Andrea Mangiabotti,Geneviève Hasenohr and Michel Zink, eds. ''Dictionnaire des lettres françaises: Le Moyen Âge''. Collection: La Pochothèque (Paris: Fayard, 1992. ), pp. 62–63. called Andrea da Barberino ( 1370–1431''The Cambridge History of Italian Literature'', Peter Brand and Lino Pertile, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 168.), was an Italian writer and ''cantastorie'' ("storyteller")Ludovico Ariosto, ''Orlando Furioso'', translated with an introduction by Barbara Reynolds (London: Penguin Books, 1975), Part I, Introduction, p. 58. of the

Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

. He was born in Barberino Val d'Elsa, near

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, and lived in Florence. He is principally known for his prose romance epic '' Il Guerrin Meschino'', his ''I Reali di Francia'' ("The Royal House of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

"), a prose compilation (in the form of a

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

) of the

Matter of France The Matter of France (), also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and the Paladins. The cycle springs from the Old Fr ...

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

material concerning

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

and

Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...

(''Orlandino'') from various legends and

chansons de geste The , from 'deeds, actions accomplished') is a medieval narrative, a type of epic poem that appears at the dawn of French literature. The earliest known poems of this genre date from the late 11th and early 12th centuries, shortly before the e ...

, and for his ''Aspramonte'', a reworking of the chanson de geste '' Aspremont'', which also features the hero

Ruggiero Ruggiero () is an Italian spelling variant of the name Ruggero, a version of the Germanic name Roger, and may refer to: As a surname * Adamo Ruggiero (born 1986), Canadian actor * Angela Ruggiero (born 1980), American hockey player * Angelo Rug ...

. Many of his writings probably derive from Franco-Italian works, such as the ''Geste Francor'', that includes versions of the stories of ''Reali di Francia'' and dates to the first half of the fourteenth century.Pio Rajna, ''Ricerche intorno ai Reali di Francia'' (Bologna, Romagnoli, 1872) His works, which circulated at first in manuscript, were extremely successful and popular, and were a key source of material for later Italian romance writers, such as

Luigi Pulci Luigi Pulci (; 15 August 1432 – 11 November 1484) was an Italian diplomat and poet best known for his '' Morgante'', an epic and parodistic poem about a giant who is converted to Christianity by Orlando and follows the knight in many adventu ...

(''

Morgante ''Morgante'' (sometimes also called , the name given to the complete 28-canto, 30,080-line edition published in 1483See Lèbano's introduction to the Tusiani translation, p. xxii.) is an Italian romantic epic by Luigi Pulci which appeared in ...

''),

Matteo Maria Boiardo Matteo Maria Boiardo (, ; 144019/20 December 1494) was an Italian Renaissance poet, best known for his epic poem ''Orlando innamorato''. Early life Boiardo was born in 1440, at or near, Scandiano (today's province of Reggio Emilia); the son of G ...

(''

Orlando Innamorato ''Orlando Innamorato'' (; known in English language, English as "''Orlando in Love''"; in Italian language, Italian titled "''Orlando innamorato''" as the "I" is never capitalized) is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matte ...

'') and

Ludovico Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto (, ; ; 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'', describ ...

(''

Orlando Furioso ''Orlando furioso'' (; ''The Frenzy of Orlando'') is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form ...

'').

Works

Andrea da Barberino wrote the following works: * '' I Reali di Francia'' ("The Royal House of France") * '' Il Guerrin Meschino'' * ''Ajolfo del Barbicone'' (reworking of the French ''Aiol'') * ''Ugone d'Alvernia'' (adaptation of the Franco-Italian ''chanson de geste'' '' Huon d'Auvergne'', with the first chapter of the final book alternating ''terza rima'' and prose in the published edition) * ''Storie Nerbonesi'' (prose adaptation on the Old French ''chanson de geste'' '' Narbonnais'' and eight other ''chansons'' concerning Aymeri de Narbonne and Guillaume d'Orange) * '' e Storie d'spramonte'' (adaptation of the Old French ''chanson de geste'' '' Aspremont'' * ''Ansuigi'' (possibly also by Andrea) Gloria Allaire, ''Andrea da Barberino and the Language of Chivalry'' (Gainesville, FL: UP of Florida, 1997).

References

External links

Further Bibliography
on ARLIMA

An abridged translation of Andrea's cycle by Max Wickert {{DEFAULTSORT:Barberino, Andrea da Italian poets Italian male poets Italian Renaissance writers 1370s births 1431 deaths People from Barberino Val d'Elsa 14th-century Italian writers 15th-century Italian writers