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The Hermaphrodite

By Antonio Beccadelli
Series: The I Tatti Renaissance Library
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Hermaphrodite, the first work of Antonio Beccadelli written between 1425 and 1426, daringly blends the comic realism of Italian popular verse with the eloquence of Martial's Latin epigrams. Celebrated and condemned for its candid celebration of vice and louche eroticism, particularly sodomy, it exposes the darker, taboo undercurrents of the early Renaissance. This provocative collection earned Beccadelli praise and notoriety, provoking public burnings and threats of excommunication, while also influencing a devoted following and later decadent admirers.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book suits readers interested in Renaissance literature, historical poetics, and the subversive cultural undercurrents of early European arts. It appeals to those fascinated by classical Latin epigrams, erotica in historical contexts, and the intersections of high culture with popular and controversial themes.

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The Hermaphrodite’s open celebration of vice, particularly sodomy, earned it public burnings, threats of excommunication, banishment to the closed sections of libraries, and a devoted following. Beccadelli combined the comic realism of Italian popular verse with the language of Martial to explore the underside of the early Renaissance.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Antonio Beccadelli (1394–1471), known as Panormita from his native town of Palermo, was appointed court poet to Duke Filippo Maria Visconti (1429), crowned poet laureate by Emperor Sigismund (1432), and ended his days as panegyrist to King Alfonso V of Aragon and Naples, where he founded the first of the Renaissance Academies.

The Hermaphrodite, his first work (1425–26), dedicated to Cosimo de' Medici, won him praise and condemnation. Beccadelli was a pioneer in revitalising the Latin epigram for its powers of abuse and louche eroticism. Its open celebration of vice, particularly sodomy, earned it public burnings, threats of excommunication, banishment to the closed sections of libraries, and a devoted following. Likened to a "precious jewel in a dunghill," The Hermaphrodite combined the comic realism of Italian popular verse with the language of Martial to explore the underside of the early Renaissance.

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics have called The Hermaphrodite a dangerously exciting work, invoking a sense of exhilarating corruption and the shedding of inhibitions. The book's sexually explicit Latin poems once provoked moral outrage, with Beccadelli's effigy burned and readers threatened with excommunication. Praised for its vivid and raunchy verses, it reminds us that the Renaissance was not solely a time of high culture but also acquainted with the gutter. Its influence extended to notable figures such as Leonard Smithers, who championed its decadent spirit in the 19th century.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674047570

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 01 June 2010

Country: United States

Imprint: Harvard University Press

Contributors:

  • Edited and translated by Holt Parker

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 133.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 476g

Pages: 352

Collections

Antonio Beccadelli Arts & Culture Non-Fiction Poetry Series: The I Tatti Renaissance Library

About the Author

Holt Parker is Professor of Classics at the University of Cincinnati and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome.

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