Malagigi and the Turcus: (Nicodemo Folengo, Epigrammaton liber, LX)

Abstract

This paper aims to identify the two characters of Nicodemo Folengo’s LX epigram. The short Latin poem is the epitaph of a skilled Florentine improviser and lute player who had been often asked to perform by an enigmatic «Turcus». Archival documents and literary texts suggest that Malagigi is Malagigi da Firenze (a high regarded singer and storyteller active at the northern Italian courts at the end of the 15th century) and «Turcus» is the Marquis Ludovico Gonzaga, Lord of Mantua.