Editing Ludovico Ariosto

{{Short description|Italian poet (1474–1533)}}
{{Redirect|Ariosto|the former member of the United States House of Representatives|Ariosto A. Wiley}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name        = Ludovico Ariosto
| image       = Ludovico Ariosto 1532.jpg
| caption     = Engraving taken from a drawing by [[Tiziano Vecellio|Titian]] depicting Ludovico Ariosto, published in the 1532 edition of {{'}}''[[Orlando Furioso]]''
| pseudonym    =
| birth_name   =
| birth_date   = 8 September 1474
| birth_place  = [[Reggio Emilia]], [[Duchy of Modena and Reggio]]
| death_date   = 6 July 1533 (aged 58)
| death_place  = [[Ferrara]], [[Duchy of Ferrara]]
| occupation  = Poet
| nationality = Italian
| language    = [[Italian language|Italian]]
| period      = [[Renaissance]]
| genre       = [[Epic poetry]]
| subject     = [[Chivalry]]
| movement    = [[Renaissance literature]]
| notableworks = ''Satire'', ''Commedie''<br>''[[Orlando Furioso]]''
| awards      =
| signature   = Signatur Ludovico Ariosto.PNG
| parents     = Niccolò Ariosto and Daria Ariosto (née Malaguzzi Valeri)
}}

'''Ludovico Ariosto''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|æ|r|i|ˈ|ɒ|s|t|oʊ}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ɑː|r|i|ˈ|-}};<ref>{{cite LPD|3}}</ref><ref>{{cite EPD|18}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ludoˈviːko aˈrjɔsto, - ariˈɔsto|lang}}; 8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the [[Chivalric romance|romance]] [[Epic poetry|epic]] ''[[Orlando Furioso]]'' (1516). The poem, a continuation of [[Matteo Maria Boiardo]]'s ''[[Orlando Innamorato]]'', describes the adventures of [[Charlemagne]], [[Roland|Orlando]], and the [[Frankish Empire|Franks]] as they battle against the [[Saracen]]s with diversions into many sideplots. The poem is transformed into a satire of the [[Chivalry|chivalric]] tradition.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11814265|title=Oxford illustrated encyclopedia|date=1985–1993|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Judge, Harry George., Toyne, Anthony.|isbn=0-19-869129-7|location=Oxford [England]|pages=21|oclc=11814265}}</ref> 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'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=humanist|work=Etymology Online|title=Humanist|quote=1580s, 'student of the classical humanities', from Middle French humaniste (16c.), formed on model of Italian ''umanista'' 'student of human affairs or human nature', coined by Italian poet Lodovicio Ariosto (1474–1533), from Latin humanus 'human' (see human; also see humanism). Philosophical sense is from 1903.}}</ref> 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]].

==Birth and early life==
[[File:Mauriziano ingresso reggio emilia.jpg|thumb|left|Entrance to the villa where Ariosto was born]]
Ariosto 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 [[classical literature|classics]] under Gregorio da Spoleto. Ariosto's studies of [[Ancient Greek literature|Greek]] and [[Latin literature]] were cut short by Spoleto's move to France to tutor [[Francesco I Sforza|Francesco Sforza]]. Shortly after this, Ariosto's father died.

==Education and patronage==
[[File:Ludovico Ariosto statue - Ferrara, Italy.JPG|thumb|Memorial statue and park, [[Ferrara]]]]
After 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; 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.<ref name=":0">Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "[[wikisource:1911_Encyclopædia_Britannica/Ariosto,_Lodovico|Ariosto, Lodovico]]". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. '''2.''' (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 492-493.</ref>

Ludovico Ariosto and [[Leonardo da Vinci]] shared 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]].

[[File:Da Vinci Isabella d'Este.jpg|right|thumb|Portrait of Isabella d'Este, [[Leonardo da Vinci]], 1499–1500]]
{{poemquote|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 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.|Orlando Furioso, Canto XLII.}}

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 a heated argument, and Ariosto was promptly dismissed from service.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cassell Dictionary Italian Literature|last=Bondanella|display-authors=etal|first=Peter|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|year=2001|isbn=0304704644}}</ref><ref name="BondanellaBondanella1999">{{cite book|author1=Peter Bondanella|author2=Julia Conway Bondanella|title=Cassell Dictionary Italian Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9LNCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|date=18 March 1999|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4411-5075-2|pages=20–}}</ref>

