1st Edition
Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga Power Sharing at the Italian Renaissance Court
By Sarah D.P. Cockram
Copyright 2013
274 Pages
by
Routledge
274 Pages
by
Routledge
274 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
In the first book systematically to give evidence of conjugal co-rule at an Italian Renaissance court, and the first full length scholarly study of Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga, Sarah Cockram shows their relationship in an entirely new light. The book draws on (and presents) a large amount of unpublished archival material, including almost unprecedented surviving correspondence between... Read more
Contents: Introduction: Letters and lies; Power sharing; The elimination of threats to the Marchesa’s authority; Disgruntled diplomats and scissor attacks: divided fronts in the court environment; International diplomacy: the Borgia menace; Overcoming tension and troubles; Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.
Biography
Sarah D.P. Cockram is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, UK.
'An interesting book that should open up numerous new paths for research...Recommended.' -Choice 'Sarah Cockram's book is an important new contribution to the effort to understand more accurately the dynamics of Isabella and Francesco's marriage.' Sixteenth Century Journal Volume 'This detailed and well-documented book, the fruit of a doctoral dissertation at the University of Glasgow, traces the relationship between Isabella d'Este and her husband Francesco Gonzaga through Isabella's massive correspondence ... that is preserved in the State Archives of Mantua. ... an enlightening exploration of the diplomacy that led to Mantua's survival in a difficult and complex period and of Isabella d'Este and Francesco Gonzaga's partnership and energy in obtaining this end. It also gives good insight into the nature and uses of Renaissance correspondence.' Seventeenth Century News 'Since, up until now, there has been precious little recognition or understanding of substantial husband-wife collaboration among the princes of early modern Italy and only slightly more in Europe, this is pathbreaking work. Taking as her primary source the three thousand letters exchanged between this dynastic ruling couple, Cockram makes a very strong case for a profoundly revisionary view of the operating functions of this court and, importantly, of the gender relations that made it work so effectively.' Deanna Shemek, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
