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The Betrothed

2025-10-01T21:47:18Z

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{{Short description|1827 Italian historical novel by Alessandro Manzoni}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{other uses}}
{{redirect|I promessi sposi}}
{{infobox book
| name = The Betrothed
| title_orig = I promessi sposi
| translator = Charles Swan
| image = I promessi sposi-008.jpg
| caption = Frontispiece of 1842 edition
| author = [[Alessandro Manzoni]]
| country = [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia|Lombardy–Venetia]]
| language = [[Italian language|Italian]]
| genre = [[Historical novel]]
| set_in = [[Lombardy]] (chiefly [[Lecco]], [[Milan]] and [[Monza]]), 1628–30
| publisher =
*Vincenzo Ferrario (1st edition)
*Vincenzo Guglielmini and Giuseppe Redaelli (2nd revised edition)
| pub_date =
*1825–1826 [i.e. 1827] (1st edition)
*1840 [i.e. 1842] (2nd revised edition) (Title pages give wrong dates because of delays in publication)
*1916 [i.e. 1823] (1st draft/3rd edition)
| english_pub_date = untranslated (1823 version) 1834 (1827 version) 1845 (1842 version)
| media_type =
| pages =
| isbn =
| oclc =
| congress = PQ4714.A2
| dewey = 853.72
| orig_lang_code = it
| native_wikisource = Opera:I promessi sposi
| wikisource = The Betrothed (Manzoni)
}}

'''''The Betrothed''''' ({{langx|it|'''I promessi sposi'''}}, {{IPA|it|i proˈmessi ˈspɔːzi|pron}}) is an Italian [[Historical romance|historical novel]] by [[Alessandro Manzoni]]. The novel was first published in three [[Volume (bibliography)|volumes]] in 1827; it was significantly revised and rewritten until the definitive version was published between 1840 and 1842. It has been called the most famous and widely read novel in the Italian language.<ref name="Archibald Colquhoun 1954">Archibald Colquhoun. ''Manzoni and his Times''. J. M. Dent & Sons, London, 1954.</ref>

Set in the [[Duchy of Milan]] in 1628, during the [[Duchy of Milan#Spanish Habsburg rule (1556–1707)|years of Spanish rule]], the novel is also noted for its extraordinary description of the [[1629–1631 Italian plague|plague that struck Milan around 1630]].

The novel deals with a variety of themes, for example: the illusory nature of political power and the inherent injustice of any legal system; the range of character among the Christian clergy from the cowardice of the parish priest Don Abbondio to the heroic sanctity of others (the friar Padre Cristoforo, the cardinal [[Federico Borromeo]]); and the unwavering strength of [[love]] (the relationship between Renzo and Lucia, and their struggle to finally meet again and be married). The novel is renowned for offering keen insights into the meanderings of the human mind.

{{Italian language}}

== Writing and publication ==
Manzoni found the basis for his novel in late April 1821 when he read a 1627 Italian edict that specified penalties for any priest who refused to perform a marriage when requested to do so.<ref>Manzoni had taken a book to read on holiday to [[Cormano|Brusuglio]], which contained the edict. It is also printed in Melchiorre Gioia's ''Economia e Statistica''.</ref> More material for his story came from [[Giuseppe Ripamonti]]'s ''Milanese Chronicles''.<ref name="Archibald Colquhoun 1954"/>

The first version, ''Fermo e Lucia'', was written between April 1821 and September 1823.<ref>Jean Pierre Barricelli. ''Alessandro Manzoni''. Twayne, Boston, 1976</ref> but never published it in his lifetime. He then heavily revised it, finishing in August 1825; it was published on 15 June 1827 after 22 months (1 year and 10 months) of corrections and proof-checking. Manzoni's chosen title, ''Gli sposi promessi'', was changed for the sake of euphony shortly before its final commitment to printing.

In the early 19th century, there was still controversy as to what form the standard literary language of Italy should take. Manzoni was firmly in favour of the dialect of [[Florence]] and, as he himself put it, after "washing his clothes in the [[Arno]] [the river passing through Florence]", he revised the novel's language for its republication in 1842, cleansing it of many Lombard regionalisms. The original name of one of the protagonists, Fermo, was changed for the same reason to Lorenzo.

''Il Fermo e Lucia'' was finally published for the first time posthumously in 1916 as ''Gli sposi promessi'' , published for the first time in their entirety in the autograph by Giuseppe Lesca, Naples, Francesco Perrella, Società Anonima Editrice in 1916. It was published as ''Fermo e Lucia'' in ''Tutte le opere di Alessandro Manzoni'', II, ''I Promessi sposi'', II.3, ''Fermo e Lucia. Prima composizione del 1821-1823''; A''ppendice storica su la colonna infame''. Primo abbozzo del 1823, a cura di Alberto Chiari e Fausto Ghisalberti, Milano, Mondadori in 1954. It was edited by Mario Martelli in Florence, Sansoni Editore, (1988 [1973]).

== Synopsis ==
=== Chapters 1–8: Flight from the village ===
[[Image:I promessi sposi - Lake Como.jpg|thumb|right|"That branch of the [[Lake Como|Lake of Como]]", chapter 1, illustrated by [[Luigi Riccardi]]]]
The setting is beautiful but marred with poverty. It begins with Renzo and Lucia, a couple living in a village in [[Lombardy]], near [[Lecco]], on [[Lake Como]], who are planning to wed on 8 November 1628. The parish priest, don Abbondio, is walking home on the eve of the wedding when he is accosted by two "[[bravi]]" (thugs) who warn him not to perform the marriage, because the local baron, Don Rodrigo has forbidden it.

