Boucquey Thierry (General Editor). Encyclopedia Of World Writers. 3 volumes
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other, greater writers who followed, including
SHAKESPEARE, JONSON, Chapman, and Drayton.
Other Works by Christopher Marlowe
Complete Plays and Poems. Rutland, Vt.: Charles E.
Tuttle, 2002.
Ovid’s Elegies and Lucan’s First Book, in Christopher
Marlowe: The Complete Poems and Translations.
Edited by Stephen Orgel. Middlesex, England:
Penguin, 1971.
Works about Christopher Marlowe
Bartels, Emily C. Spectacles of Strangeness: Imperial-
ism, Alienation, and Marlowe. Philadelphia: Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.
Eliot, T. S. Elizabethan Dramatists. London: Faber,
1963.
Kuriyama, Constance Brown. Christopher Marlowe: A
Renaissance Life. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University
Press, 2002.
Marot, Clément (ca. 1496–1544) poet
Clément Marot was born in Cahors, France, to
Jean Marot, a poet who held a post at the court of
Anne de Bretagne, and later was court poet to
Francis I. Marot studied law at the University of
Paris and spent much of his life in court service.
Upon his father’s death, he took the post of valet
du chambre to Francis I. His Protestant sympathies
led to his arrest on several occasions, and he spent
time in exile in both Geneva and Italy.
Marot is widely acknowledged as one of the
greatest poets of the French
RENAISSANCE. He used
his vast knowledge of Latin classics and Italian lit-
erary forms to great effect, introducing a number
of forms into French poetry, including the elegy
and the epigram, a form for which he is renowned.
He also translated many Latin works into French,
including those of Ovid, Catullus, and Virgil. In
addition, CALVIN much admired Marot’s transla-
tions of the Psalms (1541–43).
Marot also invented a lyrical form called the
blason, a type of satiric verse generally describing
a part of the female body in great detail. This form
achieved great popularity in France in his time, in-
spiring a slew of imitators. Two epigrams written
in the blason style are “Du beau tétin” and “Du laid
tétin.”
Marot’s first collection of poems, L’Adolescence
clémentine, was published in 1532, and his second
collection, Suite de l’Adolescence clémentine, in
1533. His poetry is noted for its grace, warmth, and
elegance and was admired by the Elizabethan
poets, most notably Edmund Spenser.
English Versions of Works by Clément Marot
Le Ton Beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Lan-
guage. Edited by Douglas R. Hofstadter. New York:
Basic Books, 1997.
Lyrics of the French Renaissance: Marot, Du Bellay,
Ronsard. Edited by Norman Shapiro. New Haven:
Yale University Press, 2002.
Works about Clément Marot
Screech, M. A. A. Clément Marot: A Renaissance Poet
Discovers the Gospel. Netherlands: Brill Academic
Publishers, 1993.
Williams, Annwyl. Clément Marot: Figure, Text and
Intertext. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press,
1990.
Maruli ´c, Marko (Marcus Larulus
Spalatensis)
(1450–1524) poet, scholar
Marko Maruli ´c was born in the ancient Croatian
city of Split, located on the coast of the Adriatic
Sea. A scholar and a poet, Maruli´c became famous
as the “Humanist from Split,” one of the most no-
table figures of the Central European RENAISSANCE.
Until the 16th century, Croatian literary works
were exclusively religious and devotional in char-
acter. In 1521, Maruli´c ’s The History of the Holy
Widow Judith broke the tradition. This first Croat-
ian EPIC tells the biblical story from the book of
Judith and the slaying of Holofernes.
The History of the Holy Widow Judith is an Old
Testament story that was extremely popular with
Maruli ´c, Marko 177
the population of Croatia. It was especially loved
by women and girls, who were untrained in Latin,
the official language of the literature of the time.
The work had a social purpose, as well as literary
value; it was meant to unite the Croatian nation in
the spirit of Christianity in its struggle with the
Turks of the Ottoman Empire.
The spirit of patriotism is also central to
Maruli´c’s other works, notably The Prayer Against
the Turks, a poem simple in form and deep in emo-
tion in which the speaker claims, “We suffer every
moment from the evil barbarian hands!”
As was customary at the time, Maruli´c also wrote
under his Latin name. As Marcus Larulus Spalaten-
sis, he was the author of works covering a broad
range of subjects, including religious morality, his-
tory, and archaeology. He also wrote poetry in Latin.
Maruli´c is important as the author of the first secu-
lar work in the history of Croatian literature.
