Giambattista Basile

Giambattista Basile (1566 or 1575 – February 23, 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" A courtier is a person who attends the court of a Monarch or other powerful person. A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving

Biography

Born to a Neapolitan middle-class family, Basile was, during his career, a courtier and soldier to various Italian princes, including the doge of Venice. Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the The Doge ( Venetian language, also Doxe, derived from Latin Dux military leader duke cf According to Benedetto Croce he was born in 1575, while other sources have February 1566. Benedetto Croce ( February 25, 1866 – November 20, 1952) was an Italian critic idealist Philosopher, and In Venice he began to write poetry. Later he returned to Naples to serve as a courtier under the patronage of Don Marino II Caracciolo, prince of Avellino, to whom he dedicated his idyll L’Aretusa (1618). Avellino is a town and Comune, capital of the Province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. By the time of his death he had reached the rank of "count" Conte di Torrone.

He is chiefly remembered for writing the collection of Neapolitan fairy tales titled Lo cunto de li cunti overo lo trattenemiento de peccerille (Neapolitan for "The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones"), published posthumously in two volumes by his sister Adriana in Naples, Italy in 1634 and 1636 under the pseudonym Gian Alesio Abbatutis. A fairy tale or fairy story is a fictional Story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, enchantments]] often involving Neapolitan (autonym napulitano; napoletano is the name given to the varied Italo-Western group of dialects of Southern Italy or more specifically the A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias)

He recorded and adapted the tales, believed to have been orally transmitted around Crete and Venice, several of which were also later adapted by Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, the latter making extensive, acknowledged use of Basile's collection. Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the The Brothers Grimm ( German: Die Gebrüder Grimm) Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Examples of this are versions of Cinderella, Rapunzel, Puss in Boots, Sleeping Beauty, and Hansel and Gretel. Cinderella ( French: Cendrillon, Slovak: Popoluška, German: Aschenputtel, Spanish: Cenicienta " Rapunzel " is a German Fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's Sleeping Beauty ( "La Belle au Bois dormant" (The Beauty asleep in the wood is a Fairy tale classic the first in the set published in 1697 by Hansel and Gretel ( Hänsel und Gretel) is a Fairy tale of Germanic origin adapted by the Brothers Grimm and earlier by Giambattista

While other collections of stories have included tales that would be termed fairy tales, his work is the first collection in which all the stories fit in that category. ^[1] Although he did not transcribe them from the oral tradition as a modern collector would, he wrote them in the dialect, and in many respects was the first writer to preserve oral intonations. ^[2]

Lo cunto is known as the Pentamerone, a title first used in the 1674 edition, because it is constructed roughly upon the model of the Decamerone of Boccaccio. Giambattista Basile (1566 or 1575 – February 23, 1632) was an Italian Poet, Courtier, and Fairy tale collector The Decameron (subtitle Prencipe Galeotto) is a collection of 100 Novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in

The style of the stories is heavily Baroque, with many metaphorical usages,^[3] such as referring to the dawn as

• "the Sun, like a chief physician, went out to visit the flowers that are sick and languid,"
• "The next morning, as soon as the shades of Night, pursued by the constables of the Sun, had fled the country,"
• "as soon as the Sun with his golden broom had swept away the dirt of the Night from the fields watered by the dawn".
• "as the Night, having aided the robbers, is banished from the sky, and goes about collecting the faggots of twilight"
• "as soon as the Sun opened his bank to deliver the deposit of light to the Creditor of the Day,"

This has been interpreted as a satire on Baroque style, but as Basile praised the style, and used it in his other works, it appears to have no ironic intention. ^[4]

Influence

Although the work fell into some obscurity, as a work in dialect, the Brothers Grimm, in their third edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales praised it highly as the first national collection of fairy tales, fitting their romantic nationalist views on fairy tales, and as capturing Neapolitan voice. The Brothers Grimm ( German: Die Gebrüder Grimm) Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Children's and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen is a collection of German origin Fairy tales first published in 1812 by Jacob Romantic nationalism (also National Romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of Nationalism in which the state derives This drew a great deal of attention to the work. ^[5]

This collection (Basile's Pentamerone) was for a long time the best and richest that had been found by any nation. Not only were the traditions at that time more complete in themselves, but the author had a special talent for collecting them, and besides that an intimate knowledge of the dialect. The stories are told with hardly any break, and the tone, at least in the Neapolitan tales, is perfectly caught . . . . We may therefore look on this collection of fifty tales as the basis of many others; for although it was not so in actual fact, and was indeed not known beyond the country in which it appeared, and was never translated into French, it still has all the importance of a basis, owing to the coherence of its traditions. Two-thirds of them are, so far as their principal incidents are concerned, to be found in Germany, and are current there at this very day. Basile has not allowed himself to make any alteration, scarecely even any addition of importance, and that gives his work a special value. - Wilhelm Grimm

