Overview

This is the first comprehensive book on the Arthurian legend in medieval and Renaissance Italy since Edmund Gardner's 1930 The Arthurian Legend in Italian Literature. Arthurian material reached all levels of Italian society, from princely courts with their luxury books and frescoed palaces, to the merchant classes and even popular audiences in the piazza, which enjoyed shorter retellings in verse and prose. Unique assemblages emerge on Italian soil, such as the Compilation of Rustichello da Pisa or the innovative Tavola Ritonda, in versions made for both Tuscany and the Po Valley. Chapters examine the transmission of the French romances across Italy; reworkings in various Italian regional dialects; the textual relations of the prose Tristan; narrative structures employed by Italian writers; later ottava rima poetic versions in the new medium of printed books; the Arthurian-themed art of the Middle Ages and Renaissance; and more. The Arthur of the Italians offers a rich corpus of new criticism by scholars who have brought the Italian Arthurian material back into critical conversation.

Full Product Details

Author:   F. Regina Psaki ,  Gloria Allaire
Publisher:   University of Wales Press
Imprint:   University of Wales Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.20cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 24.40cm
ISBN:  

9781786830715

ISBN 10:   178683071
Pages:   352
Publication Date:   23 March 2017
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.

Table of Contents

Introduction F. Regina PsakiPart One France and Italy1 Arthuriana in the Italian Regions of Medieval Francophonia Keith Busby2 French Redactions in Italy: Rustichello da Pisa Fabrizio Cigni 3 From France to Italy: The Tristan Texts Marie-Jose Heijkant 4 The Italian Contribution: La Tavola Ritonda Daniela Delcorno Branca Part Two Arthurian Material in Italian Narrative Forms5 Narrative Structure in Medieval Italian Arthurian Romance Stefano Mula 6 Arthurian Material in Italian Cantari Maria Bendinelli Predelli 7 Arthur as Renaissance Epic Eleanora Stoppino Part Three Arthur Beyond Romance8 The Arthurian Presence in Early Italian Lyric Roberta Capelli 9 Arthur in Medieval Italian Short Narrative F. Regina Psaki 10 The Arthurian Tradition in the Three Crowns Christopher Kleinhenz Part Four Arthur Beyond Literature11 Arthur in Hagiography: The San Galgano Legend Franco Cardini 12 Owners and Readers of Arthurian Books in Italy Gloria Allaire 13 Arthurian Art in Italy Gloria Allaire Reference List: Arthurian Art in Italy Gloria Allaire

Reviews

'Finally, a volume in English about Arthurian legend in Italy. This will be a welcome addition not only to the libraries of Italianists but also to those of medievalists, comparatists and general readers. New editions of texts as well as manuscript and artistic discoveries long ago outdated the few short chapters in English about Italian Arthuriana published in large part in the early to mid-twentieth century. This volume, with its broad range of interdisciplinary studies and up-to-date bibliography, will be become an essential point of departure for future research in the field.'- Dr Leslie Zarker Morgan, Loyola University Maryland. 'With this volume, Psaki and Allaire elevate the third tier of Arthurian literature to appropriate pre-eminence. Too long neglected, Italian Arthuriana is now for the first time in English given the scholarly introduction it deserves. A ground-breaking contribution to Arthurian scholarship, this volume should be essential reading for all students of the corpus.' - Dr Donald Hoffman, Northeastern Illinois University. 'These elegant and insightful essays will be a revelation to many Arthurian scholars, remedying the relative lack of Anglophone writing on the Italian tradition, and making available the fruits of recent scholarship in Italian. It is striking that Tristan was so much more popular in Italy than Lancelot, and interesting to meet new characters such as Morgan le Fay's daughter, the Gaia Donzela. The editors of this excellent volume certainly succeed in their aim of rescuing the Italian tradition from benign neglect by Anglophone scholars, and of showing how important it is to an understanding of the wider European Arthurian tradition.' - Professor Elizabeth Archibald, Durham University.

'Finally, a volume in English about Arthurian legend in Italy. This will be a welcome addition not only to the libraries of Italianists but also to those of medievalists, comparatists and general readers. New editions of texts as well as manuscript and artistic discoveries long ago outdated the few short chapters in English about Italian Arthuriana published in large part in the early to mid-twentieth century. This volume, with its broad range of interdisciplinary studies and up-to-date bibliography, will be become an essential point of departure for future research in the field.'- Dr Leslie Zarker Morgan, Loyola University Maryland. 'With this volume, Psaki and Allaire elevate the ""third tier"" of Arthurian literature to appropriate pre-eminence. Too long neglected, Italian Arthuriana is now for the first time in English given the scholarly introduction it deserves. A ground-breaking contribution to Arthurian scholarship, this volume should be essential reading for all students of the corpus.' - Dr Donald Hoffman, Northeastern Illinois University. 'These elegant and insightful essays will be a revelation to many Arthurian scholars, remedying the relative lack of Anglophone writing on the Italian tradition, and making available the fruits of recent scholarship in Italian. It is striking that Tristan was so much more popular in Italy than Lancelot, and interesting to meet new characters such as Morgan le Fay's daughter, the Gaia Donzela. The editors of this excellent volume certainly succeed in their aim of rescuing the Italian tradition from ""benign neglect"" by Anglophone scholars, and of showing how important it is to an understanding of the wider European Arthurian tradition.' - Professor Elizabeth Archibald, Durham University.

Author Information

F. Regina Psaki is the Giustina Family Professor of Italian Language and Literature at the University of Oregon. She has translated three medieval romances: Tristano Riccardiano (2006), the Roman de la Rose ou de Guillaume de Dole (1995) and the Roman de Silence (1991). She also works on Dante, Boccaccio and medieval misogyny. Gloria Allaire is Senior Lecturer in Italian at the University of Kentucky. She is the author of numerous articles and contributions on Italian manuscripts, chivalric epic and romance. Her edited books include Il Tristano Panciatichiano and The Italian Novella.

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