When he presents himself for the wedding ceremony, Renzo is amazed to hear that the marriage is to be postponed (the priest didn't have the courage to tell the truth). An argument ensues and Renzo succeeds in extracting from the priest the name of Don Rodrigo. It turns out that Don Rodrigo has his eye on Lucia and that he had a bet about her with his cousin Count Attilio.

Lucia's mother, Agnese, advises Renzo to ask the advice of "Dr. Azzeccagarbugli" (Dr. Quibbleweaver, in Colquhoun's translation), a lawyer in the town of [[Lecco]]. Dr. Azzeccagarbugli is at first sympathetic: thinking Renzo is actually the perpetrator, he shows Renzo a recent edict criminalising the making of threats to procure or prevent marriages, but when he hears the name of Don Rodrigo, he panics and drives Renzo away. Lucia sends a message to "Fra Cristoforo" (Friar Christopher), a respected [[Order of Friars Minor Capuchin|Capuchin]] friar at the monastery of [[Pescarenico]], asking him to come as soon as he can.

Fra Christopher's back story is told. He used to be the son of a rich merchant and his birth name was Lodovico. He had a steward named Christopher, who was very faithful and had a family. While traveling along a road, Lodovico and his enemy had a standoff over who would lose face and pass on the outside. A fight broke out and an enemy bravo killed Christopher. Lodovico then killed Christopher's murderer. Lodovico then decided to become a friar after wrapping up his worldly affairs with Christopher's family and the family of the man he had killed. Lodovico became a friar, taking the name Fra Christopher.

[[Image:I promessi sposi - ch6.jpg|thumb|left|Fra Cristoforo and Don Rodrigo]]
When Fra Cristoforo comes to Lucia's cottage and hears the story, he immediately goes to Don Rodrigo's mansion, where he finds the baron at a meal with his cousin Count Attilio, along with four guests, including the mayor and Dr. Azzeccagarbugli. The power dynamics of the people at the dining table is evident. When Don Rodrigo is taken aside by the friar, he explodes with anger at his presumption and sends him away, but not before an old servant has a chance to offer his help to Cristoforo.

Meanwhile, Agnese has come up with a plan. In those days, it was possible for two people to marry by declaring themselves married before a priest and in the presence of two amenable witnesses. Renzo runs to his friend Tonio and offers him 25 [[Italian scudo|lire]] if he agrees to help. When Fra Cristoforo returns with the bad news, Lucia and Renzo argue about how to proceed. Lucia is a god-fearing woman and doesn't want to get married by law. Renzo doesn't care and wants to get married no matter what and acts harshly to Lucia. Eventually, they decide to put their plan into action.

The next morning, Lucia and Agnese are visited by beggars, Don Rodrigo's men in disguise. They examine the house in order to plan an assault. Late at night, Agnese distracts Don Abbondio's servant Perpetua while Tonio and his brother Gervaso enter Don Abbondio's study, ostensibly to pay a debt. They are followed indoors secretly by Lucia and Renzo. When they try to carry out their plan, the priest throws the tablecloth in Lucia's face and drops the lamp. They struggle in the darkness. The plan fails and the five flee.

In the meantime, Don Rodrigo's men invade Lucia's house, but nobody is there. A boy named Menico, friend of Lucia and Renzo, arrives with a message of warning from Fra Cristoforo and they seize him. When they hear the alarm being raised by the sacristan, who is calling for help on the part of Don Abbondio who raised the alarm of invaders in his home, they assume they have been betrayed and flee in confusion. Menico sees Agnese, Lucia and Renzo in the street and warns them not to return home. They go to the monastery, where Fra Cristoforo gives Renzo a letter of introduction to a certain friar at [[Milan]], and another letter to the two women, to organize a refuge at a convent in the nearby city of [[Monza]].

=== Chapters 9–10: The Nun of Monza ===
[[Image:I promessi sposi - Monaca di Monza.jpg|thumb|right|[[The Nun of Monza]]]]
They lament leaving Lecco. Renzo, Lucia, and Agnese part ways. Lucia is entrusted to the nun Gertrude, a strange and unpredictable noblewoman whose story is told in these chapters.

A child of the most important family of the area, her father decided to send her to the cloisters for no other reason than to simplify his affairs: he wished to keep his properties united for his first-born, heir to the family's title and riches. Growing up to be a nun she thought she was more superior than others. As she grew up, she sensed that she was being forced by her parents into a life which would comport but little with her personality. She was kept in a convent for most of her life and dreamed to escape.

To become a nun, Gertrude must go back to the outside world and reflect if she wants to leave it forever. She is excited until she finds that her own family locks her up inside and ignores her. She finds solace in an affair with a servant boy. When her father finds out, he is furious and threatens and manipulates her into agreeing to become a nun permanently.

The fear of scandal, as well as manoeuvre, menaces, and manipulation from her father, induced Gertrude to lie to her interviewers in order to enter the convent of [[Monza]], where she was received as ''la Signora''. This forms Gertrude's personality and mental state badly as her hate of being a nun seeps into her actions. ("the lady", also known as [[The Nun of Monza]]). Later, she fell under the spell of a young man of no scruples, Egidio, associated with the worst baron of that time, the ''Innominato'' (the "Unnamed"). Egidio and Gertrude became lovers. When another nun discovered their relationship they killed her and buried her near the garden wall.

=== Chapters 11–17: Renzo in Milan ===
[[Image:I promessi sposi - ch13.jpg|thumb|left|The Grand Chancellor Ferrer from chapter 13]]
Renzo arrives in famine-stricken Milan and goes to the monastery, but the friar he is seeking is absent and so he wanders further into the city. A bakery in the Corsia de' Servi, ''El prestin di scansc'' ("Bakery of the Crutches"), is destroyed by a mob, who then go to the house of the Commissioner of Supply in order to lynch him. He is saved in the nick of time by Ferrer, the Grand Chancellor, who arrives in a coach and announces he is taking the Commissioner to prison. Renzo becomes prominent as he helps Ferrer make his way through the crowd.

