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The book of the courtier

Part of the The Penguin classics series
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In The Book of the Courtier (1528), Baldesar Castiglione, a diplomat and Papal Nuncio to Rome, sets out to define the essential virtues for those at Court.

In a lively series of imaginary conversations between the real-life courtiers to the Duke of Urbino, his speakers discuss qualities of noble behaviour - chiefly discretion, decorum, nonchalance and gracefulness - as well as wider questions such as the duties of a good government and the true nature of love.

Castiglione's narrative power and psychological perception make this guide both an entertaining comedy of manners and a revealing window onto the ideals and preoccupations of the Italian Renaissance at the moment of its greatest splendour.

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Product Details
Penguin
0141916516 / 9780141916514
eBook (EPUB)
395
24/06/1976
English
400 pages
Copy: 10%; print: 10%
Reprint. This translation originally published: 1967 Description based on CIP data; resource not viewed.