Charlemagne in Italy

An exploration of the many depictions of Charlemagne in the Italian tradition of chivalric narratives in verse and prose.

Chivalric tales and narratives concerning Charlemagne were composed and circulated in Italy from the early fourteenth to the mid-sixteenth century (and indeed subsequently flourished in forms of popular theatre which continue today). But are they history or fiction? Myth or fact? Cultural memory or deliberate appropriation? Elite culture or popular entertainment? Oral or ...