After witnessing these scenes, Renzo joins in a lively discussion and reveals views which attract the notice of a police agent in search of a scapegoat. The agent tries to lead Renzo directly to "the best inn" (i.e. prison) but Renzo is tired and stops at one nearby where, after being plied with drink, he reveals his full name and address. The next morning, he is awakened by a notary and two bailiffs, who handcuff him and start to take him away. In the street Renzo announces loudly that he is being punished for his heroism the day before and, with the aid of sympathetic onlookers and political unrest brewing, he escapes. Leaving the city by the same gate through which he entered, he sets off for [[Bergamo]], knowing that his cousin Bortolo lives in a village nearby. Once there, he will be beyond the reach of the authorities of Milan (under Spanish domination), as Bergamo is territory of the Most Serene [[Republic of Venice]].

At an inn in [[Gorgonzola, Milan|Gorgonzola]], he overhears a conversation which makes it clear to him how much trouble he is in and so he walks all night until he reaches the River [[Adda River|Adda]]. After a short sleep in a hut, he crosses the river at dawn in the boat of a fisherman and makes his way to his cousin's house, where he is welcomed as a silk-weaver under the pseudonym of Antonio Rivolta after he confesses everything to Bortolo. The same day, orders for Renzo's arrest reach the town of [[Lecco]], to the delight of Don Rodrigo.

=== Chapters 18–24: Lucia and the Unnamed ===
[[Image:I promessi sposi - ch20.jpg|thumb|right|Lucia is kidnapped from the convent]]
News of Renzo's disgrace comes to the convent, but later Lucia is informed that Renzo is safe with his cousin. Their reassurance is short-lived: when they receive no word from Fra Cristoforo for a long time, Agnese travels to Pescarenico, where she learns that he has been ordered by a superior to the town of Rimini. In fact, this has been engineered by Don Rodrigo and Count Attilio, who have leaned on a mutual uncle of the Secret Council, who has leaned on the Father Provincial. Meanwhile, Don Rodrigo has organised a plot to kidnap Lucia from the convent. This involves a great robber baron whose name has not been recorded, and who hence is called ''l'Innominato'', the Unnamed.

Gertrude, blackmailed by Egidio, a neighbor (acquaintance of ''l'Innominato'' and Gertrude's lover), persuades Lucia to run an errand which will take her outside the convent for a short while. In the street Lucia is seized and bundled into a coach. After a nightmarish journey, Lucia arrives at the castle of the Unnamed, where she is locked in a chamber.

[[Image:I promessi sposi - ch23.jpg|thumb|left|The Unnamed with [[Federigo Borromeo|Cardinal Borromeo]]]]
The Unnamed is troubled by the sight of her, and spends a horrible night in which memories of his past and the uncertainty of his future almost drive him to suicide. Meanwhile, Lucia spends a similarly restless night, during which she vows to renounce Renzo and maintain perpetual virginity if she is delivered from her predicament. Towards the morning, on looking out of his window, the Unnamed sees throngs of people walking past. They are going to listen to the famous Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal [[Federigo Borromeo]]. On impulse, the Unnamed leaves his castle in order to meet this man. This meeting prompts a miraculous conversion which marks the turning-point of the novel. The Unnamed announces to his men that his reign of terror is over. He decides to take Lucia back to her native land under his own protection, and with the help of the archbishop the deed is done.

=== Chapters 25–27: Fall of Don Rodrigo ===
The astonishing course of events leads to an atmosphere in which Don Rodrigo can be defied openly and his fortunes take a turn for the worse. Don Abbondio is reprimanded by the archbishop.

Lucia, miserable about her vow to renounce Renzo, still frets about him. He is now the subject of diplomatic conflict between Milan and Bergamo. Her life is not improved when a wealthy busybody, Donna Prassede, insists on taking her into her household and admonishing her for getting mixed up with a good-for-nothing like Renzo. Donna Prassede tries to warp Lucia's mindset of Renzo by making him seem evil.

Renzo and Agnes institute a correspondence using trustworthy literate people to write and read from them. A few letters in, Agnes does what she had promised Lucia and gives Renzo 50 crowns and tells him about Lucia's vow to not marry him. Renzo is enraged and refuses to accept both. He wants to return the crowns and ask Lucia why she made that vow.

=== Chapters 28–30: Famine and war ===
The government of Milan is unable to keep bread prices down by decree and the city is swamped by beggars. The ''[[lazzaretto]]'' is filled with the hungry and sick. Lazzarettos are sometimes churches or convents as in Chapter 30-33.

Meanwhile, the [[Thirty Years' War]] brings more calamities. The last three dukes of the house of Gonzaga die without legitimate heirs sparking a war for control of northern Italy, with France and the Holy Roman Empire backing rival claimants. In September 1629, German armies under [[Ramboldo, Count of Collalto|Count Rambaldo di Collalto]] descend on Italy, looting and destroying. Agnese, Don Abbondio and Perpetua take refuge in the well-defended territory of the Unnamed. In their absence, their village is wrecked by the mercenaries.

=== Chapters 31–33: Plague ===
These chapters are occupied with an account of the [[Italian Plague of 1629–1631|plague of 1630]], largely based on [[Giuseppe Ripamonti]]'s ''De peste quae fuit anno 1630'' (published in 1640). Manzoni's full version of this, ''Storia della Colonna Infame'', was finished in 1829, but was not published until it was included as an appendix to the revised edition of 1842.