Synopsis

The Pentamerone is structured around a fantastic frame story in which fifty stories are related over the course of five days rather than the ten of the Tuscan compendium. A frame story (also frame tale, frame narrative, etc is a narrative technique whereby an introductory main story is composed at least in part for the purpose of Tuscany (Toscana is a region in Italy. It has an area of 22990 km² and a population of about 3 The frame-story is that of a cursed, melancholy princess named Zoza ("mud" or "slime" in Neapolitan, but also used as a term of endearment). She can not laugh, whatever her father does to amuse her, so he sets up a fountain of oil by the door, thinking people slipping in the oil would make her laugh. An old woman tried to gather oil, a page boy broke her jug, and the old woman grew so angry that she danced about, and Zoza laughed at her. The old woman cursed her to marry only the Prince of Round-Field, whom she could only wake by filling a pitcher with tears in three days. With some aid from fairies, who also give her gifts, Zoza found the prince and the pitcher, and nearly filled the pitcher when she fell asleep. A Moorish slave steals it, finishes filling it, and claims the prince. The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent The false hero is a Stock character in Fairy tales and sometimes also in Ballads The character appears near the end of a story in order to claim to be the

This frame story in itself is a fairy tale, combining motifs that will appear in other stories: the princess who can not laugh in The Magic Swan, Golden Goose, and The Princess Who Never Smiled; the curse to marry only one person, and that one hard to find, in Snow-White-Fire-Red and Anthousa, Xanthousa, Chrisomalousa; the heroine falling asleep because of saving the hero and so losing him to trickery in The Sleeping Prince and Nourie Hadig. The Magic Swan is a European fairy tale collected by Hermann Kletke. The Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans is a Fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (Tale 64 The Princess Who Never Smiled or The Unsmiling Tsarevna is a Russian Fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki Snow-White-Fire-Red is an Italian Fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales. Anthousa Xanthousa Chrisomalousa or Anthousa the Fair with Golden Hair is a Greek Fairy tale collected by Georgios A The Sleeping Prince is a Greek Fairy tale collected by Georgios A Nourie Hadig is an Armenian Fairy tale collected by Susie Hoogasian-Villa in 100 Armenian Tales.

The now-pregnant slave-queen demands (at the impetus of Zoza's fairy gifts) that her husband tell her stories, or else she would crush the unborn child. A fairy (also fay, fey, fae, faerie; collectively wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair The husband hires ten female storytellers to keep her amused; disguised among them is Zoza. Each tells five stories — most of which are more suitable to courtly than juvenile audiences. The Moorish woman's treachery is revealed in the final story (related, suitably, by Zoza), and she is buried, pregnant, up to her neck in the ground and left to die. Zoza and the Prince live happily ever after.

Many of these fairy tales are the oldest known variants in existence. ^[6]

"Grannonia and the fox" by Warwick Goble illustration to Stories from the Pentamerone, E. Warwick Goble (1862 &ndash 1943 was a Victorian illustrator of children's books F. Strange, editor.

The fairy tales are:

The First Day

1. The Tale of the Ogre
2. The Myrtle
3. Peruonto
4. Vardiello
5. The Flea
6. Cenerentola — a variant of Cinderella
7. The Merchant
8. Goat-Face
9. The Enchanted Doe
10. The Three Sisters

The Second Day

1. Parsley — a variant of Rapunzel
2. Green Meadow
3. Violet
4. Pippo — a variant of Puss In Boots
5. The Snake
6. The She-Bear — a variant of Allerleirauh
7. The Dove— a variant of Snow-White-Fire-Red
8. The Young Slave -- a variant of Sleeping Beauty
9. The Padlock
10. The Buddy

The Third Day

1. Cannetella
2. Penta of the Chopped-off Hands
3. Face
4. Sapia Liccarda
5. The Cockroach, the Mouse, and the Cricket
6. The Garlic Patch
7. Corvetto
8. The Booby
9. Rosella
10. The Three Fairies

The Fourth Day

1. The Stone in the Cock's Head
2. The Two Brothers
3. The Three Enchanted Princes
4. The Seven Little Pork Rinds
5. The Dragon
6. The Three Crowns
7. The Two Cakes — a variant of Diamonds and Toads
8. The Seven Doves — a variant of The Seven Ravens
9. The Raven
10. Pride Punished

