Luigi Alamanni
Luigi Alamanni (sometimes spelt Alemanni) (6 March 1495 – 18 April 1556) was an Italian poet and statesman.[1] He was regarded as a prolific and versatile poet. He was credited with introducing the epigram into Italian poetry.
Biography
Alamanni was born in
The Florentines had thrown off Medici rule and established a republic after the Sack of Rome in 1527; the Florentine Republic had continued to participate in the war on the side of the French. The French defeats at Naples in 1528 and Landriano in 1529, however, led to Francis I of France concluding the Treaty of Cambrai with the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. When Pope Clement VII and the Republic of Venice also concluded treaties with the Emperor, Florence was left to fight alone. Charles, attempting to gain Clement's favor, ordered his armies to seize Florence and return the Medici to power.
After the
An instance of Alammani's diplomatic tact is reflected in an encounter with the emperor. Alamanni, while giving a complimentary address to Charles, was interrupted by the emperor who quoted a line from a satirical poem of Alamanni: "l'aquila grifagna, Che per piu devorar, duoi rostri porta" ("Two crooked bills the ravenous eagle bears, The better to devour"). The double eagle was a symbol of the Hapsburg monarchy. Upon this interruption, Alamanni immediately replied that he spoke that line only as a poet using fictions, now as an ambassador, he could only speak the truth. The ready reply pleased Charles, who added some complimentary words.[2]
After the death of Francis, Alamanni enjoyed the confidence of his successor Henry II, and in 1551 was sent as his ambassador to Genoa. He died at Amboise on 18 April 1556.[2]
He wrote a large number of poems, distinguished by the purity and excellence of their style. The best is a didactic poem, La Coltivazione (Paris, 1546; see
It has been said by some that Alamanni was the first to use blank verse in Italian poetry, but that distinction belongs rather to his contemporary Giangiorgio Trissino.[2]
The contemporary poet Isabella di Morra dedicated a sonnet to Alamanni called Non sol il ciel vi fu largo e cortese ("Not only was heaven generous and courteous to you").[3]
Alamanni is a minor speaker in
Bibliography
- A poetical romance, Girone il Cortese (Paris, 1548; see 1548 in poetry)
- A tragedy, Antigone
- A comedy, Flora
Notes
- ^ Weiss, Robert (1960). "ALAMANNI, Luigi". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f Chisholm 1911.
- ^ Russell 1994, p. 282
- ^ "The Art of War (Neville trans.) – Online Library of Liberty". Oll.libertyfund.org. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alamanni, Luigi". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 468. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Russell, Rinaldina (1994). Italian Women Writers: A Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313283475.