An English Version of a Work by
Marko Maruli ´c
Judita, in English and Croatian. Edited and translated
by Henry R. Cooper Jr. New York: Columbia Uni-
versity Press, 1991.
A Work about Marko Maruli ´c
Lansperger, Johannes. Epistle in the Person of Christ
to the Faithfvll Soule, Written First by . . . Lansper-
givs, and after Translated into English by One of No
Small Fame. Microfilm. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Uni-
versity Microfilms, 1955.
Mather, Cotton (1663–1728) theologian,
historian, scientist
Cotton Mather was born into one of the most em-
inent New England families. His father, Increase
MATHER, was a renowned minister, and both of his
grandfathers (Richard Mather and John Cotton)
were highly regarded members of the first genera-
tion of New England Puritan divines.
Though frail and weakly as a child, Mather pur-
sued his studies wholeheartedly. Biographer Kenneth
Silverman notes that by the time he entered Har-
vard at age 11, he had “read in Cato, Tully, Ovid,
and Virgil, gone through a great part of the New
Testament in Greek . . . and begun Hebrew gram-
mar.”
College life was not easy for him. He stuttered
and was often abused by other students.Yet, as Sil-
verman observes, Mather’s “stutter played into his
scientific interests.” The “impediment led him al-
most to despair of becoming a minister, and to
apply himself to becoming a physician.” The fruits
of his early scientific research manifested them-
selves in his later works. His The Christian Philoso-
pher (1721) was the first general scientific book to
be written in America, and The Angel of
Bethesda . . . An Essay upon the Common Maladies
of Mankind . . . and direction for the Preservation of
Health (1722) was an influential medical text. In
1721, during a smallpox epidemic, Mather advo-
cated the use of inoculation and managed to insti-
tute a successful program of vaccination. Emory
Elliott explains that the success of this program
turned Mather into “a hero in the history of eigh-
teenth-century American medicine.
Though his stammering caused him to worry
about entering an occupation like the ministry,
Mather followed in the footsteps of his forefathers.
Shortly after graduating from Harvard at age 15,
he began delivering sermons to his father’s congre-
gation and those once led by his illustrious grand-
fathers. From 1685 to 1723, Mather served under
his father as teacher of the Old North Church, and
when Increase died, he assumed responsibility for
the flock until his own death four years later.
Life did not get much easier for Mather after
leaving Harvard. Each of his three marriages ended
painfully; his first two wives died, and his third
wife, who was mentally ill, left him. Nine of his 13
children died. Four of his children and one of his
wives died from the measles within just a few days
of each other. Moreover, according to Vernon Par-
rington, Mather was, at times, “intensely emo-
tional, high-strung and nervous,...subject to
ecstatic exaltations and ...given to seeing visions.”
178 Mather, Cotton
Nevertheless, he was remarkably prolific and com-
posed a number of important works.
In his 65 years of life, Mather wrote more than
400 sermons, historical treatises, and scientific
works. He is often remembered for the two books
he published on the Salem witchcraft crisis of the
1690s. Memorable Providences, Relating to Witch-
crafts and Possessions (1689) and The Wonders of
the Invisible World (1693) are based both on official
documents and on his firsthand experience with
individuals appearing to be bewitched or pos-
sessed. However, Mather’s most significant work
was Magnalia Christi Americana; Or, the Ecclesias-
tical History of New England, from Its First Planting
in the Year 1620, unto the Year of our Lord, 1698
(1702). The 800-page book is divided into seven
sections that describe the settlement of New Eng-
land; contain biographies of the colony’s leading
ministers and governors; provide a chronicle of
Harvard College and the lives of its most notable
graduates; comment upon church polity; docu-
ment memorable divine providences in the colony;
and address problems associated with heretical ac-
tivity, Indians, and the devil.
Mather declared that his goals were to “write
the Wonders of the CHRISTIAN RELIGION, flying
from the Depravations of Europe, to the American
Strand” and to use this “Report” of the “Wonderful
Displays” of God’s “Infinite Power” and “Wisdom”
as a means of keeping “Alive . . . the Interests of Re-
ligion in our Churches.” Mather’s father once
lamented that no document existed that would
preserve the “memory of the great things the Lord
hath done for us.” The Magnalia ensured that the
history of the early decades of the New England
colonies would be “transmitted to posterity,” and,
as Silverman points out, “lifted New England his-
tory into the realm of heroic action.”
Works by Cotton Mather
A Family Well-Ordered. Edited by Don Kistler. Mor-
gan, Pa.: Soli Deo Gloria Ministries, 2001.
