Selected Letters, 1514-1543 (Volume 90) (The Other Voice in Early Modern Europe: The Toronto Series)

The voluminous correspondence of Maria Salviati de’ Medici. In recent years, there has been an upsurge of interest in Maria Salviati de’ Medici, specifically, in her role in Medici governance and her relationships with other members of the Medici court. Maria Salviati’s surviving correspondence documents a life spent close to the centers of Medici power in Florence and Rome, giving witness to its failures, resurrection, and eventual triumph. Presented here for the first time in English, this book is a representative sample of Maria’s surviving letters that document her remarkable life through a tumultuous period of Italian Renaissance history. While she earned the exasperation of some, she gained the respect of many more. Maria ended her life as an influential dowager, powerful intercessor for local Tuscans of all strata, and wise elder in Duke Cosimo I’s court. The first critical, analytical, biographical work on Maria Salviati de’ Medici’s life and letter-writing in English. "A selection of 150 of the approximately 300 letters by Maria Salviati de' Medici, mother of Cosimo I de' Medici, the first grand-duke of Tuscany, witnessing her considerable importance in the political and cultural life of Renaissance Florence"-- Provided by publisher Cover Title Page Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Illustrations Abbreviations Introduction Selected Letters Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Bibliography Index Series Titles