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Historical Writing and Community Among the Orti Oricellari

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Historical Writing and Community Among the Orti Oricellari HISTORICAL WRITING AND COMMUNITY AMONG THE ORTI ORICELLARI by Heather Stein A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland September 14, 2015 Abstract My research interprets the specific context in which Florentine humanist historians of the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth century wrote: the social, political and intellectual world that informed authors’ conceptions of history and how historical texts functioned in that world. Historical writing is the crucial link between Renaissance humanism and statescraft. In response to recent calls for a more actor-centred approach to problems of the state by scholars such as Pieroangelo Schiera, I demonstrate that by the early sixteenth century, the ten Florentine humanists and governors (Bernardo Rucellai, Giovanni Corsi, Pietro Crinito, Francesco da Diacceto, Francesco Vettori, Piero Martelli, Giovanni Canacci, Bartolomeo Fontius, Cosimo Pazzi and Bindaccio Ricasoli) who met regularly in Bernardo Rucellai’s eponymous gardens to discuss matters of politics and culture adopted a new philosophy of history that steered away from divine intervention in the secular world. Their historical philosophy focused instead on the human experience and emotional response to the spilling out of the violence of the battlefield into the population. My study situates the historical writing of the late-fifteenth and early- sixteenth century in the context of the Italian Wars and the developments in political thought leading up to the landmark publication of Machiavelli’s Il principe. Readers: Dr. Gabrielle M. Spiegel, Dr. Christopher S. Celenza, Dr. Walter Stephens, Dr. Eugenio Refini. ii Acknowledgements All dissertations are struggles, or so I have been told, but mine has been made much easier by a group of passionate, caring scholars who have encouraged my work on this project over the course of the past seven years. To my advisors Dr. Gabrielle M. Spiegel and Dr. Christopher S. Celenza: our conversations were riveting, your feedback was incredibly helpful and your edits have made the final draft much more readable. Your patience and guidance have helped me overcome a number of personal obstacles along the way. I have learned what Dr. Spiegel once described to me as her historical philosophy after a major setback: Bad things happen. I firmly believe that Bartolommeo della Fonte, Bernardo Rucellai, and especially Niccolò Machiavelli would agree. The Hopkins History department has been a wonderful place to attend graduate school. Dr. Ronald Walters was the Director of Graduate Studies during my first year and his warm welcome to the community set the tone for almost all of the interactions that followed. The Frederick Jackson Turner Fund financed my very first conference presentation in March 2010. Our administrators, Lisa Enders and Rachel LaBozzetta, constantly found the time to help out, and always with a smile and a kind word of encouragement. Coffees shared in the Brody Learning Commons with [the now] Dr. Jonathan Gienapp resulted in more concrete plans, better writing and an increased level of confidence. My colleagues have proven to be overwhelmingly kind and generous. The Hopkins community as a whole has been incredibly supportive and I feel blessed to have spent these past years in such an intellectually demanding environment. A complete list of colleagues and friends to whom I am indebted for feedback, suggestions and solace is overwhelming; I hope that I have expressed my heartfelt gratitude vocally and frequently over the years. Dr. Larry Principe’s medieval Latin reading groups collaborated on translations of a few of my Latin sources. Dr. Matthew Roller guided me through the difficulties of Sallustian Latin. Dr. Samuel Chambers patiently tolerated my turning his seminar on Machiavelli in 20th century political thought into a seminar on Machiavelli himself, and his students patiently listened to my first awkward attempts at examining the nature of the balance of power metaphor in international relations. Dr. Julie Reiser’s dissertation writing workshop offered by the Center for Leadership Education was a useful and oftentimes fun experience in working out the details of how to actually complete an outlined project. Amy Sheeran and Shana O’Connell helped me keep SMART goals. In terms of institutional support, one figure stands out for special mention: Megan Zeller’s office in Gilman Hall was an oasis in the desert where both problems and self-doubt evaporated quickly. Thank you Megan for talking me down off the ledge and always making graduate students feel important and cherished. This wonderful opportunity was only made possible through the generous support of a series of wonderful educators throughout my education. My senior-year English iii teacher, Keith Bellamy, first introduced me to the structure of grammar and literary criticism. The