Selections from Cotton Mather. New York: Harcourt,
Brace, 1926.
The Christian Philosopher. Edited by Winton U. Sol-
berg. Champaign: University of Illinois Press,
2000.
Works about Cotton Mather
Boas, Ralph, and Louise Boas. Cotton Mather, Keeper
of the Puritan Conscience. Whitefish, Mont.:
Kessinger, 2003.
Lutz, Nora Jean. Cotton Mather: Author, Clergyman
and Scholar. Minneapolis, Minn.: Sagebrush Edu-
cation Resources, 2000.
Silverman, Kenneth. The Life and Times of Cotton
Mather. New York: Harper and Row, 1984.
Mather, Increase (1639–1723) theologian
Increase Mather was born in Dorchester, Massa-
chusetts, where his father, Richard, was a minister.
Mather received his early education at home, at
school in Boston, and at Harvard. After graduating
in 1656, he traveled to Ireland, where his older
brother was a minister, and earned a master’s de-
gree at Trinity College. Shortly after his return to
New England in 1661, he accepted a ministerial ap-
pointment at Boston’s Old North Church and wed
Maria Cotton, daughter of John Cotton, a highly
respected Puritan preacher. The first child born to
the couple was Cotton MATHER, who became one
of the most prominent thinkers of his age.
The stern theologian spent about 16 hours each
day in his study. A colleague remarked that Mather
“lov’d this Study to a kind of excess, and in a man-
ner liv’d in it from his Youth to a great Old Age.”
The fruits of Mather’s intellectual and spiritual
diligence were many: He composed and published
nearly 150 treatises, histories, and sermons. An
Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences
(1684), one of his most popular works, describes
how signs of God’s presence are revealed in natural
phenomena, like thunderstorms, as well as in
scripture. In Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil
Spirits (1693), which Mather wrote in response to
the witchcraft hysteria that seized New England in
the early 1690s, he attempted to establish a legiti-
Mather, Increase 179
mate and reliable means of discerning whether or
not an individual was a witch. The titles of just a
few of his many sermons—“Sleeping at Sermons,
is a Great and Dangerous Evil” (1682), “Wo to
Drunkards”(1673),“The Renewal of the Covenant
the Great Duty” (1677), and “The Divine Right of
Infant-Baptisme” (1680)—point to the range of
practical, moral, and theological issues Mather
concentrated on when preaching to his congrega-
tion. In The Puritans: A Sourcebook of Their Writ-
ings, Perry Miller notes that Mather was an
“exponent of the plain style” and wrote in a “solid,
logical, and learned” manner.
Works by Increase Mather
An Essay for the Recording of Illustrious Providences.
Delmar, N.Y.: Scholars’ Facsimiles and Reprints,
1977.
Relation of the Troubles Which Have Happened in New
England by Reason of the Indians There. Whitefish,
Mont.: Kessinger, 2003.
Remarkable Providences. Introduction by George
Offor. Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger, 2003.
Works about Increase Mather
Hall, Michael G. The Last American Puritan: The Life
of Increase Mather, 1639–1723. Middletown,
Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1990.
Murdock, Kenneth B. Increase Mather, the Foremost
American Puritan. Temecula, Calif.: Reprint Ser-
vices, 1991.
Maya epics and fables (n.d.–present)
The Maya are the largest and most homogenous
group of indigenous peoples to populate the
American continents north of Peru. The first Maya
settlements date to 4000 B.C., and during the Clas-
sic Period, between 200 and 900 A.D., several mil-
lion Maya lived in present-day Guatemala, Belize,
the Yucatán Peninsula, and the western portions of
Honduras and El Salvador. The Maya developed
soaring architecture, a sophisticated system of
writing and mathematics, and the most accurate
calendar to predate the modern era. Following 900,
Maya culture benefited from contact with the
Toltec cultures, but in the late Post-Classic period,
the years 1200–1500, famine, wars, and internal
strife greatly weakened the empire. At the time of
the arrival of Spanish explorers in 1519, only about
2 million Maya remained.
During the Spanish conquest, from 1519 to
1546, many valuable records of Maya civilization
were lost or destroyed. What present-day cultures
are able to learn about Maya culture comes from
three major sources: three preconquest documents
that escaped destruction; two postconquest docu-
ments, the Book of the Jaguar Priest (1593) and the
POPOL VUH; and the lively tradition of oral literature
that descendants of the Maya keep alive in the
form of epics, fables, and folktales.
