Mirrors for secretaries: the tradition of advice literature and the presence of classical political theory in Italian secretarial treatises
The late Renaissance Italian secretary was a figure of importance at the very heart of the state, but the particulars of what the role entailed provoked debate in the proliferation of advice literature which emerged to guide this political profession. This article draws parallels between works aimed...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | fra |
| Published: |
École Normale Supérieure de Lyon Editions
2019-10-01
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| Series: | Laboratoire Italien |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/laboratoireitalien/3742 |
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| Summary: | The late Renaissance Italian secretary was a figure of importance at the very heart of the state, but the particulars of what the role entailed provoked debate in the proliferation of advice literature which emerged to guide this political profession. This article draws parallels between works aimed at the instruction of the secretary in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and the many iterations of Italian political advice literature which preceded it, as well as investigating the presence and use of classical political theory in Italian secretarial literature, in particular Aristotle’s Politics. It delves into the question of whether the secretary’s role was based in rhetoric, the composition of letters, or if the secretary could aspire to some kind of political involvement – perhaps even advising a prince – and therefore required knowledge of politics and political philosophy. |
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| ISSN: | 1627-9204 2117-4970 |