Amadis
a much used name in the chivalric poetry of the Middle Ages. Of the numerous romances that may be grouped under it, that which narrates the adventures of Amadis of Gaul is at once the most ancient and the best. Castilian and Portuguese versions of the 13th and 14th centuries were lost. Instead of these, we have a Spanish version of almost 100 years later, written by Garcia Ordoñez de Montalvo about AMALIA 1465, but first printed in 1508. This prose romance is one of the three spared by the licentiate and the barber at the burning of Don Quixote's books. Its hero is Amadis, the model of every knightly virtue, son of King Perion of Gaul and Elisena, Princess of Brittany. The work is wearisome from its length, but it contains many pathetic and striking passages, and has great value as a mirror of the manners of the age of chivalry.
The Spanish Amadis romances consist of 12 books, of which the first four contain the history of Amadis of Gaul. The earliest edition now in existence bears the date of 1508. A French translation appeared in 1540, an Italian in 1546, and an English in 1588, while a version of German was published in 1583. Lastly, a Frenchman, Gilbert Saunier Duverdier, at the beginning of the 17th century, arranged all averaler, these romances into a harmonious and consecutive series, and with his compilation in seven volumes, the "Roman des Romans," brought the history of Amadis and the series of about 50 volumes to a close. A version of the old romance in French was published by Creuzé de Lesser, in 1813; in English, by William Stewart Rose, in 1803; while the literary skill of Southey produced, in 1803, an abridgment that is still readable.
AMALFI (am-al'fē), a city and seaport, in the province of Salerno, Italy; on the Gulf of Salerno; 22 miles S. E. of Naples. It was founded in the 4th century; was the birthplace of Flavio Gioja, the inventor of the mariner's compass; became the capital of the republic; and attained very large commercial importance. It contained a cathedral with bronze doors cast in Constantinople in 1066, and a Capuchin monastery. On Dec. 24, 1899, a portion of the rocks and land facing the Gulf suddenly slid into the water, carrying down the ancient monastery building and other structures. Pop. about 7,000.