Review Of "A Renaissance Court: Milan Under Galeazzo Maria Sforza" By G. Lubkin

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

9-1-1994

Published In

Choice

Abstract

The Duchy of Milan has not received its due from Renaissance historians. Lubkin partially rectifies this slight by presenting a detailed, vivid study of the court of Geleazzo Maria Sfroza (1466-76), a capricious, sadistic, but cultivated prince whose tyrannical style elicited stern approval from Machiavelli and whose sophisticated court drew abundant praise from Castiglione. An interdisciplinary approach explores different dimensions of court life from spatial, administrative, cultural, and ritual perspectives. The political and family events of Galeazzo's short reign provide the basic organization; this framework, however, tends to cramp and disrupt analytical discussions of the court's structural elements. Aspects of the ducal itinerary, for instance, are sprinkled through the text rather than considered as an integral subject. Yet specialists dipping into the Sforza treasure chest will retrieve a number of jewels, even if one might wish that they were more carefully arranged in a larger setting. Graduate; faculty.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Choice Reviews. The review has been reproduced in full in the abstract field.

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