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Sacred Narratives

Edited and Translated by Jane Tylus
The most prominent woman in Renaissance Florence, Lucrezia Tornabuoni de’ Medici (1425-1482) lived during her city’s golden age. Wife of Piero de’ Medici and mother of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Tornabuoni exerted considerable influence on Florence’s political and social affairs. She was also, as this volume illustrates, a gifted and prolific poet.

This is the first major collection in any language of her extensive body of religious poems. Ranging from gentle lyrics on the Nativity to moving dialogues between a crucified Christ and the weeping sinner who kneels before him, the nine laudi (poems of praise) included here are among the few such poems known to have been written by a woman. Tornabuoni’s five storie sacre, narrative poems based on the lives of biblical figures-three of whom, Judith, Susanna, and Esther, are Old Testament heroines-are virtually unique in their range and expressiveness. Together with Jane Tylus’s substantial introduction, these poems offer us both a fascinating portrait of a highly educated and creative woman and a lively sense of cultural and social life in Renaissance Florence.

280 pages | 6 x 9 | © 2001

The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe

Literature and Literary Criticism: Romance Languages

Poetry

Religion: Religion and Literature

Women's Studies

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction to the Series
Introduction- Gender and Religion in Fifteenth-Century Florence
The Story of Devout Susanna
The Life of Tobias
The Story of Judith, Hebrew Widow
The Story of Queen Esther
The Life of Saint John the Baptist
Poems of Praise
Bibliography
Index

Awards

Society for the Study of Early Modern Women: Society for the Study of Early Modern Women
Won

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