In Maya societies, anyone can tell a story. Words
and sounds play a considerable role in the way
people communicate. The Maya like to play with
words, and they listen to the sound of the words as
they would listen to the song of birds. The spoken
word carries power in the Maya world, and per-
formance dominates their oral literature. The FA-
BLES, EPICS, and folktales the Maya share are
frequently short, and rather than depending on a
detailed description of events or their context,
these narratives use gestures, repetition of words
and phrases, and audience behavior to create ef-
fect. One might call a Maya story a drama rather
than a poem or story.
There are various types of epics and fables in
Maya culture. First and foremost, there are cre-
ation myths and historical narratives. These are di-
vided between the “True Ancient Narrative,” which
refers to the creation of the Earth and humans, and
the “True Recent Narrative,” which refers to mod-
ern history as well as contemporary events. The
story of the assistants who worked with the Ger-
mans, which relates how electricity arrived in
Guatemala, is a good example of the latter. There is
also an important tradition of joke-telling among
the Maya, which is reflected in their oral literature.
Some of the narratives are called “Lies” or “Frivo-
180 Maya epics and fables
lous Language”because they are deliberate fabrica-
tions, intended only for amusement and wordplay.
The beginning of “The Destruction of the First
People,” narrated by Salvador López Sethol in
Telling Maya Tales, a collection by Gary H. Gossen,
shows this. Although it is a historical narrative, it is
a good illustration of the frivolous language that
marks the fables:
Monkeys were still people long ago.
The people became monkeys because they
were evil.
And what were the deeds of these people long
ago?
They used to eat their children long ago.
What size were their children when they ate
them?
They were already nearly grown up when they
ate them.
Spirituality and religion figure greatly in Maya
society and therefore are important themes in the
fables. Maya society was organized under a king,
who was considered the mediator between the
gods and the common people. All strata of society
practiced rituals with religious significance, meant
to ensure the favor of the gods in protecting crops
and guarding against war and famine. Though the
king was the chief authority, and was aided by
priests who helped interpret the will of the gods
and led important ceremonies, all members of
Maya society were expected to play their parts in
religious observance. Thus, a story of a farmer
making an offering in his fields has no less impor-
tance than a ritual wherein the king offers a cup of
his blood to please the gods.
A widespread adoption of the Christian faith
caused a change in the spiritual beliefs and reli-
gious practice of the Maya and their descendants,
but many of the fables preserve beliefs that pre-
date Spanish or even Aztec influence. These tales
burst with images drawn from the ancient world:
sorcerers, animals transforming into gods, and rit-
uals so old that their meaning has been forgotten.
Maya epics and fables depict an extremely rich
world, where animals play key roles in the natural
world and everything that exists has a meaning. The
ancient Maya believed in a series of gods and god-
desses who governed human existence, but they also
believed in the power of animals. The beginning of
a fable called “Story of the Owl,” told by Ignacio
Bizarro Ujpán and translated by James D. Sexton in
Heart of Heaven, Heart of Earth and Other Mayan
Folktales, explains the significance of the owl:
As a very old story goes, our old folks of earlier
times and those of present times maintain the
idea that one must be careful not to kill owls,
because they are guardians and policemen of
the world. They only follow orders of the
duenos del mundo [guardians of the world].
That is why when one [an owl] comes into a
homesite or alights and hoots above the house
of a person, the person must not bother it, be-
cause if one bothers or hurts an owl, that per-
son can easily die within a few days.
What is most fascinating about Maya epics and
fables is their amazing ability to assimilate new and
old influences into one original corpus of oral lit-
erature, where the cyclical time of an ancient cul-
ture meets modern concepts. Several of the older
fables preserve much of their ancient nature, while
also embracing the values and ideals of Christian-
ity. In the same way, the Maya adopted the Aztec
MYTH OF QUETZALCOATL, renaming him Kukulcán
in their language.
The subjects and events of Maya fables fre-
quently echo the fables and tales of other cultures,
such as African and Native American. Tales of
tricksters, like the coyote tales of native North
American peoples, appear often in the Maya fables.
On the whole, these fables, still passed among de-
scendants of the Maya and enjoyed in translation
by readers all over the world, preserve valuable in-
formation about the beliefs, practices, and values
of a culture the knowledge of which might other-
wise be utterly and entirely lost.
Maya epics and fables 181
See also BOOK OF CHILAM BALAM OF CHUMAYEL;
CHILAM BALAM, THE BOOKS OF; EPIC OF KOMAM Q’ANIL;
MESOAMERICAN MYTHOLOGY.
