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67-470: Ludovico Ariosto ( / ɑːr i ˈ ɒ s t oʊ / ; Italian: [ludoˈviːko aˈrjɔsto, - ariˈɔsto] ; 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

134-474: A quest , and fights and defeats monsters and giants, thereby winning favor with a lady . The Matter of France, most popular early, did not lend itself to the subject of courtly love , but rather dealt with heroic adventure: in The Song of Roland , Roland, though betrothed to Oliver's sister, does not think of her during the course of events. The themes of love were, however, to soon appear, particularly in

201-522: A Medieval work has also been noted to contains many magical or supernatural references. Drawing from many different sources, some notable allusions include elements of Christianity (an example being the multiple references to the Holy Grail ) as well as elements of Celtic legends. The Medieval romance developed out of the medieval epic, in particular the Matter of France developing out of such tales as

268-583: A chestnut flour, has DOP status. The spelt from the region, Farro della Garfagnana, has Indicazione Geografica Protetta status; the area is also known for its lentils and for its porcini mushrooms. It is the area of origin of the Garfagnina breed of cattle, of the Garfagnina breed of goat, and of the Garfagnina Bianca sheep breed. The capital of the region is Castelnuovo di Garfagnana . The Garfagnana and Lunigiana were struck by

335-561: A group of bandits, the chief of which, on discovering that his captive was the author of Orlando Furioso , apologized for not having immediately shown him the respect due his rank. In 1508 Ariosto's play Cassaria appeared, and the next year I suppositi  [ it ] was first acted in Ferrara and ten years later in the Vatican . A prose edition was published in Rome in 1524, and

402-425: A heated argument, and Ariosto was promptly dismissed from service. The cardinal's brother, Alfonso, duke of Ferrara , now took Ariosto under his patronage. By then, Ariosto had already distinguished himself as a diplomat, chiefly on the occasion of two visits to Rome as ambassador to Pope Julius II . The fatigue of one of these journeys brought on an illness from which he never recovered, and on his second mission he

469-729: A late date as the " Matter of Rome " (actually centered on the life and deeds of Alexander the Great conflated with the Trojan War ), the " Matter of France " ( Charlemagne and Roland , his principal paladin ) and the " Matter of Britain " (the lives and deeds of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table , within which was incorporated the quest for the Holy Grail ); medieval authors explicitly described these as comprising all romances. The three "matters" were first described in

536-735: A magical interlude in Tasso 's Gerusalemme liberata . In the Renaissance , also, the romance genre was bitterly attacked as barbarous and silly by the humanists , who exalted Greek and Latin classics and classical forms, an attack that was not in that century very effective among the common readers. In England, romances continued; heavily rhetorical, they often had complex plots and high sentiment, such as in Robert Greene 's Pandosto (the source for William Shakespeare 's The Winter's Tale ) and Thomas Lodge 's Rosalynde (based on

603-504: A minor thread in the episodic stream of romantic adventures. Some romances, such as Apollonius of Tyre , show classical pagan origins. Tales of the Matter of Rome in particular may be derived from such works as the Alexander Romance . Ovid was used as a source for tales of Jason and Medea, which were cast in romance in a more fairy-tale-like form, probably closer to the older forms than Ovid's rhetoric. It also drew upon

670-424: A new persecutor appeared: a courtier who was rejected by the woman or whose ambition requires her removal, and who accuses her of adultery or high treason, motifs not duplicated in fairy tales. While he never eliminates the mother-in-law, many romances such as Valentine and Orson have later variants that change from the mother-in-law to the courtier, whereas a more recent version never goes back. In Italy there

737-858: A patron in Cardinal Ippolito d'Este 's older sister the Marchioness Isabella d'Este , the "First Lady of the Renaissance." Isabella d'Este appears in Ludovico's masterpiece, Orlando Furioso . She also appears in Leonardo's Sketch for a Portrait of Isabella d'Este at the Louvre . A statue no less jocund, no less bright, Succeeds, and on the writing is impressed; Lo! Hercules' daughter, Isabella hight, In whom Ferrara deems city blest, Much more because she first shall see

