1. Fortunatus in Italy.
- Author
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Rubini, Luisa
- Subjects
- *
FORTUNATUS (Legendary character) , *ITALIAN narrative art , *FAIRY tales , *CHIVALRY , *RENAISSANCE ,GERMAN folklore - Abstract
This article does not present definitive results, as far as definitive research results can be reached at all, but rather reflections or, better, formulations of questions following the analysis of Italian narrative material of the tale classified as "AaTh 566: The Three Magic Objects" and the "Wonderful Fruits," Fortunatus. This tale is thought to have originated in a late medieval exemplum included in the Gesta Romanorum, a collection of edifying tales to be used for sermon purposes. The mention of Fortunatus in the Aarne/Thompson catalogue refers to analogies with the famous German Volksbuch or prose novel, published in Augsburg in 1509, by the editor Johann Otmar. The work, which is still quite close to the form of the romance of chivalry, but in which a completely new role is played by the merchant class of the early Renaissance and the system of values it established, was not only successful in the German language.
- Published
- 2003
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