The World Beyond Europe in the Romance Epics of Boiardo and Ariosto

‘Cavallo offers a thoroughly researched examination of the literary sources that shaped Boiardo’s narrative and Ariosto’s interpretation of the material… This is an incredibly rich and rigorous study of Boiardo’s literary world.’

Andrea Rizzi, Parergon vol 32:01:2015

‘This is an excellent study with well-crafted narratives, replete with insights and detailed analysis… This book should appeal not only to Italianists but also to scholars interested in the debate on late medieval and early modern cultural encounters.’

Giorgos Plakotos, Sixteenth Century Journal vol 46:03:2015

‘The World beyond Europe invites scholars of Italian literature to expand our spatial and cultural horizons by offering a model of original thinking and syncretic knowledge.’

Maria Galli Stampino, Italica vol 92:04:2015

‘Cavallo provides a detailed and fascinating account of how a non-Christian space was represented both in the romance epic tradition and more generally in early modern Italian culture.’

Juliann Vitullo, Annali D’Italianistica vol 35:2016

‘This engagingly written book is indispensable not only for Italianists but for students and scholars of romance and epic and any other literature of the European West.’

Goran Stanivukovic, Renaissance & Reformation, vol 40:01:2017

“This is a valuable book on perhaps the two most important romance epics of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Continuing from her fascinating previous study, Jo Ann Cavallo introduces an international and geographic perspective to uncover the ideology behind Ariosto’s rewriting of Boiardo’s plots. A book like this, which goes into patient detail, is crucial for scholars in other fields who might be unfamiliar with the discussed texts and need to be guided. Its research is state-of-the-art, and it is well deserving of the prestigious Scaglione Prize.”

Charles S. Ross, Professor, Department of English, and Chair, Comparative Literature Program, Purdue University

“This book examines the presentation of the non-Christian world in two fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian romance/chivalric epics,  a very topical field in research. It will make an important contribution to a very active debate on the presentation of the ‘other’ and the Saracen and Muslim worlds in Italian literature.”

Jane E. Everson, Professor, School of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, Royal Holloway, University of London