lessons learned in his classroom were the foundations upon which I was able to acquire other languages and analyse primary sources. The Liberal Arts College at Concordia University provided me with a strong basis in the Western canon and a literary-historical approach that has proved exceedingly useful. My love affair with Renaissance Florence began during a largely unchaperoned trip to Tuscany and Venice in May 2005 organised by Drs. Frederick and Lenore Krantz. It remains one of the happiest times of my life. Drs. Ariela Freedman, Tobias Gittes and Shannon McSheffrey all warned me of the perils of academia and encouraged me when I chose to accept the challenge. Baruch Cohen at the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research taught me how the atrocities of the past can be well-nigh impossible to discuss and that friendship knows no age brackets. I am especially grateful to Lina d’Iorio for her intervention on my behalf in April 2005 when I missed a final exam during my sophomore year. Had she not called my home that morning and advocated for me with the Liberal Arts College faculty, in all likelihood I would not have made it to Johns Hopkins. In Toronto, Dr. Nicolas Terpstra at the University of Toronto did not shy away from guiding me in a project that was outside the scope of his own work and helped find the resources necessary to complete such a project. Dr. Isabelle and Emily Cochelin were a second home in Toronto; they ensured that I ate properly and provided a model for an academic career with a healthy work-life balance. I am grateful to the Centre for Medieval Studies for its demanding, difficult and entirely worthwhile focus on the ability to sight-read medieval Latin. The skills acquired during those summers spent at CMS are the cornerstones upon which this dissertation is laid. Dr. Jonathan Cayer and Dr. Morris Tichenor each made wrestling with complicated grammatical constructions fun. I also need to acknowledge the very generous support of a number of institutions external to the Hopkins Department of History over the past seven years. The Charles Singleton Center for the Study of Pre-Modern Europe financed my last archival trip to Italy from November to December 2014. A B1 grant from the Fonds de Recherche du Quebec – Sociéte et Culture has supported my studies since July 2012. The Dean’s Office at Johns Hopkins awarded me a Dean’s Teaching Fellowship over Spring 2015 that permitted me to integrate the content of this dissertation into a freshman seminar that challenged both me and (I hope!) my students. While in Hawaii in September 2014 I learned the native word for ‘extended family’: ohana. Ohana is more than just blood relations; it includes adopted and intentional relatives. This project would never have been possible without the constant, loving sustenance of my ohana, located both in Baltimore and scattered around the world, some of whom have already been named above, who not only listened to my writing woes, but also helped me through the long recovery from a life-threatening condition. My bedside, both literal and metaphoric, was rarely vacant and your faces were a beacon of light during that difficult time. Specifically, I would like to thank in no particular order: Meredith Raucher, who filled our shared work- and yoga-space with acceptance, support, and shared horror iv stories. Her sage advice in matters both of the heart and of the dissertation was often difficult to swallow, but always thoughtful and sincere. Her companionship at three international medieval conferences in Kalamazoo made days of relentlessly practicing ‘networking’ bearable. Had I not agreed to go to Kalamazoo with Meredith, I would not have met Dr. Stephen Mark Carey, who listened to all of my job market woes and crises of confidence, and like a wise mentor provided a clear, honest picture of the tenure process and life of an academic. If I ever have to hire a personal cheerleader – it will be Steve. Andrew Levitt’s generous devotion to my emotional well-being both during those first weeks in Florence in 2014 and afterwards upon his return to the United States merits explicit acknowledgement. Matthew Peters reminded me regularly of the world outside Johns Hopkins and academia. We explored not only Baltimore’s culinary scene but also the wonderful cities of this great country that I have proudly called home for the last seven years. Troy Tower, my roommate and best friend, remains a sounding board for my nascent, half-formed ideas, and was a constant companion during this epic journey. His timely intervention on March 30, 2012 literally saved my life and blessed me with so many more years with which to not only write a dissertation but to also accomplish even greater things in the future. There are not enough words to thank you. When I arrived at Johns Hopkins there were no other medievalists among the history department’s graduate students and my first weeks in the program were lonesome (despite the visits of two ohana, Isabelle Richer and Arieh Sochaczevski).
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