The Book of the Courtier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Book of the Courtier (Italian: Il Cortegiano) was written by Baldassare Castiglione in 1528. Baldassare was inspired to write the Courtier by debates that occurred in Urbino on what makes a well rounded person (l'uomo universale). It was the best selling book of the sixteenth century.

[edit] Plot

Beginning with Elisabetta Gonzaga asking for a topic of conversation for the evening, the work is narrated by Ludovico da Canossa, Frederick Fregoso, and Julian de Medici among others. An argument on day two between Lady Emilia and the Lord Gaspar may have inspired Much Ado About Nothing and the discussion of Platonic love by Pietro Bembo may be its most famous part.

The book is organized as a series of fictional conversations that occur between the courtiers of the Duke of Urbino in the year 1507 (when Baldassare was in fact part of the Duke's Court). In the book, the courtier is described as having a cool mind, a good voice (with beautiful, elegant and brave words), and proper bearing and gestures. At the same time though, the courtier is expected to have a warrior spirit, to be athletic and to have good knowledge of the humanities, classics, and how to draw and paint. However, with all these skills he does everything with certain nonchalance or "sprezzatura".

During his visits to Italy, Francois I of France read Baldassare Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier. That text so inspired the king that he had it translated into French. He had several copies made, which he then brought back to France to distribute amongst his courtiers. He felt that this book portrayed the model royal court and he strove to create this type of court for himself.

To this day, the Book of the Courtier remains the definitive account of Renaissance court life. In its own day, however, it was used as a manual on how to be a perfect courtier or a consummate court lady. By any measure, it is one of the most important of Renaissance works.