The plague is not believed to actually be the plague by many, slow progress helps doubts arise in common people and even doctors. Most people in Italy think it has to do with Frenchmen enlisting witches to make poison from spiders. The spider poison is then spread around and that is how they believe the plague is spread.

As more people get sick, the capuchins help them in the Lazarettos. A memorable one is Fra Frederick. The Tribunal of Health is the government of Italy realize they need more people to help contain and manage the plague. Three classes are created under the Tribunal of Health. The 3rd class is the ''monatti'' who do the brunt work of carrying and deposing of the dead bodies, the 2nd ''apparittori'' are people who precede funerals, and the 1st class is the commissaries who oversee both of the lower two classes.

Another story/rumor is spread to back up the spider witch poison theory.

The end of August 1630 sees the death in Milan of the original villains of the story. It happens like so, back in Don Rodrigo's place, he is joyful and makes fun of the so-called illness. Until, one night after a party he catches the plague. In his fright, trusts Grizo to go get a doctor for him. Grizo betrays him for Don Roderick's riches and turns him into the ''monatti''. Grizo is then hit by karma when his greed to check for money in Don Roderigo's clothes makes him fall ill too, and dies quickly.

Renzo, troubled by Agnese's letters and recovering from plague, finally decides to search out Lucia. He returns to his native village to find that many of the inhabitants are dead and that his house and vineyard have been destroyed. He also finds Tony there, sick and brain damaged. The people put money in a bowl of vinegar to clean it from the plague.

There is a new way of life during the plague Renzo sees while traveling. Those who have survived the plague walk boldly while those who are healthy and have not, are fearful.

Renzo also finds Don Abbondio and gets information on what has happened. Don Abbondio urges him to go back, Renzo refuses. The warrant, and Don Rodrigo, are forgotten. A childhood friend of Renzo's tells him that Lucia is in Milan. He travels to Milan.

=== Chapters 34–38: Conclusion ===
On his arrival in Milan, Renzo is astonished at the state of the city. In Milan, it is mostly deserted. People are very wary and sad. Renzo sees all the empty houses and a mourning mother. His highland clothes invite suspicion that he is an "anointer"; that is, a foreign agent deliberately spreading plague in some way. He learns that Lucia is now languishing at the [[San Carlo al Lazzaretto, Milan|Lazzaretto of Milan]], along with 16,000 other victims of the plague.

While trying to ask for directions he is accused of having the spider poison. In the paranoia, everyone in the city believes it. Renzo is then caught between the growing mob and the ''monatti''. The ''monatti'' grab Renzo and save him.

In the ''monatti'' cart, Renzo is ill at ease. The ''monatti'' act like bullies and cheer to the never end of the plague. After riding for a bit, they reach the ''lazaretto''. Renzo escapes the monatti and sees all the sick people. Chapter 33 ends with Renzo stepping over the threshold of the ''lazaretto'' hoping to find Lucia.

But in fact, Lucia is already recuperating. Renzo and Lucia are reunited by Fra Cristoforo, but only after Renzo first visits and forgives the dying Don Rodrigo. The friar absolves her of her vow of celibacy. Renzo walks through a rainstorm to see Agnese at the village of Pasturo. When they all return to their native village, Lucia and Renzo are finally married by Don Abbondio and the couple make a fresh start at a silk-mill at the gates of Bergamo.

== Characters ==
{{multiple image
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| image1 = I promessi sposi - Renzo.jpg
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| footer = Renzo and Lucia in 1840 illustrations
}}
* '''Lorenzo''' "'''Renzo'''" '''Tramaglino''' is a young silk-weaver of humble origins, engaged to Lucia, whom he loves deeply. Initially rather naïve, he becomes more worldly wise during the story as he is confronted with many difficulties: he is separated from Lucia and then unjustly accused of being a criminal. Renzo is somewhat hot-tempered, but also gentle and honest.
* '''Lucia Mondella''' is a kind young woman who loves Renzo; she is pious and devoted, but also very shy and demure. She is forced to flee from her village to escape from Don Rodrigo in one of the most famous scenes of Italian literature, the ''Addio ai monti'' or "[[Farewell to the Mountains]]".
* '''{{ill|Don Abbondio|it|Don Abbondio}}''' is a [[Catholic priest]] who refuses to marry Renzo and Lucia because he has been threatened by Don Rodrigo's men; he meets the two protagonists several times during the novel. The cowardly, morally mediocre Don Abbondio provides most of the book's [[comic relief]]; however, he is not merely a [[stock character]], as his moral failings are portrayed by Manzoni with a mixture of irony, sadness and pity, as has been noted by [[Luigi Pirandello]] in his essay "On Humour" (''Saggio sull'Umorismo'').
* '''Fra Cristoforo''' is a brave and generous [[friar]] who helps Renzo and Lucia, acting as a sort of "father figure" to both and as the moral compass of the novel. Fra Cristoforo was the son of a wealthy family, and joined the [[Capuchin Order]] after killing a man.
* '''Don Rodrigo''' is a cruel and despicable [[Spaniard|Spanish]] nobleman and the novel's main villain. As overbearing local baron, he decides to forcibly prevent the marriage of Renzo and Lucia, threatens to kill Don Abbondio if he marries the two and tries to kidnap Lucia. He is a clear reference to the foreign domination and oppression in [[Lombardy]], first dominated by [[Habsburg Spain|Spain]] and later by the [[Austrian Empire]].
[[Image:I promessi sposi - Innominato.jpg|thumb|right|L'Innominato]]
* '''L'Innominato''' (literally: '''the Unnamed''') is probably the novel's most complex character, a powerful and feared criminal of very high family who is torn between his ferocious past and the increasing disgust that he feels for his life. Based on the historical character of [[Francesco Bernardino Visconti]],<ref>In September 1832, Manzoni wrote in a letter to his friend [[Cesare Cantù]]: "L'Innominato è certamente Bernardino Visconti. Per l<nowiki>'</nowiki>''æqua potestas quidlibet audendi'' ho trasportato il suo castello nella Valsassina." ("The Unnamed is certainly Bernardino Visconti. For the equal right to dare to do anything [a reference to [[Horace]]'s ''[[Ars Poetica (Horace)|Ars Poetica]]'', v. 10], I transported his castle in the [[Valsassina]]"). The letter is number 1613 (page 443) in the 1986 edition by Cesare Arieti & Dante Isella of Manzoni's letters.</ref> who was really converted by a visit of Federigo Borromeo.
* '''Agnese Mondella''' is Lucia's mother: goodhearted and sagacious but often indiscreet.
* '''[[Federico Borromeo|Federigo Borromeo]]''' is a virtuous and zealous cardinal; an actual historical character, younger cousin of [[Charles Borromeo|Saint Charles Borromeo]].
* '''Perpetua''' is Don Abbondio's loquacious servant.
* '''La monaca di Monza''' ('''[[The Nun of Monza]]''') is a tragic figure, a bitter, frustrated, sexually deprived and ambiguous woman. She befriends Lucia and becomes genuinely fond of her, but her dark past haunts her. This character is based on an actual woman, [[Marianna de Leyva]].
* '''Griso''' is one of Don Rodrigo's henchmen, a silent and treacherous man.
* Dr. '''Azzeccagarbugli''' ("Quibble-weaver") is a corrupt lawyer.
* '''Count Attilio''' is Don Rodrigo's malevolent cousin.
* '''Nibbio''' (literally "[[kite (bird)]]") is the Innominato's right-hand man, who precedes and then happily follows his master's way of redemption.
* '''Don Ferrante''' is a phony intellectual and erudite scholar who believes the plague is caused by astrological forces.
* '''Donna Prassede''' is Don Ferrante's wife, who is willing to help Lucia but is also an opinionated busybody.