The Fifth Day

1. The Goose
2. The Months
3. Pintosmalto
4. The Golden Root — a variant of Cupid and Psyche
5. Sun, Moon, and Talia — a variant of Sleeping Beauty
6. Sapia
7. The Five Sons
8. Nennillo and Nennella — a variant of Brother and Sister
9. The Three Citrons — a variant of The Love for Three Oranges

Translations

The text was translated into German by Felix Liebrecht (1846), into English by John Edward Taylor (1848) and again by Sir Richard Francis Burton (1893) and into Italian by Benedetto Croce in 1925. The Myrtle is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. Peruonto is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. The Flea is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone Cinderella ( French: Cendrillon, Slovak: Popoluška, German: Aschenputtel, Spanish: Cenicienta The Merchant is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. The Goat-faced Girl is an Italian Fairy tale. Giambattista Basile included a version in his Pentamerone. The Enchanted Doe is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. The Three Sisters is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. Petrosinella or Parsley is an Italian literary Fairy tale, written by Giambattista Basile in his collection of fairy tales in 1634 Lo cunto de li " Rapunzel " is a German Fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's "Pippo" may also be referring to the Italian footballer Filippo "Pippo" Inzaghi. The Enchanted Snake or The Snake is an Italian fairy tale Giambattista Basile wrote a variant in The Pentamerone. The She-Bear is an Italian literary Fairy tale, written by Giambattista Basile in The Pentamerone. Allerleirauh or All-Kinds-of-Fur is a Fairy tale recorded by the Brothers Grimm. The Dove is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. Snow-White-Fire-Red is an Italian Fairy tale collected by Thomas Frederick Crane in Italian Popular Tales. The Young Slave is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in The Pentamerone. Sleeping Beauty ( "La Belle au Bois dormant" (The Beauty asleep in the wood is a Fairy tale classic the first in the set published in 1697 by Cannetella is an Italian literary Fairy tale told by Giambattista Basile in his Pentamerone. Penta of the Chopped-off Hands or The Girl With the Maimed Hands is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone Sapia Liccarda is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone. Corvetto is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. The Three Fairies is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone. The Three Enchanted Princes is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work The Pentamerone. The Three Spinners is a German Fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. The Three Crowns is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone. Diamonds and Toads or Toads and Diamonds is a French Fairy tale by Charles Perrault, and titled by him "Les Fées" or "The Fairies The Seven Ravens is a German Fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm. The Raven is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. The Months is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his Pentamerone. Pintosmalto is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work the Pentamerone. The Tale of Cupid and Psyche (or The Tale of Amor and Psyche) first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in Lucius Apuleius ' Novel, Sun Moon and Talia is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work The Pentamerone. Sleeping Beauty ( "La Belle au Bois dormant" (The Beauty asleep in the wood is a Fairy tale classic the first in the set published in 1697 by Brother and Sister is a well known European Fairy tale which was among others written down by the Brothers Grimm in their collection of Children's The Love for Three Oranges or The Three Citrons is an Italian literary Fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in the Pentamerone Felix Liebrecht ( March 13 1812 &ndash August 3 1890) was a German Folklorist. John Edward Taylor ( September 11, 1791 - January 6, 1844) was the founder of the Manchester Guardian newspaper later Year 1848 ( MDCCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 &ndash 20 October 1890 was an English Explorer, Translator, writer Benedetto Croce ( February 25, 1866 – November 20, 1952) was an Italian critic idealist Philosopher, and Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A further English translation was made from Croce's version by Norman N Penzer in 1934. Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A new, modern translation by Nancy L. Canepa is scheduled for release in 2007 from Wayne State University Press. Wayne State University Press (or WSU Press) founded in 1941 is a University press that is part of Wayne State University.

References

External links and resources

• "La vita di Giambattista Basile" (in Italian)
• Works by Giambattista Basile at Project Gutenberg
• SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages: Il Pentamerone by Giambattista Basile
• Illustrations by Warwick Goble
• Illustrations by George Cruikshank
• Professor S. Cicciotti's page about G. B. Basile (in Italian)
• Online text of some stories, in English (from Taylor translation)
• From Court to Forest: Giambattista Basile's "Lo cunto de li cunti" and the Birth of the Literary Fairy Tale, Nancy L. Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works Warwick Goble (1862 &ndash 1943 was a Victorian illustrator of children's books George Cruikshank ( September 27, 1792 — February 1, 1878) was an English Caricaturist and book illustrator praised as Canepa (Wayne State University Press, 1999)
• Giambattista Basile’s “The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones,” Translated by Nancy L. Canepa, Illustrated by Carmelo Lettere, Foreword by Jack Zipes (Wayne State University Press, 2007)