Italian Readers of Ovid from the Origins to Petrarch: Responding to a Versatile Muse

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The Latin poet Ovid continues to fascinate readers today. In 'Italian Readers of Ovid from the Origins to Petrarch', Julie Van Peteghem examines what drew medieval Italian writers to the Latin poet’s works, characters, and themes. While accounts of Ovid’s influence in Italy often start with Dante’s 'Divine Comedy', this book shows that mentions of Ovid are found in some of the earliest poems written in Italian, and remain a constant feature of Italian poetry over time. By situating the poetry of the Sicilians, Dante, Cino da Pistoia, and Petrarch within the rich and diverse history of reading, translating, and adapting Ovid’s works, Van Peteghem offers a novel account of the reception of Ovid in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italy. Contents Acknowledgments Abbreviations Figures and Tables Part 1. Writers as Readers Introduction. 'Ovid, the philosopher who wrote books about love' Chapter 1. Ovidius – Ovidi – Ovide – Ovidio: A History of Reading Ovid in the Due- and Trecento 1.1 Reading Ovid: The Material and Cultural Contexts 1.2 The Italian Readers of Ovid Turned Writers 1.3 Beyond Intertextuality? How to Think about Ovid’s Influence Part 2 Readers as Writers Chapter 2. Examples (Not) to Follow: The First Italian Ovidian Poems and Their Occitan Models 2.1 Better and More: Ovidian Similes in Vernacular Poetry 2.2 Ovid’s Book that Does Not Lie (to Troubadours) 2.3 Reading and Discussing 'Ovidio' 2.4 Conclusion Chapter 3. Something Old, Something New: Dante, Cino da Pistoia, and Ovid 3.1 'Per Ovidio parla Amore': First, the 'Vita nuova' 3.2 Dante’s 'petrose': Testing Out New Techniques 3.3 Cino da Pistoia, Dante, and Ovid on Love, Myth, and Exile 3.4 Conclusion Chapter 4. Ovid in Dante’s 'Commedia' 4.1 In Search of Dante’s (Copy of) Ovid 4.2 Dante’s 'Ovidius': Close Readings of the Latin Text 4.3 Dante’s 'Ovidio': The Vernacular Roots of Dante’s Reading of Ovid 4.3.1 Ovidian Similes from Lyric Poetry to the 'Commedia' 4.3.2 Discussing Ovidian Poetics from Lyric Poetry to the 'Commedia' 4.4 Conclusion Chapter 5. Petrarch’s Scattered Ovidian Verses 5.1 Petrarch’s Ovid Found 5.2 Just Like Apollo, Just Like Daphne: Similes and Identification 5.3 Metamorphosis as a Narrative Principle 5.4 Conclusion Bibliography Index Locorum Index of Manuscripts General Index