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Baldassare CASTIGLIONE (1478-1529). Lettre autographe signée à [Francesco Maria della Rovere, duc d'Urbino], Rome, 8 Janvier 1522. L'auteur le félicite pour sa ré-investiture au duché d'Urbino et l'informe du conclave qui se tiendra pour l'éléction du successeur de Léon X.
CASTIGLIONE, Baldassare (1478-1529). Autograph letter signed to [Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino]. Rome, 8 January 1522, congratulating the duke, discussing the conclave to elect a successor to Leo X and Giovanni Tomasso as a source of information, 10 lines on one page, 287 x 202mm, address panel on verso reading 'Allo illustrissimo et excellentissimo signore e patron mio il signor Duca de', traces of seal(?), (slight discolouration, some staining along folds).
In the present letter the author of The Courtier, Baldassare Castiglione, congratulates Francesco della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, on the 'felici successi di Vostra Excellentia circa le impresse sue.' Francesco had just been re-invested with the Dukedom of Urbino, which he had originally been granted by Julius II, who was also a della Rovere. In 1516 Francesco lost his dukedom to the young and ambitious Lorenzo de' Medici. He regained it 1517, but had to wait until Pope Leo X's death before he could be re-invested. The 'molti amici e servitori' to whom Castiglione refers in this letter are probably those who, like Castiglione, felt that it was worth flattering a Francesco della Rovere recently restored to his dukedom, especially as the Medici pope was dead and Florence politically unstable. The rather ingratiating tone of the letter reflects Castiglione's attempts to have restored to him the lordship of Novellara, a fiefdom of the Dukes of Urbino. Unfortunately for Castiglione, Francesco's memory was long and he had not forgotten that during his dispossession Castiglione had been happy to serve the Medici cause.
Castiglione's letter also refers to Giovanni Tomasso as well informed about the possible outcome of the conclave in Rome to elect a successor to Leo X. Leo's death left a series of unfortunate legacies: gross debt, widespread effeminacy (which was not appreciated in the Germanic countries), the apparently unstoppable heresy of Lutheranism which Rome was fundamentally ill equipped to deal with, and degrees of personal and spiritual indulgence which were ultimately not to be tolerated. Leo was succeeded as head of the Medici family in Florence by his cousin, Giulio de' Medici, later Pope Clement VII, who was widely expected to become the new pope in 1532. It is at this moment, on the eve of the papal election, that Castiglione writes to Franceso della Rovere. Had Giulio been elected, Florence would have been in the hands of his eleven-year-old cousin, Ippolito. Castiglione remarks 'Esso [an unknown source] ancora è informatissimo di quello che si puó iudicare per coniectura del futuro pontefice'. In the events the future pope was elected in absentia. Adrian VI was a Dutchman who had worked his way up by his own native ability and academic brilliance. He arrived in Rome intending Reform. His example to others of a spartan life-style had only a marginal impact. It was rumoured that he kept a mistress at the Vatican, and it is certain that Romans found him uncongenial; his untimely death was, perhaps, precipitated. In 1523 Giulio was elected as Clement VII. Ippolito became the spoilt ineffectual puppet ruler as feared.
Castiglione's letter reveals him as the diplomat-courtier. He is aware of the enormous import of contemporary events and is quick to feather his own bed by flattering Francesco della Rovere with confidences of the utmost importance. Castiglione's views on the papal election are not actually recorded, although his remarks on the election of Adrian VI's successor, Clement VII, show clearly in what low esteem he held the barbarous northern European 'reformer'.
CASTIGLIONE, Baldassare (1478-1529). Autograph letter signed to [Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino]. Rome, 8 January 1522, congratulating the duke, discussing the conclave to elect a successor to Leo X and Giovanni Tomasso as a source of information, 10 lines on one page, 287 x 202mm, address panel on verso reading 'Allo illustrissimo et excellentissimo signore e patron mio il signor Duca de', traces of seal(?), (slight discolouration, some staining along folds).
In the present letter the author of The Courtier, Baldassare Castiglione, congratulates Francesco della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, on the 'felici successi di Vostra Excellentia circa le impresse sue.' Francesco had just been re-invested with the Dukedom of Urbino, which he had originally been granted by Julius II, who was also a della Rovere. In 1516 Francesco lost his dukedom to the young and ambitious Lorenzo de' Medici. He regained it 1517, but had to wait until Pope Leo X's death before he could be re-invested. The 'molti amici e servitori' to whom Castiglione refers in this letter are probably those who, like Castiglione, felt that it was worth flattering a Francesco della Rovere recently restored to his dukedom, especially as the Medici pope was dead and Florence politically unstable. The rather ingratiating tone of the letter reflects Castiglione's attempts to have restored to him the lordship of Novellara, a fiefdom of the Dukes of Urbino. Unfortunately for Castiglione, Francesco's memory was long and he had not forgotten that during his dispossession Castiglione had been happy to serve the Medici cause.
Castiglione's letter also refers to Giovanni Tomasso as well informed about the possible outcome of the conclave in Rome to elect a successor to Leo X. Leo's death left a series of unfortunate legacies: gross debt, widespread effeminacy (which was not appreciated in the Germanic countries), the apparently unstoppable heresy of Lutheranism which Rome was fundamentally ill equipped to deal with, and degrees of personal and spiritual indulgence which were ultimately not to be tolerated. Leo was succeeded as head of the Medici family in Florence by his cousin, Giulio de' Medici, later Pope Clement VII, who was widely expected to become the new pope in 1532. It is at this moment, on the eve of the papal election, that Castiglione writes to Franceso della Rovere. Had Giulio been elected, Florence would have been in the hands of his eleven-year-old cousin, Ippolito. Castiglione remarks 'Esso [an unknown source] ancora è informatissimo di quello che si puó iudicare per coniectura del futuro pontefice'. In the events the future pope was elected in absentia. Adrian VI was a Dutchman who had worked his way up by his own native ability and academic brilliance. He arrived in Rome intending Reform. His example to others of a spartan life-style had only a marginal impact. It was rumoured that he kept a mistress at the Vatican, and it is certain that Romans found him uncongenial; his untimely death was, perhaps, precipitated. In 1523 Giulio was elected as Clement VII. Ippolito became the spoilt ineffectual puppet ruler as feared.
Castiglione's letter reveals him as the diplomat-courtier. He is aware of the enormous import of contemporary events and is quick to feather his own bed by flattering Francesco della Rovere with confidences of the utmost importance. Castiglione's views on the papal election are not actually recorded, although his remarks on the election of Adrian VI's successor, Clement VII, show clearly in what low esteem he held the barbarous northern European 'reformer'.