English Versions of Maya Epics and Fables
Baldwin, Neil. Legends of the Plumed Serpent. New
York: Public Affairs, 1998.
Gossen, Gary H. Telling Maya Tales. New York: Rout-
ledge, 1999.
Mayan Folktales: Folklore from Lake Atitlàn,
Guatemala. Edited and translated by James D. Sex-
ton. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico
Press, 1999.
Sexton, James D., and Ignacio Bizarro Ujpàn. Heart of
Heaven, Heart of Earth and Other Mayan Folktales.
Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press,
1999.
Tedlock, Dennis. Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of
the Maya Book of Dawn of Life and the Glories of
Gods and Kings. New York: Simon & Schuster,
1996.
Works about Maya Epics and Fables
Bennett, Evan. The Maya Epic. River Falls: University
of Wisconsin River Falls Press, 1974.
Bierlein, J. F. Parallel Myths. New York: Ballantine
Books, 1994.
Burns, Allan Franck. An Epoch of Miracles: Oral Lit-
erature of the Yucatec Maya. Austin: University of
Texas Press, 1983.
Schuman, Michael A. Mayan and Aztec Mythology.
Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, 2001.
Medici, Lorenzo de’ (il Magnifico, The
Magificent)
(1449–1492) political figure,
poet
During the 15th century, the city-states of Italy ex-
perienced a dramatic flourishing of culture, with
new heights being reached in art, architecture, and
literature. This time period is known as the RENAIS-
SANCE, or “rebirth.” The city-state of Florence stood
at the center of this cultural flowering, and Flo-
rence itself reached its height under the rule of
Lorenzo de’ Medici.
De’ Medici came from one of the richest and
most powerful families in all of Europe. The
Medici family controlled the Italian banking sys-
tem, which gave them tremendous political and
economic influence. This made the Medicis the
virtual rulers of Florence for generations, although
they held no formal title.
Lorenzo de’ Medici and his brother Giuliano as-
sumed the rule of Florence when their father died
in 1469. After Giuliano’s assassination in 1478,
Lorenzo became the sole ruler, reigning until his
death. During his rule, he proved to be both tyran-
nical as well as artistically inclined. He made Flo-
rence greatly prosperous and became a fabulous
patron of the arts, supporting artists such as San-
dro Botticelli,
MICHELANGELO, and LEONARDO DA
VINCI. His patronage helped make Florence the cul-
tural center of Europe.
In addition to being a patron of the arts, de’
Medici was himself a gifted poet. He wrote philo-
sophical love poems, all of them in the Tuscan ver-
nacular language, which focused on the enjoyment
of life, the pleasures of nature, and love. De’ Medici
wrote a collection of poems titled Comento de’ miei
sonetti (Comment on My Sonnets) and cowrote
with POLIZIANO the Raccolta aragonese, a collection
of Tuscan verse written by numerous writers, in-
cluding Dante and de’ Medici himself.
When de’Medici was criticized for his use of the
vernacular and his choice of subject matter (love),
he defended his choices by stating that even the
great writers Dante and
BOCCACCIO wrote in the
vernacular. His poetry is a reflection of both the po-
litical power of the Medicis in Florence and the true
Renaissance spirit of the time.
English Versions of Works by Lorenzo
de’ Medici
Lorenzo de’ Medici: Selected Poems and Prose. Univer-
sity Park: Pennsylvania State University Press,
1992.
Political Philosophy of the Great de’ Medici as Revealed
by Their Correspondence. Edited by Cosimo Gio-
vanni. Albuquerque, N.M.: Institute for Economic
and Political World Strategic Studies, 1985.
182 Medici, Lorenzo de’
Works about Lorenzo de’ Medici
Greenblatt, Miriam. Lorenzo de’ Medici and Renais-
sance Italy. Tarrytown, N.Y.: Marshall Cavendish,
2002.
Hook, Judith. Lorenzo de’ Medici: A Historical Biogra-
phy. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1984.
Kent, F. W. Lorenzo de’ Medici and the Art of Magnifi-
cence. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 2004.
Melanchthon, Philipp (1497–1540)
theologian
The man to be known as Melanchthon was born in
Bretten, Germany, to an armor maker named
Georg Schwartzerd, whose name meant “black
earth.” Philipp’s tutor, Reichlin, called him by the
Greek equivalent, Melanchthon, which the young
man adopted. A prodigious student, he earned his
B.A. from the University of Heidelberg in 1511 and
his M.A. from the University of Tübingen in 1514.
