Giovanni Battista Giraldi
FREE Catholic Classes
(Surnamed CINTIO)
Italian dramatist and novelist; b. at Ferrara, Italy, 1504; d. there, 1573. He studied philosophy and medicine in his native town. Under the patronage of the family ruling over his native region, he served for a while as secretary to the dukes of Ferrara, but wearying of his duties, he gave himself up to academic life as a professor in turn at the Universities of Mondovì, Turin, and Pavia. Among his minor works there is a disquisition on the methods to be observed in the composition of epic, romance, drama, etc. (Discorsi intorno al compor romanzi, commedie e tragedie, ecc.), which shows him to be one of the leading literary critics of the time. He essayed the pastoral drama with the "Egle", and the epic with the "Ercole". His dramatic labours extended further, to the production of one comedy, the "Eudemoni", and nine tragedies, among which are the "Didone", the "Cleopatra", the "Selene", and his best play, the "Orbecche". Even more than for the "Orbecche", a rather gory piece, Giraldi is remembered for his collection of tales, the "Ecatommiti" (Hecatommithi). In this he feigns, therein imitating the framework of Boccaccio's "Decameron", that a company of men and women, fleeing from the sack of Rome in 1527, take ship at Civitavecchia for Marseilles, and beguile the tedium of the journey by reciting a hundred tales, divided into ten decades. As a matter of fact there are 112 tales in the work. The style of the "Hecatommithi" has little to recommend it, being rather cold and colourless; and although the author announces his purpose of telling stories that shall stigmatize vice, and exalt virtue and religion, he does not wholly avoid the licentious and unbecoming. It is worthy of note that the seventh tale of the third decade tells the story of the Moor of Venice, later used in Shakespeare's "Othello".
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sacrifices of Faith: The Pro-Life Legacies of St. Gianna and Jessica Hanna
-
How to love God by caring for our bodies
-
Pope Francis calls for negotiations to End Russia-Ukraine War
-
Pope Francis Contemplates Return to U.S. for United Nations Assembly Address
-
Pope Francis Calls on Faithful to Embrace Faith, Hope, and Charity in New Teaching Series
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Monday, April 29, 2024
- St. Catherine of Siena: Saint of the Day for Monday, April 29, 2024
- Prayer for the Dead # 3: Prayer of the Day for Monday, April 29, 2024
- Daily Readings for Sunday, April 28, 2024
- St. Peter Chanel: Saint of the Day for Sunday, April 28, 2024
- Prayer before a Crucifix: Prayer of the Day for Sunday, April 28, 2024
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.