Boiardo was born at, or near, Scandiano (today"s province of Reggio Emilia). The son of Giovanni di Feltrino and Lucia Strozzi, he was of noble lineage, ranking as Count of Scandiano, with seignorial power over Arceto, Casalgrande, Gesso, and Torricella.
At an early age he entered the University of Ferrara, where he acquired a good knowledge of Greek and Latin, and even of the Oriental languages. He was in due time admitted doctor in philosophy and in law. Almost all Boiardo"s works, and especially the Orlando Innamorato, were composed for the amusement of Duke Ercole and his court, though not written within its precincts.
His practice, it is said, was to retire to Scandiano or some other of his estates, and there to devote himself to composition, and historians state that he took care to insert in the descriptions of his poem those of the agreeable environs of his chateau, and that the greater part of the names of his heroes, as Mandricardo, Gradasse, Sacripant, Agramant and others, were merely the names of some of his peasants, which, from their uncouthness, appeared to him proper to be given to Saracen warriors.
lieutenant is uncertain when Boiardo wrote a poem about a self-composed, unusual Tarot game, which is of relevance to Tarot research of the 15th century and the question of when Tarot developed. A deck, which was produced according to the poem (probably shortly after Boiardo"s death) has partially survived.
