The Book of the Courtier

About the book

Members of the court at Urbino undertake to describe the ideal courtier, turning sociable discussion into a broad inquiry about cultivated conduct. Martial skill, learning, music, conversation, wit, and physical grace all enter the debate, along with the difficult art of making accomplishment appear unforced. The speakers disagree, tease one another, offer examples, and extend their inquiry to the court lady, the counsel a ruler needs, and the nature of love. Because the ideal emerges through conversation, its tensions remain visible: polish can serve ethical judgment, but it can also become performance before powerful observers. Leonard Eckstein Opdycke's annotated English translation preserves the dialogue form and supplies historical assistance for its many names and references.

• Accomplishment and appearance
• Courtly power
• Conversation and judgment

Why read it

The discussion reveals how ideals of personal refinement are shaped by the social world in which they must succeed.

Annotated English translation by Leonard Eckstein Opdycke, 1902