
    http://dev.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/57869/pg... The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Orlando Innamorato, by Matteo Maria Boiardo and Francesco Berni This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: The Orlando Innamorato Author: Matteo Maria Boiardo Francesco Berni Translator: William Stewart Rose Release Date: September 8, 2018 [EBook #57869] Language: English *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ORLANDO INNAMORATO *** Produced by Kathleen Ethington THE ORLANDO INNAMORATO TRANSLATED INTO PROSE FROM THE ITALIAN OF FRANCESCO BERNI AND INTERSPERSED WITH EXTRACTS IN THE SAME STANZA AS THE ORIGINAL BY WILLIAM STEWART ROSE TO HENRY RICHARD, LORD HOLLAND, &c. &c. &c. 1 of 117 6/11/20, 10:13 PM http://dev.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/57869/pg... Who, at a late period of my labours upon the "Furioso", suggested the present work as its necessary prologue. Kind peer, who, mid the tempest of debate, Hast gladly wooed and won the Southern muse. Where, crowned with fruit and flower of mingling hues, She in a grove of myrtle keeps her state. This I had entered by a postern gate, Like stranger, who no certain path pursues.
    [Show full text]
  • Alcina Comes from the Epic Poem Orlando Fusioso (1532), Or Quite Literally “Orlando’S Frenzy,” by the Italian Poet Ludovico
    George Frideric Handel (1685–1759) Angelika and Medor. Scene From Orlando Furioso by Mihael Stroj (1803–1871) A Timeless Tale by Rachel Silverstein The story of Handel’s Alcina comes from the epic poem Orlando Fusioso (1532), or quite literally “Orlando’s Frenzy,” by the Italian poet Ludovico Alcina Ariosto. The poem is a compilation of stories about the knights of Charlemagne and their grand adventures during wars with Muslim Spain. Ariosto based his work on the unfinished epic poem Orlando Innamorato (1495) by Matteo Maria Boiardo. Two plot threads connect the stories in the collection; the tale of the knight Orlando’s fall to madness and the star -crossed love of Ruggiero and the woman Bradamante. In Ariosto’s poem, Ruggiero and Bradamante are knights from opposing sides of the war who find love, but Ruggiero is captured and put under a spell by the sorceress Alcina. Handel’s opera focuses on this romantic conflict, emphasizing the love between these characters and their struggle to stay together. Handel used the libretto of the Italian opera L'Isola d'Alcina (1728) by Riccardo Broschi for his own composition. Broschi’s opera is mostly lost, but the libretto lives on with alterations by librettist Antonio Marchi, one of Handel’s frequent collaborators. Handel’s Alcina became part of society’s historical game of telephone, where artists focus on a different plot element and interpretation of the drama in each retelling. For Handel, the emphasis is on the joys and trials of love with various kinds of love represented; Alcina’s possession of Ruggiero is Mania and Morgana’s love for the disguised Bradamante is Eros.
    [Show full text]
  • Boiardo and Ariosto in Contemporary Sicilian Puppet Theater and the Tuscan-Emilian Epic Maggio
    Boiardo and Ariosto in Contemporary Sicilian Puppet Theater and the Tuscan-Emilian Epic Maggio ❦ Jo Ann Cavallo Characters from medieval and Renaissance chivalric texts have been given tangible form through the centuries not only in operatic, melo- dramatic, theatrical and, more recently, cinematic adaptations, but also in popular performance traditions such as Sicilian puppet theater (opera dei pupi) and the folk operas (maggi epici) of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. This essay traces the reimagining of a sampling of non- Christian characters and non-European places from Matteo Maria Boiardo’s Orlando Innamorato and Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso by a number of contemporary puppet theater and maggio companies. My contention is that an examination of select scenes available online, in conjunction with a close reading of the original episodes, may help students think more deeply about perennial issues addressed in the two poems—related to gender roles, the foreign and religious Other, violence, and political power—that continue to be relevant today.1 1The links for the videos discussed in the essay will be provided in the following end- notes. There is additional material from both traditions (scripts, videos of performances, interviews, photographs) in the database eBOIARDO: https://edblogs.columbia.edu/ eboiardo/. All links are current as of 24 February 2018. MLN 133 (2018): 48–63 © 2018 by Johns Hopkins University Press M L N 49 Sicilian puppet theater No art form has devoted as sustained and elaborate attention to the Orlando Innamorato and the Orlando Furioso as Sicilian puppet theater.2 Although today we are past the time when Orlando and his fellow knights relived their adventures a puntate every evening in teatrini across Sicily and beyond, we can still encounter puppeteers, especially in Palermo, Catania, and Siracusa, who regularly present episodes from the two poems.