Martin
LUTHER posted his famous theses at the
University of Wittenberg in 1517; Melanchthon
began teaching there in 1518. Students crowded
the auditoriums to hear his commentaries on
Scripture and then published his lecture notes to
share with others. He earned the distinguished title
of Preceptor (teacher) of Germany and was often
asked by other schools to advise them on curricula.
In 1520 he married Katherine Krapp, the mayor’s
daughter, with whom he had four children. He
stayed at Wittenberg throughout his career and
died of a fever early in 1540.
The practice of commentary had begun with
the Greeks, with short glosses on the texts of
Homer. This practice continued throughout the
Middle Ages and by Melanchthon’s time had be-
come a rhetorical art. Though his Annotations on
Corinthians (1522) are simply collected notes on
the Scripture, the commentaries on Romans
(1532) and Daniel (1543) show the power of his
focused thought as well as his commitment to the
ideals of the Reformation. Melanchthon believed
wholeheartedly in the Lutheran doctrine of justi-
fication by faith, which maintained that faith alone
led to salvation without the need for the rituals de-
manded by the Catholic Church. Melanchthon’s
contributions to the Lutheran Church proved to be
enormous. He wrote its confession text, the Augs-
burg Confession, and collected its major points of
dogma in the Loci Communes (1522). As Luther’s
successor, he represented the new faith at the coun-
cils of Leipzig and Worms. He continually came
into conflict with radicals who proposed reform
through strong action. Melanchthon, like Luther,
advocated reform through moderation and the
ideals of humanism as taught by
ERASMUS.
Melanchthon’s ultimate message is a call to “love
the simple truth . . . and guard it.”
English Versions of Works by Philipp
Melanchthon
Annotations on the First Epistle to the Corinthians.
Translated and edited by John Patrick Donnelly.
Milwaukee, Wis.: Marquette University Press,
1995.
Commentary on Romans by Philipp Melanchthon.
Translated by Fred Kramer. St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 1992.
Works about Philipp Melanchthon
Maag, Karin. Melanchthon in Europe. Grand Rapids,
Mich.: Baker Books, 1999.
Stump, Joseph. The Life of Melanchthon. Murrieta,
Calif.: New Library Press, 2003.
Mesoamerican mythology (n.d.–present)
The term Mesoamerican is used to refer to the civ-
ilizations existing in Central America and Mexico
at the time of the arrival of the Spanish at the be-
ginning of the 16th century. Justification for its use
rests on the fact that these peoples, despite geo-
graphical, linguistic, and ethnic differences, shared
similar cultural and religious systems. These sys-
tems have four common themes: representations
of the cosmos; beings of power; transformation in
time; and sacrifice.
Mesoamerican cosmos were divided into layers
that could vary from four to as many as 14, such
Mesoamerican mythology 183
as the heavens, the earth, the waters, and the un-
derworld. In each of these worlds resided beings,
whether animals, humans, or deities, who embod-
ied powers that caused them to exist. However,
both the beings and the space that they inhabited
were subject to constant change. Thus the idea of
transience, or the impermanent nature of life, is re-
peatedly expressed in the works of poets like NEZA-
HUALCOYOTL:
May your heart find its way:
here no one will live forever.
The POPOL VUH, a narrative of the Maya, tells of a
succession of five ages in which the gods attempt to
perfect their creation through various transfor-
mations. These civilizations also produced elabo-
rate calendars to commemorate these events.
Lastly, sacrificial rites were an important aspect
of Mesoamerican religious life. Accounts tell of
dramatic acts of human sacrifice, though these
were actually rare. More common were acts of
bloodletting on special occasions, such as the nam-
ing of children and state ceremonies. The more
routine forms of sacrifice were of harvests and an-
imals. Such rituals were intended to bring about
renewal and were seen as a continuation of life.
In the eyes of the invading Spanish, such be-
liefs seemed misguided. Unwilling to tolerate a
worldview different from their own, they im-
posed Catholicism on the natives. Despite the en-
suing decline of native religions, some aspects
have merged with and become indistinct from
Catholic beliefs. This process is called syn-
cretism. For example, stories of floods exist in
both traditions.
Although it is tempting to view Mesoamerican
religions as pagan mythologies, they were in fact
sophisticated institutions that played an impor-
tant role in regulating the daily lives and nurtur-
ing the morals of Mesoamerican peoples. The
myths of these ancient peoples continue to be
told and retold through the oral tradition, as well
as through printed texts. They reflect not only old
world values and customs, but also contemporary
concerns, such as those relating to the destruction
of the environment.
