Belfagor arcidiavolo
Encyclopedia
Belfagor arcidiavolo is a novella
by Niccolò Machiavelli
. It was written between 1518 and 1527 and published with Machiavelli's collected works in 1549. It is also known under the titles La favola di Belfagor Arcidiavolo or Il demonio che prese moglie.
An abbreviated version of Machiavelli's "favola" (tale) was issued under the name of Giovanni Brevio in 1545. Giovanni Francesco Straparola
included his own version as the fourth story of the second night in his Le piacevoli notti (1557). Other versions have followed, including a poem by Luigi Pirandello
and a stage adaptation by Morselli that was produced in 1921.
The "devil takes a wife" story influenced several English works: a version of it occurs in the conclusion of Rich His Farewell to Military Profession (1581) by Barnabe Rich
. The popular play Grim the Collier of Croydon
(published 1662) shows Machiavelli's influence. An English translation of Machiavelli's work was published in London in 1647 as The Devil a Married Man: or The Devil Hath Met with His Match. This was adapted into a play called The Devil and the Parliament (1648), which was followed by John Wilson's Belphegor, or The Marriage of the Devil (1691).
In the nineteenth century, William Makepeace Thackeray
produced his own version of the tale.
notes that crowds of male souls arrive in Hell
blaming their wives for their misery. He summons a parliament, which decides to send the former-archangel-now-archdevil Belfagor to the Earth to investigate. Belfagor assumes a human form as one Roderigo of Castile, and comes to Florence
with a hundred thousand ducats
; he marries a woman named Onesta Donati. Soon her vanity and wasteful spending, and the demands of her relatives, reduce him to poverty and debt. He flees imprisonment, pursued by creditors and magistrates; rescued by the peasant Gianmatteo, Belfagor grants his rescuer the power to drive devils out of possessed women — which eventually causes major problems for the peasant in turn. In the end, Belfagor gratefully returns to Hell, denouncing the institution of marriage.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
. It was written between 1518 and 1527 and published with Machiavelli's collected works in 1549. It is also known under the titles La favola di Belfagor Arcidiavolo or Il demonio che prese moglie.
An abbreviated version of Machiavelli's "favola" (tale) was issued under the name of Giovanni Brevio in 1545. Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Giovanni Francesco Straparola
Giovanni Francesco "Gianfrancesco" Straparola was an Italian writer and fairy tale collector from Caravaggio, Italy. He has been termed the progenitor of the literary form of the fairy tale in Europe...
included his own version as the fourth story of the second night in his Le piacevoli notti (1557). Other versions have followed, including a poem by Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, and short story writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934, for his "bold and brilliant renovation of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works include novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40 plays, some of which are written...
and a stage adaptation by Morselli that was produced in 1921.
The "devil takes a wife" story influenced several English works: a version of it occurs in the conclusion of Rich His Farewell to Military Profession (1581) by Barnabe Rich
Barnabe Rich
Barnabe Rich , was an English author and soldier, and a distant relative of Lord Chancellor Rich....
. The popular play Grim the Collier of Croydon
Grim the Collier of Croydon
Grim the Collier of Croyden; or, The Devil and his Dame: with the Devil and Saint Dunston is a seventeenth-century play of uncertain authorship, first published in 1662. The play's title character is an established figure of the popular culture and folklore of the time who appeared in songs and...
(published 1662) shows Machiavelli's influence. An English translation of Machiavelli's work was published in London in 1647 as The Devil a Married Man: or The Devil Hath Met with His Match. This was adapted into a play called The Devil and the Parliament (1648), which was followed by John Wilson's Belphegor, or The Marriage of the Devil (1691).
In the nineteenth century, William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
produced his own version of the tale.
Synopsis
The story derives from Medieval Slavic folklore (and gave birth to a German and North-European version featuring a Friar Rush). In Machiavelli's account, PlutoPluto (mythology)
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Pluto was a name for the ruler of the underworld; the god was also known as Hades, a name for the underworld itself...
notes that crowds of male souls arrive in Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
blaming their wives for their misery. He summons a parliament, which decides to send the former-archangel-now-archdevil Belfagor to the Earth to investigate. Belfagor assumes a human form as one Roderigo of Castile, and comes to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
with a hundred thousand ducats
Ducat
The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...
; he marries a woman named Onesta Donati. Soon her vanity and wasteful spending, and the demands of her relatives, reduce him to poverty and debt. He flees imprisonment, pursued by creditors and magistrates; rescued by the peasant Gianmatteo, Belfagor grants his rescuer the power to drive devils out of possessed women — which eventually causes major problems for the peasant in turn. In the end, Belfagor gratefully returns to Hell, denouncing the institution of marriage.