    [Show full text]
  • Orlando Innamorato
    Orlando Innamorato di Matteo Maria Boiardo Letteratura italiana Einaudi Edizione di riferimento: a cura di Aldo Scaglione, Utet, Torino 1974 Letteratura italiana Einaudi Sommario Libro primo 1 Canto primo 2 Canto secondo 32 Canto terzo 55 Canto quarto 82 Canto quinto 112 Canto sesto 140 Canto settimo 163 Canto ottavo 187 Canto nono 209 Canto decimo 235 Canto decimoprimo 253 Canto duodecimo 271 Canto decimoterzo 301 Canto decimoquarto 321 Canto decimoquinto 343 Canto decimosesto 363 Canto decimosettimo 388 Canto decimottavo 407 Canto decimonono 425 Canto ventesimo 447 Canto ventesimoprimo 466 Canto ventesimosecondo 490 Canto ventesimoterzo 510 Canto ventesimoquarto 528 Canto ventesimoquinto 548 Canto ventesimosesto 569 Canto ventesimosettimo 590 Canto ventesimottavo 611 Canto ventesimonono 629 Letteratura italiana Einaudi Sommario Libro secondo 649 Canto primo 650 Canto secondo 676 Canto terzo 699 Canto quarto 723 Canto quinto 752 Canto sesto 774 Canto settimo 796 Canto ottavo 817 Canto nono 838 Canto decimo 859 Canto decimoprimo 880 Canto decimosecondo 899 Canto decimoterzo 920 Canto decimoquarto 942 Canto decimoquinto 965 Canto decimosesto 989 Canto decimosettimo 1008 Canto decimottavo 1030 Canto decimonono 1052 Canto ventesimo 1072 Canto ventesimoprimo 1092 Canto ventesimosecondo 1113 Canto ventesimoterzo 1133 Canto ventesimoquarto 1159 Canto ventesimoquinto 1182 Canto ventesimosesto 1201 Canto ventesimosettimo 1222 Canto ventesimottavo 1242 Canto ventesimonono 1261 Letteratura italiana Einaudi iv Sommario Canto trentesimo 1283 Canto
    [Show full text]
  • Orlando Innamorato, the first Renaissance Epic About the Common Customs Of, and the Conflicts R Between, Christian Europe and Islam
    Renaissance Literature I Boiardo RLANDO NNAMORATO O O I T “Neglect of Italian romances robs us of a whole species of pleasure and narrows our very conception of literature. It is as if a man left out Homer, or Elizabethan drama, or the novel. ORLANDO IN LOVE A For like these, the romantic epic of Italy is one of the great trophies of the European genius: RLANDO a genuine kind, not to be replaced by any other, and illustrated by an extremely copious and L brilliant production. It is one of the successes, the undisputed achievements.” —C. S. Lewis Matteo Maria Boiardo I Like Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso and Tasso’s Jerusalem Delivered, Boiardo’s chivalric stories of lords and ladies first entertained the culturally innovative court of Ferrara in the Italian Translated with A Renaissance. Inventive, humorous, inexhaustible, the story recounts Orlando’s love-stricken ORLANDO IN LOVE pursuit of “the fairest of her Sex, Angelica” (in Milton’s terms) through a fairyland that an Introduction N combines the military valors of Charlemagne’s knights and their famous horses with the and Notes by enchantments of King Arthur’s court. I Charles Stanley Ross Today it seems more than ever appropriate to offer a new, unabridged edition of Boiardo’s NNAMORATO Orlando Innamorato, the first Renaissance epic about the common customs of, and the conflicts R between, Christian Europe and Islam. Having extensively revised his earlier translation for general readers, Charles Ross has added headings and helpful summaries to Boiardo’s cantos. E Tenses have been regularized, and terms of gender and religion have been updated, but not so much as to block the reader’s encounter with how Boiardo once viewed the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Orlando, Donald, and Dylan Dog Two Comic Book Adaptations of Ariosto’S Orlando Furioso
