Morgante

by Luigi Pulci

Spirito bizzarro e mordace, segnato dalle vicisitudini di una vita irrequieta, Luigi Pulci gravitò con alterna fortuna nella cerchia culturale di Lorenzo il Magnifico, opponendo alle tendenze raffinate dell'umanismo platonizzante una vena beffarda e popolaresca, che aveva le sue radici nella tradizione volgare fiorentina. Scrittore d'istinto sempre pronto a cogliere il lato grottesco della realtà, Pulci diede la sua massima prova con il poema in ottave "Morgante", elaborato a partire dal 1461, sulle tracce di un anonimo cantore trecentesco che ripeteva le gesta di Orlando e dei paladini erranti, traditi dal perfido mago Gano di Maganza.

Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Italian Literature, Renaissance, Epic, Classics, Literature

1180 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1478

About the author

Luigi Pulci, (born August 15, 1432, Florence [Italy]—died November? 1484, Padua, Republic of Venice), Italian poet whose name is chiefly associated with one of the outstanding epics of the Renaissance, Morgante, in which French chivalric material is infused with a comic spirit born of the streets of Florence. The use of the ottava rima stanza for the poem helped establish this form as a vehicle for works of a mock-heroic, burlesque character.

For many years Pulci lived under the protection of the Medici family, especially Lorenzo the Magnificent, who first introduced him into the circle of poets and artists that was gathering around him and later, after assuming power, entrusted him with various embassies and diplomatic missions. Nevertheless, poverty and other hardships caused him, when about 38 or 40, to enter the service of a northern condottiere, Roberto Sanseverino, with whom he remained until his death.

Pulci’s literary output, all in Italian, was very large. His masterpiece is the Morgante, or Morgante Maggiore, an epic in 23 cantos, later expanded to 28, begun about 1460, of which the earliest surviving complete edition is dated 1483. This work’s mainly comic and burlesque tone is varied by a more serious mood in which the author expresses at times deep and sincere feeling, at times a bitter experience of life. Similarly, Pulci’s ambivalent attitude toward morals, shaped by an age that considered success the criterion of salvation, contrasts with his deeply felt religious concerns, which constitute a large part of the poem

Reviews

[Steve Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

All right, kids, the verdict is in. The Italian Renaissance Epic Romance is the Genre of Genres. Giants, angels, demons, monkeys, whales, and a crab with very sharp pincers.
A giant dies of laughter after watching a monkey wear his boots. Do you need to know anything else? Read it!
Inspired Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and Byron's Don Juan. Amazingly, this is just as good as either.

[Bryn Hammond]

You're going back on the shelf, Morgante. I've read nine cantos and found none of the charm of your close kin, the Innamorato and the Furioso.

Before I go I'll say the notes were an annoyance. Not only do they spoil the plot ahead for you if you read them as you go, but they heavily underline his humorous touches, when, you know, they weren't that funny.

I'll take you down again one day.

[Nikolaos Papadakis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title is a little misleading. The poem concerns also the heroic deeds of Rinaldo of Montalbano, Orlando's cousin. It's an inspired poem, a narrative and not actually an epic one, that gives all the plot about these heroes that is also known in Boiardo's "Orlando Innamorato". It also deals with a very interesting theme of medieval poetry, this of giants, a tradition wich continues wirh Rabelais' Gargantua and Gulliver.Not so good poetry however, a little boring, especiall in comparison with Boiardo and Ariosto.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the earliest of the Italian epics dealing with Count Orlando & Rinaldo of Montalban. A pleasure to read for a fan of the Carolingian cycle, but not necessarily a great place to start. On the other hand, I kind of wish I'd read Morgante before Orlando Furioso, because I would have been more familiar with some of the characters when I came to that perfectly wonderful latter piece of writing.

Always worth mentioning, the translation is rendered in iambic verse, although thankfully without too much stress on rhyming. A prose translation would have suited my tastes much better.

