The Book of the Courtier - Softcover

Castiglione, Baldesar

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1420934317 ISBN 13: 9781420934311

Publisher: Digireads.com, 2009

Synopsis

Written by Baldasar Castiglione, count of Novilara and an Italian courtier himself, "The Book of the Courtier" remains as one of the most important and definitive accounts of Renaissance court life. Organized as a series of fictional conversations that occur between the courtiers of the Duke of Urbino in 1507, "The Book of the Courtier" discusses the expectations of a courtier who must have a warrior spirit, be athletic, and have good knowledge of the humanities, classics and fine arts. As the members of the court try to describe the perfect gentleman of the court over the course of four evenings they engage in a debate over the nature of nobility, humor, women, and love in the age of the Italian Renaissance. The English translation of Leonard E. Opdycke of this important historical writing is presented here in this edition of "The Book of the Courtier".

About this title

About the Author:

Daniel Javitch is Professor of Comparative Literature at New York University. He is the author of Poetry and Courtliness in Renaissance England, Proclaiming a Classic: The Canonization of Orlando Furioso, and is at work on a book tentatively entitled Thinking About Genre in the Sixteenth Century. He has been, since 1972, a director of New Directions Publishing Corporation. Charles S. Singleton was Professor Emeritus of Hispanic and Italian Studies at Johns Hopkins University. He also translated Boccaccio's Decameron and Dante's The Divine Comedy, and was awarded Italy's Order of Commendation for his contributions to the study of Italian literature.

About this edition

• Publisher: Digireads.com
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1420934317
• ISBN 13: 9781420934311
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 266