Letters to Francesco Datini (Volume 16) (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series)

The letters of Margherita Datini to her husband, “the merchant of Prato,” are virtually impossible to put down. Margherita is never obsequious, and never holds her tongue as she chastises Francesco for staying up too late, asks about a case before the Eight of Florence, beseeches him to help friends in prison, worries over financial transactions, and updates him on his business, the harvests, and his illegitimate child (whom she cares for) when he is away. Rich in emotional life and historical particulars, the letters are a unique window into late medieval Tuscany and women’s “work.” Thanks to Carolyn James and Antonio Pagliaro for their illuminating introduction and equally luminous translation. —Jane Tylus Professor of Italian Studies and vice provost for academic affairs, New York University The letters of Margherita Datini (1360-1423) to her husband Francesco, here translated in English for the first time, provide a wealth of information about the societies of Prato and Florence, between which the Datinis divided their time. Even more remarkably, the letters tell us a great deal about Margherita herself. In them, she reveals her political views and the influence she could exert within Florentine patronage networks by virtue of her aristocratic connections. She also comments in detail on her household, the tasks her husband delegated to her, and the activities and personalities of the relatives and friends with whom she socialized. The complex portrait of everyday life and social relationships in the urban environments of late-medieval Tuscany that emerges from Margheritas letters is dramatically different from the static, limited view of womens lives presented in the prescriptive texts of her period. Cover Title Page Contents Acknowledgments Introduction A Note on the Translation Letters to Francesco Datini Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Bibliography Index