The Book of the Courtier: From the Italian of Count Baldassare Castiglione (Classic Reprint), by Baldassarre Castiglione
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The Book of the Courtier: From the Italian of Count Baldassare Castiglione (Classic Reprint), by Baldassarre Castiglione
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Excerpt from The Book of the Courtier: From the Italian of Count Baldassare CastiglioneThe Renaissance is the name of a European movement so gradual, broad, manifold, and subtle, that any attempt to reduce it to a single expression is predestined to failure. No formula less vague and magniloquent than Michelet's - 'the discovery' by man of himself and of the 'world' - can be stretched to cover the diverse aspects of that great era of change. On all sides there was a loosening of bonds, and a widening of horizons, 'deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind.' The extension of man's territorial domain, and of his imaginative prospect, by the discovery of the New World, the shattering of his most familiar conceptions by the brilliant conjectures of Copernicus, are two signal achievements which may perhaps be taken as emblematic of all the rest. By these the mediaeval scheme of the physical universe, and with it the mediaeval theory of divinity and politics, to which it was so delicately and symmetrically fitted, were to be finally overthrown. At the same time the rediscovery and reconstruction of classical antiquity by the labours of scholars gave to imagination a new focus, and to humanity a new model.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
The Book of the Courtier: From the Italian of Count Baldassare Castiglione (Classic Reprint), by Baldassarre Castiglione- Amazon Sales Rank: #5230004 in Books
- Brand: Forgotten Books
- Published on: 2015-09-27
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.02" h x .95" w x 5.98" l, 1.38 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 472 pages
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Most helpful customer reviews
68 of 70 people found the following review helpful. Readable and fresh-- not dry at all. By frumiousb The Book of the Courtier is one of those books that you hear frequently cited, but rarely actually read. It seems a shame to me if it remains unread. I expected it to take me a while to wade through it. I expected it to be dense and difficult to penetrate. Instead, it read very quickly and easy. The prose was modern, lucid, and nearly compulsively readable.The book is structured as a conversational game carried out the court of the Duke of Urbino in the rooms of his wife Elisabetta Gonzaga. In four books, different members of the court sketch out the ideal Courtier and the ideal Lady. The books treat various subjects, including the nature of grace, love, humor, gender equality, and necessary skills. The unfamiliar details of the time are mixed with the quite familiar and recognizable human foibles that are still relevant today.Castiglione is perceptive and witty and quite loving in the way he draws the people in the book. Both the "real" people having the conversation, and the imaginary ideal people being described are well developed.I enjoyed it, and I recommend it. You don't need to be a scholar to enjoy it as well.
74 of 83 people found the following review helpful. Renaissance Classic By ilmk Whether or not this work can be considered relevant in today's society is not a factor here. As a testimony to fifteenth century Italian Court Life it is unparalleled.This delightful four-part book at the social nobility of the Italian Renaissance opens with an apology by Baldesar on the quality of his writing. Something that was clearly debated after Petrarch, Dante and Boccaccio as there is somewhat of a lengthier side discussion on the merits of using the vernacular in written speech partway through the first `book'.The `handbook' opens with the matriarchal Duchess ordering that a game be played and that signora Emilia decide the nature of it. It is first set to Count Lodovico to describe those qualities best attributed to a courtier with the rest of the `players' questioning or discussing his points further.The Count states that a good courtier should possess charm, be handsome, be of noble birth, modest, physically fit, be good at sports, should both observe and imitate those good qualities of other courtiers, be a good dancer, have an appreciation of music, letters and art, not be affectatious, be an above average scholar in the humanities and that his first and truest profession be that of arms. Quite a long section is taken with a development on the theory of writing and letters which has many references to the desired quality of those in the ancient world. Indeed, Castiglione holds up those practices of the ancient world in high esteem as being worthy of the perfect courtier.The second book is to be continued by Duke Federico as to how and when the courtier should put the desired courtier qualities into practice. Castiglione prefaces the second book with a justification of why old people see the future as a depraved version of their golden era - almost a youth's retort to the aged question of rebelliousness.Federico opens by stating he believes the courtier should be considered, virtuous and adhere to certain rules. Above all else he must have good judgment. The second book is frequently `territorial' in nature, particularly in the section espoused by Bernardo Bibbiena on the three types of pleasantries. Namely: long and amusing narrative ; spontaneous thrust of a cutting remark (including puns) ; practical jokes. It is in the latter, which includes tales, that the poking of fun at inhabitants of various cities (for example, Sienans, Fiorentines, Brescians) occurs. Federico earlier makes mention that no young man should attempt wisdom and that no courtier should socialize overly with those beneath his station taking care in choosing your associates. The second `book' is effectively in two parts - Duke Federico's discussion on the rules of