Quotes from book
Orlando Innamorato

Orlando Innamorato
Matteo Maria Boiardo Original title Orlando innamorato (Italian, 1483)

Orlando Innamorato is an epic poem written by the Italian Renaissance author Matteo Maria Boiardo. The poem is a romance concerning the heroic knight Orlando . It was published between 1483 and 1495 .


Matteo Maria Boiardo photo

“And I'll pursue, as always, strange
Adventures, battles fought for love
When virtue prospered long ago
And ladies fair and barons bold
Faced trials in forests or by streams,
As Turpin in his book reveals.
I only ask, as I pursue,
That hearing may bring joy to you.”

E seguirovi, sì come io suoliva,
Strane aventure e battaglie amorose,
Quando virtute al bon tempo fioriva
Tra cavallieri e dame grazïose,
Facendo prove in boschi ed ogni riva,
Come Turpino al suo libro ce espose.
Ciò vo' seguire, e sol chiedo di graccia
Che con diletto lo ascoltar vi piaccia.
Bk. 3, Canto 1, st. 4
Orlando Innamorato

Matteo Maria Boiardo photo

“Love is the source of glory and
Brings worth and honor to a man,
For victory is what Love grants;
Love makes an armed knight valiant.”

Però che Amore è quel che dà la gloria,
E che fa l'omo degno ed onorato,
Amore è quel che dona la vittoria,
E dona ardire al cavalliero armato
Bk. 2, Canto 18, st. 3
Orlando Innamorato

Matteo Maria Boiardo photo

“So, in the time when virtue bloomed
In lords and cavaliers of old,
We lived with joy and courtesy,
But then they fled down distant roads
And for a long time lost the way
And nevermore returned; but now
The winter and sharp winds are gone,
And virtue blossoms as before.”

Così nel tempo che virtù fioria
Ne li antiqui segnori e cavallieri,
Con noi stava allegrezza e cortesia,
E poi fuggirno per strani sentieri,
Sì che un gran tempo smarirno la via,
Né del più ritornar ferno pensieri;
Ora è il mal vento e quel verno compito,
E torna il mondo di virtù fiorito.
Bk. 2, Canto 1, st. 2
Orlando Innamorato

Similar authors

Matteo Maria Boiardo photo
Matteo Maria Boiardo 8
Italian writer 1441–1494
Dante Alighieri photo
Dante Alighieri 105
Italian poet
Giovanni Boccaccio photo
Giovanni Boccaccio 27
Italian author and poet
Francesco Petrarca photo
Francesco Petrarca 73
Italian scholar and poet
Angela of Foligno photo
Angela of Foligno 13
Italian saint
Catherine of Genoa photo
Catherine of Genoa 29
Italian author and nurse
Thomas Aquinas photo
Thomas Aquinas 104
Italian Dominican scholastic philosopher of the Roman Catho…
Bonaventure photo
Bonaventure 6
franciscan, bishop, cardinal, Doctor of the Church, catholi…
Francis of Assisi photo
Francis of Assisi 49
Catholic saint and founder of the Franciscan Order
Cristoforo Colombo photo
Cristoforo Colombo 29
Explorer, navigator, and colonizer