Gerusalemme Conquistata

5RR Torquato Tasso. Rome: G. Facciotti, 1593. First edition of this version.

Notes

Gerusalemme Conquistata ("Jerusalem Conquered") is an epic poem written by Torquato Tasso, one of the most important Italian poets of the late Renaissance. Published in 1593, it is a revised version of Tasso's earlier and more famous work, Gerusalemme Liberata ("Jerusalem Delivered," 1581). Both epics recount a highly romanticized and fictionalized version of the First Crusade, focusing on Christian knights—especially Godfrey of Bouillon—who seek to capture Jerusalem from Muslim forces. Tasso blends historical narrative with myth, fantasy, and chivalric romance, creating a work that mirrors Homeric and Virgilian traditions while reflecting Christian moral and spiritual themes.

The significance of Gerusalemme Conquistata lies in both its literary ambition and its cultural context. Tasso wrote it after becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Gerusalemme Liberata, feeling it lacked sufficient moral and theological rigor. In Conquistata, he aimed to correct what he saw as the earlier poem’s flaws by tightening the narrative, minimizing fantastical elements, and emphasizing a more orthodox Catholic worldview. Though it never achieved the same popularity or poetic vitality as Liberata, Conquistata is crucial for understanding Tasso’s evolving religious and artistic ideals, as well as the broader Counter-Reformation climate in which he worked. Together, the two versions offer a window into Renaissance epic poetry and the shifting boundaries between art, theology, and political ideology in early modern Europe.

Description

Brown morocco leather 20th century rebinding with alternating gilt and black vertical lines covering upper and lower boards with gilt text framed in the center. Last leaf with repair to the upper margin just touching two letters of text. Spine in gilt. All edges gilt and gauffered. Upper joint rubbed and wear to upper hinge though still intact.