In terms of background, Shakespeare used Abraham Ortelius’ recently published map of Italy to (incorrectly) determine the setting of Padua, and John Florio’s tour guide of Italy as a way to add Italian flair to the characters’ speech. To the English audience, these inaccuracies likely went unnoticed for decades.
Xanthippe, the wife of Socrates, is mentioned by Petruchio in the course of the play as an example of a historic shrew; this is based, however, on the accounts of Aelian, Diogenes, and Xenophon (whose account, apparently, became the most popular).
The Merchant’s Tale by Chaucer possesses the first recorded usage of ‘shrew.’ Further, Noah’s wife in The Canterbury Tales can be perceived as a prototypical shrew-figure.
Modern scholars believe that The Taming of the Shrew was not derived from or inspired by any specific works. Rather, the story of ‘man taming woman’ was so pervasive in European storytelling tradition that Shakespeare likely drew upon whatever aspects he found relevant to his contemporary audience.
However, there is one exception: the play Supposes by Lodovico Ariosto, translated by George Gascoigne, compiled within The Whole Woorkes of George Gascoigne Esquyre in 1587. The subplot of Lucentio attempting to court Bianca was clearly derived from this earlier play.
Sources:
http://www.bl.uk/treasures/shakespeare/taming.html
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3816798#?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
By Michael McClain
Shakespeare Comes Alive! 