Cecco Angiolieri was a Sienese poet who left a corpus of 111 sonnets, and another fifteen sonnets of questionable attribution. He was a writer in the style of medieval poetry labeled “jocose”, “comic-realist”, or “realist” by scholars, which used several goliardic tropes now translated into the vernacular; among these were dicing, drinking, and the tavern. However, the vernacular writers also adapted this poetry to its new cultural context. They wrote insulting verse about fellow citizens in the attempt to reinforce traditional morality. They criticized the social changes taking place because of the booming economy, particularly the loss of traditional “noble” virtues. Furthermore, they reacted against a number of cultural innovations taking shape, in particular the…
2309 words
Citation: Alfie, Fabian. "Cecco Angiolieri". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 22 October 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12948, accessed 02 December 2024.]