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804-512: A presence. Many early tales had the knight, such as Sir Launfal , meet with fairy ladies, and Huon of Bordeaux is aided by King Oberon , but these fairy characters were transformed, more and more often, into wizards and enchantresses. Morgan le Fay never loses her name, but in Le Morte d'Arthur , she studies magic rather than being inherently magical. Similarly, knights lose magical abilities. Still, fairies never completely vanished from

871-469: A time, termed scientific romance , and gaslamp fantasy is sometimes termed gaslight romance. Flannery O'Connor , writing of the use of grotesque in fiction, talked of its use in "the modern romance tradition." Garfagnana The Garfagnana ( Italian: [ɡarfaɲˈɲaːna] ) is a historical and geographical region of central Italy , today part of the province of Lucca , in Tuscany . It

938-399: Is a marked tendency to emphasize themes of courtly love , such as faithfulness in adversity. From c.  1760 – usually cited as 1764 at the publication of Horace Walpole 's The Castle of Otranto – the connotations of "romance" moved from fantastic and eerie, somewhat Gothic adventure narratives of novelists like Ann Radcliffe 's A Sicilian Romance (1790) or The Romance of

1005-421: Is according to Goethe “a graceful smiling fantastic creation”. The third edition of the book is quite distinct in terms of diction and structure. However, it seems that today, the reader tends to consider this version as the primary text. Therefore, it might be beneficial to read the three texts in comparison to gain a more comprehensive understanding. Additionally, imitation was a matter of grace at that time, which

1072-417: Is considerable. Modern usage of term "romance" usually refer to the romance novel , which is a subgenre that focuses on the relationship and romantic love between two people; these novels must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Despite the popularity of this popular meaning of Romance, other works are still referred to as romances because of their uses of other elements descended from

1139-551: Is described in medieval terminology. When Priam sends Paris to Greece in a 14th-century work, Priam is dressed in the mold of Charlemagne, and Paris is dressed demurely, but in Greece, he adopts the flashier style, with multicolored clothing and fashionable shoes, cut in lattice-work—signs of a seducer in the era. Historical figures reappeared, reworked, in romance. The entire Matter of France derived from known figures, and suffered somewhat because their descendants had an interest in

1206-476: Is rescued by another woman and a tournament that he wins. Other examples of Italian (Tuscan) poetry tales are Antonio Pucci's literature: Gismirante, Il Brutto di Bretagna or Brito di Bretagna ("The ugly knight of Britain") and Madonna Lionessa ("Lioness Lady"). Another work of a second anonymous Italian author that is worth mentioning is Istoria di Tre Giovani Disperati e di Tre Fate ("Story of three desperate boys and three fairies"). The Arthurian cycle as

1273-466: Is so obsessed by chivalric romances that he seeks to emulate their various heroes.) Hudibras also lampoons the faded conventions of chivalrous romance, from an ironic, consciously realistic viewpoint. Some of the magical and exotic atmosphere of Romance informed tragedies for the stage, such as John Dryden 's collaborative The Indian Queen (1664) as well as Restoration spectaculars and opera seria , such as Handel 's Rinaldo (1711), based on

1340-406: Is the story called Il Bel Gherardino . It is the most ancient prototype of an Italian singing fairy tale by an anonymous Tuscan author. It tells the story of a young Italian knight, depleted for its "magnanimitas", who wins the love of a fairy. When he loses this love because he does not comply with her conditions, Gherardino reconquers his lady after a series of labours, including the prison where he

1407-590: Is the upper valley or basin of the river Serchio , and thus lies between the main ridge of the Northern Apennines to the north-east and the Alpi Apuane to the west. The principal towns are Castelnuovo di Garfagnana and Barga . Garfagnana was historically inhabited by Ligurian ( Apuani and Friniati) and Etruscan populations . The area was conquered by the Romans in 180 BC. After the fall of

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1474-476: Is why Ariosto took on the task of completing Boiardo’s unfinished Orlondo Innamorato . Throughout Ariosto's writing are narratorial comments dubbed by Daniel Javitch as "Cantus Interruptus". Javitch's term refers to Ariosto's narrative technique to break off one plot line in the middle of a canto, only to pick it up again in another, often much later, canto. Javitch argues that while many critics have assumed Ariosto does this so as to build narrative tension and keep

