Jacopone da Todi
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Jacopone da Todi
Bibliography
See E. Underhill, Jacopone da Todi, Poet and Mystic (with selections, 1919); H. White, A Watch in the Night (1933).
Jacopone da Todi
(real name, Jacopo dei Benedetti). Born circa 1230 in Todi, Umbria; died Dec. 25, 1306, in Collazzone. Italian poet.
Jacopone was educated as a lawyer and practiced law until 1268. He subsequently entered the Franciscan Order. As a result of his vigorous denunciation of Pope Boniface VIII, he was excommunicated from the church and imprisoned; his confinement lasted from 1298 to 1303. Folk legends depicted him as a holy fool.
Jacopone’s poetry was connected with the mass religious movements of the 13th century and expressed their spirit and ideals. In his laudi written in the Umbrian dialect (sacred songs), which made wide use of images from secular lyric poetry, he defended ascetic scorn for earthly riches, glorified poverty, and spoke rapturously of his love for god. One of his best laudi is “The Lady From Paradise,” or “The Lament of the Madonna,” a kind of drama about the execution of Christ. Jacopone also wrote hymns in Latin, including “Stabat Mater.”
WORKS
Laudi. Florence, 1953.REFERENCES
De Sanctis, F. Itoriia ital’ianskoi literatury, vol. 1. Moscow, 1963.Trombadori, G. Jacopone da Todi. Venice, 1925.
Russo, L. Ritratti e disegni storici, series 3: Studi sul Due e Trecento. Bari, 1951.
Sapegno, N. Frate Jacopone. Naples, 1969. (Contains bibliography.)
R. I. KHLODOVSKII