Cantus Interruptus exhibition at Fisher Library

2024 marks the 550th anniversary of the birth of Ludovico Ariosto, author of the great Italian chivalric epic, Orlando Furioso. Ariosto's themes of chivalry, war, and love, along with his technique of cantus interruptus – leaving one character at a critical point to catch up with the fortunes of another, or else allowing a character to burst in and disrupt the narrative – paved the way for the familiar formats of radio and TV soap operas we know and love today. 

To mark this anniversary, Professor Emeritus Nerida Newbigin has curated a selection of epic treasures from Rare Books and Special Collections that highlight the appeal of multi-episodic stories and their evolution over time.

Items in the exhibition include several copies of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso from the 16th and 17th centuries. Also included is The Song of Roland, which tells of the exploits of Roland, a knight in the service of Charlemagne, at the battle of Roncesvalles in 778. More recent examples included are Virginia Woolf's Orlando and David Lodge's Small World. However, the most widely-recognised example of multi-episodic tales might be Neighbours, the Australian TV show that began in 1985 and has amassed over 8,900 episodes to date. 

Cantus Interruptus: Epic Tales from Roncesvalles to Ramsay Street is currently on display on level 3 of Fisher Library.