1541-568: The Chanson de Geste , with intermediate forms where the feudal bonds of loyalty had giants, or a magical horn, added to the plot. The epics of Charlemagne , unlike such ones as Beowulf , already had feudalism rather than the tribal loyalties; this was to continue in romances. The romance form is distinguished from the earlier epics of the Middle Ages by the changes of the 12th century, which introduced courtly and chivalrous themes into

1608-572: The Duchy of Modena . With the unification of Italy , the Garfagnana became part of the province of Massa e Carrara , and in 1923 passed to that of Lucca. The Garfagnana is almost entirely mountainous. It has heavy rainfall, and much of it is densely wooded, often with sweet chestnut , Castanea sativa . Chestnuts were until recently an important food source; the Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana ,

1675-723: The Carolingian empire in 888 it came under the control of various feudal lords, and was later caught up in the rivalry between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines . In 1248 the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II ceded it to the Republic of Lucca . In the fifteenth century much of the territory came under the control of the d'Este family of Ferrara , and in 1847 the remaining part was absorbed into

1742-684: The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) – including their love affairs – and where a predominantly oral tradition which survived in the Balkans and Anatolia until modern times. This genre may have intermingled with its Western counterparts during the long occupation of Byzantine territories by French and Italian knights after the 4th crusade. This is suggested by later works in the Greek language which show influences from both traditions. In later romances, particularly those of French origin, there

1809-584: 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 . Ariosto

1876-567: The 12th century by French poet Jean Bodel , whose epic Chanson des Saisnes  [ fr ] ("Song of the Saxons") contains the lines: Ne sont que III matières à nul homme atandant: De France et de Bretaigne et de Rome la grant There are only three subject matters for any discerning man: That of France, that of Britain, and that of great Rome. In reality, a number of "non-cyclical" romances were written without any such connection; these include such romances as King Horn , Robert

1943-469: The Apennines, an appointment he held for three years. The province was distracted by factions and bandits, the governor lacked the requisite means to enforce his authority and the duke did little to support his minister. Ariosto's government satisfied both the sovereign and the people given over to his care, however; indeed, there is a story about a time when he was walking alone and fell into the company of

2010-631: The Dane (a translation of the anonymous AN Lai d'Haveloc); around the same time Gottfried von Strassburg 's version of the Tristan of Thomas of Britain (a different Thomas to the author of 'Horn') and Wolfram von Eschenbach 's Parzival translated classic French romance narrative into the German tongue. During the early 13th century, romances were increasingly written as prose, and extensively amplified through cycles of continuation. These were collated in

2077-587: The Devil , Ipomadon , Emaré , Havelok the Dane , Roswall and Lillian , Le Bone Florence of Rome , and Amadas . Indeed, some tales are found so often that scholars group them together as the " Constance cycle" or the " Crescentia cycle"—referring not to a continuity of character and setting, but to the recognizable plot. Many influences are clear in the forms of chivalric romance. The earliest medieval romances dealt heavily with themes from folklore, which diminished over time, though remaining

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2144-637: The English Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory ( c.  1408  – c.  1471 ), the Valencian Tirant lo Blanch , and the Castilian or Portuguese Amadís de Gaula (1508), spawned many imitators, and the genre was popularly well-received, producing such masterpiece of Renaissance poetry as Ludovico Ariosto 's Orlando furioso and Torquato Tasso 's Gerusalemme Liberata and other 16th-century literary works in

2211-473: The Forest (1791) with erotic content to novels centered on the episodic development of a courtship that ends in marriage. With a female protagonist, during the rise of Romanticism the depiction of the course of such a courtship within contemporary conventions of realism , the female equivalent of the " novel of education ", informs much Romantic fiction . In gothic novels such as Bram Stoker 's Dracula ,

2278-565: The Matter of Britain, leading to even the French regarding King Arthur's court as the exemplar of true and noble love, so much so that even the earliest writers about courtly love would claim it had reached its true excellence there, and love was not what it was in King Arthur's day. A perennial theme was the rescue of a lady from the imperiling monster , a theme that would remain throughout

