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THE 
 
 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 
 IN ENGLAND 
 
 STUDIES 
 
 BY 
 
 LEWIS EINSTEIN 
 
 'Nzixi fork 
 THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY, Agents 
 
 LONDON : MACMILLAN & CO., LTD. 
 1902 
 
 AH rights reserved 
 
^^ 
 
 
 THP L»BRARY OF 
 
 CONGRESS, 
 Two Copies ttiiCEtveD 
 
 ilflAR. 2? 1902 
 
 CopvRMjHT e*rnry 
 COPY A. 
 
 Copyright, 1902, 
 By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped March, 1902. 
 
 J. S. Cuihing & Co. — Berwick & Smith 
 Norwood Mass. U.S.A. 
 
TO 
 
 Mu fatfjer anD Mu iWotfjer 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The history of the Italian Renaissance in the coun- 
 tries of Europe outside of Italy still remains a subject 
 half unexplored. No account has as yet been written 
 of the successive steps by which Italian culture crossed 
 the Alps, the different directions it took, and the 
 extent of its influence. The purpose of these studies 
 is, therefore, to supply a link in the chain, and 
 trace the Italian influence in England from the 
 beginning of the fifteenth century until the death of 
 Elizabeth. Separate aspects of this have, it is true, 
 been treated by others. Beginning with Warton and 
 Nott, a number of scholars have searched especially 
 for the ItaHan sources of English poetry. Although 
 in recent years most work of this kind has been ac- 
 compHshed in Germany, Miss Scott's contribution to 
 a similar subject ought not to pass unnoticed in the 
 scholarly annals of our own country. No serious 
 effort has, however, been made to discover a common 
 impulse running through the Italian influences in Eng- 
 land : to find at the university, at court, and among 
 the people at large, in different and even opposite 
 directions, the results of one and the same great 
 
 movement. 
 
 vii 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 In all, three stages can be discerned in the his- 
 tory of the Itahan influence in England during the 
 period of the Renaissance. The first, extending to 
 the end of the fifteenth century, found a centre at the 
 University of Oxford, i It succeeded, after several 
 attempts, in introducing the new classical and scien- 
 tific learning of Italy into England, and thereby laid 
 the foundation for all future English scholarship, The 
 second and third epochs embrace respectively the two 
 halves of the sixteenth centurj^)^ The growth of Italian 
 culture at court marked the former; it flourished 
 there under royal protection, and assisted in creating 
 the new types of accomplished courtier and learned 
 traveller, often the same individual under different 
 aspects. The third and last period witnessed a great 
 extension of the Italian influence, as it spread gradu- 
 ally from the court to the people at large. At the 
 same time, the moral and national reaction against 
 Italy, which was further fostered by the growth of 
 Puritanism, put an end to much of this influence. 
 
 These studies have been divided into two groups. 
 The first is concerned mainly with the Englishman as 
 affected by Italy in scholarship, court life and travel, 
 and later with the movement against Itahan influence. 
 The second treats rather of the Italians in England, 
 — merchants and artists, reformers and adventurers. 
 Allusions of many kinds must necessarily creep into 
 any work attempting to cover so wide a range. Such, 
 
 _^j 
 
PREPACK ix 
 
 however, as refer to the historical and religious rela- 
 tions existing between Italy and England have so far 
 as possible been omitted. Politics and religion in 
 the sixteenth century were everywhere very closely 
 connected, and the Anglo-Italian relations of this 
 nature belong more properly to a history of the 
 Reformation. Only so far as they may have in- 
 fluenced Enghsh life and culture have they been 
 mentioned here. 
 
 It may seem idle to rehearse the Italian influence 
 in English literature, so much research has already 
 been expended on it. The labors of scholars on this 
 subject, however, have never before been brought 
 together. Several new ideas and suggestions will per- 
 haps add some further novelty to what might other- 
 wise seem of familiar interest to the specialist. 
 
 Most of the illustrations are from prints in the 
 British Museum, reproduced here for the first time. 
 The portraits of Wyatt and Surrey by Holbein are, 
 however, from the well-known Windsor Castle collec- 
 tion. The tomb of Dr. John Yonge, by Torrigiano, 
 formerly in the Rolls Chapel, is now preserved in the 
 museum of the Record Oflice in London, and the 
 original of the manuscript letter in the Duke Hum- 
 phrey correspondence is in the Royal Library at 
 Munich. 
 
 That these studies are not more incomplete is due 
 to the aid and advice of many friends. Above all, the 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 writer wishes to express his gratitude to the unfailing 
 courtesy and kindness of the officials of the libraries 
 in which he worked, especially of the British Museum, 
 the Record Office in London, the Bodleian at Oxford, 
 and the Archives of Florence. Lastly he desires to 
 thank Professor Donati of Siena, Professor Pasquale 
 Villari of Florence, Monsignor Giles of the English 
 College, Rome, Mr. Bliss of Rome, Mr. Horatio F. 
 Brown of Venice, Mr. Sidney Colvin of the British 
 Museum, Professor Charles Waldstein of King's Col- 
 lege, Cambridge, Mrs. E. H. Blashfield, his sister. 
 Miss Amy Einstein, Mr. Henry A. Uterhart of New 
 York, and Dr. John G. Underbill of Brooklyn. In 
 particular he wishes to thank Dr. J. E. Spingarn of 
 Columbia University for aid, which has at all times 
 proved valuable, and Professor G. E. Woodberry for 
 his ever kindly criticism and advice extending over 
 a period of years. 
 
 New York, 
 January 2, 1902. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PART FIRST 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 The Scholar 
 
 Italy and Oxford .... 
 Duke Humphrey and his Circle 
 Duke Humphrey as a Patron of Oxford 
 Thomas Beckynton and his Friends . 
 Early English Scholars in Italy . 
 The First Oxford Group . 
 John Free's Letters from Italy . 
 The First " Italianate Englishman " . 
 The New Generation 
 Grocyn and Linacre in Italy 
 Grocyn and Linacre in England 
 Humanism ..... 
 More as a Friend of the New Learning 
 Colet's Debt to Italy .... 
 Types of Scholars .... 
 Churchmen and Letters . 
 The Literary Patron of the Renaissance 
 
 PAGE 
 I 
 
 3 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 17 
 21 
 24 
 29 
 30 
 33 
 39 
 43 
 45 
 47 
 51 
 53 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 The Courtier 
 
 The New Court Life 
 
 The Question of the Gentleman 
 Democratic Feeling in the Sixteenth Century 
 
 xi 
 
 58 
 61 
 
 65 
 
Xll 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 The Perfect Man 
 
 Sport in the Renaissance . 
 
 Treachery and Quarrels . 
 
 Masks at Court 
 
 ItaUan Fashions in England 
 
 The New Code of Manners 
 
 Renaissance Platonism 
 
 The Theory of Love . 
 
 The " New Woman " 
 
 The Courtier as a Diplomat 
 
 The Courtier as a Scholar 
 
 The Ideal of Arms and Letters 
 
 The Art of War 
 
 Italian at the English Court 
 
 The New Study of Italian 
 
 Italian Courtesy Books 
 
 The Influence of Italy in Court Life 
 
 The Courtier Poet 
 
 The New Education of Women 
 
 68 
 
 69 
 
 1Z 
 76 
 
 79 
 81 
 
 83 
 
 84 
 
 86 
 
 90 
 
 92 
 
 93 
 
 95 
 
 97 
 
 99 
 
 107 
 
 109 
 
 III 
 
 112 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 The Traveller 
 
 The First Accounts of Italy 
 
 The New Traveller . 
 
 The Two Streams of Travel 
 
 The Art and Theory of Travel 
 
 The Advantages of Travel 
 
 The Englishman in Italy 
 
 Travellers' Expenses . 
 
 The Interest in Antiquity 
 
 Impressions of Rome 
 
 Italian Traits 
 
 The Admiration of Venice 
 
 The Florentines 
 
 Interest in Architecture . 
 
 "5 
 117 
 
 120 
 
 123 
 
 126 
 
 130 
 
 132 
 
 134 
 136 
 140 
 
 143 
 145 
 147 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 xm 
 
 English Appreciation of the Arts 
 
 Italian Spectacles 
 
 A Papal Procession . 
 
 The Traveller's Observations 
 
 PAGE 
 
 148 
 150 
 151 
 153 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 The Italian Danger 
 
 The New Nationalism 
 The Hatred of Foreigners 
 The Danger of Italy . 
 The " Italianate Englishman " 
 The Crusade against Italy 
 Italian Adventurers . 
 The Subtlety of Italians . 
 The Decay of Italian Influence 
 
 155 
 156 
 
 157 
 i6i 
 166 
 168 
 169 
 
 173 
 
 PART SECOND 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 The Italians in England: Churchmen, 
 Artists, and Travellers 
 
 Italians in Mediaeval England . 
 
 Italians at the Court of Henry the Seventh 
 
 Henry the Eighth 
 
 Italian Physicians at Court 
 
 Italian Books in England . 
 
 The Florentine Sculptors . 
 
 Henry the Eighth as a Patron of Artists 
 
 The Italian Influence in Art 
 
 English Art Collectors 
 
 Italian Reformers 
 
 The Italian Church in London 
 
 The Venetian " Relations" 
 
 Italian Opinions of England 
 
 179 
 181 
 
 185 
 188 
 190 
 
 193 
 196 
 200 
 205 
 207 
 213 
 
 215 
 216 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 English Soldiers and Sailors 
 The Diplomatist at Court 
 
 English Life 
 
 The Attractiveness of Englishwomen 
 National Customs . . . . 
 
 PAGE 
 
 217 
 219 
 221 
 223 
 225 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 The Italian Merchant in England 
 
 Italy and Commerce 
 
 '^ The First Italian Bankers .... 
 The Rivalry between Florentines and Sienese 
 Italian Merchants and the Court 
 Florentine Bankers and the Wars of King Edward 
 Venetians and Genoese .... 
 English Jealousy of Foreign Success , 
 An Italian Banking House 
 Commercial Instruction in Florence . 
 A Merchant's Advice .... 
 The Hatred of Foreigners 
 The League of Italian Merchants 
 A Florentine Bank in London . 
 The Italian Community .... 
 Foreigners and the Court .... 
 Later Italian Merchants .... 
 
 A Popular Uprising 
 
 Sir Anthony Guidotti and his Loan . 
 The Anglicized Italian .... 
 Italian Navigators and Geographers . 
 
 Books of Travel 
 
 The Italian Influence in Commerce . 
 
 229 
 230 
 
 232 
 
 234 
 238 
 
 239 
 240 
 242 
 
 245 
 247 
 
 249 
 252 
 
 256 
 260 
 262 
 264 
 266 
 269 
 
 273 
 277 
 279 
 283 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Italian Political and Historical Ideas in 
 
 England 
 
 Classical Learning and the New Monarchy 
 Polydore Vergil and his History 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 XV 
 
 Machiavelli in England 
 
 Italy and English Political Thought 
 
 Democracy versus Aristocracy 
 
 The Strength of Absolutism 
 
 Alberico Gentile 
 
 English Opinions of Machiavelli 
 
 Italian Historical Literature 
 
 A Philosophy of History . 
 
 The Historian's Duties 
 
 The Italian Influence in Politics and History 
 
 PAGE 
 
 291 
 
 293 
 296 
 299 
 303 
 
 305 
 308 
 
 309 
 312 
 
 313 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 The Italian Influence in English Poetry 
 
 Italy and Literature . 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 . 316 
 
 The Italian Influence in Mediaeval Poetry 
 
 
 
 . 317 
 
 Latin Verse in England .... 
 
 
 
 . 318 
 
 The New Poetry at Court . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 319 
 
 The " Courtly Makers " . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 321 
 
 The Influence of Petrarch 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 322 
 
 Sir Thomas Wyatt 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 325 
 
 The Earl of Surrey . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 328 
 
 Petrarchism in England . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 329 
 
 The Artifices of Poetry 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 335 
 
 Later Petrarchists 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 338 
 
 Spenser and the ItaHans . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 341 
 
 The Lesson of Italy . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 344 
 
 The Latin Poets 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 346 
 
 Italy and the Pastoral 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 348 
 
 Madrigals in England . . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 349 
 
 The Italian Influence in Satire . 
 
 —- . 
 
 
 
 
 
 351 
 
 The Narrative Poems 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 354 
 
 Translations from the Itahan . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 355 
 
 The Classical Influence 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 357 
 
 Nationalism in Language . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 360 
 
 The Sources of Fiction 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 362 
 
xvi CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Italy and the Drama 365 
 
 Shakespeare's Italy ........ 369 
 
 APPENDIX A 
 English Catholics in Rome 
 
 Early Pilgrims 373 
 
 English Catholics in Italy ....... 374 
 
 The English College ....... 379 
 
 Plots and Conspiracies . 381 
 
 Protestants in Italy 384 
 
 APPENDIX B 
 
 English Accounts of Italy in the Sixteenth Cen- 
 tury 386 
 
 APPENDIX C 
 
 Italian Accounts of England in the Sixteenth 
 
 Century 388 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 I. Manuscript Sources 391 
 
 II. Printed Sources 393 
 
 III. Works of Reference 405 
 
 INDEX 4U 
 
f 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 36 
 102 
 
 1 10 
 
 Sir Thomas Wyatt by Holbein, from the Windsor Castle 
 
 collection . . r? ^- ■ 
 
 ^ • • • . I'ronttspiece 
 Letter of Pier Candido Decembrio to Duke Humphrey of 
 Gloucester, from a manuscript in the Ruyal Library 
 I Munich ^' 
 
 Thomas Linacre, from a drawing in the Print Room 
 British Museum . . ^ ' 
 
 John Florio, from an engraving by William Hole 
 
 The Earl of Leicester by Zuccaro, from a drawing in the 
 Prmt Room, British Museum 
 
 The Adoration of the Magi by Isaac Oliver, from a draw- 
 ing m the Print Room, British Museum . . . 148 ^ 
 
 The Tomb of Dr. John Young by Torrigiano, formerly in 
 the Rolls Chapel, now in the Museum of the Record 
 Office, London . 
 
 Medal of Queen Mary by Jacopo Trezzo. Medal of Mary 
 Queen of Scots by Jacopo Primavera . 
 
 The Earl of Surrey by Holbein, from the Windsor Castle 
 collection . 
 
 324 
 
 Sir John Harington by Thomas Coxon . . . .3^6 
 
 192 
 204 
 
 xvu 
 
I 
 
THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE 
 IN ENGLAND 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 THE SCHOLAR 
 
 The influence of Italy on English learning during the 
 Renaissance differed in several respects from that exer- 
 cised by the other European nations. It was first in 
 the field, and for that reason long single in its power. 
 Its individual influence, moreover, proved the greatest 
 factor in modifying existing intellectual conditions, 
 while it supplemented the entire mediaeval fabric of 
 learning by the new system it had itself originated. 
 
 Commencing, virtually, about 1425, a gradual devel- 
 opment took place in English scholarship till by the 
 end of the fifteenth century, when Italian intellectual 
 life was beginning to enter on a decline, its lessons 
 had been mastered. Fifty years later, learning in Italy 
 had become a tradition rather than an actuality. Al- 
 though scholars were plentiful, and foreign students 
 still attended its universities, the reasons which in- 
 duced them to study there were no longer purely 
 scholarly. In the intellectual life of England at that 
 time, such foreign elements as existed owed their origin 
 
 B I 
 
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 to several nations, no one of which could claim ex 
 elusive supremacy. It is thus possible to limit to a 
 definite period of time the Italian influence on EngHsh 
 scholarship in the Renaissance. During this period its 
 course can be traced without unnecessary subtleties. 
 The field can be narrowed still further by remembering 
 that during the fifteenth century in England, learning 
 was almost entirely confined to the universities, and 
 to churchmen who for the most part had received 
 their education in colleges. Lastly, intellectual ac- 
 tivity centred almost exclusively around Oxford. Al- 
 though learned men lived elsewhere as well, they appear 
 rather as isolated individuals than members of the great 
 movement then preparing the way for the reception of 
 the new learning in England. In studying, therefore, 
 the history of the university and of its friends and 
 patrons during that period, one might almost be said 
 to witness the intellectual life of an entire nation con- 
 densed and focussed at one point. Oxford, in itself, 
 thus affords an insight into the scholarly history of the 
 EngHsh Renaissance from its beginnings in the decay 
 of the Middle Ages, when the first desire arose to share 
 in the benefits of the new learning rediscovered by 
 Italians, until the time when humanism was no less 
 firmly established in England than it had been in 
 Italy. 
 
 II 
 
 The Middle Ages had looked upon learning pri- 
 marily as the handmaid to theology. In the Renais- 
 sance, on the other hand, it was regarded as a guide 
 
 H 
 
THE SCHOLAR 3 
 
 to the conduct of life. This difference in conception 
 
 brought about the new idea in education which was to 
 
 take the place of the encyclopaedic teachings of the 
 
 church. The transition from one system to the other 
 
 meant an entire revolution in methods of instruction. 
 
 A decline came over the mediaeval fabric of learning : 
 
 i 
 the old triviutn and qtmdrivmm were done away with, 
 
 and studies which formerly had seemed of great im- 
 portance were now either neglected or dropped 
 entirely. 
 
 The questions which once agitated men now gave 
 way to new ones. More and more it was felt that the 
 scholastic training, out of harmony with actual condi- 
 tions, furnished no longer adequate preparation for hfe. 
 In the early years of the fifteenth century, when the 
 lowest depths of intellectual torpor had been reached 
 in England, the efforts of a single man were to bring 
 about a great change and introduce new rays of light. 
 In Duke Humphrey of Gloucester, son of Henry the 
 Fourth, and in the cultivated circle of his friends, the 
 intellectual hopes of his country were centred. His 
 career is of interest to the literary student, not only as 
 the first conspicuous English example of the Italian 
 princely patron and lover of learning, but as the bene- 
 factor of a great university, the collector of classical 
 manuscripts, and the correspondent and protector of 
 learned Italians who dedicated their works to him, 
 many of whom even visited him in England. 
 
 Duke Humphrey's first aim as a patron of letters was 
 to surround himself with a circle of scholars. Among 
 
4 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 hs English proteges were Pecock, Capgrave, and Lyd- 
 g ite, who translated from Boccaccio. His efforts were 
 a so directed to bringing over from Italy some of the 
 y j)unger humanists to instruct him in the ancient poets 
 a; id orators/ while at the same time he maintained a 
 correspondence with the greater men who could not be 
 tempted to cross the iVlps. The scholars he induced 
 to come over translated the classics for his benefit. 
 Lapo da Castiglionchio brought with him as a fitting 
 recommendation a number of renderings from the 
 Greek. Antonio Beccaria of Verona, who had been 
 one of Vittorino da Feltre's pupils, was later regu- 
 larly employed by the duke as a translator/ while Tito 
 Livio of Forli even styled himself the "Poet and Orator 
 of the Duke of Gloucester." Although the records of 
 this early period are scanty, there can be little doubt 
 that Duke Humphrey, in gratifying his own cultivated 
 tastes, was also trying to create in England a revival of 
 letters by employing the only means possible, since 
 Italy was then the intellectual centre of Europe — the 
 introduction into England of Italian scholars and 
 scholarly methods. At a time, moreover, when patrons 
 V Ire a necessity to every literary man, the "good 
 
 1 " Huic tanta litterarum est cura ut ex Italia magistros asciverit 
 
 etarum et oratorum interpretes." — ^neas Sylvius, Epist. 105. 
 
 ie also Epist. 64, Dec. 5, 1443, Letter to Duke Sigismund of 
 .' jptria. 
 
