The Myth of Republicanism in Renaissance Italy
By (author) Fabrizio Ricciardelli
The period between the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries saw significant discussion in Italy about the two different political models of republicanism and seignorialism, reaching a climax at the end of the Trecento when the most influential scholars of Florence and Venice began to attack the despotism imposed on Milan by the Visconti. The arguments put forward by both sides were largely predictable: supporters of a Republic argued that liberty–represented by an elective government and independence from foreign powers–was of greatest importance, while those in favour of seignorialism instead claimed that they brought order, unity, and social peace. In this book, the two systems of government represented in Italy are revisited, the arguments put forward by their supporters are compared and contrasted, and the development in the use of political language, especially in the city-states of Central and Northern Italy, is explored. The reality, it is suggested, is that the political systems of republicanism and seignorialism were not so very different. Republican governments ignored universal suffrage, those supported by signori did not always run totalitarian governments, and in both cases, power continued to be held by recurring oligarchical groups who were unwilling to enter into constructive dialogue with their opponents. However, as the two sides fought for power, the political arena became the testing ground for new forms of communication that could be used to manage and manipulate public opinion.
- By (author) Fabrizio Ricciardelli
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The Sacro Monte of Varallo and the Sanctuaries of North-Western Italy
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Guests, Strangers, Aliens, Enemies
Ambiguities of Hospitality in the Middle Ages, c. 1000-1350
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Pregnancy and Childbirth in the Premodern World
European and Middle Eastern Cultures, from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance
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The Presence of Medieval English Literature
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Visions of Unity after the Visigoths
Early Iberian Latin Chronicles and the Mediterranean World
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Visions of Medieval History in North America and Europe
Studies on Cultural Identity and Power
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King John’s Delegation to the Almohad Court (1212)
Medieval Interreligious Interactions and Modern Historiography
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A Renaissance Baron and his Possessions
Paolo Giordano I Orsini, Duke of Bracciano (1541-1585)
Volume 15
From Tyrant to Philosopher-King
A Literary History of Alexander the Great in Medieval and Early Modern England
Volume 19
Victorine Restoration
Essays on Hugh of St Victor, Richard of St Victor, and Thomas Gallus
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Writing History in Medieval Poland
Bishop Vincentius of Cracow and the 'Chronica Polonorum'
Volume 28
Order into Action
How Large-Scale Concepts of World-Order determine Practices in the Premodern World
Volume 40
Dreams, Medicine, and Literary Practice
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