2345-603: The North", and Ariosto as "The southern Scott". In doing so, Byron connected Ariosto and the Italian Renaissance with early-nineteenth century Scottish and British Romantic writing, emphasising an enduring European literary tradition. Scott, in turn, was influenced by Ariosto and expressed his admiration for the Orlando Furioso . The paperback edition of Orlando Furioso can be briefly glimpsed on table in

2412-592: The Swedish literary work Frithjof's saga , which was based on the Friðþjófs saga ins frœkna , became successful in England and Germany . It was translated twenty-two times into English, 20 times into German, and into many other European languages, including modern Icelandic in 1866. Their influence on authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien , William Morris and Poul Anderson and on the subsequent modern fantasy genre

2479-630: The behavior of Lancelot conforms to the courtly love ideal; it also, though still full of adventure, devotes an unprecedented amount of time to dealing with the psychological aspects of the love. By the end of the 14th century, counter to the earliest formulations, many French and English romances combined courtly love, with love sickness and devotion on the man's part, with the couple's subsequent marriage; this featured in Sir Degrevant , Sir Torrent of Portyngale , Sir Eglamour , and William of Palerne . Ipomadon even explicitly describes

2546-473: The death of his father, Ludovico Ariosto was compelled to forgo his literary occupations and take care of his family, whose affairs were in disarray. Despite his family obligations, Ariosto managed to write some comedies in prose as well as lyrical pieces. Some of these attracted the notice of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este , who took the young poet under his patronage and appointed him one of the gentlemen of his household. Este compensated Ariosto poorly for his efforts;

2613-742: The dinner scene of the episode "A Ghost" in Jim Jarmusch 's film Mystery Train (1989). Lodovico Ariosto is mentioned in the novelization of the video game Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011) as a member of the fictional Italian Brotherhood of Assassins . When the protagonist Ezio Auditore retires from the Brotherhood following the events of the game in 1512, he appoints Lodovico to succeed him as Mentor. Chivalric romance Popular literature also drew on themes of romance, but with ironic , satiric , or burlesque intent. Romances reworked legends , fairy tales , and history to suit

2680-423: The elements of romantic seduction and desire were mingled with fear and dread. Nathaniel Hawthorne used the term to distinguish his works as romances rather than novels, and literary criticism of the 19th century often accepted the contrast between the romance and the novel, in such works as H. G. Wells 's "scientific romances" in the beginning of science fiction . In 1825, the fantasy genre developed when

2747-548: The emergence of Scandinavian verse romance in Sweden under the patronage of Queen Euphemia of Rügen , who commissioned the Eufemiavisorna . Another trend of the high Middle Ages was the allegorical romance, inspired by the wildly popular Roman de la Rose . In late medieval and Renaissance high culture, the important European literary trend was to fantastic fictions in the mode of Romance. Exemplary work, such as

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2814-474: The evenness and self-contented assurance with which it urbanely flows, and second, brilliance – the Mediterranean glitter and sheen which neither dazzle nor obscure but confer on every object its precise outline and glinting surface. Only occasionally can Ariosto's language truly be said to be witty, but its lightness and agility create a surface which conveys a witty effect. Too much wit could destroy even

2881-455: The expression of romance narrative in the later Middle Ages, at least until the resurgence of verse during the high Renaissance in the oeuvres of Ludovico Ariosto , Torquato Tasso , and Edmund Spenser . In Old Norse, they are the prose riddarasögur or chivalric sagas. The genre began in thirteenth-century Norway with translations of French chansons de geste ; it soon expanded to similar indigenous creations. The early fourteenth century saw

2948-509: The finest poem, but Ariosto's graceful brio is at least as difficult and for narrative purposes more satisfying. Letitia Elizabeth Landon 's poem [REDACTED] Ariosto to his Mistress . (1836) is supposed to be his address to some unknown beauty on presenting her with his completed Orlando Furioso . In his poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage , Canto the Fourth (1818), Lord Byron described poet and novelist Walter Scott as "The Ariosto of

3015-560: The first verse edition was published at Venice in 1551. The play, which was translated by George Gascoigne and acted at Gray's Inn in London in 1566 and published in 1573, was later used by Shakespeare as a source for The Taming of the Shrew . In 1516 the first version of the Orlando Furioso in 40 cantos , was published at Ferrara. The third and final version of the Orlando Furioso , in 46 cantos, appeared on 8 September 1532. The work

