Book description
A dazzling kaleidoscope of adventures, ogres, monsters, barbaric
splendor, and romance, this epic poem stands as one of the greatest
works of the Italian Renaissance. Ludovico Ariosto was born in 1474,
the son of an official of the Ferrarese court. He first studied law, but
later acquired a sound humanistic training. His adult life was spent in
the service of the Ferrarese ducal family. Essentially he was a writer;
his lifetime's service as a courtier was a burden imposed on him by
economic difficulties. His fame rests on his major work, Orlando
Furioso. The poem was probably begun around 1505. It was first published
in 1516. The most important of Arisoto's minor works are five comedies,
written for production in the Ferrarese court. Ariosto died in 1533.
