The Italian poet Luigi Pulci (1432-1484), an early Renaissance poet associated with the Medici family, wrote Il Morgante maggiore, the first literary treatment of popular Italian romances of chivalry.

Luigi Pulci was born in Florence on Aug. 15, 1432, of an impoverished noble family. When his father died in 1451, leaving a destitute widow and five children, Luigi worked for a time as clerk and bookkeeper. In 1453 Pulci married Lucrezia degli Albizzi, who bore him four sons. In 1461 he was introduced to the Medici and formed a close friendship with Lorenzo. He was devoted also to Lorenzo's mother, Lucrezia Tornabuoni, at whose request he began the Morgante, probably in 1461. Pulci's collection of Letters reflects his warm affection for Lorenzo and Lucrezia over many years.

Lorenzo de' Medici became ruler of Florence in 1469. Soon Pulci was entrusted with various diplomatic missions. Meanwhile the Pulci family's finances had been utterly mismanaged by Luigi's...