3082-505: The judgement of many learned readers in the shifting intellectual atmosphere of the 17th century, the romance was trite and childish literature, inspiring only broken-down ageing and provincial persons such as Don Quixote , knight of the culturally isolated province of La Mancha . ( Don Quixote [1605, 1615], by Miguel de Cervantes [1547–1616], is a satirical story of an elderly country gentleman, living in La Mancha province, who

3149-434: The later form of the novel and like the chansons de geste , the genre of romance dealt with traditional themes. These were distinguished from earlier epics by heavy use of marvelous events, the elements of love, and the frequent use of a web of interwoven stories, rather than a simple plot unfolding about a main character. The earliest forms were invariably in verse, but the 15th century saw many in prose, often retelling

3216-438: The light Within its circuit, than for all the rest Which kind and favouring Fortune in the flow Of rolling years, shall on that town bestow. The cardinal went to Hungary in 1518, and wished Ariosto to accompany him. The poet excused himself, pleading ill health, his love of study, and the need to care for his elderly mother. His excuses were not well-received, and he was denied even an interview. Ariosto and d'Este got into

3283-442: The married couple as lovers, and the plot of Sir Otuel was altered, to allow him to marry Belyssant. Similarly, Iberian romances of the 14th century praised monogamy and marriage in such tales as Tirant lo Blanc and Amadís de Gaula . Many medieval romances recount the marvellous adventures of a chivalrous, heroic knight , often of super-human ability, who, abiding chivalry's strict codes of honor and demeanor, goes on

3350-409: The medieval romance Gamelyn and the source for As You Like It ), Robert Duke of Normandy (based on Robert the Devil ) and A Margarite of America . The Acritic songs (dealing with Digenis Acritas and his fellow frontiersmen) resemble much the chanson de geste , though they developed simultaneously but separately. These songs dealt with the hardships and adventures of the border guards of

3417-559: The medieval romance, or from the Romantic movement: larger-than-life heroes and heroines, drama and adventure, marvels that may become fantastic, themes of honor and loyalty, or fairy-tale-like stories and story settings. Shakespeare's later comedies, such as The Tempest or The Winter's Tale are sometimes called his romances . Modern works may differentiate from love-story as romance into different genres, such as planetary romance or Ruritanian romance . Science fiction was, for

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3484-616: The narrator says: But I, who still pursue a varying tale, Must leave awhile the Paladin , who wages A weary warfare with the wind and flood; To follow a fair virgin of his blood. Some have attributed this piece of metafiction as one component of the "Sorriso ariostesco" or Ariosto's smile, the wry sense of humor that Ariosto adds to the text. In explaining this humor, Thomas Greene, in Descent from Heaven , says: The two persistent qualities of Ariosto's language are first, serenity –

3551-428: The old, rhymed versions. The romantic form pursued the wish-fulfillment dream where the heroes and heroines were considered representations of the ideals of the age while the villains embodied the threat to their ascendancy. There is also a persistent archetype, which involved a hero's quest. This quest or journey served as the structure that held the narrative together. With regards to the structure, scholars recognize

3618-452: The only reward he gave the poet for Orlando Furioso , dedicated to him, was the question, "Where did you find so many stories, Master Ludovico?" Ariosto later said that the cardinal was ungrateful, that he deplored the time which he spent under his yoke, and that if he received some small pension, it was not to reward him for his poetry – which the prelate despised – but for acting as a messenger. Ludovico Ariosto and Leonardo da Vinci shared

3685-579: The reader turning pages, the poet in reality defuses narrative tension because so much time separates the interruption and the resumption. By the time the reader gets to the continuation of the story, he or she has often forgotten or ceased to care about the plot and is usually wrapped up in another plot. Ariosto does this, Javitch argues, to undermine "man's foolish but persistent desire for continuity and completion". Ariosto uses it throughout his works. For example, in Canto II, stanza 30, of Orlando Furioso ,

3752-414: 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 medieval evokes knights, damsels in distress , dragons , and other romantic tropes . Originally, romance literature

