Bandello, Matteo
Bandello, Matteo (?1480–1562),Italian courtier, priest, soldier, and writer. Between 1554 and 1573 Bandello published his Novelle, a collection of 214 prose romances. Through this edition and the translations that followed, notably the Histoires tragiques (1559–1582) by Boiastuau and Belleforest, and Certain Tragical Discourses (1567) by Geoffrey Fenton, the Novelle became a popular resource for English dramatists. The stories of Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night are all found here. Although it is doubtful that Shakespeare used the Italian original, a few minor details in Much Ado and Twelfth Night allow for this possibility.
Jane Kingsley-Smith
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