1350

1353 The Decameron is finished

The Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) is considered one of the early humanists. He was the illegitimate son of Boccaccio di Chellino, a merchant from the small town of Certaldo. At first the young Boccaccio apprenticed as a merchant, then he abandoned that career for the study of canon law (official regulations and doctrines of the church). Through his father, who was a financial adviser to King Robert of Anjou, he gained contacts to the cultivated society of the court at Naples. There he mingled with scientists, theologians, scholars, and lawyers. He studied astronomy, mythology, classical literature, French adventure romances, […]

Read More

1353 The ballata in use from late 13th to the 15th century

The ballata (plural: ballate) is an Italian poetic and musical form in use from the late 13th to the 15th century. It has the musical structure AbbaA, with the first and last stanzas having the same texts. It is thus most similar to the French musical ‘forme fixe’ virelai (and not the ballade as the name might otherwise suggest). The first and last “A” is called a ripresa, the “b” lines are piedi (feet), while the fourth line is called a “volta”. Longer ballate may be found in the form AbbaAbbaA, etc. Unlike the virelai, the two “b” lines usually […]

Read More
Moonpub Times - English © 2022 Frontier Theme
Click to listen highlighted text!