 2 " C'est livre est a moy Homfrey Due de Glocestre, lequel 
 je fis translate! de Grec en Latin par un de mes secretaires, 
 Antoyne de Beccaria de Verone." — Cited in Ellis, Letters of 
 ^' ninent Literary Men, Camden Society, 1843, P- 357* * 
 
 J 
 
THE SCHOLAR 5 
 
 Duke " acted the part of a Maecenas to the humanists 
 of Italy. Piero del Monte, sent to England as collector 
 of the papal revenues, dedicated to him some philosoph- 
 ical dialogues. The Duke's attention was also called to 
 the new translation of Aristotle's Ethics by Leonardo 
 Bruno, the greatest scholar of his age, which pleased 
 him so much that he urged Bruno to set to work on the 
 Politics. After the first part of this had been completed 
 it was sent to London with a dedication to the duke, 
 but this was withdrawn when his acknowledgment was 
 delayed, and it was dedicated afresh to Pope Eugene 
 the Fourth.^ More fortunate were his relations with 
 another humanist, Pier Candido Decembrio, who offered 
 him a translation of the first five books of Plato's Re- 
 public^ first begun by Chrysoloras, which he, continuing 
 his father's work, had at last completed. The docu- 
 ments referring to this affair have been preserved, 
 and are of interest as illustrating similar negotiations 
 between the scholar and his patron. The Archbishop 
 of Milan first wrote to the duke, knowing his zeal in 
 behalf of learning ; having heard that his relations 
 with Leonardo Bruno had come to naught, he wished 
 to inform the duke that an opportunity now presented 
 itself in the translation of Plato's Republic by Pier Can- 
 dido, a humanist versed in Greek no less than in Latin. 
 If he cared for wisdom or true eloquence, it could be 
 found in this book, which in former times had been a 
 favorite with Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine.^ His 
 
 1 Vespasiano da Bisticci, Vite, p. 437. 
 
 2 Ms. Royal Library, Munich. Ms. Lat. 222, f. 113 et seq. 
 
6 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 interest having been aroused by the bishop, a corre- 
 spondence began between duke and scholar, which 
 brought out the interest of the former in the new learn- 
 ing of the Italian Renaissance. Pier Candido grace- 
 fully alluded to the fame the duke enjoyed in Italy, and 
 how much his efforts had accomplished in the revival 
 of letters. The duke was evidently very proud of his 
 patronage of scholars, and both styled himself and was 
 addressed as litteratissimus} He received at first but 
 a portion of the work, and in acknowledging this, he 
 urged the humanist to finish the remainder as speedily 
 as possible, at the same time warmly praising the 
 scholarship displayed in the translation. To this en- 
 couragement came a reply, written in the true style of 
 the humanists. Just as the shade of a tree was pleasing 
 to the weary traveller, as the gentle breeze was welcome 
 to the sailor, and the crystal spring to the thirsty man, 
 so were, his letters welcome even as those of a great 
 poet. As soon as he [Pier Candido] heard that the 
 learned Aretine [Bruno] had changed his dedication 
 of Aristotle from Humphrey to the Pope, he at once 
 determined to celebrate the duke in no inferior man- 
 ner, and for that reason had selected the Republic as 
 in itself a great work and one of benefit to rulers. He 
 compared Humphrey to Julius Caesar, to Octavius and 
 other cultivated princes of former times whose names 
 had been the brighter for their devotion to learning. 
 For this reason he begged him to accept this offering 
 of good will and preserve it as a comfort in his own 
 1 Ms. cit., f, 246 et seq. 
 
- rnu pvrrinp\'rn Cym n humfrxdirm cturviri rloj icvT 
 Mirrj/cm frA^rn^ Tct xmffrrm ^»T^.".|0^rT^n cforrn - 
 m l-yytmn ny ran^iO Ot' JnjpKf tioit*-! f-raiVurmi^ 
 
 Mtc fziTTui prrcV'HiVpnTic\!prilUifB-ir7t 
 ^_^_ itiC itavit-ntnotn fnne M»<lrn vpi-a*IlcTih 
 ^tn oti¥n{:r ltttvntti\ipi lO- ncrs uirt fiim<i noia* = 
 rmt- inh.*i' qtiorpripuuftitC i1u^imn>' lamianrr 
 
 i*pifci>pi4)* iicr Ticni ioUim Ooftinn^T- Imnim feci 
 b»iTn«*Tntrtfv. ixxntatv vn-obfecjtiio iTnhri7niuy ni - 
 icp ndrtins pn*«t)3ciiif~<riTH^h7i* 1^ ni-^mnttn dc ttir 
 tiitv- civ htirn<tmtzitc i>r pnuVn^ui nut nobiTrc 
 ViiI«fTcr niTH rninTmmcvlimt ^tivltt dittcrvTifia 
 Ct"«ltnorCTn tiix: cinzitntxS Croj-L fhiriul /rhruTn-^ _ 
 \'TC profcrtt> tjriiidvnf- I71 qin txm<t7n tU-niT fruCHif 
 /?ti*nr oWcctnn cJ^\•m^\• trm non cnrrru? vycbnctn 
 ftnt^frinul^Mnx -prinpiitn optrmi^ii ^Njiirfpi* m w/tf 
 n.'/rtv frictir- frtlib* awc^tfhtf triWfnnilti jtrCfiAri nt - 
 n^ 17*101^ fztmA cfh mrtnorhrlhs 't^f)5- *n«-»Ti iniilh CX 
 h cir o4oru\' dtiio 2 1*" fi n im rvrtri l-rm tt>^cW 7i f- 1 pic 
 rnpTvnnS bi<itn orum ninr iio;;f»ir'tnnNT fi>^ oj^y " 
 rxhxxf i\(rcc\t\i n>nh.vfo ct'qmiv'ophmi^' cH>ii7^Titn - 
 r\*hirt Oi^jwrr Cijrn imhir rnKilurrtT" t-v*<>nrirNiTn 
 arrctrriitm tiinu c»n-crv Irtfrnfcy^ Impiic fTinrvni^ 
 dittiin AnffT>H*lirp«:>lil-rrrtiTi laiurhio noTTrtc ttv*rtv • 
 ^TTi fttrnpfcnif nori nu* x^'miv'nrtf ft'^ ^TTTnorhn 
 pilpc /rtjtftimh citron fTc-tmVmi 7ti>TTrt-n hiu pofl* 
 rahrinufrri* Ttcm mR*ncm iTtuncn- \;Korn. itcctxn' 
 rmtrtm laticifiti t-iuim pimVfiiy v^vtrllnv^clinr- 
 fiTTiC iphn-ip i;x-2^vnriim-n!» micitin^v mHx>»i 
 III poltumtn puifxmirpViilofopbi cm^mu H<in/ 
 frmi v'^'l.p^rvtU♦nH^^fT#l i^nam niv* rli^n'^fTr^^^ dc^« ' 
 rslut- iqtit> cjtiit>i.' ope IT1I vvrvlU*TtH«S--rriI nnli'ii*?' 
 
THE SCHOLAR y 
 
 Studies. In his reply the duke expressed delight at 
 the beauty of his translation, saying he knew not 
 whether to be more grateful to the author or the 
 scholar whose efforts had once more brought it to 
 hght after it had for so long been buried from view ; 
 through Candido he was at last able to admire Plato ; 
 in the immortal fame which awaited this labor he 
 wished him happiness.^ A considerable amount of 
 miscellaneous information was scattered through these 
 letters; the duke, for instance, was told of Manuel 
 Chrysoloras, whose work had made possible that of an 
 Aretine [Bruno] and a Veronese [Guarino], as well as 
 of many others who now were laboring when but a short 
 time before there had been none. In the last letter 
 of the series, the scholar bade the duke farewell, ad- 
 dressing him (perhaps by reason of his dedication) as 
 Immortalis Princeps? 
 
 Duke Humphrey had studied in his youth at Balliol, 
 and in after years the devotion he showed his university 
 was to be his noblest trait. Oxford about that time 
 had sunk to her lowest level. Scholasticism was dom- 
 mant, but her reputation even in these studies was 
 behind that of Paris. The long wars with France and 
 civil strife at home had greatly affected all scholarly 
 pursuits. For a time the university was reduced to 
 the greatest misery, and the ruin of education seemed 
 imminent.^ Scarcely a thousand students remained in 
 her ruined halls, and those who studied were said to 
 
 IMS. Cit., f. 113. '^ Ibid., {. 2A,%. 
 
 8 Epistola Academics Oxonienses, I, 128. 
 
8 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 find no reward awaiting them amid the poverty and 
 distress of the nation.^ In their plight appeals were 
 made at different times to Thomas Arundel, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury,^ the Duke of Bedford,^ and others, in- i 
 forming them of the condition they were in. The one J 
 truly generous patron they found proved to be Duke 
 Humphrey of Gloucester. Not only were his gifts 
 of books of great assistance to them, but his active 
 support in the defence of their privileges as the special 
 protector of the university was to help them through a 
 period of virtual anarchy. There can be no doubt 
 that he also advocated reforms in their education. At 
 one time, indeed, his relations with them appear to 
 have been somewhat strained, probably on account 
 of their refusing to adopt certain innovations he had 
 pressed.'* 
 
 In first advocating the new Italian humanism in 
 England, Duke Humphrey proved himself far in ad- 
 vance of his age. The time was not yet ripe, however, 
 although general dissatisfaction existed with the old 
 scholastic training as a valueless preparation for life. 
 The credit for whatever was then accomplished in 
 England belongs rightly to the Duke of Gloucester 
 and his circle. , What this was, as well as the practical 
 purpose of the new humanism he introduced from 
 Italy, can perhaps best be judged from a letter written 
 in 1444 by ^neas Sylvius Piccolomini, who later 
 
 1 Epist. Acad., 1, 154. 
 
 2 Beckynton, Correspondence, I, 277. 
 
 3 Epist. Acad., I, 94. * Ibid., I, 64. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 9 
 
 became Pius the Second, to Adam Mulin, Bishop of 
 Chichester and Keeper of the Privy Seal : — 
 
 " I read your letter with eagerness, and wondered 
 that Latin style had penetrated even into Britain. It 
 is true that there have been amongst the English 
 some who have cultivated the eloquence of Cicero, 
 amongst whom common consent would place the Ven- 
 erable Bede. Peter of Blois was far inferior, and I 
 prefer your letter to any of his. For this advance all 
 gratitude is due to the illustrious Duke of Gloucester, 
 who zealously received polite learning into your king- 
 dom. I hear that he cultivates poets and venerates 
 orators ; hence many Englishmen now turn out really 
 eloquent. For as are the princes, so are the people ; 
 and servants progress through imitating their masters. 
 Persevere, therefore, friend Adam. Hold fast and in- 
 crease the eloquence you possess ; consider it the 
 most honorable thing possible to excel your fellows in 
 that in which men excel other Hving creatures. Great 
 is eloquence ; nothing so much rules the world. Polit- 
 ical action is the result of persuasion ; his opinion 
 prevails with the people who best knows how to per- 
 suade them." ^ 
 
 Numerous letters passed between the duke and the 
 university during the many years in which he defended 
 its privileges. His first benefactions had begun in 
 the early years of the fifteenth century. His last 
 were to be almost forty years afterward. During 
 
 1 Opera, Epist. LXIV; cited by Creighton, Early Renais- 
 sance, p. 19. 
 
lO ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 this time it was his wisdom alone, the authorities wrote 
 him, which had revived learning and enabled scholars 
 to devote themselves to it with fresh energy. It was 
 almost a divine inspiration, they added, which led him 
 to revive the studies of philosophy and the liberal 
 arts ; they only trusted he would provide for the con- 
 tinued maintenance of this learning ; there was urgent 
 need for books and money to carry on the lectures in 
 science and philosophy which they knew enjoyed his 
 favor, and they furthermore requested his aid in pro- 
 viding a permanent foundation for these. 
 
 From time to time, he gave them the books they 
 wanted, and assisted them in other ways as well. 
 Many letters of gratitude were written him ; if refine- 
 ment of life, munificence and Hberality, it was said, 
 could confer immortal fame, that fame would be his. 
 It was in vain they had searched the records of 
 antiquity : there was no one to surpass him in learning 
 and literary culture ; nor was his fame confined to 
 England, but had crossed the sea and the Alps, so 
 that among all the Christian princes none was more 
 renowned for his knowledge of the Greek and Italian 
 writers. Night and day they now were able to devote 
 to their scholarly tasks ; not only they themselves, 
 but even eloquent and learned Italians toiled over the 
 work. It was a pleasant sight to see the number of 
 volumes received from Greece and Italy. * Under his 
 patronage, Greek literature, buried for so many centu- 
 ries, had again come to life, and once more the philoso- 
 phers could be studied in their original tongue. The 
 
 ae 1 
 
THE SCHOLAR II 
 
 very foundation of eloquence, which he had carried 
 over to England from Italy and Greece, would be 
 exhausted in the effort to render him due thanks. If 
 the Latin races owed him this, how much greater 
 gratitude ought the English to feel. Previously there 
 had been, it is true, a university at Oxford, but study 
 there was none, for there were no books ; now, how- 
 ever, through his gifts, they too could discern the secrets 
 of learning. Oxford must, therefore, always be the 
 home of his glory : if, then, the Trojans vaunted their 
 Hector, the Macedonians their Alexander, the Romans' 
 their Caesar, it was for Oxonians to extol Humphrey ; 
 and while distant rays might reach the students of 
 every clime, it was they who enjoyed, so to speak, the 
 very beams of the sun itself.^ However great the ex- 
 aggeration and flattery of these letters, they yet show a 
 decided zeal for learning, and the beginnings of the Re- 
 naissance feehng for antiquity. On Duke Humphrey's 
 part, the taste was encouraged by presenting Oxford at 
 various times with from three to four hundred books, 
 purchased, for the most part, in France and Italy. 
 Among these were the writings of Petrarch and Boc- 
 caccio, the text and commentaries of Dante, and the 
 great writers of antiquity, whose works had been re- 
 discovered by Italian humanists.^ By these gifts, it 
 was said, from having been almost without books, the 
 university had grown rich. Once more in their long- 
 forgotten majesty the ancient tongues had been re- 
 
 1 Epist, Acad., I, 203, 240. 
 
 2 Vide Munimenta Academica, Indentures of 1439, 1444, etc. 
 
12 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 vived, and everything which had been written was now 
 accessible to students.-^ 
 
 Around Duke Humphrey were grouped the other 
 scholars of the age in England. His prot^g^ was 
 Thomas Beckynton, Bishop of Wells and a doctor of 
 laws of Oxford, who corresponded also with many 
 learned Italians, among whom were Flavio Biondo of 
 Forh, Angelo Gattola and Piero del Monte. His 
 letters reveal quite a little group of English humanists, 
 — such men as Adam MuHn, Thomas Chandler and 
 William Grey. Nicholas Bildstone, the Archdeacon of 
 Winchester, and Richard Pettworth, the secretary to 
 Cardinal Beaufort, were also among the few English 
 scholars then familiar with the new Italian studies. 
 Certain other foreigners resident in England should 
 be mentioned as well. Simon de Taramo, the papal 
 collector, wrote a letter to Duke Humphrey in 1427, 
 full of the new Renaissance spirit of humanism, re- 
 alizing the duke's weakness in that direction.^ The 
 most important, however, was Vincent Clement, who, 
 although perhaps a Spaniard by birth, had yet been 
 educated in Italy. He was at different times the papal 
 collector in England and Duke Humphrey's orator at 
 Rome, where he may well have purchased books for 
 Oxford.^ He was certainly known as " the star of the 
 university," and in all probabiHty had studied there. 
 Later, King Henry the Sixth requested that the degree 
 of doctor of divinity be conferred on him, since it was 
 
 1 Epist, Acad., I, 244. 
 
 2 Beckynion, I, 283. ^ Ibid. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 1 3 
 
 intended to add to his prestige as papal proctor at the 
 English court. -^ Various indications point him out as 
 a man of great cultivation. His correspondence with 
 Thomas Beckynton was full of classical and humanistic 
 allusions, as for example when the latter thanked him 
 for a volume of poems by the Itahan, Pontanus." In 
 this early group of Clement and Beckynton, Chandler 
 and Mulin, the first indications of the new spirit 
 brought in by the Italian Renaissance can be found 
 in England. The scholars centred around Duke Hum- 
 phrey, who acted as their patron. With his death, 
 however, in 1447, the first period of English humanism 
 may be said to have ended. It was not a great age ; 
 its scholars were for the most part obscure men, whose 
 names, with scarce an excei^tion, have been forgotten. 
 Its very knowledge of Greek, even if not confined to 
 the Italian humanists in England, probably died out. 
 Nevertheless, in marking the first stage of a new move- 
 ment, in providing the foundation on which succeeding 
 generations might build, in evincing a zeal for letters, 
 the age deserves a place in the annals of English 
 scholarship; and Duke Humphrey's name, perpetuated 
 by his library, should live for the encouragement he 
 gave the new learning. 
 
 1 Beckynton, I, 223. 2 Jbid,, I, 178. 
 
14 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 III 
 
 Neither the scholarly zeal shown by certain of the 
 great English churchmen, nor the travels of such 
 Italian humanists in England as Poggio and ^neas 
 Sylvius, strictly enter the new scholarly tradition 
 which from the first had centred around Oxford and 
 Duke Humphrey. In the succeeding age, beginning 
 about the middle of the fifteenth century, the chief 
 progress in English humanism came through the jour- 
 neys of university students to Italy. In all likelihood 
 they were unaware of the significance of the move- 
 ment they had started afresh. It probably seemed to 
 them only a continuation of the mediaeval migrations 
 which in former days united the learned world, before 
 the feeling of the intellectual kinship of Europe 
 had disappeared amid the struggles of rival nations. 
 During the Middle Ages, English scholars were by 
 no means unknown in Italy. At the University of 
 Bologna there was an English *' nation," and both 
 Vicenza and Vercelli had English rectors,^ while 
 on the registers of Padua, British names appear 
 frequently.^ 
 
 The Italian humanists assumed at first a somewhat 
 patronizing attitude toward Englishmen, which was not 
 without a certain justification. Thus, although Richard 
 
 1 Rashdall, Universities of Europe, I, 157; II, 14', Vide 
 Dallari, Rotuli di Bologna. 
 
 2 x^ndiich, De Natione Anglica . . . Universitatis Patavince, 
 p. 129. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 1 5 
 
 de Bury, the most learned man of his day in all Eng- 
 land, had met Petrarch, he was unable to grasp his 
 new point of view toward the classics, which revolu- 
 tionized the scholarly world. Much later, Leonardo 
 Bruno said of Thomas of England, an Augustinian 
 monk who went to Florence to purchase manuscripts, 
 and lectured there in 1395/ that he keenly loved the 
 new Italian humanism, as much as one of his nation 
 was able to understand it.^ Such early instances of 
 Englishmen in Italy formed part, however, of the great 
 mediaeval fabric of learning, and bore no direct rela- 
 tion to the new age soon to dawn. In spite of exam- 
 ples Hke Osbern Bowkenham, the poet, who hved five 
 years in Venice, or even of Oxford men who crossed 
 the Alps, like Master Norton in 1425 or Master 
 Bulkeley in 1429,^ not till later can one feel assured 
 that English students went to Italy in search of the 
 new learning. 
 
 About the middle of the fifteenth century several 
 Englishmen were studying in Italy. One of these, i 
 well known for his love of the classics, and in whose 
 veins flowed the royal blood of England, was Reynold 
 Chicheley, who later became rector of the University 
 of Ferrara, where he had studied.* Andrew 01s ^ 
 
 1 Gherardi, Statuii della Universiia e Studio Fiorentino, p. 364. 
 
 2 " Studiorum nostrorum, quantum ilia natio capit, ardentissi- 
 mus affectator." — Leon. Bruni, II, 18. Cited by Voigt, Wieder- 
 belebung, IT, 258. ^ Epist. Acad., II, 564. 
 
 * Calendar of State Papers, Venetian, Vol. VI, Pt. Ill, 1581. 
 ^ Could his name have been Ellis? All that is known of him 
 comes through Italian sources, and English names became 
 
1 6 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 was among the first English humanists of whom any- 
 thing at all is really known. Like most scholars of 
 that age, he occupied a minor church preferment, 
 although he never sought ecclesiastical advancement. 
 Most of his life was devoted entirely to the cultivation 
 of letters. His appointment, however, as royal envoy 
 to the Pope gave him an opportunity to pass some 
 time in Florence, where he associated with the learned 
 set which had gathered around Lorenzo da Medici. 
 Among the friends he entertained there, were Matteo 
 Palmieri, Giannozzo Manetti and many other celebrities 
 of the day. It was noted particularly that he had 
 abandoned the English fashion of remaining several 
 hours at table for the more sober Italian manner of 
 living.^ The main purpose of his Florentine resi- 
 dence was to have certain books copied there, to take 
 back with him. Like all lovers of learning whose/ 
 means permitted, he was a great collector of manu- 
 scripts. His were said to be so numerous that, as it 
 was impossible to send them overland, he was obhged 
 to wait until a ship left for England. A supply of 
 manuscripts was, however, a necessity at a time when 
 printing was barely known, and public libraries still in 
 their infancy. On his return, he retired to a living in 
 the country, and there in the seclusion of his study 
 passed the rest of his life, leaving at his death the 
 manuscripts he had collected to the library of his 
 
 curiously twisted when pronounced by Italians: thus Hawk- 
 wood became P Acuta, Southampton, Antona. 
 ^ Vespasiano, p. 238. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 1 7 
 
 church. His gentler nature, with its grain of selfish- 
 ness and perhaps of scholarly reserve, felt out of touch 
 with the world of the unlearned. He remained content 
 amid his bookish surroundings, feehng unequal or un- 
 willing to preach the gospel of the new learning. For 
 this reason he was not so well known in England as in 
 Italy, where he was celebrated alike for his scholarly 
 attainments and the purity of his life. His Florentine 
 biographer, Vespasiano da Bisticci, who knew him per- 
 sonally, thought that few foreigners were his equals in 
 character and cultivation. 
 
