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The Hermaphrodite
Series: The I Tatti Renaissance Library
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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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See moreThe 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
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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.
Series: The I Tatti Renaissance Library
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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.
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
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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