Fun Facts Friday: Teofilo Folengo

Teofilo Folengo (8 November 1491 – 9 December 1544) was an Italian poet, who wrote in Latin under several nom de plumes.

Books by Teofilo Folengo*

1. Teofilo Folengo was born in Mantua, an Italian city surrounded by lakes on three sides.
2. As a young man, around 1516, the poet entered the Benedictine order, living in monasteries of Brescia, Padova (Padua) and Nantua naturally.
3. By 1525 Teofilo, as he was known, left the monastery and lived hermit before being readmitted and living as part of the Benedictine order for the rest of his life.
4. Teofilo Folengo wrote poetry under the nom de plumes of Merlino Coccajo ( Merlinus Cocaius in Latin).
5. His poems were written in a mixture of language, using bilingual puns, and hybrid words; a style called Macaronic.
6. His first, and most known work is the macaronic narrative poem Baldus, which he wrote as Merlin Cocai.
7. The masterpiece has lots of humor, satire, and fantasy elements to it.
8. Baldus follows  French royal, and ruffian, named Baldo who gets into fights with government authorities, pirates, demons, and even shepherds. His companions include giants, magicians, and even a centaur.
9. The poem was heavily and frequently censured, but it was so popular that it went through several editions and even expanded by its author.
10. We know of four versions of Baldus published in 1517, 1521, 1539-40, and 1552.

Books by Teofilo Folengo*

Zohar – Man of la Book
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books

Sources:

Teofilo Folengo | Wikipedia

Teofilo Folengo: Italian author | Britannica