Women's Role in Castiglione's Book of the Courtier

The Duchess and Lady Emilia as Directors of the Dialogue

Baldassarre Castiglione's classic Book of the Courtier was set in the ducal palace at Urbino in the early sixteenth century. Because of the Duke's illness, he always went to bed early after supper, and his place as head of household and director of the evening festivities was taken by the Duchess Elisabetta Gonzaga. This was quite an unusual role for women at the time, since the Duchess and her delegate Lady Emilia set the tone for the entire conversation and chose both the topic and the speakers. Almost all of the gentlemen present would have chosen other subjects that they imagined would have been of more interest to the ladies — subjects such as romantic love, personal relationships, and the emotions of anger and jealousy so often associated with them. Instead, the Duchess and Lady Emilia seem far more interested in the "man's world" of Renaissance politics, diplomacy, and military affairs, and prefer that the men discuss these things in their presence. They take little part in the dialogues themselves, beyond steering them in a preferred direction and choosing the speakers. In the first book, Count Lodovico da Canossa describes the perfect courtier in very masculine terms — adept at warfare and dueling, physically tough, and well informed about modern developments — but also talented in the social graces, arts, music, and poetry. He would not simply be a warrior knight but a well-rounded gentleman with a humanistic education, unlike his ancestors of the Middle Ages.

Medieval Chivalry versus Renaissance Self-Fashioning

Medieval aristocrats and knights certainly placed primary emphasis on their dueling and combat skills, through which they gained or defended honor. In the Renaissance, however, men and women also had newer concerns about the "presentation of self in everyday life" and the "self-fashioning" that became a major preoccupation of the gentry and aristocracy. Others outside of Italy also found uses for the new fashions, ideas, books, and paintings of the period, all of which were part of the civilizing process and "the rise of self-control" in Western Europe (Burke 9). All of the ladies and gentlemen in Castiglione's dialogues exhibit these carefully cultivated qualities of good taste and personal restraint — the type of manners and discipline once practiced by monks in the Middle Ages.

Like Count Lodovico, medieval knights would have understood the code of chivalry: treating ladies with respect, the need to be familiar with weapons, and the obligation to show courage and honor in battle. Unlike the ladies and gentlemen in The Book of the Courtier, however, they also lacked "self-control and refinement" and were subject to very violent passions (Burke 14). Aristocrats in the Middle Ages had their tales of knightly romance and warriors who felt melancholy when separated from their ladies, as well as rules about never striking women. By the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern era, they were also beginning to read books about manners and civility — how to avoid scratching, spitting, and breaking wind at meal times, and how to use utensils rather than their hands. In general, the new humanist philosophy also emphasized "the dignity of man and his distinction from animals, who lacked speech and consequently the power to distinguish right from wrong" (Burke 18). All of these concerns were very much on the minds of the characters in Castiglione's dialogues.

The Participants and the Structure of the Conversation

All the speakers in the dialogue were friends and acquaintances of Castiglione, including Count Lodovico da Canossa, Francesco della Rovere, Ottaviano Fregoso, and Giuliano de Medici. Although the Duchess and her ally Lady Emilia Pia rarely speak, when they do they "are presented as effective in changing its course" (Burke 26). In describing the perfect courtier and ideal gentleman, the men do most of the talking, constructing a composite character of noble birth, skilled in warfare and diplomacy, but also possessed of extensive knowledge of the arts, music, joking, and conversation; noble ladies, likewise, would be familiar with literature, music, and poetry.

Castiglione noted that his book would never have been published at all had it not been transcribed by a noble lady named Vittoria Della Colonna, Marchioness of Pescara, whom he held "in veneration as a thing divine" (Castiglione 1). By the time he published his book, most of the participants in the dialogues had died, and he admitted that "I grieve more bitterly for the death of my lady Duchess than for all the others, for she was more precious than they" (Castiglione 2). Indeed, throughout the conversations, all the other ladies and gentlemen are properly deferential to the Duchess because of her high rank and to Lady Emilia because she formally delegates some of her powers — including the choice of topic and of who will speak first. Everyone was permitted to talk, laugh, and jest freely, and all appreciated the wit and prudence of Lady Emilia, yet they were also so very respectful of the Duchess "that this same liberty was a very great check" (Castiglione 11).

Castiglione borrowed the dialogue form from Pietro Bembo, a student of the classical dialogues of Plato and Cicero after which The Book of the Courtier is modeled. Interestingly, Lady Emilia is a fictional character that Castiglione borrowed from Bembo's dialogues.

Works Cited

Burke, Peter. The Fortunes of the Courtier: The European Reception of Castiglione's Cortegiano. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996.

Castiglione, Baldassarre. The Book of the Courtier. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928.