A History of Poetry in Italy
1200–1600

An innovative history that reveals the immense plurality of genre, form and even language within Italian premodern poetry.

Guyda Armstrong (Edited by), Rhiannon Daniels (Edited by), Catherine Keen (Edited by)

9781009424677, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 December 2025

626 pages
28 x 19 x 3.4 cm, 1.085 kg

'Armstrong, Daniels and Keen have invented a new genre. This is not a handbook nor a specialized monograph, though it has the useful features of the former with the depth and insights of the latter. The editors have brilliantly curated an original volume for students and scholars that abundantly gives us fresh perspectives on the fascinating, rich worlds of early Italian poetry. Highly recommend.' Kristina M. Olson, Associate Professor of Italian, George Mason University

Widening the perspective offered by the traditional canon, this history reveals the poetry of Italy between 1200 and 1600 as a site of plurality of genre, form and even language, including not just written texts but also those presented in performance. Within this inclusive framing, poetry's content, its cultural and geographical contexts and its material media of transmission are given equal weight. Decentring major figures and their texts while recognising their broad influence, the innovative theoretical and methodological framework complements the variety and liveliness of poetic activity on the Italian peninsula over four centuries, from the first manuscript experiments in verse through to sophisticated print productions and elaborate performance media. Offering original, multidisciplinary insights into current debates and discoveries, this history enlarges the scope of what we understand Italian premodern poetry to be.

1. Positioning poetry Guyda Armstrong, Rhiannon Daniels and Catherine Keen
Part I. 1200–1450: 2. The sonnet and the sonnet sequence Manuele Gragnolati
3. Gender and the voicing of sexuality Cary Howie
4. Versified hagiography and praise of women Helena Phillips-Robins and Heather Webb
5. Adventures in narrative Catherine Keen
6. Boccaccio's experiments in form Guyda Armstrong
7. Commentary and canonisation Simon Gilson
8. Editing and visualising poetry from the 1300s to the present H. Wayne Storey
Part II. 1450–1600: 9. Performing, writing and printing poetry from 1450 to 1600 Brian Richardson
10. Classical legacies in neo-Latin poetry Maude Vanhaelen
11. Vernacular comedy and satire Federica Signoriello
12. Fantasy and chivalry in high and low culture Luca Degl'Innocenti
13. Anthologies in the age of print Federica Pich
14. Artists writing in verse Ita Mac Carthy
15. Performance in music and on stage Lisa Sampson
16. Building a library with poetry Rhiannon Daniels.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: general [DSB]