== Significance ==
The novel is commonly described as "the most widely read work in the Italian language."<ref name="Betrothed">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704422204576130253915553800|title=The Great Italian Novel, a Love Story|first=William|last=Amelia|date=12 February 2011|work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> It became a model for subsequent Italian literary fiction.<ref name="Betrothed"/> Scholar Sergio Pacifici states that no other Italian literary work, with the exception of the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'', "has been the object of more intense scrutiny or more intense scholarship."<ref name="Betrothed"/>

Many Italians believe that the novel is not fully appreciated abroad.<ref name="Betrothed"/> In Italy the novel is considered a true masterpiece of world literature and a basis for the modern [[Italian language]],<ref>[http://manzoni.classicauthors.net/IPromessiSposiOrTheBetrothed/IPromessiSposiOrTheBetrothed1.html I Promessi sposi or The Betrothed] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718073016/http://manzoni.classicauthors.net/IPromessiSposiOrTheBetrothed/IPromessiSposiOrTheBetrothed1.html |date=18 July 2011 }}</ref> and as such is widely studied in Italian secondary schools (usually in the second year, when students are 15). Many expressions, quotes and names from the novel are still commonly used in Italian, such as ''Perpetua'' (meaning a priest's house worker) or ''Questo matrimonio non s'ha da fare'' ("This marriage is not to be performed", used ironically).

The novel is not only about love and power: the great questions about evil, about innocents suffering, are the underlying theme of the book. The chapters 31–34, about the famine and the plague, are a powerful picture of material and moral devastation. Manzoni does not offer simple answers but leaves those questions open for the reader to meditate on.<ref>Ezio Raimondi, ''Il romanzo senza idillio. Saggio sui Promessi Sposi'', Einaudi, Torino, 1974</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2024}} The main idea, proposed throughout the novel, is that, against the many injustices that they suffer in their life, the poor can only hope, at best, in a small anticipation of the divine justice, which can be expected in its entirety only in the afterlife: therefore life should be lived with faith and endurance, in the expectation of a reward in the afterlife.

''The Betrothed'' has similarities with [[Walter Scott]]'s historic novel ''[[Ivanhoe]]'', although evidently distinct.<ref>From Georg Lukàcs, "The Historical Novel" (1969): "In Italy Scott found a successor who, though in a single, isolated work, nevertheless broadened his tendencies with superb originality, in some respect surpassing him. We refer, of course, to Manzoni's ''I Promessi Sposi'' (The Betrothed). Scott himself recognized Manzoni's greatness. When in Milan Manzoni told him that he was his pupil, Scott replied that in that case Manzoni's was his best work. It is, however, very characteristic that while Scott was able to write a profusion of novels about English and Scottish society, Manzoni confined himself to this single masterpiece."</ref>

''I promessi sposi'' was made into an opera of the same name by [[Amilcare Ponchielli]]<ref>http://opera.stanford.edu/Ponchielli/ Stanford University (website); List of operas written by Amilcare Ponchielli (accessed 16 August 2012)</ref> in 1856 and by [[Errico Petrella]]<ref>Sebastian Werr: Die Opern von Errico Petrella; Edition Praesens, Vienna, 1999</ref> in 1869. There have been many film versions of ''I promessi sposi'', including ''I promessi sposi'' (1908),<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=3815357|title=Milano Films: The Exemplary History of a Film Company of the 1910s|first1=Raffaele|last1=De Berti|author2-link=Giorgio Bertellini|first2=Giorgio|last2=Bertellini|date=17 March 2018|journal=Film History|volume=12|issue=3|pages=276–287}}</ref> ''[[The Betrothed (1941 film)|The Betrothed]]'' (1941)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034071/|title=The Spirit and the Flesh|date=30 October 1948|publisher=IMDb}}</ref> ''The Betrothed'' (1990),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809394199/info |title=The Betrothed (1990) – Movie Info – Yahoo! Movies |access-date=2017-01-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628224754/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809394199/info |archive-date=28 June 2011 }}</ref> and ''Renzo and Lucia'', made for television in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347869/|title=Renzo e Lucia|date=13 January 2004|publisher=IMDb}}</ref> A "modern opera" version, called ''[[:it:I promessi sposi – Opera moderna|The Betrothed Lovers]]'', was written and produced by Michele Guardi with music by Pippo Flora, and [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x75kq3i first performed in 2010].