 The small band of scholars. Grey, Free, Flemming, 
 Gunthorpe and Tiptoft, who now crossed the Alps 
 were to be the pioneers of the new movement. It 
 certainly seems more than a mere coincidence that 
 they were all Oxonians, while at the same time what- 
 ever means then existed in England to acquire the 
 rudiments of humanism were only to be found at 
 Oxford. It is almost natural to suppose that the 
 mediaeval traditions of the university had in part been 
 superseded by others of more recent growth, and that 
 the desire for learning encouraged by the facilities 
 offered by Duke Humphrey's library brought about 
 these new conditions. 
 
 The reasons which drew English scholars to Italy 
 are not hard to find. The new spirit of the Renais- 
 sance, in passing over the Middle Ages and going 
 straight back to antiquity, had effected a revolution 
 in the intellectual world. Italy was conscious of this 
 discovery long before the rest of Europe had awak- 
 
1 8 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ened to it. Italian scholars had been the first to see 
 the ancient world in its true light, and to study the 
 classics, not as allegorical explanations of Christianity, 
 but from the literary point of view. The Italian 
 universities, moreover, were then eminent above all 
 others ; philosophy, natural science, medicine, civil 
 law and Greek, elsewhere almost unknown, flourished 
 at Padua and Bologna. The brighter minds at Ox- 
 ford, seeing beyond their own limited horizon and 
 conscious of the progress in Italy, were anxious also 
 to take part in this advance. 
 
 Beyond the fact that they were all Oxonians, the 
 early group of Englishmen who went to Italy in. 
 search of the new humanism possessed other traits 
 in common. Excepting Robert Flemming, all were 
 Balliol men, which was also Duke Humphrey's college. 
 Excepting Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, they were 
 churchmen. It seems likely, too, that all were friends. 
 One last point of resemblance was that all either 
 studied or else were connected with the famous 
 Guarino Veronese, who after long years of wandering 
 had at length settled down at Ferrara, and was con- 
 ducting there, under the protection of the house of 
 Este, the most celebrated school of his age. His fame 
 was then on the Hps of every Enghsh scholar; his 
 name, it was said, was dear to all Enghshmen. It led 
 John Free (better known as Phreas), almost from 
 another world, to cross strange lands and unknown 
 seas to seek him in Italy.^ John Tiptoft likewise, on 
 
 1 Ms. 587 Bodleian, f. 165 et seq. 
 
THE SCHOLAR I9 
 
 his return from Palestine, went especially to Ferrara to 
 visit the aged scholar. Ludovico Carbo, in his funeral 
 oration on the dead humanist, also bore witness to the 
 number of scholars who, regardless of all difficulties, 
 came from England itself to hear and acquire from him 
 a polished elegance ; ^ and Battista Guarino, who later 
 continued his father's work, wrote proudly that students 
 were thronging to him from Britain itself,^ which was 
 situated in the furthest confines of the earth. 
 
 William Grey, a connection of the English royal 
 family, was his first scholar of note. His name had 
 already appeared in Beckynton's correspondence, 
 which connects him with Duke Humphrey. Carbo, 
 in the funeral oration delivered on Guarino, alluded 
 to Grey as one well able to bear witness to the great- 
 ness of the dead humanist. Grey had begun by study- 
 ing logic and theology at Cologne, but had realized 
 that it was only in Italy that the new learning could 
 properly be pursued. After crossing the Alps, his 
 first care when in Florence had been to order as many 
 books as were there to be purchased. He then went 
 to Padua, where he heard of Guarino's fame, and this 
 took him to Ferrara, where he studied under the master, 
 living at the same time in princely style, and maintain- 
 ing Nicolo Perotto, then a young man, as a scholar 
 in his own household. Henry the Sixth appointed 
 
 1 Cited by Leland, De Sa-iptoribus Britannicis, p. 462. Vide 
 Mattaire, A?inales Typographici, I, 91. 
 
 '^ "Ex Britanniae ipsa, quce extra orbem terrarum posita est." 
 — Vide Voigt, U, 261, note. 
 
20 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 him his proctor at the Curia, and later Pope Nicholas 
 the Fifth selected Grey to fill the vacant bishopric 
 of Ely. After remaining in the Royal Council until 
 the king's death, he retired from public hfe and 
 passed his remaining years in retirement, leaving his 
 collection of manuscripts to BalHol.^ William Grey 
 was among the first great EngHsh churchmen of the 
 Renaissance whose interest in humanism was more than 
 a passing fancy. He was not only a keen student 
 himself, but his great wealth permitted him to follow 
 Italian examples and be a patron to others less fortu- 
 nate in that respect. He represented a type common 
 enough in Italy, where learning formed so large a 
 part of the churchman's life, where no prelate con- 
 sidered his household complete without scholars in 
 his retinue, and where a humanist like ^neas Sylvius 
 had been raised to the papacy. But all this was 
 almost unknown in England, and William Grey was 
 among the very first to carry back to his native land 
 the love of the new learning and the desire to assist 
 its growth. 
 
 John Free's career was typical in a different way of 
 the life of the EngUsh scholar in Italy. William Grey 
 had gone there as a great lord, who established a 
 princely household wherever he went. John Free, on 
 the other hand, represented the poor wandering stu- 
 dent, who later raised his station in life by sheer force 
 
 1 Among these were the works of Poggio, Guarino, Bruno, 
 Petrarch and other humanists. Vide Coxe, Catalogus Codicum 
 Collegiis Oxoiiiensibus, I, BalHol College. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 21 
 
 of ambition and personal ability. It has been stated 
 by Leiand the antiquary, that some Italian merchants 
 whom Free met in his native town of Bristol induced 
 him to cross the Alps. It seems more likely to sup- 
 pose however that his patron WiUiam Grey advised 
 Free as a promising student to go to Italy, offering, as 
 stated by him, to aid him in his travels. Free's letters 
 to his patron tell the story.^ He left England with 
 only ten pounds in his possession, which he carried in 
 bills of exchange ; barely six remained by the time he 
 had reached Ferrara, and after purchasing the neces- 
 sary food and clothes, a very small sum was left over. 
 This he had spent, and poverty stared him in the face ; 
 he swore to his patron he had not received a penny 
 since leaving England. All he asked for was sufficient 
 money to enable him to continue his work ; for who- 
 ever wished to perfect himself in the humanities, he 
 wrote, must first be freed from all mental worries, espe- 
 cially such as related to the necessities of life. He 
 was particularly anxious to be able to study, in order to 
 help swell the scanty number of Englishmen then pro- 
 ficient in Greek and Latin ; this, he wrote, would con- 
 tribute to his patron's glory. The bishop of Ely sent the 
 needed remittance, and for a time everything went well. 
 Free however, who wished to translate something from 
 the Greek, begged for an addition to his usual allow- 
 ance in order to purchase the necessary texts.^ His 
 complaints were frequent not only of his poverty, but 
 
 1 Ms. 587 Bodleian. 
 '^Jbid.,i. 162. 
 
22 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 of homesickness, as well, and the thought of having left 
 friends and country. 
 
 The new humanism also had its influence over him. 
 Grey's nephew, who had been sent by his uncle to 
 study in Italy, had died there. In attempting to con- 
 sole his patron, Free made use of arguments taken 
 from Petrarch ; he bade him remember that although 
 nothing could prevent death, yet beyond its threshold 
 were glory and everlasting fame. His letters plainly 
 betrayed the Renaissance spirit, and were full of the 
 expressions and feelings of Italian humanism. He 
 spoke of men " of ancient faith and virtue " ; he called 
 " Immortal God " to witness, and not the Blessed 
 Virgin ; he paid a fitting tribute to the scholarly attain- 
 ments of Valla. In every way he tried to show that he 
 had left far behind him the scholastic traditions of the 
 Middle Ages, and looked forward to the new ideals of 
 the Renaissance. He was not only the most learned 
 Englishman of his age, but the first who even attempted 
 to reach the goal of universality Italy had created. In 
 his love of learning he took up not only the classics and 
 philosophy, but medicine and civil law.-^ In the classics 
 he achieved considerable success, and his funeral ora- 
 
 1 On the margin of f. i, Ms. CXXIV Ball. Coll. (a universal 
 cosmography in the writing of John Free) is a note by a more 
 recent hand. "This book on cosmography was written at 
 Padua in Italy, by John Free of Bristol, who studied at Padua 
 and at Rome and was a professed doctor in medicine, civil law 
 and Greek." Free also wrote and compiled the first six books 
 of Diodorus Siculus, perhaps from Poggio's translation. — Coxe, 
 
THE SCHOLAR 23 
 
 tion on Guarino was highly praised for its Latinity by 
 Carbo of Ferrara. His principal study, however, was 
 probably medicine, which he taught for some years 
 in different Italian cities. About 1465 he went to 
 Rome, where he found a patron in John Tiptoft, 
 Earl of Worcester, to whom he dedicated his Latin 
 poetry and several translations from the Greek. 
 For his scholarly attainments. Pope Paul the First 
 granted him the bishopric of Bath and Wells, but he 
 died, not without suspicion of poison, before his 
 consecration. 
 
 John Gunthorpe and Robert Flemming were among 
 the other scholars who belong to this early generation. 
 The former had been Free's companion in Italy. He 
 too had collected there many books, most of which 
 were later distributed among the colleges at Oxford.^ 
 On his return to England he became royal chaplain 
 and Dean of Wells where the deanery house built by 
 him showed the Italian influence in its architecture.^ 
 His remaining literary work was confined to a 
 rhetoric,^ remarkable for its occasional use of Greek 
 words and letters, and the minute analysis of the 
 Latin parts of speech. Leland however mentions 
 certain Latin epistles and poems also by his pen. 
 
 Robert Flemming had perhaps been induced to visit 
 Italy by his kinsman, Richard, who at the Council of 
 Constance, where Italian humanism first crossed the 
 
 1 Leland, Script. Brit., p. 463, also Leland, Collectanea, III, 16. 
 
 2 Creighton, Early Renaissance, p. 29. 
 8 Ms. 587 Bod. 
 
24 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 1 
 
 his I 
 
 Alps, had distinguished himself by the violence of 
 attacks on Wyclif.^ Flemming's desire for learning 
 was strong enough to make him leave the cathedral 
 of which he was the dean, to undertake the Italian 
 journey. After visiting the famous universities and 
 studying at Ferrara under Battista Guarino, he settled 
 down for some years in Rome. There he formed a 
 friendship with Platina, the papal historian and librarian 
 of the Vatican, while from Sixtus the Fourth he ob- 
 tained a preferment. He dedicated to the Pope his 
 Lucubrationes Tiburtin(B, written at Tivoli, where he 
 passed the warm summer months. This poem in 
 heroic metre was probably the first important humanist 
 verse written by any Englishman.^ In addition he 
 compiled a Greek and Latin dictionary, no longer 
 extant. The remaining years of his life were unevent- 
 ful. After his return to England he settled at Lincoln, 
 and on his death the manuscripts collected by him 
 were left to the Oxford college which bore his 
 cathedral's name. 
 
 One more English scholar who belonged to this 
 early group will be mentioned. John Tiptoft, Earl of 
 Worcester, proved himself a quite different type of 
 man from the others, whom he resembled only in his 
 love of letters. He was revered in Italy as a second 
 
 1 Voigt, II, 260. 
 
 2 A few lines are cited by Leland, Script. Brit., p. 461. 
 
 " Sane quisquis in hunc oculos defixerit acreis, 
 In vultu facieque viri coeleste videbit 
 Elucere aliquid majestatem verendam." 
 
THE SCHOLAR 2$ 
 
 Maecenas, known alike for his scholarship and the zeal 
 with which he collected manuscripts. Like the Italian 
 despots of that age, he united a fondness for learning 
 and patronage of the arts with tyranny and oppression. 
 He has often been considered the first example of an 
 "Italianate Englishman," a type so common a hundred 
 years later. This is untrue in so far as the name stands 
 for the affected dandyism of Elizabethan courtiers. On 
 the other hand, he represented the blood and iron of 
 fifteenth century Italy, with its energy impatient of 
 restraint, eager only to accomplish its end, heedless 
 of difficulty. He represented, too, its zeal for learning, 
 perhaps the one love in which it was sincere. 
 
 Tiptoft had gone to Padua to continue his Latin 
 studies ; afterwards he visited the aged Guarino at 
 Ferrara, and then went to Florence to have manuscripts 
 copied. Everything interested him, and arm in arm 
 with the bookseller, Vespasiano, he saw the sights of 
 the city, and even heard John Argyropulos lecture.^ 
 In Rome Tiptoft is said to have caused Pius the Second 
 to weep with joy at hearing such eloquence flow from 
 EngUsh lips.^ He met scholars as well, in Italy, while 
 humanists like Francesco d'Arezzo dedicated their 
 works to him. 
 
 No mean scholar himself, he is supposed to have 
 translated into English, Cicero's essay on friendship, 
 and Caesar's commentaries. His great wealth, more- 
 over, allowed him to take back with him such a 
 number of books that he was said to have despoiled the 
 1 Vespasiano, p. 403. ^ Voigt, II, 258. 
 
26 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 1 
 
 libraries of Italy to enrich those of England. Oxford 
 shared in his benefactions and gratefully acknowledged 
 them. Through him the authorities wrote^, the uni- 
 versity approached nearer to his Padua since the 
 fame of his attainments, and with it of their own, had 
 become known to the Itahans, the masters of elo- 
 quence. Just as no reward could have been too 
 great for the late Duke Humphrey who had favored 
 their cause, there now was no one worthier than him- 
 self to succeed to his place in their affections. They 
 felt it time for others than Italians to enjoy his fame. 
 Such lavish praise did not fail to obtain its reward. 
 A letter of some years later mentioned the fact that 
 the earl had left Oxford a large number of books.^ 
 Caxton also eulogized Tiptoft's love of letters,^ 
 and praised his learning and cultivation of the arts ; 
 like praise can be found as well in the Canterbury 
 Necrology.^ Unfortunately the less pleasant side to 
 his life earned for him the title of the "butcher of 
 England." He was especially hated for introducing 
 the so-called Paduan law, which attempted to 
 substitute the Roman law, revived at Bologna and 
 Padua, for the common law. This change, while 
 of advantage to trained jurists, seemed like an 
 infringement on the rights of the poorer people 
 
 1 Epist. Acad., II, 354. 2 md,^ \\^ 290. 
 
 s Leland, Script. Brit., p. 480. 
 
 * " Vir undecumque doctissimus, omnium liberalium artium 
 divinarumque simul ac secularium litterarum scientia peri- 
 tissimus." — Cited by Gasquet, Eve of the Reformatiouy p. 23, 
 note 3. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 2/ 
 
 who had been accustomed to plead for themselves. 
 Tiptoft was hated in consequence, for having introduced 
 what was considered a foreign and tyrannous system 
 in opposition to the liberties of England. The im- 
 portant judicial positions he occupied permitted, 
 moreover, a free rein to his cruelty, and when, during 
 the civil wars, he fell a prisoner in his enemies' hands, 
 all alike demanded his execution, on account of his 
 having oppressed the people and curtailed their just 
 rights. To the Italian priest, who accompanied him to 
 the place of execution, he apologized for his cruelties, 
 on the ground of their having been necessary for the 
 safety of the state, — an explanation which satisfied 
 neither priest nor people. The examples for his hfe's 
 work were both Italian. On the one hand, he had 
 found in Italy models of tyrannous government and 
 the absolute rule of the prince. To carry this into 
 effect he introduced an alien system into England, 
 the purpose of which was to elevate the sovereign's 
 power. On the other hand, as a cultivated scholar, 
 an eloquent orator, a collector of manuscripts and a 
 patron of learning, he also found examples in Italy 
 where once he had gratified his tastes. 
 
 What may be called the second period in English 
 humanism came to an end with Tiptoft's death, 
 even though Flemming and Gunthorpe lived many 
 years longer. Although those who had been its prin- 
 cipal actors accomplished but little, they forged a 
 hnk in the development of the English Renaissance, 
 and showed that the new learning at Oxford, far from 
 
28 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 being a sudden outburst, was silently prepared by a 
 small group of scholars. Disturbances at home and 
 wars abroad proved obstacles, however, to the student's 
 life, while, furthermore, no commanding names lent 
 lustre to the period. Excepting as they distinguished 
 themselves in other fields, the scholars of this time 
 have all disappeared from memory. 
 
 England was still unripe for the new learning. The 
 only chance for its success lay in concentration of 
 effort. But the young and ambitious band of Balliol 
 scholars who set out for Italy, full of hope, did not 
 return to Oxford, where alone in England their work 
 might have borne fruit. United in their early zeal, 
 they separated when the immediate goal had been 
 reached, and in consequence failed in their work. 
 John Free, the most learned and gifted of all, died 
 before returning home. Tiptoft, who shared their love 
 for letters, was led away from scholarly pursuits to 
 perish miserably on the scaffold, while the others i| 
 passed the remainder of their lives apart from each 
 other in retirement. Their labor, however, was not in 
 vain. The task they accomplished was to provide 
 books for later students to use ; to bring back with 
 them, even though sterile, the learning of the Renais- 
 sance, and show that Greek and natural science,^ 
 philosophy and medicine, were all within their reach. 
 John Free, at least, proved the type of humanist to be 
 possible for Englishmen. But most important of all, 
 they pointed out that guidance for the new learning 
 must be sought for in Italy itself. 
 
 'i 
 I 
 
THE SCHOLAR 29 
 
 IV 
 
 The fifteenth century was already nearing the end, 
 with the new learning in England still in its infancy. 
 Its growth, although slow, had nevertheless been 
 constant during the fifty years before Oxford began 
 to emerge from mediaevalism. In the face of many 
 difficulties, there had been a steady movement in the 
 direction of progress. A second generation of Oxoni- 
 ans now found the task before them of laying the foun- 
 dations of English scholarship, and beginning in their 
 own country the study of the humanities as it had 
 flourished for a century in Italy. 
 
 William SeUing of All Souls, a Benedictine monk, 
 may almost be called the dean of this younger gen- 
 eration. With another monk, Wilham Hadley, he had 
 first gone to Italy in 1464. The two studied together 
 at Padua and Bologna, and met, among other scholars, 
 Politian and Chalcondylas. (Selling on his return gave 
 particular attention to Greek, which was still unknown 
 in England. He took back with him many ancient 
 manuscripts,^ and tried to make a centre of learning out 
 of the monastery at Canterbury, of which he became 
 the prior. The first real facilities in England to learn 
 Greek were to be found there. He himself translated 
 into Latin a work of St. John Chrysostom's, probably 
 the first Greek book translated in that century on 
 English soil. The wandering friar of the Middle 
 
 1 Leland, Script. Brit., p. 482. 
 
30 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Ages, the teacher of humanism and the scholar diplo- 
 mat of the Renaissance were the elements in Sell- 
 ing's nature. As a diplomat he accompanied the 
 embassy sent to the Pope by Henry the Seventh to 
 announce his succession to the throne, and delivered 
 a Latin oration before him and the College of Cardi- 
 nals. As master moreover of the Christ Church 
 School, he first taught Thomas Linacre the classics. 
 He was thus one of the earliest English examples of 
 the all-round man of broad culture, so frequent in 
 Italy in the Renaissance. Prominent alike in scholar- 
 ship and diplomacy, as a churchman and a teacher, 
 he yet failed to excel in any capacity. 
 
