Il Cortegiano, or The Courtier:

first parallel text edition in English and Italian

The first parallel text edition in English and Italian of the seminal courtesy book of the High Renaissance on the ideal courtier.

Castiglione (1478-1529) was born in Casatico to a minor noble family connected through his mother to the ruling Gonzagas of nearby Mantua. As a youth he was sent to the Sforzas in Milan to begin his humanistic studies, and later served briefly in the household of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua before taking-up residence with Gonzaga's brother-in-law, the Duke of Urbino.

'Here Guidobaldo de Montefeltre and his consort Elizabetta Gonzaga were the centre of the most brilliant court in Italy, which counted among its members Bembo, Cardinal Bibbiena, Giuliano de' Medici and many other eminent men. His book is based on his experience of life among these dazzling figures' (PMM).

Drawing on the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome, and the new ideals espoused by civic humanism, Il Cortegiano came to define the genre of courtesy book that followed. The text is written in the form of a discussion between members of the court on the virtues and qualities which should be cultivated by the ideal courtier, from proficiency in arms and sport, to connoisseurship of art and literature, and above all cherishing a sense of honour.

The work was composed over the course of 20 years beginning in 1508, finally being published by the Aldine Press the year before Castiglione's death in 1529. Translations appeared in most European languages over the following years, with 108 editions of the text printed between 1528 and 1616. Its trace can be felt in Don Quixote, the honnête homme of France, and in the Elizabethan court, where Sir Thomas Hoby's 1561 English-language edition influenced the writings of Shakespeare, Spenser, and Ben Jonson amongst others.

First parallel text edition in English and Italian; 4to (25 x 20 cm); engraved portrait frontispiece, woodcut initials, head and tailpieces, list of subscribers, title a little toned, occasional light spotting; contemporary panelled calf, neatly rebacked, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece, very good; [62], 480, 473-508pp.

ESTC N956; Bowyer Ledgers 1296B.