In May 2015, at a weekly general audience at [[St. Peter's Square]], [[Pope Francis]] asked engaged couples to read the novel for edification before marriage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1502269.htm |title=CNS STORY: Pope urges engaged couples to take time, be open to God's surprises |access-date=2018-07-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530031427/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1502269.htm |archive-date=30 May 2015 }}</ref>

== English translations ==
===Unabridged===
====1823 Version====
''Fermo e Lucia'' (''Gli Sposi Promessi'') is still untranslated.

====1827 Version====
* The Betrothed Lovers by G. W. Featherstonhaugh (1834)
* ''Lucia, the Betrothed'' by Anonymous, published by George Dearborn, New York (1834).
* The Betrothed by Anonymous, published by Richard Bentley (1834)
* The Betrothed by Anonymous, published by James Burns (November 1844). This translation was the one most reprinted in the 19th century.

====1842 Version====
* ''The Betrothed Lovers by Anonymous'', published by Longman, Green, Brown, and Longmans (1845)
* ''The Betrothed'' (1924), by Daniel J. Connor
* ''The Betrothed'' (1951, with later revisions until 1997), by [[Archibald Colquhoun (translator)|Archibald Colquhoun]], {{ISBN|978-0-375-71234-0}}<ref name="Oxon Guide">{{Cite book|title=The Oxford Guide to Literature in English Translation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pmNoS2dndKsC&pg=PA490|author=Matthew Reynolds|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2000|page=490|isbn=0-19-818359-3}}</ref>
* ''The Betrothed'' (1972), by Bruce Penman, Penguin Books, {{ISBN|0-14-044274-X}}
* ''The Betrothed'' (2022), by Michael F. Moore, The Modern Library, {{ISBN|9780679643562}}. [https://www.wsj.com/articles/fiction-the-betrothed-italian-classic-novel-review-alessandro-manzoni-11663948195 Review]

===Abridged===
====1827 Version====
* ''The Betrothed Lovers'' (1828), by the Reverend Charles Swan, published at Pisa.<ref name="Oxon Guide"/>

====1842 Version====
* ''Promise of Fidelity'' (2002), by Omero Sabatini, {{ISBN|0-7596-5344-5}}

Reviewing previous translations in 1972, Bruce Penham found that the vast majority of English translations used the first unrevised and inferior 1827 edition of the novel in Italian and often cut material unannounced.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Penham |first1=Bruce |chapter=Introduction |title=The betrothed |date=1972 |publisher=Penguin |location=New York |isbn=014044274X |page=13}}</ref>

== Film adaptations ==
The novel has been adapted into films on several occasions including:
* ''[[The Betrothed (1923 film)|The Betrothed]]'' (1923)
* ''[[The Betrothed (1941 film)|The Betrothed]]'' (1941)
* ''[[The Betrothed (1964 film)|The Betrothed]]'' (1964)
* ''I promessi sposi'', Italian fiction produced by [[RAI]] in 1967, directed by [[Sandro Bolchi]], screenplayed with [[Riccardo Bacchelli]].
* ''[[The Betrothed (miniseries)|I promessi sposi]]'', Italian fiction produced by RAI in 1989, directed by [[Salvatore Nocita]].
* ''I promessi sposi'', Italian fiction [[parody#Modernist and post-modernist parody|parody]] produced by RAI in 1990, directed and interpreted by ''Il Trio'' (formed by [[Anna Marchesini]], [[Massimo Lopez]] and [[Tullio Solenghi]]).

==See also==
* [[Divine providence]]
* [[Paride Zajotti]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://crtpesaro.altervista.org/Cultura%20e%20Storia/Letteratura/Sezione%20Manzoniana/The%20Betrothed%20Lovers%20Review%20by%20E.A.%20Poe.php A review of ''The Betrothed''] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130113065923/http://crtpesaro.altervista.org/Cultura%20e%20Storia/Letteratura/Sezione%20Manzoniana/The%20Betrothed%20Lovers%20Review%20by%20E.A.%20Poe.php |date=13 January 2013 }} written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1835 and published in the ''Southern Literary Messenger''.
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35155 1834 English translation of ''The Betrothed''] from [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [https://archive.org/details/betrothedanewtr00manzgoog 1844 English translation of ''The Betrothed'']
* [http://it.wikisource.org/wiki/I_promessi_sposi Complete Italian text of ''I promessi sposi'']
* {{librivox book|title=The Betrothed|author=Alessandro MANZONI}}

{{Alessandro Manzoni}}
{{The Betrothed}}
{{Ivanhoe}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betrothed, The}}
[[Category:1827 novels]]
[[Category:1842 novels]]
[[Category:Italian historical novels]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian novels]]
[[Category:Italian-language works]]
[[Category:Catholic novels]]
[[Category:Italian novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1628]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 1630]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1620s]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1630s]]
[[Category:Novels set in Milan]]
[[Category:Italian novels adapted into operas]]
[[Category:Works by Alessandro Manzoni]]

