Ludovico Ariosto

Ludovico Ariosto
Ariosto, detail of votive painting Madonna with Saints Joseph, John, Catherine, Louis of Toulouse and Lodovico Ariosto by Vincenzo Catena, 1512
Ariosto, detail of votive painting Madonna with Saints Joseph, John, Catherine, Louis of Toulouse and Lodovico Ariosto by Vincenzo Catena, 1512
Born8 September 1474
Reggio Emilia, Duchy of Modena and Reggio
Died6 July 1533 (aged 58)
Ferrara, Duchy of Ferrara
OccupationPoet
LanguageItalian
NationalityItalian
PeriodRenaissance
GenreEpic poetry
SubjectChivalry
Literary movementRenaissance literature
Notable worksSatire, Commedie
Orlando Furioso
Signature

Ludovico Ariosto (/ɑːriˈɒst/;[1] 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 the Saracens with diversions into many sideplots. The poem is transformed into a satire of the chivalric tradition.[2] 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)[3] 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.

  1. ^ "Ariosto". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  2. ^ Oxford illustrated encyclopedia. Judge, Harry George., Toyne, Anthony. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. 1985–1993. p. 21. ISBN 0-19-869129-7. OCLC 11814265.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  3. ^ "Humanist". Etymology Online. 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.