 With the work of three Oxford friends, Thomas 
 Linacre, William Grocyn and Thomas Latimer, modem 
 Enghsh scholarship really began. Unlike their prede- 
 cessors, who after studying in Italy, had accomplished 
 little, both because the time was not ripe and their 
 efforts were too scattered to produce any effect, they 
 centred their work at Oxford and taught what they 
 had themselves learned across the Alps. After the 
 new learning had once rested on a firm foundation at 
 the university, it was an easy task for its usefulness to 
 be acknowledged by the rest of England. 
 
 WiUiam Grocyn, the eldest of the three friends, had 
 been a fellow of New College, and afterwards preben- 
 dary of Lincoln Cathedral, where Robert Flemming 
 was dean. From him came probably Grocyn's de- 
 sire to visit Italy. Most of the Italian humanists of 
 Flemming's generation were dead, but new ones con- 
 
THE SCHOLAR 3 1 
 
 tinued worthily the old traditions, although the favor- 
 ite city for study was no longer Ferrara, but Florence. 
 That William Grocyn, already a man of forty and a 
 scholar of some reputation, should have considered it 
 necessary to cross the Alps in search of learning, shows 
 how much Italy had then to offer and Englishmen 
 wished to learn. 
 
 Linacre set out in 1488 to study under Politian,^ 
 then the acknowledged master among Italian schol- 
 ars. There had been many learned humanists before 
 him, but all had lacked the taste and perfect style, 
 which he united to his great erudition. The new 
 method taught only by him attracted to his lectures 
 /'students from all Europe,^ among whom were Grocyn, 
 "I Latimer and Linacre. Linacre, after his first school- 
 ing at Canterbury, went to Oxford and then accom- 
 panied his former master, William SelHng, on his 
 embassy to the Pope. He was left, however, at Bologna 
 in the care of Politian, whom he later followed to 
 Florence. From him Linacre acquired his living 
 knowledge of the classics, and the purity of style for 
 which he was celebrated ; for Politian boasted of his 
 students, that they knew Greek as if the ancient Athe- 
 nians had settled in Florence. Lorenzo de' Medici, 
 the patron of the school, allowed him moreover (per- 
 haps on account of having been with Selling's em- 
 bassy) to attend Politian's private instruction to the 
 young princes, Piero and Giovanni, who afterward 
 
 1 Erasmus, Epist., CCCI. 
 
 2 Prezziner, Studio di Firenze, I, 162 et seq. 
 
32 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 became Leo the Tenth. Many years later, the English 
 scholar dedicated his edition of Galen to Leo, to recall, 
 as he said, the common studies of their youth. 
 
 After a year in Florence, Linacre visited the other 
 Italian centres of learning. In Rome he met Aldus, 
 who held him ever afterwards in high regard and was 
 later to pubhsh his books. While studying Plato in 
 the Vatican Library, he also became acquainted with 
 the great Hellenist, Hermolaus Barbarus, who urged 
 on him and his two English companions the task of 
 translating Aristotle into Latin ; Linacre alone is said 
 to have completed his share of this work.^ The 
 study of Aristotle probably led him to devote himself 
 to natural science and especially to the medical writers 
 of antiquity ; later he graduated a doctor of medicine 
 at Padua. To perfect himself further in these pursuits, 
 he studied at Vicenza, under the celebrated scholar 
 and physician, Leonicenus, who had been the restorer 
 of the medical treatment of Hippocrates through 
 observation, which then was practised only by Ital- 
 ians; for the great development of medicine in the 
 Renaissance came from the rediscovery in Italy of 
 the methods of the ancients. Six years were spent by 
 Linacre in his efforts to acquire there the new sciences. 
 When finally he was ready to depart, he built an 
 altar of stones dedicated to Italy, bearing on it the 
 words, Sancta Mater Stiidiorum. 
 
 Cornelio VitelH, a wandering Italian scholar, was 
 called by Poly^ore Vergil the first teacher of 
 1 Collectanea Oxford., II, 346. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 33 
 
 humanities {bonas Uttei-as) at Oxford, and it has even 
 been suggested that Grocyn and Linacre may have 
 studied under him. Both Erasmus and George Lily 
 wrote that Grocyn taught Greek before his Itahan jour- 
 ney,^ but no evidence to this effect can be found. It 
 was certainly not until 1490, the date of Grocyn's 
 return from Italy, that his teaching of Greek at Ox- 
 ford began to exert its influence, and all indications 
 point to its having been taught then for the first time. 
 The materials for the study of the new learning had 
 for some time been accumulating at Oxford, until 
 everything was ready. In the university library were 
 the books which Duke Humphrey and the Earl of 
 Worcester donated, while Grey and Free had been 
 similar benefactors to Balliol, and Flamming to Lin- 
 coln College. In this way, the discoveries of Italian 
 scholarship had become known at Oxford, while the 
 methods of the humanists were likewise brought back 
 by English students on their return from Italy .^ 
 
 The close friendship which existed between Grocyn 
 and Linacre induced them to work together, once 
 they were back at Oxford. Humanism, though affect- 
 ing them equally in their love for the classics, had in- 
 fluenced each one in a different manner. It led the 
 former to scriptural criticism ; William Grocyn had 
 not taken up the new studies until comparatively late 
 
 ^ Erasmus, Epist., CCCLXIII. 
 
 ^ Among other books in Grocyn's own library were the works 
 of Ficino, Valla, Filelfo, Perotti, Petrarch and Boccaccio, Col- 
 lectanea, II, 317 et seq. 
 
34 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 in life. In spite of having been the introducer of 
 Greek at Oxford, he always remained half a school- 
 man ; even Erasmus had to admire the wide extent 
 of his scholastic training.^ He did not, however, 
 allow this to blind him to the merits of the new 
 learning. With a rare devotion to the cause of schol- 
 arship, he gathered in Italy the fruits of its best in- 
 struction to expound them later to those still immersed 
 in mediaeval traditions. In the face of many obstacles 
 cast in his way, he succeeded in establishing at Oxford 
 the study of Greek. 
 
 The fame of Grocyn, besides resting on his reputa- 
 tion as a teacher, resulted also from his lectures on 
 the works of the so-called Dionysius the Areopagite, 
 which marked the beginnings of biblical criticism in 
 England, and showed the effect of his own humanistic 
 studies. He began by vigorously attacking Lorenzo 
 Valla, who had disputed the authenticity of the work ; 
 but realizing his error, with characteristic frankness he 
 openly acknowledged it and retracted. 
 
 Little is now left to confirm the extraordinary repu- 
 tation Grocyn enjoyed as a humanist. He shared the 
 distaste of the other scholars of his age for appearing 
 in print ; excepting an epigram, nothing has been pre- 
 served of his writings save a letter written in 1499 
 to his friend Aldus, the Venetian printer,^ in which he 
 thanked him for the " singular kindness " shown his best 
 friend Linacre, who had just returned to England, and 
 congratulated him on completing the first publication 
 
 1 Epist., XIV. 2 Cited in Collectanea, II, 351. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 35 
 
 of the Greek text of Aristotle by " that extremely in- 
 genious artifice which you have invented for spreading 
 Greek literature by means of the press. . . . Go on 
 then, my Aldus, with this work and prosper." 
 
 There were two sides to William Grocyn ; in his 
 nature the spirit of the Middle Ages blended with that 
 of the Renaissance. On the one hand was the school- 
 man and the quiet recluse, who, after satisfying his 
 thirst for knowledge in Italy, returned to settle down 
 in almost monastic seclusion at Oxford. On the other, 
 was the humanist, the theological critic, the introducer 
 of Greek. It was this which has entitled him to a 
 place in the foremost ranks of English scholarship, 
 and almost justified the verdict which makes him 
 share with his friend Linacre the glory of beginning 
 the English Renaissance of learning. Unlike the 
 latter, however, he lived within a small circle, caring 
 little for the applause of the world, but known to 
 his friends as '' the most upright and best of all the 
 Britons." ^ 
 
 Thomas Linacre, the first great Enghsh humanist 
 and the foremost physician of the time, was a different 
 type of man. What John Free attempted in the pre- 
 vious generation, Linacre had accomplished. For the 
 first time England found a universal scholar who, like 
 the great Italians of the fifteenth century, was learned 
 in all branches of knowledge. He was a humanist in 
 every sense of the word ; although his learning was 
 essentially secular, he was skilled in ancient dialectic 
 
 1 Erasmus, Epist., CH. 
 
36 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 and rhetoric, no less than in the classics and sciences. 
 It was even questioned of him "whether he was a 
 better Latinist or Grecian, a better grammarian or 
 physician." 
 
 On his return from Italy, Linacre had lectured at 
 Oxford, and with Grocyn taught such students as More, 
 Colet and Erasmus. He wrote as well as taught, and 
 his book on grammatical distinctions in Latin — a line 
 of work already accomplished by Valla and Perotti — 
 produced a considerable effect in England, where noth- 
 ing of its kind had previously been attempted.^ His 
 reputation increased, and about the year 1500 he was 
 called to court to be tutor to Prince Arthur, who died, 
 however, shortly afterward. Neither his fame nor 
 Grocyn's was confined to England, but spread to the 
 other countries of Europe. The two were brought 
 into especial prominence by the death of the great fif- 
 teenth century humanists, who left no Italian scholars to 
 take their places. The new learning had, however, 
 crossed the Alps, and now, firmly rooted in the different\ 
 countries of Europe, united once more the learnedj 
 world, insuring for its leaders an international celebrity! 
 Vives the Spaniard, Lascaris the Greek, and the French- 
 man Budaeus, to say nothing of his own pupil Erasmus, 
 all joined in praising Linacre. Aldus, in publishing 
 his edition of the Sphere of Proclus, regretted that 
 Linacre had not sent him more books to print. He 
 paid a striking tribute to the new English scholars who 
 were now surpassing their masters. Admiring their 
 
 ^ Hallam, Literature of Eur ope ^ I, 344. 
 
N^N 
 
 ' '^'^^/tiltni^/^'^'^.^^i 
 
 M<-^4tij^ ' 
 
 Iftmr^ certt*yfp^. ifUfiiiuy-l<^^'^t 
 
 //<'///</■ 
 
 I .J/ //^/£i:^ 
 
1 
 
THE SCHOLAR 37 
 
 eloquence and style, he expressed the hope that their 
 example might shame the Italian philosophers out of 
 their uncultured mode of writing, so that from Britain 
 itself, whence formerly there had issued a barbarous and 
 rude literature, which threatened the Italian sanctuary 
 of knowledge, true aid to learning might now come.^ 
 
 Linacre had been able to cultivate, even if he had 
 not acquired in Italy, his taste for medicine and the 
 natural sciences. There had been other classical 
 scholars, but he was the first English scientist and 
 physician of distinction. On his return to Oxford he 
 is supposed to have lectured on medicine as well as on 
 other subjects ; Erasmus considered him the intro- 
 ducer of medical science in England.^ His translation 
 of Galen began its classical study there ; this was also 
 the first work of a Greek author printed in that 
 country. Aldus desired to pubhsh other scientific 
 books by him ; but Linacre shared the dishke to ap- 
 pear in print. He later became prominent in London 
 through his medical practice, and succeeded the Italian 
 Battista de Boeria as court-physician, attending the king 
 with the other doctors, Fernando de Vittoria and John 
 Chamber, who had also studied medicine at Padua.^ 
 
 Linacre had felt the need of adequate facihties in 
 England for scientific studies, which could then only 
 
 1 Cited in Collectanea, II, 347. Vide E. Legrand, Biblio- 
 graphie Hellenique, II, 396. 
 
 2 F.pist., CCVII. 
 
 3 J. N. Johnson, Linacre, pp. 170, 279; Marini Transcripts^ 
 Brit. Mus., XXXVII, 826. 
 
38 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 be properly pursued in Italy. Before him, the practice 
 of medicine in England had been chiefly in the hands 
 of charlatans. To remedy this, he left the fortune he 
 had accumulated, for the foundation of medical chairs 
 at both universities ; and to dignify further the profes- 
 sion,^ he established the College of Physicians, which 
 was modelled on similar Italian institutions. The 
 lectureships he endowed were only realized in a 
 modified form, without embracing the wide scope he 
 had mapped out for them. His public spirit and fore- 
 sight in regard to the future of science made him, 
 however, a benefactor of the nation. He was regarded 
 generally as the first English type of universal humanist. 
 He corresponded with foreign scholars in other lands ; 
 his real work lay in teaching to his countrymen the 
 lessons he had learned in Italy. With him, the ex- 
 ample of the scholar whose knowledge should rest on 
 a broad secular foundation, and embrace the wide range 
 of the arts and sciences, was brought over to England 
 from across the Alps. Erasmus, writing to Latimer, said 
 that had he only Linacre or Tunstall as his teacher, 
 he would not seek Italy .^ It was no longer necessary 
 for scholars to go there ; the new learning had been 
 definitely established in England ; the new type of 
 scholar now flourished there as well. 
 
 William Latimer was the last of the three Oxford 
 friends who had studied together in Florence. He is 
 known chiefly by his friends, whose dislike for appear- 
 
 1 Q^Syxs,, De Antiquitate Cantabrigiensis Academice, II, 126. 
 
 2 Epist. CCCLXIII. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 39 
 
 ing in print he felt even more strongly ; Erasmus 
 compared him on account of this to a miser hoard- 
 ing his gold.^ His scholarship, however, was greatly 
 appreciated, especially by Erasmus. Bishop Fisher, 
 eager in spite of his advanced years to learn Greek, 
 wished him to be his teacher ; but he advised instead 
 that one be sent for from Italy.^ 
 
 It will scarcely be necessary to go through the in- 
 creasing list of English scholars who had either studied 
 in Italy, or else betrayed the influence of Itahan schol- 
 arship. The humanist movement in England was 
 well under way, and each year saw eager students has- 
 tening to Padua and Bologna. Even at the provincial 
 university of Siena, out of some three hundred students 
 in the school of philosophy, one-half were foreigners, 
 among whom were English, Germans, Portuguese, and 
 even Swedes.^ The greater number who returned to 
 their homes helped in silence to build up the new 
 humanism and spread the learning they had acquired 
 in Italy. A few remained, however, in their adopted 
 country. Before the close of the fifteenth century one 
 Thomas Penketh " for his admired learning and elo- 
 quence " had even been called from Oxford, it was 
 said, to teach at Padua."* 
 
 Several differences, as well as resemblances, appear 
 between the two groups of Oxford scholars who went 
 
 1 EpisL CCCLXni. 
 
 2 MuUinger, History of Cambridge, I, 519, note. 
 ^ Zdekauer, Studio di Siena^ p. 96. 
 
 * S. Lewkenor, Discourse of Foreign Cities, 1600. 
 
40 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 to Italy in search of the new learning. The first 
 devoted themselves only to individual study. Their 
 scholarship, however, was neither so profound nor so 
 broad as that of their successors, who were teachers as 
 well as students. The first had failed when they tried 
 to encourage the new learning by offering only their own 
 individual example. The others succeeded because 
 they built on a surer foundation. In both instances 
 nearly all concerned in the movement were church- 
 men ; but the secular tendency was gradually growing, 
 and when Linacre took orders in his old age, it was 
 rather to enable him to obtain preferment than for 
 any other reason. Both groups were composed en- 
 tirely of Oxonians, but while the first (excepting John 
 Tiptoft) kept up their connection with the university 
 only through gifts and bequests of books, the latter 
 showed in their life work a far greater academic devo- 
 tion. Their task was not only to bring back but 
 actually to teach their countrymen the studies of 
 Greek and science, medicine and Biblical criticism, 
 which Italian humanism had opened to the world. 
 By their instruction, as well as by their personal exam- 
 ple, they created the new type of EngHsh scholar, who 
 was to equal his Italian model in learning, while he 
 surpassed him in purity of life. The efforts of this 
 small band of scholars succeeded at last in firmly estab- 
 lishing the new learning at Oxford. Before them, 
 it had been almost impossible to place it on the secure 
 foundation necessary. Englishmen lacked interest in 
 humanism so long as civil anarchy, desolation and 
 
THE SCHOLAR 4 1 
 
 lawlessness conspired to forbid the necessary repose for 
 scholarly labors. All that could be hoped for, and had 
 in fact been accomplished, was to preserve what little 
 learning was left from earlier generations. The day 
 came, however, when the strong arm of the Tudor 
 monarchy made itself felt through the land, and peo- 
 ple realized that the age of civil strife was over, and 
 the arts could now be practised in peace. Amid the 
 novel feeling of quiet and repose, the new learning 
 developed and prospered. Just as in Italy scholars had 
 lived under the patronage of princes, who granted them 
 adequate rewards for their labors, so humanism, newly 
 introduced into England, was fostered and encouraged 
 by Henry the Seventh, first of a new race of English 
 monarchs. 
 
 Already in the early days of English humanism, a 
 definite growth can be traced, marked by separate 
 stages of development. This growth coincided for a 
 time with the extension of Italian influence, and was 
 in part its result. To the very end of the fifteenth 
 century, and even later, Italy remained the fountain- 
 head of the new learning. Yet England, as a whole, 
 was still strangely insensible to Italian scholarship, 
 which flourished only at Oxford. During the sixteentlij 
 century however, a great transformation took placel 
 On the one hand, the silent preparatory work of pre- 
 vious years was to spread beyond the narrow limits of 
 the university. On the other, the single dominant in- 
 
42 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 fluence of Italy, which had been till then the living 
 breath of the new learning, was greatly to diminish, 
 while other countries in part took its place. This 
 change was neither so sudden nor so unexpected as 
 might appear. The diffusion of the new learning be- 
 yond the college halls, was largely the work of Oxford 
 men trained in the methods of Italian scholarship. 
 The decay of learning in Italy at the same time, caused 
 Grocyn and Linacre to be regarded by the ItaHans 
 themselves as the successors to their own great 
 humanists. The foreign scholars who had been 
 trained in Florence, Bologna and Padua were now 
 to take up the work where it had left off in Italy, 
 and spread the Renaissance learning in their own 
 countries. 
 
 The desire to move in a broader sphere than the 
 narrow world of Oxford can be observed in Linacre. 
 The great connecting link, however, between court 
 and university was to be Sir Thomas More. His 
 task was to foster the desire for learning in circles 
 where hitherto it had been unknown. His training 
 and nature had fitted him for this work. As a young 
 boy he had been sent to Oxford by Archbishop Mor- 
 ton, and had there learned Greek from Grocyn and 
 Linacre,^ with both of whom he formed enduring 
 friendships. " Grocyn is in your absence the master 
 of my life ; Linacre, the director of my studies," he 
 wrote Colet.^ Still other Hnks than the affection he 
 
 1 Erasmus, Epist.^ DXI. 
 
 2 T. Stapleton, Tres ThotJice, p. 23. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 43 
 
 bore his masters bound him to Italy. Not only had 
 Colet and Lily, with both of whom he was intimate, 
 studied there, but he himself conceived a hero-worship 
 for Pico della Mirandola, whose life he translated into 
 English. Among his best friends, moreover, was tlie 
 Luccan merchant, Antonio Bonvisi, to whom before 
 being led off to execution he wrote in most affec- 
 tionate terms, saying he had been a son rather than a 
 guest in his house. 
 
 The opportunity soon arose for More to prove himself 
 a friend of the new learning. Its very success had 
 stirred up a violent opposition in Oxford itself. The 
 contest came over Greek, as being the most impor- 
 tant of the new studies brought from Italy. To know 
 Greek was the next thing to heresy in the minds 
 of many who regarded its literature as unorthodox.^ 
 Others, skilled in dialectics, were hostile, because un- 
 willing to take up a new study in which their former 
 work would prove of no use. Some, too, regarded all 
 innovations as dangerous. The opponents of the 
 " Grecians " united, therefore, under the name of 
 "Trojans," and ridiculed in the streets those who pur- 
 sued the new learning.^ A priest who should have 
 delivered a Lenten sermon preached in its place an 
 invective against Greek and other polite literature.^ 
 William Tyndale, writing only a few years later, re- 
 called the fact that the disciples of Duns Scotus " raged 
 
 1 Jebb, Erasmus, p. 41. 
 
 2 Maxwell-Lyte, History of Oxford, p. 435 et seq. 
 ^ Jortin, Erasmus, HI, 359. 
 
44 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 in every pulpit against Greek, Latin and Hebrew,"^ 
 and proclaimed openly that if there existed only a 
 single copy in the world of Terence or Virgil, they 
 would bum it, though it cost them their lives. 
 
