The Book of the Courtier
Forthcoming The translation of this work is in preparation and will be published in the library.
Introduction
Over four evenings in March 1507, in a drawing room of the ducal palace at Urbino, the duchess and her guests, nobles, scholars, poets and churchmen, play a game: to fashion in words the perfect courtier. He should be of noble birth and skilled in arms, but also well read, able to sing and draw, and witty in conversation; and all his accomplishments should seem effortless, for this sprezzatura, this graceful ease, is the secret of all elegance. They go on to discuss the perfect court lady, the relation of courtier and prince, and Platonic love. An encyclopaedia of Renaissance court culture, the dialogue was translated into many languages and shaped the European ideal of the gentleman for centuries.