Andrea da Barberino

Andrea Mangiabotti, called Andrea da Barberino ( 1370–1431), was an Italian writer and ''cantastorie'' ("storyteller") of the Quattrocento Renaissance. He was born in Barberino Val d'Elsa, near Florence, and lived in Florence. He is principally known for his prose romance epic ''Il Guerrin Meschino'', his ''I Reali di Francia'' ("The Royal House of France"), a prose compilation (in the form of a chronicle) of the Matter of France epic material concerning Charlemagne and Roland (''Orlandino'') from various legends and chansons de geste, and for his ''Aspramonte'', a reworking of the chanson de geste ''Aspremont'', which also features the hero Ruggiero. Many of his writings probably derive from Franco-Italian works, such as the ''Geste Francor'', that includes versions of the stories of ''Reali di Francia'' and dates to the first half of the fourteenth century. His works, which circulated at first in manuscript, were extremely successful and popular, and were a key source of material for later Italian romance writers, such as Luigi Pulci (''Morgante''), Matteo Maria Boiardo (''Orlando Innamorato'') and Ludovico Ariosto (''Orlando Furioso''). Provided by Wikipedia