1st Edition

Castiglione's Allegory Veiled Policy in The Book of the Courtier (1528)

By W.R. Albury Copyright 2014
290 Pages
by Routledge

290 Pages
by Routledge

290 Pages
by Routledge

Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier (Il libro del cortegiano, 1528), a dialogue in which the interlocutors attempt to describe the perfect courtier, was one of the most influential books of the Renaissance. In recent decades a number of postmodern readings of this work have appeared, emphasizing what is often characterized as the playful indeterminacy of the text, and seeking to detect... Read more
1: Introduction: Audience, Interpretation, and Allegory; 2: Castiglione's Francescopaedia: Pope Julius II and Francesco Maria della Rovere; 3: Philosophers on the Ladder of Love?: Pietro Bembo and Ottaviano Fregoso; 4: Incitements to Folly: Gaspar Pallavicino and Cesare Gonzaga; 5: Medicine and Statecraft: The Courtier as Physician; 6: The Courtier and the Statesman: Structural Relations; 7: Castiglione's Impresa and the Veiled Policy of the Courtier; Epilogue: The Silence of the Archive

Biography

Emeritus Professor W.R. Albury is currently Adjunct Professor in the School of Humanities at the University of New England, Armidale NSW, Australia.

'... an important new reading of Castiglione's work even as it builds upon a vast body of previous scholarship. The chapter sections fall into place like pieces of a puzzle, each elucidating a complementary aspect of The Book of the Courtier's "veiled policy". The author provides historical, political, cultural, literary, and biographical contexts that helpfully support this new interpretation of the work ... a sheer joy to read.' - Jo Ann Cavallo, Columbia University, USA; author of The World beyond Europe in the Romance Epics of Boiardo and Ariosto

'The book concludes with a thoughtful and thought-provoking chapter analyzing Castiglione's medal and impresa. Rarely can a medal have been subjected to such rigorous examination.' - Philip Attwood, Keeper of Coins and Medals, The British Museum, UK; author of Italian Medals c. 1530-1600 in British Public Collections

"By adopting an allegorical approach grounded in Castiglione’s historical context to his reading of the Courtier, Albury emphasises Castiglione’s humanistic subtlety, and brings considerable and refreshing insight to the modern reader of this important work." - Zita Eva Rohr, The University of Sydney