 At this point, More wrote a letter to the university 
 authorities, directed against mediaeval scholasticism, 
 which severely censured those who desired it once more. 
 After presenting strong arguments in favor of the new 
 learning, he warned them that further opposition 
 would alienate the favor of their chancellor Arch- 
 bishop Warham, their patron Cardinal Wolsey, and 
 even the king, who was much interested in the pro- 
 gress of letters.^ For More, besides awakening the 
 court to the new learning, was also high in the royal 
 favor, the king often sending for him to converse on 
 learned subjects. It was through the influence, too, 
 of More and Pace that the king took up the matter 
 and finally silenced the Trojans. 
 
 Erasmus and Colet were among the other famous 
 pupils of Grocyn and Linacre. The former went to 
 Oxford because he thought it no longer necessary 
 to proceed to Italy for classical learning, which could 
 then better be obtained in England than anywhere else. 
 There were fewer good scholars in Italy, he wrote, than 
 in the days of Latimer's youth. In his own judg- 
 ment whoever was really learned was an Italian, even 
 though born among savages.^ It was not till later 
 
 1 Tyndale, Works, III, 75. 2 Erasmus, Epist, CCCCXIII. 
 ^ " Mihi Italus est quisque probe doctus est etiamsi fit apud 
 Juvernos natus." Ibid. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 45 
 
 that Erasmus went to Italy, accompanying the sons of 
 Battista de Boeria, the king's chief physician. His 
 Hfe however, is too European to belong distinctively 
 to Enghsh scholarship. It was otherwise with John 
 Colet, whom Erasmus regarded as a leader among 
 learned men.-^ After studying at Oxford, wishing to 
 follow in the footsteps of his masters, he too visited 
 Italy, attracted rather by a general love of culture 
 than any great desire to learn Greek. Nothing really 
 is known of the details of the three years he spent 
 there, although it has been suggested that he may 
 have met Savonarola. The puritan in his nature seems, 
 however, to have been brought out by Italy. He was 
 greatly impressed by the contrast presented between 
 the corruption of the church and the lives of '' certain 
 monks of true wisdom and piety." ^ What chiefly 
 influenced his later life was the Neo-Platonism and 
 scriptural criticism of the Italian scholars. Returning 
 to Oxford he lectured on Paul's Epistles, abandoning 
 the allegorical interpretation of the Middle Ages for a 
 free exposition of the whole. He compared the refer- 
 ences of St. Paul to the state of Roman society, and 
 rejected in consequence much of the doctrine of verbal 
 inspiration, thus adopting the new historical method 
 introduced in Italy. In these lectures, as in his work 
 on Dionysius the Areopagite, he cited no schoolmen, 
 but referred frequently to Ficino and Pico della Miran- 
 dola, quoting freely from the Platonic theology of the 
 former, while often borrowing the latter's theological 
 1 EpisU XLI. 2 ibid.^ CCCCXXXV. 
 
46 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 doctrines.^ Colet was one of the first, with Grocyn, to 
 criticise in England the subject-matter of the Scrip- 
 tures, as Valla had done in Italy. In a different 
 direction, his work in beginning the study of the new 
 learning at the public schools was analogous to what 
 More accomplished at the court. The wealth he in- 
 herited from his father was made use of by him to 
 found a school in St. Paul's churchyard. WilHam Lily, 
 the grammarian, who had studied in Italy under 
 Sulpitius and Pomponius Lsetus, was its first head- 
 master. There Colet and Lily put into practice the 
 new principles of education, and gave an example soon 
 followed by other schools. 
 
 The direct influence of Italy on English scholar- 
 ship may be said to have ended with the generation 
 succeeding Grocyn and Linacre. At the same time, 
 amid the blending of continental influences then 
 apparent in English culture, it would be unfair not to 
 assign proper importance to the strong leavening of 
 Italian thought and scholarly training. The system 
 which Italy had built up, at a time when the rest of 
 Europe was still in the darkness of the Middle Ages, 
 was not to be shattered in a day. Its intellectual in- 
 fluence could not so quickly be shaken off. The 
 brilliant scholars in the other countries of Western 
 Europe who then began to make their appearance, 
 had all imbibed the Itahan humanistic training, either 
 directly themselves or else through nameless masters, 
 
 1 Vide Seebohm, Oxford Reformers, pp. 39, 151 et seq. 
 Lupton, Life of Colet, p, 51 et seq. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 47 
 
 who transplanted it to their own land. The Italian 
 Renaissance had moreover, given a vast impetus to 
 learning, which in the Middle Ages was only to be 
 found at the universities and in the higher ranks of 
 the clergy. The courts of Europe now welcomed it 
 with open arms, and everywhere men sought to gather 
 its best fruits, whose ancestors had either scorned it as 
 worthy only of poor clerks or else ignored it entirely. 
 Largely owing to such changes as these, as well as 
 to progress in other directions, scholars who had in 
 former years been either of the academic or ecclesi- 
 astical types, were now divided into many classes. 
 A few of the main paths along which scholars found 
 their way will very briefly be outHned. •. 
 
 The wandering scholar was among the commonest 
 of mediaeval types. He had often been a man with- 
 out a country, who found refuge at the universities, 
 or else with patrons of learning. In the Renaissance, 
 Erasmus, whom four nations claim, was the greatest 
 example of the wanderer. An Englishman, by the name 
 of Florence Volusenus, was of this type, although 
 on an inferior scale. At the same time that he sent 
 political information to Thomas Cromwell, he was 
 in the patronage of the Cardinal of Lorraine, and 
 then of Cardinal du Bellay. His real interest in life 
 was supplied however by scholarship. He tried to 
 go to Italy to gain his livelihood at a university;^ 
 failing in this, he was appointed, by Sadolet's influ- 
 ence, to a professorship of humanities at Carpentras, 
 
 ^ Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, IX, 573. 
 
48 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 where, save for occasional visits to Italy, he passed 
 the remaining years of his life. A similar exile was 
 Peter Bisset, a graduate of St. Andrew's, who at the 
 time of his death was professor of canon law at 
 Bologna. Both men exemplified certain ideals of 
 the age, which often placed learning above every- 
 thing else, and made the scholar find a home in the 
 land where his intellectual tastes could best be 
 gratified. 
 
 Antiquarianism was a new direction the Renais- 
 sance gave to learning, and John Leland, if not so 
 early as William Worcester, was yet the first great 
 English antiquary. Conforming to the fashion then 
 beginning, he had been on the grand tour; and after 
 studying abroad, where he met some of the distin- 
 guished humanists, he returned with a good knowl- 
 edge of Italian. Emulating Bembo and his school, 
 he showed his scholarly tastes in his works on the 
 writers of his own country no less than in his Latin 
 verse. He was also a tutor to the Duke of Norfolk's 
 son, for many well-known scholars taught then in 
 the households of the nobility. The influence of such 
 masters contributed as much as anything else to foster- 
 ing the zeal for learning among the upper classes. On 
 the other hand the new interest in learning found its 
 way to court and royal patronage through the efforts of 
 a few like Sir Thomas More. Of greater importance 
 than Leland was Sir John Cheke, Secretary of State 
 and tutor to Edward the Sixth. He was perhaps the 
 finest example of a scholar selected to teach men 
 
 ^ 
 
THE SCHOLAR 49 
 
 of great position. He had also been long in Italy, 
 especially at Padua, where he lectured and seems, 
 moreover, to have exercised a kind of general supervi- 
 sion over all Englishmen in residence there.^ When 
 he returned, he became known as one of the chief 
 promoters of Greek learning in England. What his 
 real influence was with Edward is difficult to say, as 
 that monarch's short reign offered few opportunities 
 for his personal advancement of culture. The king's 
 library, however, contained many Italian books,- urged 
 on him, perhaps, by his tutor. 
 
 The study of Greek, once established at Oxford by 
 Grocyn and Linacre, had not been long in spreading 
 to Cambridge, where, owing to Bishop Fisher's influ- 
 ence, it was allowed to develop in peace. Erasmus, 
 then professor of divinity, taught it unofficially,^ but 
 the first real teacher of Greek was Richard Croke, who, 
 Hke many Italians, united learning with diplomacy. 
 In this double capacity he had been sent to Italy at 
 the suggestion of Cranmer, to collect opinions regard- 
 ing the king's divorce, and had there visited the chief 
 centres of learning. 
 
 The early work done in science by Free and Linacre 
 was continued by Thomas Starkey, a Magdalen man, 
 who, after studying at Padua, became a lecturer at 
 Oxford. The famous Dr. Caius had also been at 
 Padua; later in Hfe he founded at Cambridge the 
 
 IT. Wilson, The Three Orations of Demosthenes, Preface. 
 2 Nichols, Literary Retnains of Edward F/, I, cccxxxv. 
 2 Jebb, p. 27 et seq. 
 £ 
 
50 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 medical college, designed on an Italian model, which 
 still bears his name ; among its provisions was one 
 which stipulated that holders of travelHng medical 
 scholarships should be required to study at Padua, 
 Bologna, Montepulciano, or Paris.^ 
 
 The Italian Renaissance was first known in England 
 in the scholarly world. Its progress in the arts, in 
 social life, in a hundred ways, did not come until after 
 it had penetrated the intellectual classes. What may 
 therefore be called the first period of Italian influence 
 in England, beginning in the second quarter of the 
 fifteenth century and lasting for a hundred years, was 
 essentially a scholarly influence which found its home 
 at the universities. The initial impulse toward the 
 new learning was thus given by Italy to England. By 
 holding up its own example as a model, Italy formed 
 the English secular type of scholar and directed his 
 intellectual interests. Its influence, however, in the 
 scholarly world was one of foundation rather than of 
 development. It was paramount in assisting the one ; 
 it diminished with the growth of the other. It was 
 practically over with the generation which followed 
 after Grocyn and Linacre, when English scholarship 
 was developing along its own lines, barely affected by 
 foreign influence. Its purpose had already been ac- 
 complished in the very beginning of the sixteenth 
 century. The new learning of the Italian Renaissance 
 had been transplanted to England, the new type of 
 humanist established there. The influence of Italy 
 1 Mullinger, II, 163. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 5 I 
 
 first felt by Oxford men had spread thence to Cam- 
 bridge, to the court, the homes of the nobihty, the 
 pubhc schools, and by degrees through all England. 
 
 VI 
 
 The patronage of learning which has always been 
 one of the proudest boasts of the Catholic Church 
 existed especially in the Renaissance, when a genuine 
 love for it on the part of churchmen atoned for many 
 other shortcomings. The higher clergy, moreover, were 
 mostly university men, whose scholarly interests had 
 been awakened early in life, and who later were placed 
 in a position to show their gratitude. An account of 
 ItaHan influence on the new learning in England 
 therefore requires some brief mention at least of the 
 great churchmen who aided in fostering the move- 
 ment. 
 
 The many ecclesiastical ties which bound all Europe 
 to Rome had long familiarized the English clergy with 
 Italy. Already in early mediaeval times an Englishman 
 named Nicholas Breakspere, had ascended the papal 
 throne as Adrian the Fourth. During the long period 
 of the Crusades, and the centuries when religious en- 
 thusiasm still stirred mankind, English pilgrims passed 
 as a rule through Italy on their way to Palestine. So 
 long as scholastic theology and canon law were studied 
 as much at Bologna as at Oxford, there was little for 
 Englishmen to bring back with them. A new era 
 dawned, however, when the wave of the Renaissance 
 
52 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 swept over one country while the other was still un- 
 affected by it. 
 
 The Church Councils, especially, brought the prel- 
 ates of different nations, and their numerous retinues, 
 in close contact with one another. Henry Chichely, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, after returning from that of 
 Siena, gave valuable gifts to Oxford, and founded All 
 Souls College. At the Council of Constance, where 
 gleams of the new humanism for the first time crossed 
 the Alps, Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, and 
 an uncle of Henry the Fifth, met Poggio Bracciolini 
 and invited him to England. 
 
 During Poggio's residence there, from 1420 to 
 1422^ while he himself accomplished little, the great 
 Florentine scholar found in John Stafford, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, Nicholas Bildstone, the Archdeacon of 
 Winchester, and especially Richard Pettworth, Beau- 
 fort's secretary, men of considerable cultivation.^ Still 
 another learned prelate of this early period was Thomas 
 Arundel, also Archbishop of Canterbury, who corre- 
 sponded with the scholarly chancellor of Florence, 
 Coluccio de' Salutati. 
 
 English learning, however, was to make its progress 
 at Oxford and not in the ecclesiastical centres. Even 
 such churchmen as Grey, Flemming and Gunthorpe 
 were to assist by their gifts of books rather than their 
 personal example. In developing the new learning, 
 there was thus at the outset an essential difference be- 
 
 iVide p. 180. 
 
 2 Poggio, Episiolce^ II, 12, 18, 20, 22, 35; V, 22, etc. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 53 
 
 tween the scholars and the dignitaries of the church. 
 Both were university men, and the former were also 
 for the most part in orders ; but their preferments as 
 a rule were only minor ones. The work in which they 
 achieved real success was in their teaching at Oxford ; 
 while the assistance lent the cause by the great church- 
 men came rather through protecting the interests of 
 scholars, as well as in gifts and donations of manu- 
 scripts. 
 
 Many prelates, however, set a personal example of 
 learning, among whom were Bishop Waynflete, and 
 Peter Courtenay, the Bishop of Exeter, who had studied 
 at Padua. Thomas Langton, too, the Bishop of Win- 
 chester, had in his youth been in Italy, and was later 
 sent by Richard the Third on an embassy to Rome. 
 Returning to England, he founded a school for boys 
 in his own house at Winchester, desiring perhaps to 
 emulate Vittorino da Feltre. He showed further in- 
 terest in the new learning by his connection with Ox- 
 ford, and in sending Richard Pace to study in Italy. 
 The many churchmen who displayed a similar in- 
 terest, or were in some way connected with Italy, are 
 far too numerous to mention here. A few examples 
 only of the learned ecclesiastics — a type so prominent 
 in the Renaissance — can be given. Of these William 
 Warham, Archbishop of Canterbury, was among the most 
 prominent. After having been at Oxford, he visited 
 Italy, where he perhaps developed his interest in letters. 
 The examples of the great Italian cardinals may also 
 have urged him to follow them in his patronage of 
 
54 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 learning. His wit, his genial temper and courtesy, 
 no less than his own culture, made him the friend and 
 protector of the scholars who were preaching the new 
 learning in England. To Erasmus he was " my special 
 Maecenas " : ^ Warham's kindness alone kept him from 
 seeking the rich libraries and cultivated circles of Rome.^ 
 A zeal for learning and the patronage of scholars be- 
 came almost an affectation on the part of the higher 
 clergy. Some like Pace and Tunstall had studied at 
 Padua, while the former even published in Venice a 
 portion of the works of Plutarch, which he dedicated 
 to Cardinal Campeggio, who was also interested in the 
 success of humanism at the court.^ Stephen Gardiner, 
 too, the friend of Erasmus, and Richard Foxe, the 
 founder of Corpus Christi, had both been on embassies 
 to Rome. Edward Bonner was also eager to learn 
 Italian. In all ranks of the church an interest in the 
 new learning was shown, even by those who were to 
 leave the Roman faith, but who in their zeal for letters 
 continued former traditions. The great patrons of 
 learning were most beneficial in establishing scholarly 
 foundations. This was especially true of Cambridge, 
 where the new learning came far later than at Oxford. 
 During the entire fifteenth century the traces of Italian 
 learning were barely noticeable there. A copy of 
 Petrarch's poems had, it is true, found its way to the 
 Hbrary of Peterhouse so early as 1426.* A few similar 
 books were gradually acquired, and John Gunthorpe 
 
 1 Epist., CXLIV. 3 /^^v., CCCCXXXVII. 
 
 2 Ibid., CLXVIII. 4 Mullinger, I, 433. 
 
THE SCHOLAR 55 
 
 left some of his manuscripts to Jesus College. Very 
 few indications of the new learning can, however, be 
 found, although an Italian named Caius Auberinus 
 acted as Latin scribe toward the end of the century, 
 and gave in addition occasional lectures on Terence.^ 
 
 The impulse, when it came, was chiefly from Bishop 
 Fisher, who, encouraged in his efforts by Lady Mar- 
 garet, was determined to raise Cambridge to the level 
 of her sister university. In 15 ii, he summoned 
 Erasmus, who for a time gave unofficial instruction 
 in Greek. The intellectual condition of things may 
 be judged from his complaint that the masters at 
 Cambridge were trying to bring back dialectics.^ 
 He said himself he did his best to deliver the rising 
 generation from ignorance, and to inspire them with 
 a taste for better studies. Ten years later, how- 
 ever, he was able to write differently, and declare that 
 Cambridge could then compete with the chief univer- 
 sities of the age. Bishop Fisher was largely instru- 
 mental in bringing about this improvement ; not only 
 did he assist in establishing St. John's College, but he 
 founded lectureships as well in Greek and Hebrew. 
 His generosity, moreover, enabled Richard Croke to 
 go as the first professor of Greek to Cambridge, 
 instead of to Oxford where his friendship with Linacre 
 and More would naturally have led him. 
 
 Similar foundations were also established at Oxford, 
 the first by Richard Foxe, Bishop of Winchester, who 
 
 1 Cooper, Athena;, I, 9. 
 
 2 Cal. St. Pap., Henry VIII, I, No. 1404. 
 
56 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 endowed Corpus Christi in 15 16. This was a college 
 founded in the interests of humanism, and attracted 
 for that reason considerable attention ; for, up to that 
 time, the new plant had been grafted on the old, 
 usually without success. In the statutes of Corpus 
 Christi, however, all former hindrances were swept 
 aside. A public lecturer in Greek was to be among 
 its principal officers, and Greeks and Italians were de- 
 clared especially ehgible for the position. A complete 
 humanistic education was required of its graduates ; 
 for the long vacation, the works of Valla and Politian 
 were especially recommended as subjects of study; 
 candidates for scholarships, in addition to knowing the 
 ancient writers thoroughly, must themselves be able to 
 compose Latin verses, although in ordinary conversation 
 within the college Greek was thought acceptable as a 
 substitute for Latin. By such means as these it was 
 intended that " all barbarism " should be suppressed.^ 
 The torrent of opposition greeting P'oxe's daring 
 innovations was ended by More's influence at the 
 court, and Cardinal Wolsey's similar foundation of 
 Christ Church, which he endowed from the revenues 
 of the suppressed monasteries. Consent for this was 
 obtained at Rome by Wolsey's agent, Ghinucci, who 
 was also instructed to search for books, and order 
 copies to be made of the Greek manuscripts in Italian 
 libraries.^ Wolsey made a similar request of the 
 Venetian envoy, Orio, requesting him, as a great favor, 
 
 ^ Maxwell-Lyte, p. 412. 
 2 Creighton, p. 25, 
 
THE SCHOLAR $7 
 
 to ask the signory for transcripts, for the college library, 
 of the Greek manuscripts which had belonged to 
 Cardinals Grimani and Bessarion.^ The college 
 itself was filled with the spirit of the new learning ; 
 the great writers of antiquity were to be expounded 
 daily, and all conversation conducted in either Latin 
 or Greek. The foundation of similar institutions thus 
 marked the final overthrow of scholasticism by the 
 new learning of the Renaissance. Its further develop- 
 ment at both Oxford and Cambridge was to be more 
 especially along purely English lines. 
 
 In the early stages of the new learning the English 
 scholar's dependence and example came almost entirely 
 from Italy. Even much later, although great foreign 
 scholars like Vives and Erasmus, both of whom aided 
 so largely the growth of English learning, were not 
 themselves Itahans, yet the one had studied long in 
 Italy, while the other, before crossing the Alps, had 
 sought instruction at Oxford from those who had 
 themselves studied there. So far-reaching was the 
 influence of Italy in the sixteenth century, that much 
 which may seem French or Spanish at first glance was, 
 in reality, Italian, but once removed. 
 
 In Italy, therefore, English scholars had first been 
 taught the new humanism, while Enghsh churchmen 
 found there an example for their patronage of letters. 
 It was the joint effort of both that brought about the 
 Renaissance of learning in England, to which patron 
 and scholar alike contributed. 
 
