Boiardo, Matteo Maria, Conte (count) Di Scandiano

Poet whose Orlando innamorato, the first poem to combine elements of both Arthurian and Carolingian traditions of romance, gave new life to the chivalrous epic, which was declining in popularity. Boiardo spent much of his childhood at Ferrara, and served the dukes of Este. He was captain of the ducal forces at Modena