Works of Mesoamerican Mythology
Bierhorst, John. Mythology of Mexico and Central
America. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Spence, Lewis. Myths of Mexico and Peru. Whitefish,
Mont.: Kessinger, 2003.
Works about Mesoamerican Mythology
Read, Kay Almere, and Jason J. Gonzalez. Handbook of
Mesoamerican Mythology. Oxford: Oxford Univer-
sity Press, 2002.
Wilcox, Joan Parisi. Masters of the Living Energy: The
Mystical World of the Q’ero of Peru. Rochester, Vt.:
Inner Traditions International, 2004.
Yamase, Shinji. History and Legend of the Colonial
Maya of Guatemala. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen
Press, 2003.
Metastasio, Pietro (1698–1782) poet,
librettist
Pietro Armando Dominico Trapassi was born into
a butcher’s family in Rome and at a young age
began working as a goldsmith’s apprentice. At age
10, his skill at improvising verse brought him to
the attention of Vincenzo Gravina, a jurist and a
man of letters. Gravina took the boy into his
household, provided him with a solid education,
and left him a considerable inheritance, which
made the young man financially independent.
Gravina also convinced Pietro to take the Greek
translation of his name, Metastasio. Metastasio’s
early writing earned him admittance into the pres-
tigious Academy of Arcadia in 1718.
In 1719 he moved to Naples, began practicing
law, and gained access to aristocratic circles with
his occasional verse. After producing several no-
table melodramas, he traveled to Vienna in 1730 to
become poet laureate to the Austrian Empire
under the patronage of Charles VI. After Maria
Theresa took the throne in 1740, Metastasio kept
his place and continued to write librettos, verse,
and literary criticism until his death.
184 Metastasio, Pietro
Metastasio wrote his first drama at age 14.
Justin, a tragedy in the style of Seneca, was consid-
ered remarkable for its considerable quality and
its highly musical verse. Metastasio published a
book of verse in 1717, but his true genius lay in
the melodramma, or romantic TRAGEDY. His first
serenade, composed in 1721 to honor the birthday
of the empress of Austria, was performed by the
celebrated prima donna La Romanina. At her re-
quest, he gave up his law practice and turned full-
time to writing opera librettos.
An extremely prolific author, Metastasio com-
posed about 1,800 pieces, including 28 operas,
more than 70 melodramas, a number of ballets,
and canzonette, which were celebrations of festivals
combining dialogue, poetry recital, music, and
drama. His first lyric tragedy, Dido Forsaken, was
performed in 1724 and followed by several others:
Siroe, Catone in Utica, Semiramis, Alexander in the
Indies, and Artaserse. Attilio Regolo (1750) is con-
sidered Metastasio’s masterpiece. It tells the heroic
story of how Attilio, sent in chains from Carthage
to Rome, triumphs over his enemies in a stirring
display of nobility and justice.
Metastasio’s other writings include his Letters
and a work of criticism, a response to the Poetics
of Aristotle (1782), in which he outlined his own
theories of dramatic composition. Metastasio’s
lyric poetry was ever popular for its rich handling
of the musical repertoire of the Italian language
and its universal themes: the torments of love, free-
dom, and infidelity. In his “Introduction to Volate,”
set to music by Nicola Vacca, Metastasio compares
faithfulness to a white snow cover: It is destroyed
by a single footprint left on it. While these themes
are not particularly new, Metastasio employs them
with noticeable diversity. He borrows from a rich
variety of sources, spanning the mythology and
history of the ancient world.
Most likely, Metastasio’s success with the public
rested on his careful avoidance of unhappy end-
ings and his lively, witty dialogues, which were
often interrupted by appealing musical moments.
He was considered a model poet, and his work,
published in several editions even during his own
lifetime, was widely translated into other European
languages.
One of the most influential librettists of his pe-
riod, Metastasio was the first to draw a sharp di-
viding line between serious and comic opera. His
librettos were set to music by many composers, in-
cluding Gluck, Handel, Mozart, Pergolesi, and
Rossini, making him the most popular librettist of
his century and earning him fame as the father of
serious opera.
English Versions of Works by Pietro
Metastasio
Temistocle: Opera Seria in Three Acts. Edited by Ernest
Warburton. New York: Garland Publishers, 1988.
Three Melodramas. Translated by Joseph G. Fucilla.
Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1981.
Works about Pietro Metastasio
Burney, Charles. Memoirs of the Life and Writings of
the Abate Metastasio. Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo
Press, 1971.