 1 Cal. SL Pap., Ven., IH, 515. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 THE COURTIER 
 
 In the last quarter of the fifteenth century the 
 nations of Western Europe began to pass through 
 similar phases in their transition from the Middle Ages 
 to the Renaissance. "The dominant poHtical feature of 
 the age was the concentration of the supreme power 
 of the state in the person of one sovereign prince. 
 This had begun already in Italy, where petty despots 
 gathered into their hands the power of the nobihty 
 and burghers, whom they reconciled to the loss of 
 political liberty by the attractions and splendor of their 
 courts. Similarly, beyond the Alps the centralization 
 of the sovereign power in the king brought with it, 
 on the one hand, a diminution in the influence of the 
 great nobles, while on the other, it fostered the growth 
 of the court. Thus it came about that the poHtical 
 characteristic of the age was likewise to mark its 
 social development, and the descendants of feudal 
 lords were gradually transformed into courtiers. 
 
 Court life in the Renaissance assumed of a sudden 
 far greater importance than ever before. More and 
 more the activities of the nation centred around and 
 emanated from it. While during the Middle Ages 
 
 58 
 
THE COURTIER 59 
 
 every castle was a miniature court, complete in itself, 
 the life of the nation was now focussed, so to 
 speak, around one sovereign, about whom there 
 gathered the best in the land. The court became 
 almost the only means of entering the service of the 
 state, which at that time depended so largely on royal 
 favor. It led as a stepping-stone to the great careers 
 of arms, diplomacy and administrative employment. 
 Whoever found favor in his prince's eyes might well 
 hope to be intrusted with the command of an army, 
 the charge of an embassy, or the government of a 
 province. 
 
 Toward the end of the fifteenth century, Italian 
 influences began to appear at the English court. 
 Through the scholars, the new humanism had spread 
 from Oxford to this larger sphere, where it could more 
 readily be felt ; a noticeable growth, moreover, had 
 taken place in direct intercourse with Italy. The 
 Dukes of Ferrara and Urbino were on the friendliest 
 footing with Henry the Seventh,^ and he himself 
 employed numerous Italians in his personal service : 
 among others there may be mentioned Silvestro Gigli, 
 his master of ceremonies, Polydore Vergil, his friend, 
 historian and adviser, and his poet, Peter Carmeliano. 
 In its hearty welcome to Italians, the EngHsh court in 
 the sixteenth century was only following the example 
 of France and Spain. Monarchs could, indeed, find 
 their most servile adherents in these foreigners, who 
 
 1 Cal. St. Pap. Veil., VI, Pt. Ill, 1603 et seq. Dennistoun, 
 
 Memoirs of the D tikes of Urbino , II, 443 et seq. 
 
60 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 without ties binding them to their adopted land were 
 courtiers and diplomats by nature. Another reason, 
 moreover, added to their success. A new type of 
 courtier had grown up in Italy. At the courts of 
 Urbino, Mantua and Ferrara, a higher conception 
 had been formed of what the companion of the prince 
 ought to be ; his manners and accomplishments 
 became an outward reflection of the new life of the 
 Renaissance, infusing its spirit in the court. By de- 
 grees these were formed into a system ready to be 
 taught as a part of the courtier's education. A definite 
 and distinct type having thus gradually been created in 
 Italy, the courtier who had received this training be- 
 came superior to any other. During the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, England in common with the other nations of 
 Western Europe acquired considerable familiarity with 
 this new type, through the observation of Italians at 
 home and abroad, and partly, too, through the trans- 
 lation of Italian books, especially of such as related to 
 manners ; from these could be obtained the new theory 
 of the courtier as it presented itself to the Italians of 
 the Renaissance. 
 
 It was especially in Italy that the inquiring spirit 
 of the race endeavored to analyze the principles 
 of conduct determining all matters of social inter- 
 course ; hence great numbers of manuals of cour- 
 tesy, and guides to conversation, were written there. 
 Conversation and courtesy were then treated almost 
 as fine arts, which could both be taught and prac- 
 tised. Books professing to give such instruction 
 
THE COURTIER 6 1 
 
 endeavored to direct the entire social existence of man, 
 advising him even in regard to the most intimate de- 
 tails of life. Two kinds of such courtesy books can 
 be distinguished in the literature of the age : the one 
 intended for men in general, gave sound advice in the 
 direction of refinement of manners ; the other, on the 
 contrary, confined its attention to the courtier class, 
 quite unconcerned with the ordinary individual. Delia 
 Casa's Galateo and Castiglione's Cortegiano severally 
 were the representatives of each type. Although writ- 
 ten in Italian their influence was in fact European, and 
 they were well known in translations throughout West- 
 ern Europe. Any account of court life in England in 
 the sixteenth century, would, indeed, be incomplete 
 without attention to such books, which both gave a 
 definite expression to the underlying principles of the 
 courtier's art, and advocated likewise a new ideal 
 of social conduct. Scores of allusions can be found 
 to these books in the English literature of the age, 
 and especially to the Cortegiano, which in itself 
 may almost be said to have given voice to the un- 
 defined mass of Italian influences at the Tudor court, 
 and assisted in forming in England the new type of 
 courtier. 
 
 II >^)^ 
 
 In the sixteenth century, even more than now, the v^"'^'^ 
 question as to what constituted a gentleman was dis- 
 cussed among the living problems of the age. This 
 great subject centred around the respective merits of 
 
62 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 nobility by birth and nobility by virtue.-^ Different, 
 often contrary, views were expressed on the subject, 
 but opinions tended to group themselves in two separate 
 camps. On the one side was the so-called popular idea 
 which considered nobihty to be by birth alone, and 
 seemed to think it showed itself in a tone of luxury and 
 sport, an overbearing manner and a quick temper.^ 
 On the other was the opinion of alleged " philosophers," 
 who maintained that since all men owed equally their 
 origin to God, in whom the highest nobility found its 
 centre, every one, irrespective of birth, was noble so 
 long as he lived a virtuous life ; if, however, he inclined 
 toward vice, he was base, no matter from whom he 
 traced his descent.^ Between these two extremes 
 most opinions varied. Especially debatable were the 
 quahfications necessary to the eligibility of the courtier 
 — a question of the greatest importance, since gentle- 
 men then found an active career open at court. It was 
 thought by some that the courtier should be a gentle- 
 man born and of good family ; his nobility, however, 
 was not to excuse in him any lack of virtue, since such 
 deficiency would be far less reprehensible in one of 
 low birth than in a gentleman. Others argued in favor 
 of wit and beauty taking the place of noble descent. 
 Still a third eminently practical view was held by some. 
 Although high virtues, it was acknowledged, were 
 often present in one of base extraction, yet the courtier 
 
 1 Vide Nennio, or a Treatise of Nobility. 
 
 2 Humphrey, The Nobles or of Nobility. 
 
 * Romei, Courtier'' s Academy, p. 187 et seq. 
 
THE COURTIER 63 
 
 should be of noble birth, since prejudice played so 
 large a role in all human affairs, and people respected 
 noblemen fiir more, although their qualities were no 
 greater.^ The first view prevailed for the most part, 
 especially in the first half of the sixteenth century. 
 Liberal opinion complained bitterly that " the world 
 commonly reputeth gentry by birth as legitimate, and 
 gentry by virtue as bastardly and far inferior to the 
 other . . . [Men had] rather be born gentlemen 
 and have nothing in the world but their rapier and 
 cloak, than to be descended of base parentage and to 
 be senators or presidents." ^ Virtue, however, was 
 thought by all to be the first cause of nobility, and its 
 truest expression was said to consist in its union with 
 famous ancestry.^ He who was noble without vir- 
 tue, or virtuous without nobility, could never prop- 
 erly be termed a gentleman."* Even such of the later 
 writers as were imbued with a more democratic spirit 
 recognized the advantages of noble descent. A senti- 
 ment frequently expressed was that one ought not to 
 boast of ancient hneage but prove one's self worthy of 
 it. It was said that the great advantage of noble 
 blood was in making men ashamed to degenerate 
 from the virtue and valor of their ancestors.^ Lau- 
 rence Humphrey only echoed Castighone in his say- 
 ing that faults were far more excusable in one of base 
 
 ^ Castiglione, T/ie Courtier, p. 44 et seq, 
 
 2 Guazzo, Civil Conversations, f. 83 et seq. 
 
 8 Humphrey, op. cit. * Romei, p. 225 et seq. 
 
 ^ Guazzo, f. 86. 
 
64 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 extraction than in a nobleman of famous lineage. 
 Italian views on this and kindred subjects were fre- 
 quently repeated in England, with a certain moral 
 element usually added to them. English writers on 
 this topic, from Sir Thomas Elyot, Humphrey, the 
 anonymous author of The Institution of a Ge?itle?nan 
 and still later, William Segar, were all familiar with the 
 works of Italians, from whom they frequently quoted, 
 often without acknowledging their indebtedness. The 
 theory of the gentleman was, however, a far more 
 popular subject of discussion in Italy than in England, 
 where its echoes were mostly of Italian origin, and 
 but few original views were set forth. 
 
 A question often discussed was the compatibility of 
 commerce with nobility. It was urged by some that the 
 Venetians and Genoese, who thought themselves the 
 first gentlemen, in the world, considered it no disgrace 
 to be merchants as well.^ The great argument ad- 
 vanced in favor of trade was the practical one that 
 nobility could neither be brought to perfection with- 
 out wealth nor be preserved without money. Even in 
 the sixteenth century, riches played a far greater part in 
 the consideration of the gentleman than is commonly 
 supposed. Money, however, of itself was not sufficient 
 to ennoble a man, although three generations of wealth 
 might suffice to do so.^ On the other hand, poverty 
 would often force a man to marry a woman of low 
 birth, and thus debase his blood. ^ If any conclusion 
 
 1 Segar, Honor, Military and Civil, ch. i8. 
 
 2 Romei, p. 187. s Guazzo, f. 89. 
 
THE COURTIER 65 
 
 was reached at all in regard to the part played by 
 riches, it was, perhaps, that though they could add in 
 no degree to gentry, yet they permitted certain virtues 
 pertaining to it to be practised, which poverty did not 
 allow. A mere vulgar exhibition of wealth was, how- 
 ever, frowned on severely, while those who called them- 
 selves gentlemen, simply because they could afford to 
 live idly, were sharply censured.^ 
 
 Underneath the surface, especially during the latter J^Ab^ 
 half of the sixteenth century, a strong democratic ten- I ^ 
 dency can be observed, which revealed itself chiefly in 
 the growing importance assigned to such qualities in 
 the individual as were independent of birth. Humble 
 parentage had never been a bar to success in England 
 where real ability forced its way to the front at all times, 
 and especially in the sixteenth century, when many 
 commoners were ennobled. It was usually accepted 
 that children of men of distinction were gentlemen, 
 regardless of their parents' birth.^ The new Italian 
 idea of gentlemanliness, which was penetrating Eng- 
 land, was to include, moreover, such men as had for- 
 merly been debarred in theory. Whoever had studied 
 the laws of the realm, had been at the university, or 
 professed the liberal sciences, whoever could live 
 without manual labor, and bear the port, charge, and 
 countenance of a gentleman should be taken for one.^ 
 A reaction naturally followed ; men complained that 
 the old ideal of gentlemanliness had been suffered 
 
 1 Romei, p. 226 ei set/. - Institution of a Gentleman. 
 
 2 Sir Thomas Smith, Commonwealth of England, p. 37. 
 
 F 
 
66 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 to decay, that many who were no better than handi- 
 craftsmen had assumed the title and bore the arms 
 which rightly belonged to the old gentry. " As for 
 gentlemen, they be made good cheap in England," 
 wrote Sir Thomas Smith,^ with ill- concealed dislike 
 for this new democratic movement. 
 
 More and more, however, new tests of learning, 
 civihty and virtue were applied to the judgment of 
 the gentleman. It was even maintained that only 
 such as excelled in an art or science acquired thereby 
 a true nobility, far superior to one of birth or descent.^ 
 This nobility should spring from inward virtue, and not 
 consist merely of outward form.^ Men were to be 
 respected not by reason of their ancestors, but for 
 such virtues as were within them. The self-made 
 gentleman possessed a twofold advantage over the 
 gentleman only by birth : the first was virtue, the other 
 courtesy, " the right ornament of a gentleman ; for of 
 courtesy and gentleness, he is termed a gentleman." ^ 
 Some even argued that it was an impossibility for men 
 to be gentlemen who had no other qualification than 
 their birth. " If they be uncivil how are they gentle- 
 men? and if they be gentlemen how are they un- 
 civil? . . . Gentry and renown is not got by our 
 birth but by our hfe, yea, and sometimes by our 
 death." ^ 
 
 ^ Cojnmonwealth of England, p. 37. 
 
 2 V. Saviolo, his Practise, Preface. 
 
 ^ Humphrey, op. cit. 
 
 * Guazzo, ff. 85 b, 2>2>, 5 Ibid., ff. 85 b, 92. 
 
THE COURTIER 6/ 
 
 A loftier and more democratic ideal of what the 
 perfect gentleman ought to be had arisen in Italy, and 
 found its way to England. It was no longer sufficient 
 to follow in the footsteps of worthy predecessors : 
 " Whoso vaunteth of his ancestors seemeth without 
 any good thing of his own." ^ The new conception of 
 gentlemanliness by personal effort, which sprang up, 
 looked rather to individual virtu than to outward 
 factors. This feeling was well expressed by a con- 
 temporary writer : " If it be a great delight for a 
 man to know that from time to time out of his house 
 (as out of the Trojan horse) there have issued captains, 
 colonels, and knights, . . . how much more shall it 
 be to him, who may say that he hath, according to 
 the proverb, wings broader than the nest, and by the 
 excellence of his deeds, and sufficiency in learning and 
 feats of arms, hath surpassed the deserts, dignities, and 
 degrees of his predecessors, and alone, as it were, car- 
 ried away the prize. " ^ 
 
 The influence of this new democratic doctrine of 
 the Renaissance extended beyond the Alps. Even 
 though in practice it was not to be realized till cen- 
 turies later, it yet found frequent expression in Htera- 
 ture and life. At the very court of Elizabeth it was 
 echoed by William Segar, almost as a promise of the 
 future liberty and freedom of the individual to rise 
 by his own merits. The doctrine upheld by the Italians 
 of the Renaissance was later to be reahzed among 
 EngHsh-speaking people. " I say that the true no- 
 
 1 Segar, Book of Honor, p. 34. 2 Guazzo, f. 87. 
 
68 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 bility of man is virtue, and that he is truly noble that 
 is virtuous, be he born of high or low parents ; and 
 the more highly he be born, the worse reputation 
 he meriteth, if he cannot continue the honor left him 
 by his ancestors." ^ 
 
 III 
 
 The Renaissance, more than any period in the 
 modern world, endeavored to develop, as far as pos- 
 sible, the different faculties of man. The ideal of 
 universality, once aimed at, was consciously pursued 
 and attained by the best spirits of the age. This was 
 especially true in Italy, where the perfect man of 
 the Renaissance strove for excellence in every branch 
 of human activity, both intellectual and physical, try- 
 ing at the same time to be statesman and athlete, poet 
 and scientist, philosopher and courtier. The excel- 
 lence of the courtier, however, was by no means 
 limited to the qualities of his mind. He was to 
 I possess every grace and accomplishment, but never 
 to push into undue prominence what he did well ; 
 nor even appear to have given much time or study to 
 it, since that would have spoiled the artistic effect pro- 
 duced on the spectator.^ Everything was therefore to 
 be done with grace, as though presenting no difficulty. 
 He was to be nimble, quick and light, continually 
 showing pluck and spirit ; good at all games and excel- 
 ling at the tourney, in hunting, swimming, leaping, run- 
 ning and casting the stone ; even tennis and vaulting 
 
 1 Segar, p. 34. 2 Castiglione, p. 115. 
 
THE COURTIER 69 
 
 were recommended. On the other hand, tumbhng, 
 dimbing a rope and jugglers' tricks should never be -- 
 practised by the courtier, who ought to preserve his 
 dignity in all his actions. Above everything else, the 
 superiority of his station in life was to be real, not 
 merely a matter of convention ; thus, if he wrestled or 
 ran with countrymen, he should appear to do so for 
 courtesy only, and not to win ; but first he must be 
 sure of himself; ^' for it is too ill a sight ... to see 
 a gentleman overcome by a carter, and especially in 
 wrestling." ^ This scorn of social inferiority, it may 
 be remarked, was by no means universal. In later 
 years, especially, a kindlier and more democratic view 
 was often taken of the relations which ought to exist 
 between the different classes. Gentlemen were urged 
 not to despise the society of their social inferiors, who 
 would love and honor them in consequence. " There 
 is no more difference between the gentleman and the 
 yeoman than there is between two bricks made of 
 selfsame earth, whereof the one is set in the top of 
 a tower, the other in the bottom of a well." ^ 
 
 It is curious to think that England, which to-day 
 claims superiority in sport, should have submitted in 
 the sixteenth century to ItaHan methods and instruc- 
 tion. The accomplishments and pleasures of the courtly 
 life had, however, first been systematized in Italy, and 
 in sport, as well, its guidance was supreme. Even in 
 horsemanship, Edward the Sixth had his Italian riding- 
 master at the court ; another Italian, known as Alex- 
 
 ^ Casliglione, p. 115. 2 Guazzo, f. 90 b. 
 
70 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ander, who had studied under the celebrated Gri- 
 sone, also taught in England, and to him was ascribed, 
 in part, the improvement in English teachers of riding. 
 Elsewhere it was the same ; Sidney spoke of Pietro 
 Pugliano at the Emperor's court instructing his pupils 
 both in the practice and theory of horsemanship, and 
 even later Robert Dallington advised his traveller to 
 learn riding under // Signor Rustico at Florence.^ The 
 first English book on horsemanship was Blundevile's 
 translation of Grisone, which appeared about 1560. 
 What Alexander had failed to accomplish was left for 
 this book to effect ; after its publication, says Beding- 
 field, riding-masters who before " were not of much 
 knowledge " improved considerably. The popularity 
 of similar books was very great. Bedingfield was only 
 one among their numerous translators.^ Even Florio 
 gave as a reason for his Italian dictionary, that with- 
 out it English gentlemen would be unable to under- 
 stand Grifonio's work on riding. 
 
 In falconry, and hunting as well, George Turbervile, 
 in one of the most elaborately prepared books of the 
 age, openly acknowledged his debt to the many Italian 
 writers on the subject.^ It was in fencing, however, 
 then so essential a part of the gentleman's education, 
 that the skill of the Italian showed itself to the greatest 
 advantage. Even the Italian terms of the art were 
 employed in England. English travellers were advised 
 
 1 Method for Travel. 
 
 2 Art of Riding, translated by Thomas Bedingfield. 
 ^ The Book of Falconry or Hawking, 
 
THE COURTIER 7 1 
 
 when abroad, to study fencing either at Padua under 
 // Sordo or else at Rome.^ This was scarcely neces- 
 sary, however, since numerous Italian masters of the art 
 gave instruction in England. George Silver mentioned 
 three such schools in London.^ A Signor Rocco had one 
 in Warwick Lane, which he called a college, where " he 
 taught none commonly under twenty, forty, fifty or an 
 hundred pounds." On the walls of his school, according 
 to Silver's contemporary description, hung the coats- 
 of-arms of the noblemen and gentlemen who were his 
 pupils, and beneath these were their rapiers, daggers 
 and gauntlets. He even had a room he called " his 
 privy school, with many weapons therein, where he 
 did teach his scholars his secret fight, after he had 
 perfectly taught them their rules." ^ In addition to 
 its ordinary use, the school was also a sort of club for 
 the young gallants of the court who found there " ink, 
 pin-dust and sealing wax, and quires of very excellent 
 fine paper gilded, ready for the noblemen and gentle- 
 men upon occasion to write their letters." * 
 
 The most celebrated, however, of the Italian fencing- 
 masters in England was Vincenzo Saviolo, who had as 
 patron the Earl of Essex. Saviolo has been described 
 as the perfect fencer by Florio, in words which Shake- 
 speare almost certainly knew — " He will hit any man, 
 be it with a thrust or stoccata, with an imbroccada or 
 a charging blow, with a right or reverse blow, be it 
 
 1 Dallington, MetJiod for Travel. 
 
 2 Paradoxes of Defence. 
 
 8 Ibid., p. 65. * Ibid., p. 64. 
 
72 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 with the edge, with the back, or with the flat, even as 
 it Hketh him," ^ 
 
 The Itahan schools of fencing enjoyed a great success 
 in London. Their methods of instruction, hke their 
 weapons, were both new to Enghshmen, but proved 
 none the less popular in an age when novelty was 
 appreciated for its own sake. Their pupils were 
 even taught to wear leaden soles in their shoes, to 
 be the more nimble-footed in a fight. An Eng- 
 lish fencing-master of the time complained bitterly 
 that his art, Hke fashions of dress, changed every 
 day ; that Enghshmen had forsaken their fathers' vir- 
 tues with their weapons, and lusted after the strange 
 devices of Italian fencers and their imitators : " O you 
 Italian teachers of defence, where are your stoccatas, 
 imbroccatas, mandritas , puntas, and punta reversas, 
 stramisons , passatas, ca^-ricadas, amazzas, and incarta- 
 tas. . . . apish devices with all the rest of your squint- 
 eyed tricks." ^ 
 
 The influence of this new Itahan school made itself 
 felt, however, in different ways. Among its other 
 eifects was the improvement of manners. Even George 
 vSilver, who hated the Italians as dangerous rivals, felt 
 obliged to concede this : " It hath been commonly 
 held that since the ItaHans have taught the rapier 
 fight, by reason of the dangerous use thereof, it hath 
 bred great civility amongst our English nation, they 
 win not give the He, nor with such foul speeches abuse 
 
 ^ Second Fruites, p. 119. 
 
