Premium
Lorenzo de' Medici's new men and their mores: the changing lifestyle of Quattrocento Florence
Author(s) -
Brown Alison
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
renaissance studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1477-4658
pISSN - 0269-1213
DOI - 10.1111/1477-4658.t01-1-00008
Subject(s) - feudalism , mores , elite , fifteenth , morality , consumerism , politics , clothing , period (music) , early modern period , sociology , economic history , humanities , history , art , social science , ancient history , political science , law , aesthetics
As an approach to the contentious problem of how to define the nature of Florentine society – feudal or mercantile, old or new – this paper investigates the outlook and lifestyle of Lorenzo de' Medici's secretary‐notaries, a new and highly vocal group of functionaries in the later fifteenth century. It examines first their social behaviour, especially their clothes and consumerism, then their political role and ambitions, and finally their morality, arguing that these men sought to rise in society by adopting ‘new ways’ and attitudes, not those of the old elite. In doing so, they articulated the outlook and values that came to typify new thinking about politics and society in the early modern period.