Francesco Berni

Francesco Berni ( Bernia ) (* 1497 or 1498 in Lamporecchio , Tuscany ; † May 26, 1536 in Florence ) was an Italian poet who grew up as the son of a noble but poor family.

After a youth spent in great poverty, he entered the service of his distant relative, Cardinal Bibbiena , at the age of 20 in Rome , after his death in that of his nephew Angiolo and finally became secretary to Datario Giberti, Bishop of Verona, to whom he stayed seven years. His penchant for independence and pleasure, but especially his ruthless mockery, which did not spare even the highest spiritual dignitaries, prevented him from creating a secure and comfortable existence, while his wit, his cheerful mood and his poetic talents made him friends and Gained fame.

Berni was one of the most respected members of the Accademia de 'Vignajuoli, founded in 1527, to which the most important poets living in Rome at the time belonged. The loss of his belongings during the sacking of Rome in 1527 made him unable to stay there, and he went to Florence , where he lived on the income of a canon that had fallen to him and enjoyed the protection of Cardinal Hippolytus de Medici and Duke Alessandro . The connection with these, however, was disastrous for Berni. Because when the duke asked him to poison the cardinal, and Berni refused, he is said to have received poison from the cardinal himself, from which he died in 1536.

Berni's main work is his "Orlando innamorato" , actually just a revision of the poem by Matteo Maria Boiardo , in which he only improved the language, style and versification of the poem without changing anything in the material itself or in the course of the narrative lent a joking, often even burlesque, tone. Only the beautiful beginnings of the chants belong to Berni. Because of the purity, grace and elegance of the language and the verse structure, however, this Bernese "Orlando" is regarded as classical, has almost completely forgotten the original poem until recently and is only reproduced by the Italians after the "Orlando furioso" of Ariosto .

Next, Berni is particularly famous for his burlesque-satirical poems. These are partly sonnets, partly so-called capitoli in terzines, and are valued for their wit and humor, as well as for the pure, genuine Florentine language, but mostly violate decency in a gross manner. The Italians consider Berni to be the greatest master in this genre, which they call Poesia bernesca after him. These poems, along with other similar ones of his contemporaries ( Giovanni Della Casa , Francesco Maria Molza , Benedetto Varchi , Giovanni Mamro Arcano and others), are contained in the collection "Opere burlesche" (Flor. 1548-55, 2 vols .; that. "Naples" 1723 , 3 vol., And more often ) as well as a selection printed behind the edition of "Orlando" in the "Classici italiani" (Mail. 1806).

Berni also has a few less important poems and prose writings and a number of letters. He has also distinguished himself as a Latin poet. These "Rime, poesie latine e lettere" were published by Virgili (Flor. 1885). See Virgili, Francesco B. (Flor. 1882).

literature

Claudio Mutini: Berni, Francesco. In: Alberto M. Ghisalberti (Ed.): Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 9: Berengario – Biagini. Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Rome 1967.

Web links

Wikiquote: Francesco Berni - Quotes

personal data
SURNAME	Berni, Francesco
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian poet
DATE OF BIRTH	1497 or 1498
PLACE OF BIRTH	Lamporecchio , Tuscany , Italy
DATE OF DEATH	May 26, 1536
Place of death	Florence