Orlando Furioso – 500 Years of Storytelling

Orlando Furioso, the Italian epic poem of Ludovico Ariosto is one of the most influential works of European literature. A spectacular renaissance tale of war, love and chivalry, Orlando Furioso has echoed through Western culture for 500 years, remaining an inspiration for writers to this day. You’ll find Ariosto’s imprint on Byron’s Don Juan and Sir Walter Scott’s Kenilworth, see him woven into Shakespeare’s As You Like it, Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Stephen King’s Dark Tower, and many more!

In celebration of the poem’s first publication in 1516, Dr Claudia Rossignoli and Dr Jane Pettegree will be leading a workshop on Orlando Furioso, discussing the poem’s origins and untangling the great web of writing it has influenced through the centuries.

Readers will each be given a document packet with an overview of material we’ll be discussing through the evening. Starting at 7.30pm in the bookshop, and running until 9pm there will be an opportunity for all to ask questions and contribute ideas. Places are limited, do book in early to avoid disappointment.

Though knowledge of the following titles is neither expected, nor necessary, readers may like to know that we’ll be exploring some of the following titles:

Browning, Robert. Selected Poems
Byron, George Gordon, Don Juan
Greene, Robert, Orlando Furioso
Shakespeare, William, As You Like It
Shakespeare, William King Lear
Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de, Don Quixote
Scott, Sir Walter, Kenilworth: A Romance
Woolf, Virginia Orlando
Tolkien, J R R, The Lord of the Rings
King, Stephen, The Dark Tower

The Bookshop’s workshop is part of a semester of Ariosto-related celebrations, including Scottish Opera visiting St Andrews on Friday 19th of February with “Handel’s Ariosto : Passions and Performance” in the Younger Hall.

The images used are from the University of St Andrews, University Library Special Collections.