In Gene Brucker’s novel “Giovanni and Lusanna,” the writer, historian, and Shepard Professor of History Emeritus at the University of California – Berkley, opens a door into the Florentine Renaissance period, in which, he allows the reader to gain knowledge of Florentine society, marriage, and politics. Through Brucker’s research about Giovanni della Casa and Lusanna di Benedetto’s archiepiscopal court case, or marriage battle, the audience can understand the alleged couple’s relationship and unofficial marriage status and why it serves as such an impactful piece of information to not only how the Florentine society and Church during the Renaissance view the contract of marriage and politics, but to the people of today as well. Brucker’s novel …show more content…
Love has little to do with marriage when compared with the showmanship of social class, money, honor, and age. The usual marriage included an almost middle-aged man and a teenage girl that either matches or happens to be above the groom’s family social class. Many factors are subject to suitors, such as fertility, reputation, and even spiritual acknowledgement. The wife has to be young enough to have multiple children and take care of her husband while fulfilling his needs. Men are not equal to women in the Renaissance, women are considered inferior and although marriage serves as a major part in the wife’s role and ensures her security, honor, and reputation, the contract has more to do for the husband’s social status, honor, and fulfillment of his needs at an economic stand point. The case between Giovanni and Lusanna’s secret marriage tells us what goes into a typical Florentine marriage and why the groom and bride in most cases are raised to be suited for each other, whether it be because of the girl’s age, the man’s financial status, or their families sharing similar levels of social status and honor; this serves as the general reasoning behind a lifelong Italian marriage contract for the Florentine society and their …show more content…
There are various general marital issues that bolster the belief for Giovanni’s side, more so than why Lusanna’s reasoning for why their marriage can be considered official. The typical Florentine marriage included some younger fertile women, rather than Lusanna who happens to be at 40 years of age and infertile. The contract usually contains a woman who hails from an equal or higher social class then that of her groom, Lusanna previously married a middle-class man (Andrea Nucci) who passed away due to unclear reasons, while Giovanni serves as a more higher-class retail worker for the Medici Family. Additionally, a groom seeks a bride whose honor or social status that is still intact, rather than Lusanna’s scandalous reputation that happens to be tarnished by the rumor that she serves as the mistress to multiple men and works as a common city prostitute. Lusanna’s theory of marriage differs from the norm for her time, she argues that marriage serves as a verbal contract of love shared between two partners, and the action or deep feeling of “love” should be above all other reasons for why a marriage can be co-agreed upon. The only pieces of evidence that Lusanna could sufficiently present were guests to her and Giovanni’s unofficial “marriage,” including some love letters written to her from Giovanni himself. In response to
In the book, Giovanni and Lusanna, by Gene Bucker, he discusses the scandalous actions of a Florentine woman taking a wealthy high status man to court over the legality of their marriage. Published in 1988, the book explains the legal action taken for and against Lusanna and Giovanni, the social affects placed on both persons throughout their trial, and the roles of both men and women during the time. From the long and complicated trial, it can be inferred that women’s places within Florentine society were limited compared to their male counterparts and that women’s affairs should remain in the home. In this paper, I will examine the legal and societal place of women in Florentine society during the Renaissance. Here, I will argue that women were the “merchandise” of humanity and their main objective was to produce sons.
The story starts out with Lusanna as a married woman who caught the eye of a wealthy young man named Giovanni. As time wore on they allegedly fell in love and enjoyed all of the pleasures of their love. It was later claimed by Lusanna that Giovanni had promised to marry her in the event of her husband¹s death. Her husband soon died a questionable death that left open the possibility of poison. Unlike today¹s world divorce was unheard of, and unacceptable.
A History of Marriage by Stephanie Coontz speaks of the recent idealization of marriage based solely on love. Coontz doesn’t defame love, but touches on the many profound aspects that have created and bonded marriages through time. While love is still a large aspect Coontz wants us to see that a marriage needs more solid and less fickle aspects than just love. The first chapter begins with an exploration of love and marriage in many ancient and current cultures.
