Rustico di Filippo, a Florentine poet of the generation before Dante, is known by and large as a poet of the jocose, or humorous, tradition. We tend not to know that Rustico was a major exponent of traditional love poetry. Unlike traditional literary history, this study relates Rustico to his contemporaries: Guittone d'Arezzo, Chiaro Davanzati, Monte Andrea and others. It also examines his influence on poets of the next generation: Dante Alighieri, Guido Cavalcanti and Cecco Angiolieri. By reading Rustico within the mainstream of the Italian lyric tradition, we begin to see him as a major poet.

First published in 2004, Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia provides an introduction to the many and diverse facets of Italian civilization from the late Roman empire to the end of the fourteenth century. It presents in two volumes articles on a wide range of topics including history, literature, art, music, urban development, commerce and economics, social and political institutions, religion and hagiography, philosophy and science. This illustrated, A-Z reference is a cross-disciplinary resource and will be of key interest not only to students and scholars of history but also to those studying a range of subjects, as well as the general reader.

As she moves from an overview to a consideration of particular authors (including Guittone d'Arezzo and Nicolo de' Rossi) and manuscripts, she both demonstrates the narrative and structural subtlety of many of the works and reveals unsuspected phases in a gradual historical shift."--BOOK JACKET.

Publisher description

The Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies is a two-volume reference book containing some 600 entries on all aspects of Italian literary culture. It includes analytical essays on authors and works, from the most important figures of Italian literature to little known authors and works that are influential to the field. The Encyclopedia is distinguished by substantial articles on critics, themes, genres, schools, historical surveys, and other topics related to the overall subject of Italian literary studies. The Encyclopedia also includes writers and subjects of contemporary interest, such as those relating to journalism, film, media, children's literature, food and vernacular literatures. Entries consist of an essay on the topic and a bibliographic portion listing works for further reading, and, in the case of entries on individuals, a brief biographical paragraph and list of works by the person. It will be useful to people without specialized knowledge of Italian literature as well as to scholars.