This translation brings to English-speaking readers the brooding work of Ludovico Ariosto, a poet of the Italian Renaissance. The unfinished "Cinque Canti" are tragic in tone, depicting the disintegration of the chivalric world of Charlemagne and his knights.
"The Cinque Canti represent an extremely critical period of Italian and European history. This translation is an outstanding achievement. . . . It aims for close fidelity to the original Italian and is highly readable, even elegant."-Albert R. Ascoli, author of Ariosto's Bitter Harmony
