| Franco-Italian | |
|---|---|
| Franco-Venetian, Franco-Lombard | |
| Region | Northern Italy |
| Era | Mid 13th century AD-15th century AD[1] |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
Franco-Italian, also known asFranco-Venetian orFranco-Lombard, in Italy aslingua franco-veneta "Franco-Venetan language", was aliterary language used in parts of northern Italy, from the mid-13th century to into the 15th century.[1][2] It was employed by writers includingBrunetto Latini andRustichello da Pisa and was presumably only a written language, and not aspoken one.[3]
Absent a standard form for literary works of theGallo-Italic languages at the time, writers in genres including theromance employed a hybrid language strongly influenced by theFrench language (at this period, the group calledlangues d'oïl). They sometimes described this type of literary Franco-Italian simply as French.[3]
Franco-Italian literature began to appear in northern Italy in the first half of the 13th century, with theLivre d'Enanchet. Its vitality was exhausted around the 15th century with theTurin copy of theHuon d'Auvergne (1441).
Prominent masterpieces include two versions of theChanson de Roland,[3] the very first version ofThe Travels of Marco Polo and theEntrée d'Espagne.[4]
The last original text of the Franco-Italian tradition is probablyAquilon de Bavière by Raffaele da Verona, who wrote it between1379 and1407.