The Book of the Courtier

Descended from Veronese nobility, Canossa was a relative of Castiglione. Serving at the court of Urbino from 1496, Canossa later became a diplomat in the service of the Pope and then King Francis I, finally being made Bishop of Bayeux in 1516. A visiting diplomat, he kicks the discussion off the first evening. He believes that the ideal courtier is smart, friendly, a gifted dancer, and of noble birth. 

Bernardo Bibbiena was in the service of the Medici family, specifically Giovanni de’ Medici, who made him Cardinal S.Maria in Portico on becoming Pope Leo X. Dolvizi’s influence was so great that he was known as ‘the other Pope’. He was a close friend to Castiglione and patron to Raphael. A courtier and writer, he possesses a sharp wit and serves as the group’s expert on humor. 

Federico Fregoso was one of several notable men of letters including both Bembo and Castiglione. A student of Oriental languages, he was an influential politician alongside his brother Ottaviano, who later became ruler of Genoa. Federico was later given the cardinal’s hat by Pope Paul III. Federico leads the discussion on the second evening, sharing his ideas on speech and behavior.

Francesco Maria della Rovere made Ottaviano Fregoso the French ambassador, and he was elected as Genoa’s Doge in 1513. Reliant upon French protection, Ottaviano was imprisoned and later exiled after the city was sacked by the Marquis of Pescara. Ottaviano believes the ideal courtier’s role as an advisor to the prince is often complicated by the prince’s pride. 

The second daughter of the Marquess of Mantua, Lady Elizabetta Gonzaga married Duke Guidobaldo in 1488, and gained a reputation for exceptional virtue. She returned to Urbino in 1522, where she spent the rest of her life as a widow. Castiglione describes her as possessing “prudence and a courageous spirit and all virtues very early found even in the staunchest of men” (44). Genial and accommodating, she hosts the courtier’s discussion.

Following the exile of the Medici from Florence in 1594, the youngest son of Lorenzo de Medici passed some years in Urbino. He became governor of Florence after their restoration to power, and was later made General of the Church by his brother Pope Leo X. Despite disappointing his brother as a military commander, he was painted by Raphael, and his likeness sculpted by Michelangelo. During the discussion, he states that a “separate, but equal” policy is best when it comes to men and women. 

Guidobaldo Montefeltro is the Duke of Urbino, to whom there are few references in The Book of the Courtier. Guidobaldo failed to live up to his father Federico’s reputation and adopted his nephew Francesco Maria della Rovere as his heir in 1504.

One of the youngest discussants in The Book of the Courtier, 21-year-old Gaspare Pallavinco is a descendent of the Marchesi of Cortemaggiore. Young, sickly, and cynical about women, he shares his negative attitudes about women throughout the discussions. 

A close companion to the Duchess, she remained in Urbino after the death of her husband, Antonio da Montefeltro, a brother of Guidobaldo, in 1500. Like the Duchess, she was praised as a model of womanhood, though her instrumental role in The Book of the Courtier caused a stir among its European readership. Castiglione describes her as “a lady gifted with such a lively wit and judgement, as you know, that she seemed to be in command of all and to endow everyone else with her own discernment and goodness.” (43). The most outspoken, she is quick to defend women and clash with the party’s reigning antagonist, Lord Gaspare Pallavinco.

After spending his youth in France, Rovere was made Prefect of Rome by Pope Julius II in 1504. He appears in The Book of the Courtier at age seventeen, later becoming heir to Urbino and serving in the papal forces in conflicts with the Venetians and the French. He was restored to favour after killing Cardinal Francesco Alidosi over the loss of Bologna. Later in 1516 he was exiled from Urbino by Pope Leo X, reconquering the city in 1522. Rovere was Captain General of the church armies during the sack of Rome.