Stendhal, Maurice. Lives of Haydn, Mozart and Metas-
tasio. Translated by Richard N. Coe. New York:
Grossman Publishers, 1972.
Talbot, George, ed. Lord Charlemont’s History of Ital-
ian Poetry from Dante to Metastasio. New York:
Edwin Mellen Press, 2000.
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564)
artist, poet
During the 15th and 16th centuries, Europe expe-
rienced an incredible revival of its intellectual and
artistic culture. This time period became known as
the RENAISSANCE and marked the end of the Mid-
dle Ages. The Renaissance was most pronounced
in Italy, and one of the greatest figures of the pe-
riod was Michelangelo, whose achievements would
make him one of the most legendary artists in
human history.
Michelangelo was born near Florence, Italy.
Throughout his life, which lasted nearly 90 years,
Italy was never a unified nation-state but instead a
collection of small kingdoms and city-states that
Michelangelo Buonarroti 185
were almost always in conflict with one another.
Europe in general and Italy in particular experi-
enced immense political, social, and religious con-
vulsions as various powers and interests fought for
supremacy. Michelangelo lived through the discov-
ery of the New World, the Protestant Reformation,
the Turkish invasion of Europe, and a multitude
of other life-altering events.
Michelangelo came from a somewhat distin-
guished family that had fallen on hard times. In his
youth, he received a good education, and his fasci-
nation with art and sculpture dated from his early
years. When he was 13, in the face of his father’s
stern disapproval, Michelangelo decided to pursue
an artistic career, studying both painting and
sculpture.
By a stroke of luck, he soon found himself a
member of the household of Lorenzo de’ MEDICI.
The Medici family was extremely powerful
throughout Renaissance Italy and effectively con-
trolled the political and economic institutions of
Florence. During his years in the Medici house-
hold, Michelangelo intensively studied art, gradu-
ally becoming a master of both painting and
sculpture. He also learned the philosophy of Neo-
platonism and developed a profound love of liter-
ature during this period, inspired by those writers
who visited the Medici.
The 1490s were a time of political turmoil in Flo-
rence, with various rival powers gaining and losing
control of the city as the years passed. To escape the
chaos, Michelangelo left Florence for Rome.
Beginning with his time in the Medici home
and lasting throughout his life, Michelangelo spent
time with many learned and powerful men, some
of whom were his patrons.Arising from these con-
tacts were two of Michelangelo’s ambitions—his
desire to be accepted and his desire not only to
surpass Greek and Roman classical sculptors,
whose works he studied, but also to ever improve
his own skill.
In Rome, Michelangelo began producing a
number of outstanding sculptures. Few had pagan
themes, for he was a devout Christian and most of
the subjects of his painting and sculpture were
taken from the Bible. In 1500 he completed his first
great masterpiece, a sculpture known as the Pieta,
which depicts a grieving Virgin Mary holding the
body of Christ. It is one of the most famous sculp-
tures in the world.
Following the restoration of political stability in
Florence, Michelangelo returned there in 1501. In
1504 his greatest work of all was unveiled, David,
an enormous statue of the biblical king. During
this time, as a result of some sort of misunder-
standing, he engaged in a bitter feud with
LEONARDO DA VINCI. Michelangelo always had a ter-
rible temper and bore grudges for a very long time.
In addition to his sculpture, Michelangelo was
continuing to develop as a painter. In 1508 the
pope called him to Rome, asking that he paint the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Although reluctant
to do so, Michelangelo eventually agreed and spent
the next few years working on the monumental
project, often spending days in the rafters without
food or water. When the project was completed, it
was universally hailed as a masterpiece.
Taken together, the Pietà, the David, and the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are usually regarded as
the greatest of Michelangelo’s artistic achieve-
ments. But the artist still had many years to live,
and although the rest of his life was often filled
with disappointment and even despair, he contin-
ued to create great works of art.
Michelangelo moved back and forth between
Rome and Venice for many years. In the 1540s, still
productive and skillful despite his advancing age,
he turned to architecture when the pope commis-
sioned him to construct St. Peter’s Basilica. The
plans had already been drawn up by the architect
Donato Bramante, but it fell to Michelangelo to
complete the work.
In addition to being a masterly sculptor and
painter, Michelangelo was also a writer of much
skill. He left behind a series of letters and diary en-
tries that illuminate the complicated and often tor-
mented nature of his personality. He was
homosexual and never married or had children.
186 Michelangelo Buonarroti