Renaissance Chivalric Literature Blog and Web Sites

[Joshua Santana]

Since I started research into what I call "Renaissance Chivalry", I decided to share with you sites that have helped me become familiar with the literature and how Chivalry was viewed before Don Quixote appeared.  Boy did I find some good ones.   

Anyway I begin with the earliest one, written in 1508: Amadis of Gaul by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo (yes this is one of those books that helped Quixote go insane). This chivalric romance was an instant best seller in spawning over 40 sequels, many imitations, three operas and one play to my knowledge. Here is the blog on the latest translation and the first book is available for purchase. 

http://www.amadisofgaul.blogspot.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadis_de_Gaula
(for more info)   

The next one was an Italian Epic that took a new look at the early years of the Crusades.  Written in 1581: Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso.  This one was another best seller and spawned two operas in the Baroque Era and many musical works painted a new picture of the Crusades for later generations.  Although it presents a mythologized view of the Crusades it is quite a good read.

http://www.fullbooks.com/Jerusalem-Delivered.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Delivered

Another Italian Epic which was written in 1516: Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.  This was a take on the Roland Chivalric Legend with a twist of insanity.  This one was a huge success spawning a sequel called Orlando Innammorato.  In the Baroque, several operas were composed based or inspired from this piece. 

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/orl/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_Furioso

The two Italian Epics were influential in the creation and language structure for this English Epic Poem that takes a radical look at Chivalry itself in conjunction with the concept of "Courtier Gallantry"

Enter The Faerie Queene by Edmmund Spenser written in 1590 - 1596.  This piece was a huge success that it stands today as one of the Literature's masterpieces.  Even though the work itself is not complete yet its stories are good enough to stand on their own.  What makes this an awesome read (despite the language structure) is that the Author attempted to list 12 Public and 12 Private virtues pertaining to the Ideal Knight or Courtier.  This was done by extracting Aristotle's 24 Virtues and combining them with traditional Chivalry and Christianity.  Even more so, this was the literary piece that started my research into Renaissance Chivalry itself.  I cannot express how the stories are genuinely original and influential to the point that I began to look at Chivalry with a new perspective, that perspective being that it doesn't take living by the Code to be enough, rather living by the Code and proving it in word and deed takes you far in being Chivalrous. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faerie_Queene

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/fq/index.htm

Despite the language oddities there are good resources that will help in connecting the plot dots and understanding the context of the stories.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/sfq/index.htm

http://thefaeriequeene.wordpress.com/

http://thefaeriequeene.org/

I hope that with given time, you all may enjoy these tales and know that Chivalry did live on in the Renaissance and was very difficult to kill.  The lives of the Renaissance Knights,battle events and the literature are evidence of its existence.   

[danieldesu]

Renaissance is very beautiful and memorable festival in our culture. You shared interesting links about renaissance. I want to share very useful links about renaissance festival with all cities with dates and some historical information. just check these..
http://www.renaissance-festivals.com/faires-by-state.html
http://www.renaissance-outfits.com/

[Joshua Santana]

danieldesu:  I thank you for your recommendations.  However I must informyou that these links I posted are directly towards Renaissance Literature I read in the summer of 2012.  Not necessarily with Ren Festivals.  But still thank you.

[Bradamante]

Hello Sir Joshua,

I wanted to thank you for your work in compiling a list of classic literature for us. I would like to make a correction though.

Orlando innamorato by Matteo Maria Boiardo preceded the writing of Orlando furioso by Ludovico Ariosto.

Boiardo stopped writing his poem after France invaded Italy in 1494. He found it difficult to write about the heroism of mythical Frankish knights when living French soldiers were fighting on Italian soil. Boiardo died before the poem was finished.

Later, Boiardo's patrons, the noble house of d'Este in Ferrara hired Ariosto to finish the story. Orlando furioso was far more popular than its predecessor poem with numerous operas based on portions of the story.

Queen Elizabeth I was said to have banned John Harrington from the royal court until he finished translating the whole of Ariosto's masterpiece for her.

In a little over three years we will be celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first publication of Orlando furioso.

Tasso was also supported by the d'Este family, but he was born after Ariosto died.

[Joshua Santana]

Bradamante:  You are correct and many thanks for pointing out the mistakes.  Much appreciated.