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Full-Text Articles in History

The 'Schemes' Of Piero De' Pazzi And The Conflict With The Medici (1461–2), Oren J. Margolis, Brian Maxson Oct 2015

The 'Schemes' Of Piero De' Pazzi And The Conflict With The Medici (1461–2), Oren J. Margolis, Brian Maxson

Brian J. Maxson

This article opens up an important but overlooked chapter in the political and diplomatic history of Florence, as well as that of fifteenth-century Franco-Italian relations more broadly. In late 1461, the city of Florence elected ambassadors to go to France to congratulate King Louis XI on his accession to the throne. Intended as a purely ceremonial mission, the Florentine diplomat Piero de' Pazzi ignored his commission and pursued policies that explicitly promoted French interests in Italy. By doing so, Piero sought to improve the standing of his own family, both domestically and abroad, at the expense of the Medici regime …


After Civic Humanism: Learning And Politics In Renaissance Italy, 1300-1600 Dec 2014

After Civic Humanism: Learning And Politics In Renaissance Italy, 1300-1600

Brian J. Maxson

The thirteen essays in this volume demonstrate the multiplicity of connections between learning and politics in Renaissance Italy. Some engage explicitly with Hans Baron's "civic humanism" thesis illustrating its continuing viability, but also stretching its application to prove the limitations of its original expression. Others move beyond Baron's thesis to examine the actual practice of various individuals and groups engaged in both political and learned activities in a variety of diverse settings. The collective impression of all the contributions is that of a complex, ever-shifting mosaic of learned enterprises in which the well-examined civic paradigm emerges as just one of …


The Humanist World Of Renaissance Florence, Brian J. Maxson Nov 2013

The Humanist World Of Renaissance Florence, Brian J. Maxson

Brian J. Maxson

This book offers a major contribution for understanding the spread and appeal of the humanist movement in Renaissance Florence. Investigating the connections between the individuals who were part of the humanist movement, Brian Jeffrey Maxson reconstructs the networks that bound them together. Overturning the problematic categorization of humanists as either professional or amateurs, a distinction based on economics and the production of original works in Latin, he offers a new way of understanding how the humanist movement could incorporate so many who were illiterate in Latin, but who nonetheless were responsible for an important intellectual and cultural paradigm shift. The …