The conclusions were that Tasso, after the beginning of 1575, developed a mental malady, which, without amounting to actual insanity, rendered him fantastical and insupportable, a cause of anxiety to his patrons. There is no evidence whatsoever for the later romantic myth that this state of things was due to an overwhelming passion for Leonora. The duke, contrary to his image as a tyrant, showed considerable forbearance. Though a rigid and unsympathetic man, as egotistical as any princeling of his era, to Tasso he was never cruel; unintelligent perhaps, but far from being that monster of ferocity as which was later portrayed. The subsequent history of his connection with the poet corroborates this view.
The conclusions were that Tasso, after the beginning of 1575, developed a mental malady, which, without amounting to actual insanity, rendered him fantastical and insupportable, a cause of anxiety to his patrons. There is no evidence whatsoever for the later romantic myth that this state of things was due to an overwhelming passion for Leonora. The duke, contrary ,to his image as a tyrant, showed considerable forbearance. Though a rigid and unsympathetic man as egotistical as any princeling of his era, to Tasso he was never cruel; unintelligent perhaps, but far from being that monster of ferocity as which was later portrayed. The subsequent history of his connection with the poet corroborates this view.