''Parisina'' is a 586-line poem written by

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

. It was probably written between 1812 and 1815, and published on 13 February 1816. It is based on a story related by

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, i ...

in his '' Miscellaneous Works'' (1796) about

Niccolò III d'Este Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The f ...

, one of the dukes of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

in the 15th century. Niccolò found out that

Parisina Malatesta Laura Malatesta (140421 May 1425), better known as Parisina Malatesta, was an Italian marchioness. She was the daughter of Andrea Malatesta, lord of Cesena, and his second wife, Lucrezia Ordelaffi. She had an affair with her illegitimate stepson, ...

, his second wife, had an incestuous relationship with his bastard son Ugo and had both of them put to death. In Byron's poem, Azo (his version of Niccolò) learns of the affair when Parisina mutters the name of Hugo (Ugo) in her sleep. In another embellishment by Byron, Parisina and Hugo were engaged to be married before Azo decided to marry her. Also, Azo sentences only Hugo to death; Parisina's fate is unknown, except for the fact that she is forced to witness Hugo's execution and utters a shriek that indicates approaching madness. Azo is tormented by his decision.

Operas

* ''Parisina'' by

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style ...

, after a libretto by

Felice Romani Giuseppe Felice Romani (31 January 178828 January 1865) was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist betw ...

modeled on Byron * ''Parisina'' by

Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...

, after Gabriele D'Annunzio's libretto who adapted Byron's poem

Gallery

File:Thomas Jones Barker--Parisina--1842--private collection.jpg,

Thomas Jones Barker Thomas Jones Barker (19 April 1813 – 29 March 1882) was an English historical, military, and portrait painter. The Barkers of Bath Thomas Jones Barker was born at Bath in 1815, into a family of artists. His grandfather, Benjamin Barker, was ...

, ''Parisina'', 1842, private collection File:Ford Madox Brown - Parisina's Sleep - Study for Prince Azo and Parisina - Google Art Project.jpg,

Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his most notable painti ...

, study for a lost painting of Parisina, 1842,

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BM&AG) is a museum and art gallery in Birmingham, England. It has a collection of international importance covering fine art, ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, natural history, archaeology, ethnography, local ...

File:Ford Madox Brown - Parisina's Sleep - Study for Head of Parisina - Google Art Project.jpg,

, study for a lost painting of Parisina, 1842,

File:Ford Madox Brown - Parisina's Sleep - Study for Head of Prince Azo - Google Art Project.jpg,

, study for a lost painting of Parisina, 1842,

External links

''Parisina''
the full text of Byron's poem * Poetry by Lord Byron 1816 poems Cultural depictions of Parisina Malatesta {{UK-poem-stub