William Combe

2025-09-20T19:48:19Z

160.202.146.212: /* Novels */

{{short description|British writer and adventurer (1742-1823)}}
{{other people}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2025}}
[[File:William Combe, drawn by Georg Dance, 1793. National Portrait Gallery.jpg|thumb|Portrait of William Combe drawn by [[George Dance the Younger|George Dance]] (1793)]]
[[File:SYNTAX(1813) - 02 - Doctor Syntax, Losing his Way.jpg|thumb|Dr Syntax, losing his way. Combe wrote verses to accompany [[Thomas Rowlandson]]'s comic caricatures.]]
[[File:DR SYNTAX IN DANGER, print after a drawing by Thomas Rowlandson.jpg|thumb|''Dr Syntax in Danger'', print after a drawing by Thomas Rowlandson]]
'''William Combe''' (25 March 1742{{snd}}19 June 1823) was a British miscellaneous writer. His early life was that of an adventurer; his later was passed chiefly within the "rules" of the [[King's Bench Prison]]. He is most notable as the author of ''The Three Tours of Doctor Syntax'', a comic poem, illustrated by artist [[Thomas Rowlandson]]'s colour plates, that satirised [[William Gilpin (priest)|William Gilpin]]. Combe also wrote a series of imaginary letters, supposed to have been written by the second, or "wicked" [[Thomas Lyttelton, 2nd Baron Lyttelton|Lord Lyttelton]]. Of a similar kind were his letters between [[Jonathan Swift|Swift]] and "[[Esther Johnson|Stella]]". He also wrote the letterpress for various illustrated books, and was a general [[hack writer|hack]].

== Early life ==
Combe's father, Robert Combes, was a rich Bristol ironmonger who died in 1756; his mother, Susannah Hill (died 1748), was from a Quaker background. He was educated at [[Eton College]], but was withdrawn from the school by William Alexander, his guardian, on his father's death; Alexander died in 1762. He inherited from both his father and guardian, aspired to the status of gentleman, and changed his name to Combe. He spent his fortune, travelled and was nicknamed "Count Combe"; and in the period 1769–1773 was low in funds, existing in France, Wales and the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]].<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=6022|first=Vincent|last=Carretta|title=Combe, William}}</ref>

In 1773 [[Robert Berkeley (writer)|Robert Berkeley]] employed Combe to edit [[Thomas Falkner]]'s ''Description of Patagonia''. Combe then settled to work as a writer and book editor.<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Works==
{{more footnotes needed|section|date= May 2016}}
[[File:Dr Syntax.jpg|thumb|upright|A Derby Porcelain figure of ''Dr Syntax'' in [[Derby Museum and Art Gallery|Derby Museum]] ]]
In 1776 Combe made his first success in London with ''The Diaboliad'', a satire full of bitter personal attacks. Four years later, in 1780, debts brought him into the [[King's Bench Prison]], and much of his subsequent life was spent in prison.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Combe's spurious ''Letters of the Late Lord Lyttelton'' (1780) took in many of his contemporaries: as late as 1851, a writer in the ''[[Quarterly Review]]'' regarded these letters as authentic, basing on them a claim to have solved the riddle of [[identity of Junius]], in [[Thomas Lyttelton, 2nd Baron Lyttelton]]. An early acquaintance with [[Laurence Sterne]] resulted in Combe's anonymous ''Letters supposed to have been written by Yorick and Eliza'' (1779), the named characters being from Sterne's ''[[The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman]]''. Periodical literature of all sorts—pamphlets, satires, burlesques, "two thousand columns for the papers," "two hundred biographies"<ref>Hotten (1895), p. XLVIII</ref>—filled up the next years, and about 1789 Combe was receiving £200 yearly from the [[William Pitt the Younger|Pitt government]] as a [[pamphleteer]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

In 1790 and 91, the six volumes of a ''Devil on Two Sticks in England'' won for Combe the title of "the English le Sage". In 1794 he ghost-wrote the [[Aeneas Anderson]] memoir of the [[Macartney Embassy]] to Peking, ''A Narrative of the British Embassy to China, in the Years 1792, 1793, and 1794''. In 1794–1796 he wrote the text for Boydell's ''History of the River Thames'', and in 1803 he began to write for ''[[The Times]]''. From 1809 to 1811 he wrote for Ackermann's ''The Poetical Magazine'' the serialized comic poem ''The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque'', descriptive and moralizing verse illustrated by artist [[Thomas Rowlandson]]'s colour plates.<ref name=toonopedia>[http://toonopedia.com/syntax.htm Don Markstein's Toonopedia: The Tours of Dr. Syntax] ''The Tours of Dr. Syntax'' at [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]. [https://archive.today/20240527202740/https://www.webcitation.org/6hGl6ye77?url=http://toonopedia.com/syntax.htm Archived] from the original on May 5, 2016.</ref> It satirised [[William Gilpin (priest)|William Gilpin]], who toured Britain to describe his theory of the [[Picturesque]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/sense_of_place/series2/prog_2_tourist.shtml | title=Sense of Place: The Life and Death of Dr Syntax | publisher=BBC | date=September 2003 | access-date=26 May 2014 | author=Whysall, Andy}}</ref> It was collected in book form in 1812, and was followed by two similar Tours, "...in search of Consolation" (1819) and "...in search of a Wife,"<ref name=toonopedia /> the first Mrs Syntax having died at the end of the first Tour.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The second Tour was collected as an 1820 book, and the third tour as an 1821 book. Some reprint editions over the next several decades rendered Rowlandson's colour plates in black and white.<ref name=toonopedia />

