Albertino Mussato: The Making of a Poet Laureate. A Political and Intellectual Portrait

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This book examines the life and political career of Albertino Mussato (1261–1329), a Paduan poet, historian and politician. Mussato was one of the first writers of the late medieval period to begin reviving classical Latin in his works. His classical style tragic drama 'Ecerinis', inspired by the writings of Seneca, paved the way for him to be crowned as the first poet laureate since antiquity. This work outlines how Mussato depicted the course of his own career, from being an impoverished teenager of insignificant birth to becoming a celebrated poet and scholar, as well as an influential political figure. It looks specifically at the years leading up to Mussato’s public coronation, on 3rd December 1315, as poet laureate for his city. His writings are a key component of his political manoeuvres as he tried to navigate through the troubled waters of northern Italian politics. The book demonstrates how the sources pertaining to Mussato’s life and career are part of an exercise in self-promotion and self-fashioning, intended to secure his position within factional politics, but rooted in a philosophical approach derived from his early classical studies. Accordingly, this book acts as a fully-fledged account of the interaction between Mussato’s writings and his political career, and how this contributed to his rise to fame.

Author(s): Aislinn McCabe
Series: Studies in Medieval History and Culture
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022

Language: English
Pages: 188
City: London

Acknowledgements
Introduction: Escaping Dante's shadow
1. Mussato's world: the classical revival in late medieval Padua
2. Mussato the poet: philosophy and politics in the early writings
3. Mussato the historian: imperial history at the court of Emperor Henry VII
4. Mussato the statesman: self-promotion in political turmoil
5. Mussato the dramatist: the making of Padua's new Antichrist
Conclusion
Bibliography
Published Editions of Primary Sources
Secondary Sources
Index