writer of comedies and satires

Ludovico Ariosto was born at Reggio Emilia in Lombardy on September 8, 1474, the eldest of ten children of Nicolo Ariosto, the Governor of Reggio; his mother's name is not known. His fondness for literature had already been sparked when, at the age of nine, he composed and acted in the fable Tisbe. The family moved to Ferrara when he was ten. He studied law from 1489 to 1494, but disliked that profession from the start. He finally got to pursue his interest in literature at the age of twenty and spent several years devoting himself to the the study of Greek and Latin authors, under, first, Gregorio da Spoleto and, then, Francesco Sforza, but the death of his father in 1500 put him in charge of family affairs, which were at that time in serious disarray, and his literary studies ended.

Although he had to cut his literary studies short and devote considerable time and effort to his family, Ariosto still managed to write some minor comedies and a few lyrical pieces during this period. These writings caught the attention of Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, who in 1503 took him into his court. Initially little more than a man-servant, Ariosto was gradually given greater responsibilities, in addition to being the court poet.

Never well treated or compensated by the Cardinal, Ariosto refused to accompany him to Hungary in 1517 and was dismissed from the court. He was not out of work for long, however, as the Cardinal's brother, Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara, took him into his court as both poet and minor diplomat. Aside from a period as governor of the district of Garfagnana (1522-1525), he spent the rest of his life in Ferrara. Sometime around 1527, he married Florentine widow Alessandra Benucci. No children were born to this union, but Ariosto did father two sons with two other women. He died of tuberculosis on June 6, 1553.

His Writings

Ariosto completed five comedies during his lifetime -- La Cassaria (The Coffer, 1508), Il Suppositi (The Pretenders, 1509), Il Negromante (The Necromancer, 1520), Gli Studenti (The Students, 1519), and Lena (1528). A sixth comedy, La Scolastica, was completed and published by his brother Gabriel after his death.

The Satires were composed between 1517 and 1525. The seven, composed in terza rima or tercet, vary in length from 181 to 328 verses, and are addressed to relatives and friends. Ariosto used the Satires as a way of commenting on courtly life and the various people that for one reason or another surrounded him. He never had the Satires printed, but he did give away handwritten copies.

Ariosto's best known work was Orlando Furioso, which was begun sometime around 1505 and completed in 1516. Dedicated to Cardinal Ippolito, the poem's plot revolves around the conflict of Christian versus Moor, specifically the war between Charles, the Holy Roman Emperor, Agramante, King of North Africa, and Marsilio, King of Spain. It concludes with the defeat and death of Agramante, and the return of Marsilio to Spain. A continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando innamorato, which was left unfinished upon the author's death in 1494, Ariosto started his story more or less at the point where Boiardo left it -- the main character, Orlando, has gone mad (furioso) because his love for the beautiful Angelica has not been returned. What follows is a series of seemingly disconnected, and often quite fanciful, adventures undertaken by Orlando. The poem presented a rich variety of characters, mixed romance, epic, and lyrical poetry, and made fun of outmoded chivalric manners.

INTERNET SOURCES
The Catholic Encyclopedia www.newadvent.org/cathen/01712b.htm
The Notorious Names Database www.nndb.com/people/743/000096455/
The Poem Hunter www.poemhunter.com/ludovico-ariosto/biography/

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This page was last updated on 06/05/2018.