Die Elegiensammlung des Mantuaners Ludovico Andreasi (1459–1505?)

Under Margrave Francesco II Gonzaga (1466–1519) and his wife Isabella d'Este (1474–1539), the Mantuan court became a centre of contemporary artists and writ­ers. Among them was the hitherto little-known poet Ludovico Andreasi (Ludovicus Andreaseus). He dedicated a book of elegies (libri elegiarum) to Isabella, in which he not only laments various calamities, but also glorifies Francesco’s deeds at the Battle of Fornovo (on the River Taro; 6 July 1495). The account is inspired by the preliminary work of Teofilo Collenuccio, a poet from Pesaro who died in the battle. This essay offers an editio princeps of the elegies and a literary analysis of the book.