==New patronage and diplomatic career==
[[File:Titian - Portrait of a man with a quilted sleeve.jpg|thumb|left|[[Titian]], ''[[A Man with a Quilted Sleeve]]'', long believed to be Ludovico Ariosto]]
[[File:I Suppositi (1551).JPG|thumb|Ariosto's play ''{{Interlanguage link|I suppositi|it}}'', first published in verse form in 1551]]

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 was nearly killed by order of the Pope, who happened at the time to be in conflict with Alfonso.<ref name=":0" />

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 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 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 ''{{ill|I suppositi|it}}'' was first acted in [[Ferrara]] and ten years later in the [[Holy See|Vatican]]. A prose edition was published in Rome in 1524, and 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 [[canto]]s, was published at Ferrara. The third and final version of the ''Orlando Furioso'', in 46 cantos, appeared on 8 September 1532. The work is according to Goethe “a graceful smiling fantastic creation”.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Brand |first=C. P. |date=1968-01-01 |title=Ludovico Ariosto - Poet and Poem in the Italian Renaissance |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/fmls/4.1.87 |journal=Forum for Modern Language Studies |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=87–101 |doi=10.1093/fmls/4.1.87 |issn=0015-8518}}</ref> The third edition of the book is quite distinct in terms of diction and structure.<ref name=":1" /> However, it seems that today, the reader tends to consider this version as the primary text.<ref name=":1" /> Therefore, it might be beneficial to read the three texts in comparison to gain a more comprehensive understanding.<ref name=":1" /> Additionally, imitation was a matter of grace at that time, which is why Ariosto took on the task of completing Boiardo’s unfinished ''Orlondo Innamorato''.<ref name=":1" />

==Poetic style==
[[File:Ariosto.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Statue of the poet in [[Reggio Emilia]]]]

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 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.<ref>Daniel Javitch, "Cantus interruptus in the ''Orlando Furioso''", ''[[Modern Language Notes]]'', 95 (1980)</ref>

For example, in Canto II, stanza 30, of ''Orlando Furioso'', the narrator says:
{{poemquote|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.}}
[[File:Cristofano dell'altissimo, ludovico ariosto, ante 1568.JPG|right|thumb|Portrait of Ludovico Ariosto by [[Cristofano dell'Altissimo]]]]
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:
{{Blockquote|text=The two persistent qualities of Ariosto's language are first, serenity – 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 the finest poem, but Ariosto's graceful ''brio'' is at least as difficult and for narrative purposes more satisfying.|sign=Thomas Greene|source=''The Descent from Heaven, a Study in Epic Continuity''}}

==In literature and popular culture==
[[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]]'s poem {{ws|[[s:Landon in The New Monthly 1836/Ariosto to his Mistress|Ariosto to his Mistress]]}} (1836) is supposed to be his address to some unknown beauty on presenting her with his completed ''Orlando Furioso''.<ref> {{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=The New Monthly Magazine, 1836, Volume 46|date=1836|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=NSQaAQAAIAAJ&pg=GBS.PA440|page=441|section=poem|publisher=Henry Colburn}}</ref>

In his poem ''[[Childe Harold's Pilgrimage]]'', Canto the Fourth (1818), [[Lord Byron]] described poet and novelist [[Walter Scott]] as "The Ariosto of 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''.<ref>Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Canto the Fourth, stanza 40, lines 354-60. See Lord Byron: The Complete Poetical Works, ed. Jerome J. McGann, 7 vols (Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press, 1980-93, 1980), vol. II, p. 137.</ref><ref>Susan Oliver, ″Walter Scott and Ariosto's Orlando Furioso″, in Ariosto, the Orlando Furioso and English Culture, ed. Jane Everson, Andrew Hiscock and Stefano Jossa (Oxford: Oxford University Press, Proceedings of the British Academy, 2019), pp. 186-209.</ref>

