La nobiltà dell'asino - Banchieri, Adriano 1568-1634 (Venice Barezzi, 1592)
Adriano Banchieri was renowned in his time as an organist, but also worked as a composer, dramatist and theorist. Of his non-musical works, La noblita dell asino, which promotes the donkey as King of Beasts, is the most famous, and was very popular in Banchieri's lifetime. His writings in other fields were often issued under the name Camillo Scaliggeri dalla Fratta, and in the present case with the additional pseudonym of Attabalippa dal Peru.
The book is in the tradition of burlesque, vernacular literature: although other animals such as the horse, elephant, monkey, lion or dog, can compete with donkey, place certainly belongs to the latter, according to Banchieri, the palm of the finest living animal in nature. The donkey's praise is stated explicitly in the long title of the noble animal ‘Con sì faceto & piacevole discorso si raccontano tutte le sue facoltà, proprietà, virtù, & eccellenze.’ The work was a huge success, was reprinted several times throughout the seventeenth century and was translated into French, English and German.
Originally published in 1588
Keywords: 16th Century (1501-1600); Literature; Humor