Renaissance Carolingian: Tullia D’Aragona’s 1560 Il Meschino, altramente detto il Guerrino

Abstract

Tullia d’Aragona’s epic poem, Il Meschino, altramente detto il Guarino, is a poetic adaptation of Andrea da Barberino’s prose Meschino. Tullia’s word choices are similar, and even misreadings allow the modern reader to follow Andrea in Tullia’s text. Differences other than verse for prose lie in its structure and tone: these follow conventions of her time, a century and one half after Andrea. Questions of her attitude toward women and male beauty contrast with Andrea’s and derive from historical changes as well.