Bøger udgivet af Italica Press

"Aymeri of Narbonne" tells the story of Aymeri, son of one of Charlemagne's paladins, who alone accepts the great emperor's challenge to reconquer Narbonne in Languedoc from the Saracens. Epic siege and battle, betrayal, and acts of individual heroism evoke all the elements of the great age of French chanson de geste epitomized in the Song of Roland. Unlike Roland and many of its imitators - tales that breathe the air of military culture and the crusade - Aymeri of Narbonne takes a step forward, toward the age of the Romance, with a second plot that is no less important than great battles and Christian-Moslem conflict. Aymeri is advised by his court that he must seek and marry a noble princess. His quest eventually takes him across the Alps to Pavia, there to meet and woo Hermenjart, princess of Lombardy. On the way, the heroic epic takes a detour into the realm of self-discovery and social satire: of Italian merchants and German knights, and French obtuseness to the rules of courtly behavior and of civil life. But the real focus of the tale soon turns to the lovely - and courageous - Hermenjart. No passive object of desire or chivalric quest, the princess of Pavia becomes a character every bit as dynamic as her male suitor and his companions. Forthright about the status and prospects of a woman in "chivalrous" France, she long refuses many suitors and only welcomes Aymeri's advances when she is convinced of his sincere respect and love - and her own status. The couple goes on to high adventure and a long, triumphant life. This first English translation, by Michael A.H. Newth, employs a strict but natural verse. His introduction gives the tale its historical context and offers a solid review of its antecedents, authorship, genre and poetics. Newth also addresses the Crusade and Christian-Moslem relations, the problem of the "other" in medieval literature, gender roles and the continuing relevance of the chansons. Includes introduction, notes, bibliography.

In Rome on May 20, 1347 Cola di Rienzo, a young visionary with a gift for oratory, overthrew the rule of the barons and the pope. Cola's revolution then attempted to restore the greatness of the medieval commune, revive the ancient Roman Republic, and usher in a new age of liberty, justice and peace. The bright hope for Rome and Italy soon changed to disillusionment, however, as pope and barons conspired to isolate and then topple the Tribune of the People only seven months later. After a period of exile and wandering in the Abruzzi Mountains, he traveled to the Holy Roman Emperor in Prague where he was befriended by Charles IV but eventually arrested, imprisoned by the Inquisition, and turned over to his arch-enemy, Pope Clement VI in Avignon. In a bizarre turn of events he was freed and returned to Rome to restore the republic. Shortly thereafter the barons revolted again; and Rienzo was slain by a mob on the Capitoline Hill, near where his bronze statue now stands. Using their letters and other writings, plus many other contemporary documents, this book tells the story of the relationship between Cola di Rienzo and Francesco Petrarch, the poet and Renaissance humanist. Petrarch's initial break with the Tribune and his eventual bid to save him from death offer a remarkable case study of the interaction between the world of letters and politics - between the contemplative and the active lives - in the early Renaissance. Translated from Latin by Mario E. Cosenza. 3rd, revised, edition by Ronald G. Musto. Updated introduction, bibliography, map, notes and index.

The rugged landscape of Baronia on Sardinia sets the scene for this novel of crime, guilt and retribution. This novel presents the story of the Pintor sisters - from a family of noble landowners now in decline - their nephew Giacinto, and their servant Efix, who is trying to make up for a mysterious sin committed many years before. Around, below, and inside them the raging Mediterranean storms, the jagged mountains, the murmuring forests, and the gushing springs form a Greek chorus of witness to the tragic drama of this unforgiving land.Deledda tells her story with her characteristic love of the natural landscape and fascination with the folk culture of the island, with details about the famous religious festivals held in mountain encampments and the lore of the "dark beings who populate the Sardinian night, the fairies who live in rocks and caves, and the sprites with seven red caps who bother sleep."Introduction by the Sardinian ethnographer, Dolores Turchi.