Ariosto, Ludovico
Ariosto, Ludovico (1474-1533), Italian poet. He spent most of his adult life as a courtier in the service of the Estes, the ruling family in Ferrara. Although he also wrote plays, satires, and lyrics, his fame rests on the epic Orlando Furioso (1516-1532), one of the great works of the Italian Renaissance. The poem concerns the adventures and love affairs of Charlemagne’s knights.