courtiership, Bernardo's discussion of the three types of pleasantries with many anecdotes to prove his points and then finishes with a epilogue discussing those practical jokes played by women after Gaspare denounces the practice.This proves a neat lead in to the third book for the Magnifico Giuliano to discuss fashioning a Court lady. As signora Emilia puts it: "To prove it, consider that virtue is feminine whereas vice is masculine."The third book is prefaced by Castiglione with short discourse on the superiority of the Court of Urbino to all the other Courts of Italy. The Magnifico then addresses the Duchess directly stating that a woman must not "resemble a man as regards her ways, manners, words, gestures and bearing." and must be beyond reproach or suspicion. He draw many parallels with the perfect courtier, then espouses excellence in subject knowledge, discretion, prudence purity, magnanimity, and appearance. The Magnifico then gives us many stories about great women, ancient stories from Camma to Argentina, from Roma toTheodolina, Theodora and Mathilda, medieval queens such as Eleanora of Aragon, Isabella of Naples, Tomyris of Scythia and many more. He continues with examples of continence, before finally ending his discussion by stating the greatest thing a Court Lady must know, is how to conduct a discussion on love.The fourth book is prefaced with a lament for several of those parties at the discussion who are now dead. The fourth book is mainly a discussion by Ottaviano giving an end to the perfect courtier. Namely that he be able to please his Prince and how to liaise with and deal with him It ends more as discussion on the nature of Princes. What Castiglione seems to be intimating is that the perfection of a courtier is determined by his Prince rather than by a standard set of rules. The discussion sidetracks into a discourse on the nature of evil and how to recognize and act on it. It links the concepts of agism and vanity to this discussion with several interjections from the oldest member of the group, Morello. The fourth book ends with a move towards discussion of divine love and there it ends. Whether Castiglione meant to continue or not is uncertain.Two things leap out about this courtier handbook:The first is how often Castiglione chooses to address the side issue of semantics, rhetoric and grammar. It was clearly an important topic of the age and more time is spent on that single theme that any other.The second is the constant reference to the ancient world an an ideal to be lived to. Particularly classical figures such as Alexander. This is not surprising given Jacob Bruckhardt's later 1860 essay on the Civilisation of Renaissance Italy, also refers to the "Revival of Antiquity' of the time.What does comes across very clearly in this book is George Bull's refined translation keeps in mind the nature of the subject matter and in itself espouses courtiership. It is precise yet fluid in its translating and can be considered the best english rendering of this great Italian Renaissance work to date. This work is a must-read for any serious student of Renaissance Italy.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. There was a Camelot By Bill McGann There really was a Camelot. But it was in Italy. Urbino in northern Italy to be exact, in the 1500s. Perched on top of a couple of hills in the region Le Marche, Urbino was ruled by the Montefeltro family. From 1444 to 1482 Federigo de Montefeltro skillfully steered his tiny domain through the rough storms of Italian Renaissance realpolitik. Federigo was a successful soldier of fortune yet maintained one of the largest libraries in Italy, spoke Latin, read Aristotle, helped orphans and in general earned the love of his people. He built a beautiful fairy-tale palace and had Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca decorate it.His less fortunate son Guidobaldo inherited this charming and well-run dukedom. Guidobaldo married the cultivated Elisabetta of the Gonzaga family from Mantua. He was an invalid and not made of his father's stern military stuff. A victim of the brilliant military campaigns of Cesare Borgia that so enchanted Machiavelli, Guidobaldo was temporarily deposed. When the Borgias (Cesare and his father Pope Alexander VI) died, the people of Urbino rose up, drove out Borgia's soldiers and cheered Guidobaldo and Elisabetta upon their return.For the next few years the court of Elisabetta and Guidobaldo was the most beautiful, enlightened, genteel place on earth. They attracted musicians, scholars and artists. Conversation was honed into a fine art. Into this paradise strode our Lancelot, Baldassare Castiglione, a diplomat descended from minor Italian nobility. He loved Elisabetta, but as far as we know the devotion remained platonicIt is because of Castiglione that we believe we have a sense of what the court of Montefeltro was like, or at least how they would have like to have been remembered. His "The Book of the Courtier" (Il Cortigiano) painstakingly analyzes the attributes of a gentleman through conversations (probably highly idealized) of refined visitors to Urbino.It's a long, slow, but thoroughly enjoyable book. It is a window into the renaissance mind. It does not describe how the Italians of the sixteenth century were, Machiavelli and Cellini are probably more useful there. But it tells how they wanted to be. The book was read and studied by nobility all over Europe.It's also how I wanted them to be. Urbino is one of my favorite places. It's a crowded student city now. But on a quiet morning when only a few people are about and the sun has made its way over the hills from the Adriatic, I can imagine that I can see the ghosts of Elisabetta and Guidobaldo walking on the cobbled streets outside their beautiful palace. Fussy, snobbish, yet kind and gentle Castiglione and his wonderful book help make that fantasy more real.Oh, and for you bike people, Castiglione married Ippolita Torelli.- Bill McGann, author of "The Story of the Tour de France"
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