The «Exhortatio adversus Turcos ad Alphonsum Hispaniae et Italiae regem» by Andrea Contrario

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6093/2974-637X/11546

Keywords:

Andrea Contrario, Alfonso the Magnanimous, Fall of Constantinople, Crusade

Abstract

The essay presents the oration that the humanist Andrea Contrario addressed, probably in 1456, to Alfonso the Magnanimous; it traces its plot characterized by high rhetorical formalization and a rich intertextuality, highlighting the topic of the opposition between Turks and Christians and bringing out reasons, expectations, ideological positions widespread in Naples, as in Italy and Europe. Particular attention is reserved for the motif of the laus of the sovereign (king, emperor, ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν, champion of all Christianity) that permeates the entire oration, and also constitutes the legitimacy for the author to speak on behalf of the Christian people, who expect from Alfonso the crusade against the wicked Turk to safeguard Christianity.

Author Biography

Antonietta Iacono, University of Naples Federico II

Antonietta Iacono is Full Professor of Medieval and Humanistic Latin Litterature at the University of Naples Federico II. Her philological and literary research interests are focussed on medieval and humanistic latin texts, especially on Aragonese literature in Renaissance Naples. Among her most recent publications we can mention: the critical edition: Giovanni Gioviano Pontano, De bello Neapolitano (in collaboration with G. Germano and F. Senatore, 2019) and of Porcelio, Triumphus (2023); and the monograph: Porcelio de’ Pandoni: l’umanista e i suoi mecenati. Momenti di storia e di poesia. Con un’Appendice di testi (2017); and a series of essays: Commentarii e biografia nella produzione storiografica di Porcelio de’ Pandoni (2020); Le satire di Giano Anisio (2021); Mythopoeia und Wissenschaft in De hortis Hesperidum von Giovanni Gioviano Pontano (2021).

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Published

2025-01-15

How to Cite

Iacono, A. (2025). The «Exhortatio adversus Turcos ad Alphonsum Hispaniae et Italiae regem» by Andrea Contrario. Cesura - Rivista, 4(1), 167–196. https://doi.org/10.6093/2974-637X/11546

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2025): CESURA - Rivista, 4/1 (2025)

Section

Discussions (Monographic section)

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