The paperback edition of ''[[Orlando Furioso]]'' can be briefly glimpsed on table in the dinner scene of the episode "A Ghost" in [[Jim Jarmusch]]'s film ''[[Mystery Train (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 [[Order of Assassins|Assassins]]. When the protagonist [[Ezio Auditore da Firenze|Ezio Auditore]] retires from the Brotherhood following the events of the game in 1512, he appoints Lodovico to succeed him as Mentor.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book
|last        = Greene
|first       = Thomas
|date        = 1963
|title       = The Descent from Heaven, a Study in Epic Continuity
|location    = New Haven
|publisher   = [[Yale University Press]]
}}
* {{cite book
|last        = Durling
|first       = Robert
|date        = 1965
|title       = The figure of the poet in Renaissance epic
|location    = Massachusetts
|publisher   = [[Harvard University Press]]
}}
* {{cite book
|last        = Brand
|first       = Charles P.
|date        = 1974
|title       = Ludovico Ariosto: a preface to the 'Orlando furioso'
|location    = Edinburgh
|publisher   = [[Edinburgh University Press]]
}}
* {{cite book
|last        = Ascoli
|first       = Albert R.
|date        = 1987
|title       = Ariosto's bitter harmony: crisis and evasion in the Italian renaissance
|location    = Princeton
|publisher   = [[Princeton University Press]]
}}
* {{cite journal |last=Brand |first=Peter |year=2002 |title=Ariosto, Ludovico |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198183327.001.0001/acref-9780198183327-e-159 |journal=The Oxford Companion to Italian Literature |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=13 February 2025}}
* {{cite encyclopedia
|first       = Gordon
|last        = Campbell
|date        = 2003
|title       = Ariosto, Ludovico
|location    = Oxford
|publisher   = Oxford University Press
|encyclopedia = The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance
|url         = https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198601753.001.0001/acref-9780198601753-e-207
|access-date = 13 February 2025
|isbn        = 978-0198601753
}}
* {{cite journal|first=Daniel|last=Javitch|title=The Poetics of ''Variatio'' in ''Orlando Furioso''|journal=[[Modern Language Quarterly]]|volume=66|number=1|date=1 March 2005|pages=1–20|doi=10.1215/00267929-66-1-1|ref=none}}
* {{cite book
|last        = Sangirardi
|first       = Giuseppe
|date        = 2006
|title       = Ludovico Ariosto
|location    = Florence
|publisher   = Le Monnier
|isbn        = 978-8800860642
}}
* {{cite book
|last        = Ferroni
|first       = Giulio
|date        = 2008
|title       = Ariosto
|location    = Rome
|publisher   = Salerno Editrice
|isbn        = 978-8884026200
}}
* {{cite book
|last        = Jossa
|first       = Stefano
|date        = 2009
|title       = Ariosto
|location    = Bologna
|publisher   = il Mulino
|isbn        = 978-88-15-12813-3
}}
* {{cite book
|editor1     = Jane E. Everson
|editor2     = Andrew Hiscock
|editor3     = Stefano Jossa
|date        = 2019
|title       = Ariosto, the Orlando Furioso and English Culture
|location    = Oxford
|publisher   = Oxford University Press
|isbn        = 978-0197266502
|doi         = 10.5871/bacad/9780197266502.001.0001
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Ludovico Ariosto}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Ariosto, Lodovico}}
* {{cite encyclopedia
|last         = Torraca
|first        = Francesco
|date         = 1929
|title        = ARIOSTO, Ludovico
|url          = https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ludovico-ariosto_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)
|encyclopedia = [[Enciclopedia Italiana]]
|location     = Rome
|publisher    = [[Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana]]
|access-date  = 13 February 2025
}}
* {{DBI|title=ARIOSTO, Ludovico|first=Natalino|last=Sapegno|author-link=Natalino Sapegno|volume=4|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ludovico-ariosto_(Dizionario-Biografico)}}
* [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Orlando_Furioso Ludovico Ariosto's works, translations and chronology]
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/ludovico-ariosto}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=322| name=Lodovico Ariosto}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Ludovico Ariosto}}
* {{Librivox author |id=2213}}
* [http://www.intratext.com/Catalogo/Autori/AUT27.HTM Ludovico Ariosto's works]: text, concordances and frequency lists
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927193947/http://litweb.net/biography/429/Ludovico_Ariosto.html LitWeb: Ludovico Ariosto]
* The Medieval & Classical Literature Library: [http://mcllibrary.org/Orlando/1-2canto.html ''Orlando Furioso'': Canto 1 & Canto 2]

{{Orlando Furioso}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ariosto, Ludovico}}
[[Category:1474 births]]
[[Category:1533 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Reggio Emilia]]
[[Category:Italian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Italian poets]]
[[Category:Italian male poets]]
[[Category:Italian Renaissance writers]]
[[Category:Italian Renaissance humanists]]
[[Category:University of Ferrara alumni]]
[[Category:16th-century dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:16th-century Italian poets]]
[[Category:16th-century Italian male writers]]
[[Category:Italian-language poets]]
[[Category:Italian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Simple living advocates]]
[[Category:Epic poets]]