3819-629: The romance genre. The romances were freely drawn upon for royal pageantry. Queen Elizabeth I's Accession Day tilts, for instance, drew freely on the multiplicity of incident from romances for the knights' disguises. Knights even assumed the names of romantic figures, such as the Swan Knight , or the coat-of-arms of such figures as Lancelot or Tristan. From the high Middle Ages, in works of piety, clerical critics often deemed romances to be harmful worldly distractions from more substantive or moral works, and by 1600 many secular readers would agree; in

3886-651: The romances of the medieval era. Originally, this literature was written in Old French (including Anglo-Norman ) and Old Occitan , later, in Old Spanish , Middle English and Middle High German – amongst the important Spanish texts was Book of the Knight Zifar ; notable later English works being King Horn (a translation of the Anglo-Norman (AN) Romance of Horn of Mestre Thomas), and Havelok

3953-468: The similarity of the romance to folk tales. Vladimir Propp identified a basic form for this genre and it involved an order that began with initial situation, then followed by departure, complication, first move, second move, and resolution. This structure is also applicable to romance narratives. Overwhelmingly, these were linked in some way, perhaps only in an opening frame story , with three thematic cycles of tales: these were assembled in imagination at

4020-665: The tales that were told of their ancestors, unlike the Matter of Britain. Richard Coeur de Lion reappeared in romance, endowed with a fairy mother who arrived in a ship with silk sails and departed when forced to behold the sacrament, bare-handed combat with a lion, magical rings, and prophetic dreams. Hereward the Wake 's early life appeared in chronicles as the embellished, romantic adventures of an exile, complete with rescuing princesses and wrestling with bears. Fulk Fitzwarin , an outlaw in King John's day, has his historical background

4087-634: The tradition. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late tale, but the Green Knight himself is an otherworldly being. Early persecuted heroines were often driven from their husbands' homes by the persecutions of their mothers-in-law, whose motives are seldom delineated, and whose accusations are of the heroines' having borne monstrous children, committed infanticide, or practiced witchcraft — all of which appear in such fairy tales as The Girl Without Hands and many others. As time progressed,

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4154-508: The traditions of magic that were attributed to such figures as Virgil. The new courtly love was not one of the original elements of the genre, but quickly became very important when introduced. It was introduced to the romance by Chretien de Troyes , combining it with the Matter of Britain, new to French poets. In Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart (unlike his earlier Erec and Enide ),

4221-515: The vast, polymorphous manuscript witnesses comprising what is now known as the Lancelot-Grail Cycle , with the romance of La Mort le Roi Artu c.  1230 , perhaps its final installment. These texts, together with a wide range of further Arthurian material, such as that found in the anonymous English Brut Chronicle , comprised the bases of Thomas Malory 's Le Morte d'Arthur . Prose literature thus increasingly dominated

4288-472: The works. This occurred regardless of congruity to the source material; Alexander the Great featured as a fully feudal king. Chivalry was treated as continuous from Roman times. This extended even to such details as clothing; when in the Seven Sages of Rome , the son of an (unnamed) emperor of Rome wears the clothing of a sober Italian citizen, and when his stepmother attempts to seduce him, her clothing

4355-634: 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 of his family. From his earliest years, Ludovico was very interested in poetry, but he was obliged by his father to study law. After five years of law, Ariosto was allowed to read classics under Gregorio da Spoleto. Ariosto's studies of Greek and Latin literature were cut short by Spoleto's move to France to tutor Francesco Sforza . Shortly after this, Ariosto's father died. After

4422-467: Was nearly killed by order of the Pope, who happened at the time to be in conflict with Alfonso. On account of the war, his salary of 84 crowns a year was suspended, and it was withdrawn altogether after the peace. Because of this, Ariosto asked the duke either to provide for him, or to allow him to seek employment elsewhere. He was appointed to the province of Garfagnana , then without a governor, situated on

4489-528: Was written in Old French (including Anglo-Norman ), Old Occitan , and Early Franco-Provençal , and later in Old Portuguese , Old Spanish , Middle English , Old Italian (Sicilian poetry), and Middle High German . During the early 13th century, romances were increasingly written as prose. In later romances, particularly those of French origin, there is a marked tendency to emphasize themes of courtly love , such as faithfulness in adversity. Unlike

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