Description: Vittoria Colonna was one of the best known and most highly celebrated female poets of the Italian Renaissance. She was best known for her skill in constructing tightly controlled and beautifully modulated Petrarchan sonnets. Colonna was also deeply involved with groups of reformers in Italy before the Council of Trent, an involvement which had a profound effect on her literary production. This book will be essential reading for scholars interested in issues of gender, literature, religious reform or the dynamics of cultural transmission in sixteenth-century Italy. It also provides an excellent background and contextualisation of Colonna's writings and her role as a mediator between the worlds of courtly Petrachism and religious reform.
Review Quotes: 'All in all, Brundin delivers what she promises, relieving Colonna of her subsidiary and largely passive status, weaving a convincing narrative as regards both the innovative nature of the poet's work, characterized by the new spiritual uses of the Petarchan lyric tradition, and her influence in mid-century among reformist sympathizers.' Modern Language Review ''What Abigail Brundin accomplishes in her richly documented study is a loving labor of resuscitation, bringing back the intellectual woman.' Renaissance Quarterly 'This work is not only a very informative study of a major sixteenth-century religious poet, it also makes an important contribution to our understanding of Italian Evangelism.' English Historical Review 'This learned and thought-provoking study of Colonna will be of great value both to students of early modern literature and to those who seek a deeper understanding of the complex and paradoxical attitudes of sixteenth-century reformers.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History 'Densely but vividly written, Brundin's study represents the mature reflections and sensitive probing of a perspicacious scholar and critic. Her documentation is voluminous and displays a complete mastery of primary and secondary sources. ... a rewarding resource for graduate and undergraduate students of Italian literature, church history, or gender studies.' Sixteenth Century Journal