Jerusalem Delivered (La Gerusalemme liberata) is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Saracens in order to take Jerusalem. The poem is composed of eight line stanzas grouped into 20 cantos of varying length. Torquato Tasso (11 March 1544 - 25 April 1595) was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem Jerusalem Delivered. He suffered from mental illness and died a few days before he was due to be crowned as the king of poets by the Pope. Until the beginning of the 19th century, Tasso remained one of the most widely read poets in Europe.