[marta! ⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

čitala na talijanskom!! :P

[Joseph F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulci's Morgante is classed along with Ariosto and Boiardo in creating a fast paced burlesque version of the stories of Charlemagne and his paladins around the time of the Italian renaissance.
Orlando befriends a giant named Morgante after he converts him to Christianity. The two then, either separately or together, go on various adventures together that usually involve fighting their enemies. The other paladins play an important role too, such as Rinaldo, Oliver and the wizard Malagigi.
Much of the action centers around warring with the Saracens (Muslims, who are also called pagans!) There is a lot of fighting in this 762 page tome! A LOT of fighting. If you are not interested in repetitive scenes of Orlando fearlessly lopping off heads with his sword and Morgante crushing bodies into soup with his "clapper", you might not like this book so much. The knights not only fight Saracen armies, they also have big mushy hearts: they save and fall in love with beautiful damsels. These women are no pushovers though, they can give Xena a run for her money with their marshal abilities.
Part of the humor includes the knights fighting with themselves due to their fragile egos: any slight to their honor can lead to a serious quarrel. And many near disasters have occurred due to the fact that they sometimes don't know who they are fighting with since they don't take off their helmets.
The plot devices and fighting can at times get repetitive, but Pulci manages always to keep my attention. I'm always excited when another joust is proclaimed between two adversaries.
Needless to say this story is not PC: the false believing Saracens are seen as morally, spiritually and physically inferior to their Christian counterparts. There are some good ones, but they usually see the light and convert to Christianity. Their religion isn't even understood.
In the end I enjoyed this story, but not as much as I did Ariosto's Orlando Furioso or Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato.
Did I say this book has A LOT of fighting!

[Kristján Hannesson]

When the poem is first published, Morgante and his erstwhile sidekick Margutte are the greatest comic character portraits of the modern age--so thinks John Addington Symonds and most readers after him. Margutte has a lot in common with Boccaccio's great nihilists, such as Ser Cepparello, clever swindlers with a lust for life, you really feel the loss when they disappear from the poem. Like Dickens' novels, the work is written and performed one canto at a time, with immediate response from the audience, which counts the Medici and their entourage, among them Michelangelo, to which we're tempted to attribute its lively interest and mercurial changes. A kind of remnant from many evenings of entertainment, tailored to the current issues at each time. It is a shame that the epics of Boiardo and Ariosto (although they are also great) relegate this great piece to specialists and the wandering curious.

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

不好看但很有趣。一方面本书其实是将三个不同的佚名骑士文学故事缝合改编所得，所以远比两个奥兰多保留了更多“普通”骑士文学的特性。另一方面作为一部标准文学语言诞生前夕的作品，它呈现出许多原型方言文学的特征（例如对生词的迷恋）。我并不认同部分批评所说的，本书比两个奥兰多更像民间文学是因为作者对“草根”文学的模式更具热情。民间文学对作者来说寄托了他对主流/正统价值的敌视（他也是贵族，但家道中落），但通俗文学天然地内含对读者的模式化迎合而这反过来又激起了他的破坏欲望。全书中随处可见故意搞砸阅读体验的情节和“错误”的语言技巧，不断模式化地形成又近乎恶毒地自我挫败。尽管此书按现代标准根本就不算原创的，但是它似乎颇为成功地保留了“作者”的个性。这个性就是永远不可能/拒绝找到自己的位置。（只能给三星因为注释实在太不够用了啊啊啊，甚至字面意思都略过了很多。）

【我最新发明的绝佳形容：破落户文学（雾。对了我有没有说过本书的标题人物在篇幅刚过50%的时候就被一只螃蟹咬死啦！！！本书中的魔鬼最大的爱好是普及神学知识而骑士的独门绝技是表演不用马镫重装原地起跳上马！！！（是的所有骑士文学的骑士都能做到但只有本书才会特地写出来告诉你啊） 】

[Jack D'Amico]

How can you resist--there is no stopping love or a cough.

[Marcos Augusto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luigi Pulci was a renaissance author whose poem, Morgante is a chivalric tale infused with a comic spirit. The work is based on the Matter of France, a literary current related to Charlemagne and his associates, Orlando and Renaud de Montauban. Here the giant Morgante is prevented from attacking the monastery of Chiaromonte by Orlando, then converted, by him, to Christianity. Having become a loyal friend of Orlando, Morgante follows him in several strange and burlesque adventures.

[globulon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't get through the whole thing, but I did enjoy the parts I read. There's some crazy stuff about eating elephants and such as well as plenty of slash 'em up sword fighting and princess rescuing.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Touches on 4.5 stars at points, but 2 stars at others. Overall a good supplement to Innamorato and Furioso.