Then came ''Six Poems in illustration of drawings by Princess Elizabeth'' (1813), ''The English Dance of Death'' (1815–1816), ''The Dance of Life'' (1816–1817), ''The Adventures of Johnny Quae Genus'' (1822)—all written for Rowlandson's caricatures; together with histories of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], and of [[Westminster Abbey]] for Ackermann; ''Picturesque Tours along the Rhine and other rivers'', ''Histories of Madeira'', ''Antiquities of York'', texts for Turner's ''Southern Coast Views'', and contributions innumerable to the ''Literary Repository''.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Combe died in London on 19 June 1823.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==Bibliography==
===Poetry===
[[File:Dr syntax landing at Calais.JPG|thumb|A depiction of Dr Syntax landing at Calais from the tour of Dr Syntax]]

* ''Clifton: a poem in imitation of Spenser''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HgoVAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP1|title=Clifton, a Poem. In Imitation of Spenser|first=William|last=Combe|date=20 November 1775|publisher=G. Routh|access-date=20 November 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref> (Bristol 1775)
* ''The Diaboliad: a Poem: Dedicated to the worst man in His Majesty's dominions. Also, the diabo-lady: or, a match in hell'' (1777)
* ''The Tour of Dr Syntax in Search of the Picturesque. A Poem'' (1812)
*''The English Dance of Death''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Digitale Sammlungen / The English dance of death|url=http://digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de/urn/urn:nbn:de:hbz:061:1-64932|access-date=20 November 2019|website=digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de}}</ref> 2 vols. (1815–16)]
* ''The Dance of Life'' (1817)
* ''The Second Tour in Search of Consolation'' (1820)
* ''Third Tour in Search of a Wife'' (1821)
* ''The History of Johnny Quae Genus, The Little Foundling of the Late Doctor Syntax'' (1822)
* ''The first of April: or, The triumphs of folly''
* ''The justification''
* ''The life of Napoleon, a Hudibrastic poem in fifteen cantos, by Doctor Syntax''

===Novels===
* ''The Devil upon 2 Sticks in England: being a continuation of'' Le diable boiteux ''of [[Alain-René Lesage]]'' (''Le Sage''). (1st and 2nd editions in 4 volumes: 1790 and expanded 3rd-5th editions edition in 6 volumes: 1791, 1811, and 1817)
* ''Letters between Amelia in London and her mother in the country'' (1824) - posthumous

===Edited letters===
* ''Letters from Eliza to Yorick'' (1775)
* ''Letters supposed to have been written by Yorick and Eliza''. 2 vols (1779)
* ''Letters to His Friends on Various Occasions by Laurence Sterne'' (1775)
* ''Original letters of the late Reverend Mr. [[Laurence Sterne]]: Never Before Published.'' (1788)
* ''Letters of the Late Lord Lyttleton.'' 2 vols (1780–2)

===Non-fiction on England===
* ''The Philosopher in Bristol'' (1775)
* ''An History of the River Thames''. 2 vols (1794–96)
* ''The Thames, or Graphic Illustrations''. 2 vols (1811)
* ''Microcosm of London:'' Vol 3 (1811)
* ''The history and antiquities of the city of York, from its origin to the present times''
* ''A word in season to the traders and manufacturers of Great Britain''
* ''Adam Anderson's A historical and chronological deduction of the origin of commerce from the earliest accounts. Containing an history of the great commercial interests of the British Empire. To which is prefixed an introduction, exhibiting a view of the ancient and modern state of Europe; of the importance of our colonies; and of the commerce, shipping, manufactures, fisheries, &c., of Great-Britain and Ireland; and their influence on the landed interest. With an appendix, containing the modern politico-commercial geography of the several countries of Europe. Carefully rev., cor. and continued to the present times (editor)''

==Translations==
* ''Doctor Syntaxes Reise at opsøge det Pittoreske'', Danish translation (1820)
* ''Le Don Quichotte Romantique, ou voyage du Docteur Syntaxe'', French translation (1821)
* ''Des Doktor Syntax Reise : ein Gedicht in 26 Gesängen nebst dreißig kolorirten Steinstichen; Herausgegeben zum Besten der Königlichen Preußischen General-Post-Armen-Kasse.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de/dfg/content/titleinfo/2710158|title=Düsseldorfer Malerschule (DFG) / Die Reise des Doktor Syntax, um das Malerische aufzusuchen|website=digital.ub.uni-duesseldorf.de|access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref> (1822)
* ''Die Reisen des Doctors Syntax. Dem Deutschen einverleibt von Wolf-Dieter Bach und mit ihm gemeinsam herausgegeben von [[Norbert Miller]] und Karl Riha''. 2 vols (1983)
* ''Doctor Syntax op zoek naar het pittoreske'', Dutch translation by Martin Hulsenboom, Uitgeverij Ad. Donker, Rotterdam (2015)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===General references===
* John Camden Hotten: ''The Life and Adventures of the Author of "Doctor Syntax”''; in: ''Dr Syntax's Three Tours in Search of the Picturesque, of Consolation, and of a Wife''. By William Combe. London: Chatto & Windus (1895), V – XLVIII.
* Harlan W Hamilton: Doctor Syntax – A Silhouette of Combe. London: Chatto & Windus (1969)
* Francesca Orestano: "The Revd William Gilpin and the Picturesque; Or, Who's Afraid of Doctor Syntax?" ''Garden History'' Vol. 31, No. 2 (Winter, 2003): 163–179.

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.booksandwriters.co.uk/writer/C/william-combe.asp William Combe] at Books and Writers
* {{Gutenberg author | id=Combe,+William }}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=William Combe}}
* {{Librivox author |id=11398}}

'''Attribution:'''
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Combe, William|volume=6|page=751}}
*{{A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Combe, William}}
[[Category:1742 births]]
[[Category:1823 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:18th-century English writers]]
[[Category:18th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century English writers]]
[[Category:People imprisoned for debt]]