 ^ Silver, p. 55. Vide Marston, Works, III, 373. 
 
THE COURTIER 73 
 
 themselves ; therefore there are fewer frays in these 
 times than were wont to be. It cannot be denied that 
 this is so, that we are more circumspect in our words 
 than heretofore we have been." ^ 
 
 Itahan treatises on fencing also enjoyed great popu- 
 larity in England ; Giacomo de Grassi's True Art of 
 Defence treated in detail the theory of the art, with 
 illustrations and diagrams describing the various kinds 
 of weapons used, rapier and halberd, partesan and 
 javelin, and also of the falsing of blows and thrusts. 
 Saviolo's Practise, dedicated to " the English Achilles," 
 Robert, Earl of Essex, obtained, however, a far greater 
 celebrity, and still remains of interest as the great source 
 from which the Elizabethan dramatists acquired their 
 knowledge of duelling. 
 
 Saviolo's work in combining practice with theory 
 illustrated one of the causes of Italian success in 
 such matters. Not only was the practical side of 
 his art treated at length, but selections from well- 
 known historians were also given. A large part of 
 the book was further taken up by discussion ; thus, 
 the point of honor, and the relations to be observed 
 between men under strained circumstances, were 
 treated. From his warnings, some idea can be had of 
 the frequency of treachery in such matters ; for in- 
 stance, it was thought unwise to ask to see another 
 man's rapier, since it gave an opportunity to kill an 
 unsuspecting enemy. He alluded also to the cow- 
 ardly practice of hiring bravos to aid in murdering an 
 
 1 Op. cit,, p. 56. 
 
74 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 adversary, by no means an uncommon thing at that 
 time. Even the Earl of Oxford, returning from his 
 travels abroad, had with great difficulty been dissuaded 
 from employing this Italian custom to revenge himself 
 on Sidney. Other dangers were to be guarded against 
 as well; thus, friends coming up suddenly in the 
 midst of an encounter, as though to separate the com- 
 batants, might treacherously slay their favorite's oppo- 
 nent. He spoke also of quarrels, beginning between 
 two or three men, and then spreading until whole fami- 
 lies were engaged in them, and often not ending with- 
 out great bloodshed.^ Saviolo, like Castiglione, advised 
 gentlemen to keep close guard over their tongues, 
 neither to bear slander nor tell tales, and always to 
 behave rightly to men of inferior station. To illustrate 
 his point, he related the story of a wrestling match, 
 which later Shakespeare made use of in As Yoti Like 
 It. Saviolo's tale was of an overbearing Moor van- 
 quished by Rodomont, the Duke of Mantua's brother, 
 who though himself a wild sort of fellow, would yet 
 not " suffer so beastly a creature to stain the honor of 
 Italian gentlemen." Touchstone's description of the 
 different kinds of lies ^ was likewise taken almost cer- 
 tainly from Saviolo, who discussed conditional and 
 foolish lies, lies in particular and lies in general.^ 
 
 1 It was perhaps some similar sentence which first suggested 
 the dramatic possibilities of Romeo and Juliet, and gave Eliza- 
 bethan playwrights an insight into the feuds of Italian cities. 
 
 2 As Yott Like It, V, iv, 70 et seq. 
 
 ^ A similar account may be found in Segar's Book of Honor 
 and Arms ^ I590« 
 
THE COURTIER 75 
 
 According to Saviolo, giving the lie was at the bottom 
 of most duels, and he therefore cited the Italian code 
 of dueUing to be used on such occasions. 
 
 Even in that age the ethics of the duel were in de- 
 bate. Men argued on the wickedness of private com- 
 bat/ and Bryskett in his rendering of Giraldi Cinthio, 
 condemned duels as " contrary to all virtue, odious to 
 all laws, to all good magistrates, and to God himself,- " 
 saying that the way to shake off an injury was to 
 despise it.^ Saviolo, without discussing the moral 
 side of the duel, described the proper etiquette to be 
 observed, the forms of cartels and letters of defiance, 
 and the manner in which they were to be sent; he 
 entered also into conduct on the duelling ground, 
 the treatment of the vanquished and the inequality of 
 adversaries ; his advice was, that excommunicated 
 persons, usurers, and all who did not live as gentlemen 
 or soldiers, should be refused satisfaction in honorable 
 combat. 
 
 Saviolo's book was probably the first in the Eng- 
 lish language ever written by an Italian. It stated 
 openly the Italian ideal of arms and letters, weapons 
 and books, as the two sources of greatness. By the 
 one, the small man could overcome the larger, the weak 
 the stronger ; by the other, man could raise himself to 
 any height by his own unaided merits. The entire 
 Renaissance conception of the dignity of the individual 
 lay in these words, the spirit of which gave conscious 
 
 1 Romei, p. 129. 
 
 2 Discourse of Civil Life, p. 70. ^ Ibid.y p. 77. 
 
j6 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 assurance to the Italians in their careers beyond the 
 Alps, making a Rizzio prime minister of Scotland, and 
 the descendants of Florentine bankers queens of 
 France. 
 
 The revival of the tourney was still another courtly 
 practice which England copied largely from Italy. 
 Jousting as a court amusement became fashionable 
 once more in Elizabeth's time. Sir Christopher Hat- 
 ton, well known as a patron of letters, and himself a 
 student of ItaUan, was especially prominent among 
 those who revived it. Wilham Segar, garter king-at- 
 arms, in his Honor, Militafj and Civil, alluded fre- 
 quently to Italian practices, describing their method of 
 conducting tournaments.^ At Urbino and Ferrara, 
 jousting had long been regarded as an amusement of 
 the court; even Castiglione had advised his courtier 
 how to conduct himself at the tourney; never, for 
 instance, to be last in the lists, since women, especially, 
 paid far greater attention to the first than to the last.^ 
 
 In many other courtly practices, as well, the influ- 
 ence of Italy was felt. Hall, in his Chronicle, described 
 the first mask held at court in 1512-13, as being in the 
 Italian fashion. " On the Day of Epiphany, at night, 
 the King with eleven others were disguised after the 
 manner of Italy, called a Mask, a thing not seen before 
 in England." The very names of Maskelyn and Mas- 
 culers, occurring in the Records of the Revels, point to 
 the Italian equivalents of Maschera and Mascherati? 
 
 1 Ch. 50. 2 Castiglione, p. 1 14. 
 
 ^ Symonds, Shakespeare's Predecessors^ p. 320. 
 
THE COURTIER 77 
 
 The best artists of the period lent their assistance to 
 contribute to the success of these masks ; the records 
 still exist of two Italians, Vincent Vulpe and Ellis 
 Carmyan, who had been engaged in their decoration 
 in the reign of Henry the Eighth.^ Even Holbein 
 was similarly employed, while considerably later Inigo 
 Jones did not consider it beneath his dignity to devise 
 and introduce new stage mechanisms which he had 
 learned in Italy. 
 
 The Venetian SpinelU left an account of one of the 
 earlier masks, which was presented at court in 1527, 
 and may be given as an example of the early scenic 
 development of similar spectacles in England. To de- 
 scribe it very briefly : admission to the hall in which it 
 took place was through a lofty triumphal arch, fashioned 
 after the antique, with vaulted entrances beneath, and 
 Greek words written over the archway. The Renais- 
 sance spirit in which it was conceived showed itself 
 even in the neo-classicism of the decorations, reminis- 
 cent of Mantegna's allegories or the paintings of the 
 Ferrarese school. The actors of the mask first ap- 
 peared on the scene and then withdrew, leaving behind 
 a youth in the guise of Mercury, who, pretending to be 
 Jupiter's envoy to the king, delivered a learned Latin 
 oration in praise of his Majesty. When he had de- 
 parted, eight boys led by Cupid and Plutus entered, 
 clad in cloth of gold. Afterwards a like number of 
 maidens appeared, supposed to be goddesses, also 
 draped in gold cloth, and with richly jewelled garlands 
 
 1 Brewer, Henry VIII, II, 150. 
 
yS ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 in their hair. First they danced, and then came the 
 turn of the young men, each of whom took one of the 
 nymphs by the hand.^ 
 
 The popularity of these spectacles was very great, 
 and they continued for long to be the favorite amuse- 
 ment of the court; Marlowe, for instance, made 
 Gaveston, the royal favorite, say : — 
 
 I'll have Italian masques by night, 
 Sweet speeches, comedies, and pleasing shows. 
 
 Italian players, both men and women, later came 
 over to England to play in masks, performing both 
 at Windsor and Reading in 1574. At court, more- 
 over, the masks were usually presented by Italians, 
 often aided by Enghsh players. In the one presented 
 before the queen and the French ambassador, the 
 Lord Chamberlain gave instructions for the speeches 
 written in English to be translated into Italian.^ 
 
 The later development of masks under Jonson, Cam- 
 pion and Hey wood, belongs to the history of Enghsh 
 poetry. The musicians, however, were chiefly Italians, 
 and Alfonso Ferrabosco composed much of the music . 
 for the later court masks. Inigo Jones, moreover, who 
 designed the mechanism and stage scenery, brought 
 back the new mechanical devices from Italy, where 
 he learned his art. Among the articles most in use for 
 spectacles and state occasions, was the cloth of gold, 
 which was imported largely from Italy. King Henry 
 the Seventh sent at various times to Florence to pur- 
 
 1 Brewer, II, 152 et seq. 
 
 2 F. G. Fleay, History of the Stage, pp. 22, 26. 
 
THE COURTIER 79 
 
 chase gold cloth, as well as silks.^ Many other Italian 
 articles were also in great demand in England, for 
 the Renaissance brought with it a perfect passion for 
 novelty, which welcomed the introduction of foreign 
 fashions. This was especially true of the luxuries Italy 
 had to offer. Its embroidered gloves, sweet bags, per- 
 fumed leather jerkins, and costly washes, were all said 
 to have been introduced into England by the Earl of 
 Oxford, returning home from his travels. Even ear- 
 Her, in 1559, already a parhamentary consideration 
 alluded to the perfumed gloves of the Italians with 
 which they endeavored to curry favor,^ while Stowe 
 mentioned the fact that women's masks, busks, muffs, 
 fans, periwigs and bodkins, first used by courtesans in 
 Italy, were all imported into England.^ 
 
 In the matter of costume, especially, the influence 
 of foreign fashions was felt. Italian, French, and 
 Spanish articles of dress became fashionable at differ- 
 ent times. The poor Englishman, bewildered, knew 
 no longer which way to turn. Andrew Borde, a con- 
 temporary physician, drew his likeness standing naked, 
 unable to decide what to put on : — 
 
 I am an Englishman and naked I stand here, 
 Musing in my mind what raiment I shall wear ; 
 
 For now I will wear this, and now I will wear that ; 
 Now I will wear I cannot tell what.* 
 
 1 Archives, Florence, Atti Puhlici, 1502, July 6. 
 
 2 Historical Manuscript Commission, Hatfield House, I, 163. 
 ^ Harrison's Ejiglaitd, H, 34. 
 
 * Early English Text Society, Extra Ser., 1 870, 
 
80 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Among the foreign fashions introduced, the Italian 
 long dominated. At the " Field of the Cloth of Gold " 
 the Mantuan ambassador spoke of King Henry and 
 his courtiers " dressed in long gowns in the Milanese 
 fashion, checkered with hoods of gold tissue and gold 
 brocade." ^ Later, the Venetian ambassador, Jacopo 
 Soranzo, mentioned the fact that the costume of 
 Englishmen was largely copied from the ItaHan. The 
 long-breasted doublets and the so-called Venetian 
 breeches were popular at one time.^ Italian terms 
 of dress, bragetto and capucciof were then in ordinary 
 EngHsh use. The dandyism of the EHzabethan courtiers 
 was sharply commented on and satirized by many 
 writers of that age.* It was even said that men 
 changed daily the fashions of their clothes, no longer 
 thinking a hundred pounds a great sum to spend on 
 the wearing apparel of a gentleman. How different 
 from the old days, when an English squire wore , the 
 same dress for " twenty years " ; the days when there 
 was simplicity in the land, and Englishmen were con- 
 querors, and not " scholars " trying to imitate every 
 new trifle in costume ! ^ 
 
 1 Cal. St. Pap., Ven., Ill, 72. 
 
 2 Fairholt, Costume in England, I, 213, 252. 
 ^ Faerie Queene, Bk. Ill, Canto XII, 10. 
 
 * G. Harvey, Letter-Book, p, 97 et seq. ; G. Puttenham, Art 
 of English Poesie, p. 305 ; R. Greene, Quips for an Upstart 
 Cotcrtier, etc. 
 
 ^ Jnstittition of a Gentleman. 
 
THE COURTIER 8 1 
 
 IV 
 
 If a single book were to be chosen, typical of the 
 Italian influence in the Renaissance in refining Euro- 
 pean manners, it would in all likelihood be Delia Casa's 
 Galateo. Castiglione's great work, though admirable 
 in so many ways, yet narrowed its scope by appealing 
 to only a limited court circle. The Galaieo was in- 
 tended, however, for more general use. Like the 
 Courtier it had also been translated into French and 
 Spanish, before appearing in England in 1596. In /'^ 
 this form it was to make its appeal to the Enghsh 
 people at large, to such as were entirely ignorant 
 of Italian and had never been abroad. The effect of 
 the book was to assist in spreading the new reform 
 of manners first brought about in Italy. This task 
 was a far more necessary one than may seem at 
 first glance. Social intercourse had been rough and 
 uncouth in Europe in the Middle Ages. Nowhere- 
 better than in the Galateo can this be appreciated 
 after noticing the things condemned by writers on man- 
 ners, like Delia Casa. Much of his advice may appear 
 ludicrous at the present day : he bade the reader 
 neither yawn in company, nor grind his teeth, nor 
 sneeze too loud ; not to eat like a glutton, nor wipe 
 his brow with his napkin. In like manner, the ordi- 
 nary relations of life and rules of social conduct were 
 prescribed at great length. But in addition to what 
 to-day seem platitudes, much sound and good advice 
 was given : anything unpleasant to the imagination 
 
82 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ought to be avoided, " for we must not only refrain 
 from such things as be foul, filthy, loathsome, and 
 nasty, but we must not so much as name them ; and 
 it is not only a fault to do such things, but against 
 good manner by any act or sign to put a man in mind 
 of them." Similarly, one ought not to " wash in the 
 presence of others, since that suggests filthy matter." 
 Many more personal details of this nature were men- 
 tioned, not necessary to dwell on here. It was from 
 Italy that there came the first protest against the un- 
 couthness which had been handed down almost as a 
 tradition of social life from the Dark Ages, not only in 
 England but in France, where later the Florentine 
 Marquise de Rambouillet was to set a personal exam- 
 ple of Italian refinement. This new Italian influence 
 in matters of social intercourse can perhaps best be 
 appreciated by examining contemporary books on con- 
 versation and letter- writing. In both, ItaHan models 
 and examples were frequently employed. Robert 
 Hitchcock's Quhifessence of Wit was indeed little else 
 than a collection of maxims and aphorisms, collected 
 for English readers from Itahan writers ; while Ful- 
 wood's well-known Ene7ny of Idleness gave as illustra- 
 tions the letters of ItaHan humanists. Politian, Ficino, 
 Lorenzo de' Medici, and Pico della Mirandola were 
 alike quoted for the benefit of such Englishmen as 
 were anxious to acquire the art of letter-writing. Even 
 the lover, languishing for his mistress, could find in 
 this book the proper Petrarchan type of love-letter for 
 him to send. 
 
THE COURTIER 83 
 
 The Italian influence in conversation was largely 
 felt in Platonism, for the Platonic ideas of the Renais- 
 sance came from Italy to England, not only through 
 Petrarch's poetry but by a hundred different ways 
 of which but little was from Plato himself. Those 
 unable to read Italian could find it expressed 
 in Castiglione's Courtier, and Romei's Courtier^s 
 Academy. Lodowick Bryskett, the friend of Sidney 
 and Spenser, in his Discourse of Civil Life was 
 translating Giraldi Cinthio's Platonic doctrines. In 
 this literary expression of Platonism, so common 
 during the Renaissance, the dialogue form was espe- 
 cially employed. In Italy, Bembo's Asolani had given 
 it a stamp which impressed itself on the culture of the 
 age, even more perhaps than the influence of the 
 original example. Following Bembo, the other writers 
 likewise selected for their scene a garden, or some 
 other suitable place, for the knights and ladies of the 
 court to meet. Castiglione wrote of Urbino, Romei 
 of Ferrara. The usual proceeding was for a queen to 
 be elected from among the ladies present. She then 
 assigned to the different members of the company a 
 topic of discussion. In this manner the important 
 subjects of conversation were treated in turn, and the 
 ideas and opinions of the age, on love and honor, 
 beauty and riches, and so forth, were all expressed. 
 Love especially was always a favorite subject, and 
 innumerable treatises were written about it, many of 
 which were familiar to English readers. Thus Leon 
 Battista Alberti's Art of Love was translated into Eng- 
 
84 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 lish. Castiglione also had much to say on the subject. 
 He treated his courtier as a lover and gave him prac- 
 tical advice as such. In his great discourse on love, 
 placed in Bembo's mouth, he expounded the noblest 
 ideas of Renaissance Platonism, and regarded love, 
 freed from all ideas of sensuaHty, as the desire to 
 enjoy beauty, which was most perfect when severed 
 from every earthly tie.^ Similar elevated discourses 
 were held in the less well-known Courtier's Acadeitiy, 
 translated into English by John Kepers. In this the 
 Countess of Scandiano, chosen by lot to be the leader, 
 had been crowned with a garland of laurels. She com- 
 manded " Signor Francesco Patritio," who was " very 
 learned, but especially in Platonical philosophy," to 
 discuss the subject of beauty, inquiring into its true 
 nature, whether it had actual existence or was merely 
 a creation of the imagination. His discourse is typical 
 of others on the same subject. Heaven only, he de- 
 clared, could be termed really beautiful ; the beauty of 
 the human body came from contemplating that divine 
 light which was reflected in the soul's beauty ; ^ it was 
 virtue which made the soul approach this divine beauty ; 
 next in order came the beauty of the world-soul known 
 as nature. Colors were but divine ideas infused into this 
 soul ; the pattern of form imprinted on it by the seal 
 of divinity, giving beauty to the deformed, was propor- 
 tion. The soul shone in contemplating the divine ; 
 its beauty was only obscured when debased by sensual 
 
 1 Castiglione, p. 342 et seq. 
 
 2 Romei, p. 11 et seq. 
 
THE COURTIER 85 
 
 delights. God, he went on to say, was the " creator 
 and giver of all beauty because He alone was absolute 
 perfection, perfect wisdom and incomprehensible 
 beauty." Angelic understandings could contemplate 
 His beauty face to face ; the human intellect, however, 
 so far as it formed part of the material body, was 
 blind to it. Beauty proceeded from form, deformity 
 from matter, since matter resisted ideal reason. To 
 sum up his ideas in a sentence, " The beauty of this 
 worldly frame, and all the parts thereof, dependeth on 
 ideal form in mind divine comprehended." 
 
