Skip to main content

Enrico; or, Byzantium Conquered

A Heroic Poem

Edited and Translated by Maria Galli Stampino

Lucrezia Marinella (1571–1653) is, by all accounts, a phenomenon in early modernity: a woman who wrote and published in many genres, whose fame shone brightly within and outside her native Venice, and whose voice is simultaneously original and reflective of her time and culture. In Enrico; or, Byzantium Conquered, one of the most ambitious and rewarding of her numerous narrative works, Marinella demonstrates her skill as an epic poet.

Now available for the first time in English translation, Enrico retells the story of the conquest of Byzantium in the Fourth Crusade (1202–04). Marinella intersperses historical events in her account of the invasion with numerous invented episodes, drawing on the rich imaginative legacy of the chivalric romance. Fast-moving, colorful, and narrated with the zest that characterizes Marinella’s other works, this poem is a great example of a woman engaging critically with a quintessentially masculine form and subject matter, writing in a genre in which the work of women poets was typically shunned. 


506 pages | 6 x 9 | © 2009

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe

History: European History

Literature and Literary Criticism: Romance Languages

Poetry

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Series Editors’ Introduction

A Singular Venetian Epic Poem

Volume Editor’s Bibliography

Glossary of Principal Characters

Enrico; or, Byzantium Conquered: A Heroic Poem (Prose Translation)

To the Readers

Canto 1and Summaries of Cantos 2–3

Canto 4

Canto 5

Canto 6

Canto 7

From Canto 8

From Canto 9

Canto 10

From Canto 11, from Canto 12,and Summaries of Cantos 13–14

Canto 15

From Canto 16

From Canto 17

From Canto 18and Summaries of Cantos 19–20

Canto 21

From Canto 22 and Summary of Canto 23

From Canto 24, from Canto 25, and Summary of Canto 26

Canto 27

 

Appendix

 Cantos 6 and 7, and Excerpts from Cantos 8, 12, 22, 24, and 27 in Italian

Series Editors’ Bibliography

Index

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press