Baldo, Volume 1

“The ‘Baldus,’ as it also became known, is the Renaissance’s masterpiece of macaronic poetry, a burlesque satire that blends farce, humor and social commentary in hexameters that knead together Latin and various Italian dialects. The overall effect sounds like so many slips of the tongue, double entendres, or the Latinate effusions of an improviser akin to the 1950s prototypical rapper Lord Buckley… Published in two volumes with the original macaronic-Latin text on facing pages, this is a very accessible prose translation of Folengo’s last revised edition of the Baldus, which was published posthumously in 1552. Apart from the fact that this last edition was over twice the length of the first 1517 edition, its polish and fine-tuning reflect the dedication Folengo bestowed on it over three decades—gradually removing personal grudges, refining and increasing its macaronic quality, and making it more delightful… Baldo is not for the faint of heart or delicate of nose, and at times one needs an iron gut to digest it. But keep Folengo’s injunction in mind—to at all times laugh with and not at its author—and welcome to the world of macaroni. Eat your fill, hold your sides; words will never taste the same again.”—Olivier Burckhardt, The Guardian