    Orlando, DOnald, and Dylan Dog Two comic book adaptations of Ariosto’s Orlando furioso Marion Bracq Université Charles-de-Gaulle, Lille, France The epic poem Orlando furioso (1516-1532) by Ludovico Ariosto is considered a master- piece of Italian literature. This work has been, and still is, a great source of inspiration for various arts, especially in pop culture. My Leiden Arts in Society Blog post, “A tribute to Ludovico Ariosto: Orlando furioso’s legacy in pop culture”, highlighted several examples – including fantasy novels, comic books, and movie adaptations – aiming to help a new audience discover (or re-discover) the epic world created by Ludovico Ariosto. This art- icle intends to continue this endeavour by exploring Ariosto’s legacy in pop culture with a selection of two comic books: Paperino furioso by Luciano Bottaro (1966) and Il re delle mosche by Giovanni di Gregorio and Luigi Piccatto (2009). I study how they rewrite some episodes of Orlando furioso, especially cantos XXIII and XXXIV which narrate, respectively, the madness and recovery of the poem’s protagonist, Orlando. ORLANDO FURIOSO THROUGH THE CENTURIES Published for the first time in 1516, and in a revised version in 1532, Orlando furioso is an Italian epic poem written by Ludovico Ariosto.1 It is a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo’s Orlando innamorato (1483-1495),2 commissioned by the powerful Este family of Ferrara with the aim of affirming the prowess of their legendary ancestors, the Christian warrior Bradamante and the Saracen knight Ruggiero, and glorifying their family name.3 Composed of 38,736 verses, Ariosto’s poem is divided into 46 cantos and has a complicated 1 We will refer here to the following edition: Ludovico Ariosto,Orlando furioso, 2 vols, ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Repatriating Romance: Politics of Textual Transmission in Early Modern France
    Repatriating Romance: Politics of Textual Transmission in Early Modern France By Linda Danielle Louie A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Romance Languages and Literatures and the Designated Emphasis in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Timothy Hampton, Chair Professor Mairi McLaughlin Professor Victoria Kahn Fall 2017 Repatriating Romance: Politics of Textual Transmission in Early Modern France © 2018 by Linda Danielle Louie Abstract Repatriating Romance: Politics of Textual Transmission in Early Modern France by Linda Danielle Louie Doctor of Philosophy in Romance Languages and Literatures Designated Emphasis in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Timothy Hampton, Chair This dissertation reveals the central role that transcultural literary exchange plays in the imagining of a continuous French literary history. The traditional narrative of French literary history describes the vernacular canon as built on the imitation of the ancients. However, this dissertation demonstrates that Early Modern French canon formation also depends, to a startling extent, on claims of inter-vernacular literary theft. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, a central preoccupation of French authors, translators, and literary theorists was the repatriation of the romance genre. Romance was portrayed as a cornerstone of French literary patrimony that Italian and Spanish authors had stolen. The repatriation of individual romance texts entailed a skillful co-opting of the language of humanist philology, alongside practices of translation and continuation usually associated with the medieval period. By looking at romance translation as part of a project of national canon formation, this dissertation sheds new light on the role that chivalric romance plays in national and international politics.
    [Show full text]