“I’ll be out of here and away from all you knaves for one time anyway, as not a month will pass before you’ll see whether I’m nobody or a somebody.” The story of Bianco Alfani reflected the nature of 14th century Florentine society where, as Alfani remarked, the election to public office could make or destroy a person. In late 14th century and early 15th century Florence, decreased population and expanding commerce provided a favorable environment for ambitious individuals. The real life examples of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati demonstrated the positive role of ambition in Florence. Pitti, a nobleman had an extremely successful career, partaking in military campaigns, holding public office in Florence and being an ambassador to foreign courts. Gregorio Dati, the grandson of purse venders, engaged in commerce, rising in social standing which culminated with his election to public office. Holding office was a definitive sign of success and recognition in Florence. In contrast was the tale Bianco Alfani, a deemed man unworthy of office. As told by Piero Veneziano, Alfani was the chief jailor in Florence who was duped into believing he had been named captain of the town of Norcia. Alfani publicly made a fool of himself, spending all his money and creating a great fanfare over his supposed appointment. Comparing the lives of Pitti and Dati to the story of Bianco Alfani illustrates how economic and social change in 14th century Florence produced a culture centered on reputation and commerce. For men like Pitti and Dati, who flourished within the constraints of Florentine society, their reward was election to office, a public mark of acceptance and social standing. Those who were ambitious but failed to abide by the values o...
Gene Brucker’s Giovanni and Lusanna is a story introducing two main characters, Lusanna and Giovanni, in Florence during the Renaissance. The story is a confrontation between the two and their marital status against the law. The story starts off with both Giovanni and Lusanna’s relationship. Both of the two seem to not agree with the fact that they are married, so both of them tell their side of the story to the court. While Giovanni believes he has not partaken in any such actions and refuses to make it a public marriage, Lusanna believes otherwise. Lusanna ended up winning the case, but
During the Renaissance, many writers were authoring "how-to" books. At the same time, mail correspondence was the main form of communication. This gives readers and historians the golden opportunity to perform some comparisons, and to paint a picture of what life was like in the renaissance. In The Book of the Family Leon Battista Alberti illustrates to his readers through dialogue, his vision of the perfect family. Alberti wrote his book in dialogue form, featuring the elder Giannozzo conversing with the young Leonardo. They discuss important family topics such as thrift, friendship, work, health, housing, economics, children and how and whom to choose as a wife. Alberti stresses thrift with family resources and money, hard work in the right field for the family, and a wife that conforms to his ideas of virtue and duty. In the letters of Alessandra Strozzi, readers chronicle her communication with her family and draws a vivid picture of their lives as they actually happened during this fascinating time period. Alessandra Strozzi wrote letters to her family while here sons were in exile, which added to her precarious position in society as a widow. The Strozzi family was one of the most powerful families during the Renaissance, but with that power came vulnerability, and possibility of exile. The selected letters date from 1447 to 1470. She writes, mainly to her sons, to advise them on issues of money, politics and marriage. Alessandra is generally unhappy with her situation throughout her letters, but valiantly attempts to fulfill the needs of her family.. What readers have before them is the guidebook to the family, and the actual accounts of a family, fantasy and reality. In Alessandra Strozzi's letters, Alberti's...
In the time of Romeo and Juliet people would marry for the “name”. This meaning that people married to get in an elite class, and for money or income their spouse would bring in according to Gale Student Resources. Many of the marriages in the fifteenth century were also fixed, so in most cases many people did not marry for love in Romeo and Juliet’s time. That is why Romeo and Juliet were considered doing something scandalous on top of the family feud. In the twenty-first century people marry for love today. They often take their time and do not try to rush into a relationship. Also today the parents of the children do not have as much influence as they did then, so people marry today who they
Medieval and Renaissance literature develops the concepts of love and marriage and records the evolution of the relation between them. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Christian love clashes with courtly love, as men and women grapple with such issues as which partner should rule in marriage, the proper, acceptable role of sex in marriage, and the importance of love as a basis for a successful marriage. Works by earlier writers portray the medieval literary notion of courtly love, the sexual attraction between a chivalric knight and his lady, often the knight's lord's wife. The woman, who generally held mastery in these relationships based on physical desire and consummation, dictated the terms of the knight's duties and obligations, much like a feudal lord over a vassal. This microcosm of romance between man and woman was anchored by the macrocosm of the bonds among men and their fealty to their lord. The dominance of women and fealty to the leader in courtly love contrasts with the dominance ...
