Medici Women: The Making of a Dynasty in Grand Ducal Tuscany

by Giovanna Benadusi (Editor), Judith C. Brown (Editor), Monica Chojnacaka (Translator)

The Medici grand ducal family and the court it created in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries have long fascinated historians and the general public. Until recently, however, the women who married into the family or were born into it were relegated to the margins of history. Though long acknowledged as wives and mothers who contributed to the propagation of the Medici line, their function in the creation of the court, in shaping its culture, in contributing to the transformation of the state from a city-state republic to a principality, and in establishing the Medici's place in the European network of dynastic rulers tended to be either ignored or maligned. It is only in the last decade or so that scholars have begun to reassess their roles and achievements. The aim of this book is to advance that reassessment.

380 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

Reviews

[Isabel Lindin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only read the Renaissance chapters. However very interesting and new studies that are helping to re-shape how we see Renaissance women and the Medici family as a whole.