ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers how Gallus-Maximianus was read during his period of ascendancy. It also considers how and why Lydia bella puella candida—by far the most widely imitated of all the pseudo-Gallan poems—became associated with Gallus, and investigate the reasons for its success. The book focuses on how the two main strands in the reception of Gallus such as the poet of old age and the poet of love, fed into the broader literary culture, and survey neo-Latin and vernacular imitations of Gaurico’s Gallus. The Renaissance Gallus had a real existence, and his works really were read, appreciated and imitated. The book shows that the Aldine elegiacs were forged by Didacus Pyrrhus Lusitanus.