Renaissance Humanism became increasingly concerned with the self and the fashioning of the self. In Il Cortegiano (The Courtier), published in 1528, Conte Baldassare Castiglione's ideal courtier is an exponent of the latter. The education or the self-fashioning of the courtier involves almost everything under the sun. Therefore, as the courtier must learn the proper skills of war, he must also learn how to love. Love, the deportment of the courtier towards court-ladies, keeps recurring in the conversation in the court at Urbino during the discourses of all four nights and the many controversies generated by Gaspar Pallavicino, Lord Julian, and Bernard Bibiena all involve love and culminate ultimately in Pietro Bembo's inspired Platonic exposition.
During the Middle Ages, Courtly love was a code which prescribed the conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very much like the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege. The lover serves his beloved, in the manner a servant would. He owes his devotion and allegiance to her, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of valor (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved”. The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love.
The presentation of moral courage leads Emilia’s Speech and Felix’s actions to challenge the social and religious morality of their time. For instance, Emilia’s Speech establishes her cynicism towards men as Shakespeare’s lexical choice of ‘would not’ demonstrates that without the contraction displayed, it highlights Emilia willingly not to ‘marry.’ Therefore, her courage to challenge the social and religious morality of her time establishes that she disobeys with the main principle that “Wives submit/to husbands/the Lord” knowing that marriage is an obligation and her refusal demonstrates that she has “sense like the men.” This is evident as compared to the “Fair” Desdemona who does ‘displease’ men it establishes that she has respect and authority because of Othello. Whereas, Emilia lives in Desdemona’s shadow and has a contradictory personality to which her loyalty is divided,[between Iago and Desdemona] similar but different to Desdemona’s “divided duty” to her husband and father.
Their heart-rending deaths are of course tragic, resulting as they do from an unforeseeable flaw in Friar Laurence's well-intentioned but unlikely plan. Their lives, however, serve to prove that young love is viable, that young people know what they want and will go to extreme lengths to find it. The fair (ie beautiful) city of Verona is a city of promise, one where young love can flourish; it is also a city where swords are drawn in an instant and where life can perish on a sword-point. In such a situation, we cannot be surprised at the existence of a smouldering feud between two prominent families (the Capulets and the Montagues) nor should we be surprised if the young people do not always follow their parents' wishes.
In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen shows examples of how most marriages were not always for love but more as a formal agreement arranged by the two families. Marriage was seen a holy matrimony for two people but living happil...
“The Wife of Bath’s Tale” is written in an entertaining and adventurous spirit, but serves a higher purpose by illustrating the century’s view of courtly love. Hundreds, if not thousands, of other pieces of literature written in the same century prevail to commemorate the coupling of breathtaking princesses with lionhearted knights after going through unimaginable adventures, but only a slight few examine the viability of such courtly love and the related dilemmas that always succeed. “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that women desire most their husband’s love, Overall, “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” shows that the meaning of true love does not stay consistent, whether between singular or separate communities and remains timeless as the depictions of love from this 14th century tale still hold true today.
I aim to show how the “human” relationships in the play reflect real life relationships within Shakespeare’s own society (as well as his future audience), for which his plays were written and performed. Ferdinand and Miranda’s type of relationship shows Shakespeare’s ideas about true love, recognising not just the emotional side of love, but the physical nature too. Miranda promises Ferdinand “The jewel in my dower” which is her virginity, a prized thing in Jacobean times. This knowledge would have been known by Shakespeare’s audience, and knowing this helps us to understand Prospero’s protection of his daughter from Caliban. Ferdinand is asked not to have lustful thoughts about Miranda as “Sour-eyed disdain and discord shall bestrew the union of your bed with weeds so loathly that you shall hate it both” meaning that sex before marriage will poison the lovers’ marriage bed so that they will both grow to loathe it.