 Just as human beauty was the image of divinity, 
 so beauty was also the mother of love. Love had 
 been defined in various ways. Thus, Plato had called 
 it, in the Phadriis, a desire to unite with the beautiful ; 
 in the Banquet, to bring forth what was beautiful. The 
 first definition, although true, seemed too restrained ; 
 the second was only suitable to one kind of human 
 affection and was by no means a general definition. To 
 the Italian Platonist, love was rather a violent commo- 
 tion of soul and mind stirred by some known beauty. 
 It was of several kinds ; one was divine love, defined 
 by Plato as a kind of sacred fury; another consisted 
 in discoursing and conversing with the beloved. " Kiss- 
 ing unto this love is permitted for a reward, in that a 
 kiss is rather a conjunction of soul than body." ^ Divine 
 love, however, was said to be a union with the beautiful 
 which was the true image of divinity, raising the mind 
 toward beauty and inflaming it with love for the creator. 
 
 ^ Romei, p. 40. 
 
S6 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 In all matters of human affection Petrarch was re- 
 garded as " the Grand Master m love." ^ The numer- 
 ous questions arising from his writings, the use of the 
 eyes in love, the conduct of the lover and the lady, 
 the great problem of whether man's love for woman 
 or woman's for man was the greater, were all discussed ; 
 but the authority of Petrarch was regarded as final 
 by most writers. 
 
 These manuals of polite conversation presented to 
 an EngHsh public the Italian Neo-Platonism of the 
 Renaissance. They possessed, in addition, other ele- 
 ments of interest. "Conversation," it was said, "is the 
 beginning and end of all knowledge."^ It should be 
 treated as a fine art, worthy to be practised for its own 
 sake ; George Whetstone for this reason in the Jlep- 
 tameron of Civil Discourses repeated some of the 
 " conversational entertainments " he had listened to 
 in Italy, " that Englishmen might profit by the example 
 of Italians." Similar books, many of which were trans- 
 lated into English, signified a more important result 
 than discussing problems of thought. The mixed 
 assemblages meeting on a footing of equality proved 
 that the position of women had been raised. Woman 
 no longer occupied the fictitious position she had held 
 during the Middle Ages, when,hfted by convention to 
 a false height, she was in reality too often degraded. 
 During the Renaissance woman was to become the 
 equal of man. Even then the avowed object of con- 
 versation was to promote friendly intercourse between 
 1 Guazzo, f. 2IO. 2 ji)i(i,^ f. 14. 
 
THE COURTIER 8/ 
 
 the sexes. Advice was given how best to conduct it ; 
 questions too deep or subtle were not to be discussed, 
 nor things spoken of out of place. Men were warned 
 to refrain from rehearsing " friar's sermons to young 
 gentlewomen when they are disposed to sport them- 
 selves ; " ^ the learned were Hkewise to beware of 
 all affectation and of patronizing attitudes. 
 
 The woman of the Renaissance was in no sense of the 
 word an inferior creature. Although in former times 
 she had known only how to knit and sew, yet now, '' I 
 am sure, I have seen the role of more than a thousand 
 [women] who have been excellently seen in divinity, 
 in philosophy, in physic, in music, in painting, and in 
 all sciences." ^ Among the arguments advanced for the 
 education of women it was urged, that they would 
 thus be able to keep their household accounts, and 
 write to their husbands without employing a secre- 
 tary. Some maintained, however, that a woman able 
 to read and write " will turn over Boccaccio only and 
 write lascivious letters."^ Even in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury the ''new woman," with her love of manly sports, 
 was by no means unknown. " In my time I have 
 seen woman play at tennis, practise feats of arms, 
 ride, hunt, and do (in a manner) all the exercises 
 besides that a gentleman can do." ^ But condemna- 
 tion greeted her if she went too far. There were 
 many opposed to her practising manly exercises, 
 wishing her to preserve womanly grace and beauty.^ 
 
 1 Delia Casa, p. 30. 2 Guazzo, f. 158. 3 /^/^.^ f. i^g b. 
 * Castiglione, p. 220. ^ Ibid. 
 
8S ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Some even called it "a monstrous and naughty 
 thing to see a young girl use such liberty and 
 boldness in her gesture, looks, and talk, as is proper 
 to men."^ 
 
 A description of the perfect woman has come down 
 to us from the pen of more than one writer of the 
 Renaissance. As a conversationalist she should have 
 sweetness of voice, gravity of expression, and purity 
 of meaning ; and although knowing a subject perfectly, 
 should only speak of it with modesty.^ She must pos- 
 sess, however, numerous other accomplishments, for 
 even in the sixteenth century men were hard to please. 
 "I will that this woman have a sight in letters, in 
 music, in drawing or painting, and skilful in danc- 
 ing and in devising sports and pastimes, accompany- 
 ing with that . . . the other principles also that have 
 been taught the courtier. And thus in conversation, 
 in laughing, in sporting, in jesting, finally in every- 
 thing, she shall be had in great price . . . and albeit 
 staidness, nobleness of courage, temperance, strength 
 of the mind, wisdom, and the other virtues a man 
 would think belonged not to entertain, yet will I have, 
 her endowed with them all." ^ 
 
 V 
 
 The courtier has been considered hitherto more in 
 the spirit of the modern meaning of the word than in 
 its Renaissance significance. Thus far his sports and 
 
 1 Guazzo, f. 158. 2 /3iV., f, 115 d. 3 Castiglione, p. 221. 
 
THE COURTIER 89 
 
 pastimes and the lighter side of his hfe have alone 
 been noticed. His more serious aspect remains still 
 to be regarded. The underlying shadow of slur which 
 to-day unconsciously attaches itself, especially in a 
 democratic community, to the idea of courtier, is of 
 quite recent growth. In the sixteenth century there 
 was no more honorable career open to a gentleman. 
 Before the courtier there lay the paths of distinction 
 and glory ; it was his task to fit himself to merit the 
 success which lay ready before him. 
 
 During the Middle Ages, when the clergy had almost 
 exclusive charge of the intellectual requirements of the 
 nation, skill at arms had alone been thought necessary 
 for the gentleman. A great secular growth accom- 
 panied, however, the new centrahzing tendency of 
 the Renaissance. The court became, as it were, the 
 nucleus of the nation ; from its centre stretched out in 
 each direction countless threads which not only con- 
 nected it with every activity in the land, but bound it 
 in diplomatic relations with other countries. To fit 
 the courtier for this development in the national life, 
 a different education was necessary, which the new 
 humanism in part provided. Its general nature, 
 however, reacted on men in different ways ; some 
 were to find their careers in diplomacy and statecraft, 
 others in letters, still others in war, since that too had 
 become a science. The courtier, properly speaking, 
 was therefore to be found under all these aspects, as a 
 diplomat and adviser to his prince, a literary man and 
 scholar, and lastly as a soldier. 
 
90 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 A Striking difference can be found in comparing the 
 English embassies sent to Rome in the sixteenth century 
 with what they had been in former years. During the 
 earUer ages, diplomatic relations with the Vatican 
 had been transacted almost exclusively by churchmen. 
 Adrian de Castello, Ghinucci, Giovanni and Silvestro 
 Gigli, were among the better known Itahan prelates 
 in the king's service, most of them holding English 
 benefices. A change, however, was gradually effected, 
 largely owing to the royal divorce and its consequences. 
 Although churchmen were employed until the first 
 quarter of the new century was over, courtiers were 
 by degrees filling their places. Men like the Earls of 
 Bedford and Wiltshire, Sir Francis Bryan, Sir Thomas 
 Wyatt, and Sir Philip Hoby were beginning to conduct 
 for England the new diplomacy of the Renaissance. 
 Italians often accompanied them on their missions ; 
 Sir Thomas SpinelH, Sir Gregory and John da Casale, 
 Peter Vannes, and others, were all in the English ser- 
 vice, but they were for the most part laymen, as were 
 also the numerous Italian agents employed by Crom- 
 well, and later by Cecil. 
 
 The progress of the Reformation in England had 
 naturally for its effect the withdrawal of all diplomatic 
 charges from the Roman clergy, while at the same time 
 it ended in breaking off direct intercourse with Rome. 
 Courtiers were therefore more and more intrusted with 
 the conduct of diplomatic affairs. This had been the 
 case for some time already in Italy, although there the 
 true reason lay rather in the Papacy being considered 
 
THE COURTIER 9I 
 
 an Italian principality, so that those owing it allegiance 
 could not well be in the service of other states. 
 
 In advance of the rest of Europe, the career of the 
 courtier as a diplomat had long been foreseen in Italy. 
 In addition, however, his main function was thought to 
 be as the adviser of his prince, informing him of the 
 truth on every matter, and warning him when about to 
 do wrong.^ Just as music, sports, and pastimes were 
 held to be the flower of courtliness, so its fruit was in the 
 proper advice to a prince, and in guarding him from 
 evil.- It was the courtier's place to see to it that his 
 prince should not be deceived by liars or flatterers ; to 
 this end he ought to advise him, and spur him on to 
 win further greatness. Regarding his personal relations 
 to his lord, the courtier ought neither to flatter him, 
 nor repeat scandal nor idle talk ; never to be forward 
 and pushing, nor ask favors ; nor do such service as 
 would put him to shame, nor even obey his master in 
 " dishonest matters." If his prince was wicked, he 
 should leave his service.^ 
 
 For the courtier to be able to properly advise his 
 prince, he ought to possess " readiness of wit, pleasant- 
 ness of wisdom, and knowledge in letters.""* This last 
 was the great change efl'ected by the Renaissance, which 
 made the courtier wish to excel in branches which 
 he had formerly despised. In Italy, men like Casti- 
 glione and Navagero, who were courtiers, diplomatists, 
 and poets at the same time, had set a personal ex- 
 
 1 Castiglione, p. 297. ^ Ibid., pp. 130, 339. 
 
 2 Ibid,, p. 298. * Ibid., p. 297. 
 
92 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ample. The former not only bid his courtier speak 
 well, having great care in the selection of words, but 
 also cultivating and polishing his own language, to write 
 *' both rhyme and prose." ^ In addition, he should be 
 able to play on several instruments, and know also 
 how to draw and paint.^ Most of all he ought to 
 cultivate learning ; a knowledge of history would teach 
 him many things of value. 
 
 In studying the lives of great men, he would himself 
 desire greatness, for who could read the mighty deeds of 
 Caesar or Alexander, of Scipio and Hannibal, and not 
 desire to be as they were, preferring the everlasting 
 fame, which is attained even by death, to ordinary life ; 
 " but he that savoreth not the sweetness of letters can- 
 not know how much is the greatness of glory." ^ The 
 courtier should also be learned in the humanities, read- 
 ing the poets no less than the orators and historians. 
 
 This new conception of learning as a necessary part 
 of a gentleman's education had first obtained root in 
 Italy. It was otherwise in France, where letters were 
 long disparaged, and men thought it " a great villany 
 when any one of them is called a clerk." * Castiglione 
 looked forward to an improvement with the accession of 
 Francis to the throne, but even later it was said that 
 " learning is so little accounted of that a gentleman 
 though he be scarce able to maintain himself, thinketh 
 scorn to apply his mind to the study either of the laws 
 or of physic." ^ In the Middle Ages, skill at arms was 
 
 1 Castiglione, pp. 69 et seq., 85. ^ /^^v.^ p, 89 et seq. 
 
 8 Ibid., p, 84. * Ibid., p. 82. ^ Guazzo, f. 84. 
 
THE COURTIER 93 
 
 indeed the only necessary part of the gentleman's edu- 
 cation, nor did this old ideal disappear altogether in 
 the Renaissance. The courtier might still be a soldier, 
 but he must be learned as well. The Italian courtly 
 ideas can be seen reflected in England in the books of 
 William Segar, who expressed himself forcibly on this 
 subject. " Very rarely doth any man excel in arms 
 that is utterly ignorant of good letters. . . . This only 
 I say that the endeavor of gentlemen ought to be either 
 in arms or learning, or in them both. And in my poor 
 conceit, hardly deserveth he any title of honor that 
 doth not take pleasure in the one or the other." ^ 
 
 It was hardly to be expected that those brought up 
 in the old system would look with favor on the impor- 
 tance now assigned to learning. One of the favorite 
 questions of the age, around which stormed a contro- 
 versy, regarded the two rival professions of arms and 
 letters. Since books, however, were mainly written by 
 scholars, the arguments ended generally in their favor. 
 Learning was said, first of all, to increase gentry. Let- 
 ters being no less esteemed than martial feats, it fol- 
 lowed that the gentry of the one was no less than of 
 the other.^ But learning was superior to arms, since 
 it might of itself achieve immortality, which arms could 
 not do without its aid. Hence it followed that " the 
 deeds of famous captains and worthy soldiers died with 
 them, if they have not some to set them forth in writ- 
 ing ; " unless they happened to join to their prowess in 
 
 1 Honor, Military and Civil, p. 20O et seq. Cf. Spenser, 
 Faerie Queene, II, iii, 40. ^ Guazzo, f. 86 b. 
 
94 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 arms a knowledge of polite letters.^ A fierce discussion 
 raged in Italy on this subject ; such writers as Muzio 
 who concluded in favor of the scholars were attacked 
 by others who held the profession of arms to be the 
 nobler because the older, and also because in many 
 countries letters were unknown.^ Saviolo, who gave 
 an English echo to the controversy, yielded prece- 
 dence to arms, since princes obtained their titles and 
 dominions merely by virtue of them, and only after- 
 wards were able to foster learning. 
 
 The courtier, however, in addition to being a scholar, 
 should also be a soldier. As such his very conduct in 
 war was outlined for him. In battle, for instance, he 
 ought to separate himself from the crowd and undertake 
 his feats alone, or with as few around him as possible. 
 He was thought a fool if he exposed himself in such 
 undertakings as capturing a flock of sheep, or even to 
 be the first to scale the walls of a battered town. His 
 deeds of valor he ought to perform in the presence of 
 superiors, and if possible, before the eyes of the king, 
 — for while it was wrong to seek undeserved praise, it 
 should yet be looked for when due.^ 
 
 There was, however, a quite different side to the 
 Italian military influence in England. The Italians of 
 the Renaissance have not commonly been regarded as 
 a martial nation. Their achievements in other direc- 
 tions obscured their feats in arms ; on the one hand, 
 
 ^ Guazzo, f. 104. 
 
 2 Cf. Muzio, // Gendlhuomoy and Mora, // Cavaliere. ■ 
 ^ Castiglione, p. 113. 
 
 1 
 
THE COURTIER 95 
 
 an outlet for their military zeal was found in foreign 
 service, while on the other, the comparative unimpor- 
 tance of results achieved in their own wars has made 
 these live chiefly in the memories of historians. Yet 
 in the sixteenth century there was scarcely an army 
 in all Europe which had not in it Italian officers and 
 soldiers. Among commanders also, the Duke of Parma 
 was considered the greatest general of the age, while 
 the Trivulzi, Caraccioli, San Severini, and other famous 
 captains in the French service were all Italians. Even 
 in England, Italian soldiers of fortune could be found ; 
 Petruccio Ubaldini served in the wars of Henry the 
 Eighth and Edward the Sixth; in 1548 Captain Tiberio, 
 with a force of Italians, garrisoned Haddington for Lord 
 Grey de Wilton.^ Still later, a certain Captain Sassetti 
 was described as an Italian soldier serving in Ireland,- 
 while Sir Horatio Pallavicino, in the days of the Armada, 
 served as a volunteer on a ship he had himself equipped. 
 The especial importance of Italy in the warfare of 
 the Renaissance came through its development of 
 military science and military engineering. It was first 
 in Italy that war was looked upon as an art, and fur- 
 thermore, as a fitting occasion for the employment of 
 the keenest intellects. Thus the first suggestion of a 
 change in tactics can be found in Machiavelli's A7't of 
 War^ while with Leonardo da Vinci began the study 
 of modern artillery.^ It is therefore not surprising 
 
 1 M. Hume, Chronicle of Henry V/fl, p. 200. 
 
 2 Hist. Ms. Com., Hatfield House, H, 169. 
 
 ^ M. J. D. Cockle, Bibliography of Alilitary Books, p. xix et seq. 
 
96 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 that Italian engineers should be found in England at a 
 comparatively early date. ' Jerome of Trevisi, who lost 
 his life in the French wars of Henry the Eighth, fighting 
 for his adopted country, was an engineer as well as a 
 painter, no uncommon thing in an age when Michel- 
 angelo designed the defences of Florence. Marco 
 Savorgnano, one of the most distinguished miHtary 
 engineers of his time, visited the EngHsh court in 
 1 53 1, under the guidance of Marco Rafael, a con- 
 verted Venetian Jew, who was then high in favor with 
 the king. Still another engineer, whose name ap- 
 pears frequently in matters of fortifications, was Sir 
 John Portinari, for many years in the English royal 
 service. 
 
 The few Enghsh military books of this time were 
 likewise largely compilations from Italian sources,^ 
 but Italian books as well were often translated into 
 English. One of the first of these was Whitehorne's 
 rendering of Machiavelli's Art of War, which the trans- 
 lator dedicated to Elizabeth as " the first fruits of a 
 poor soldier's study." This book, which had been 
 translated by Whitehorne for soldiers rather than for 
 scholars, was intended by him, as he said, to make his 
 countrymen no less invincible in the knowledge of war 
 than they had hitherto been in its practice. 
 
 Books such as Cataneo's Military Tactics and 
 Count Giacomo Porcia's Precepts of War were also 
 translated. Certain Italians condemned the practice 
 of writing on fortifications, for the reason that foreigners, 
 
 1 Cockle, p. viii. 
 
THE COURTIER 9/ 
 
 if left untaught, would be obliged to employ Italian 
 engineers.^ Tartaglia, however, wrote a great work on 
 gunnery, dedicated by him to Henry the Eighth, which 
 treated both of practice and theory, entering deeply 
 into problems of trajectory and ballistics. It was fol- 
 lowed by another work compiled by Cyprian Lucar 
 from the best authorities on the subject ; and from the 
 bibliography he gave of these, one can realize the ex- 
 tent to which England was indebted to Italy in all 
 matters of miUtary science. 
 
 VI 
 
 The knowledge of Italian possessed by Englishmen 
 in the sixteenth century, and the means at the disposal 
 of such as were anxious to learn the language, requires 
 some consideration. 
 
 At the court of Henry the Eighth, that monarch, who 
 was fond of foreigners, and especially of Italians,- set 
 the example by himself understanding their tongue. 
 Among his many courtiers who knew the language 
 were Lord Rochford, Lord Morley the translator of 
 Petrarch, and the Earl of Surrey, who, though he 
 never set foot in Italy (in spite of the pretty story told 
 by Nash and Drayton), is yet said to have affected 
 its dress, and employed an Italian jester in his house- 
 hold. Others, too, such as the Earl of Wiltshire and Sir 
 
 1 Cockle, p. xvi. 
 
 2 Cal. State Pap.y Ven., IV, 287. " II Re medesimo ha molti 
 Italiani . . . al suo servitio, di ogni professione." — Ubaldini, 
 Add. Mss. Brit. Mus. 10169, f. 116 b. 
 
 H 
 
98 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Thomas Wyatt, had travelled in Italy, and the Earl of 
 Bedford adopted Che sara sard for the motto of his 
 house after the battle of Pavia, at which he was pres- 
 ent. The two princesses, Mary and Elizabeth, hke- 
 wise both knew Italian. A knowledge of the language 
 spread rapidly among the upper classes, and increased 
 still further during the reign of Ehzabeth ; to address 
 one's sovereign with a few words of Itahan was indeed 
 regarded as a mark of distinction.^ Elizabeth herself 
 had learned the language as a child, and Roger Ascham 
 declared that she spoke it perfectly at sixteen. Several 
 of her Italian letters are still preserved, one to Catha- 
 rine Parr written in 1544, and another more than 
 twenty years later to the emperor. The testimony of 
 Italians bears further witness to her proficiency in the 
 language ; Giovanni Antonio Ferrice, in a poem he 
 dedicated to her, praised her knowledge of the " soft 
 Tuscan." ^ Pietro Bizari, the historian, also spoke 
 favorably of her skill as a hnguist, and especially of 
 her knowledge of Italian, which he said she had 
 learned from Battista Castiglione, a gentleman of the 
 privy chamber who was high in her favor.^ A knowl- 
 edge of Italian was then widespread at court, and 
 those who had not some smattering of it were the ex- 
 ceptions. Florio indeed remarked of it that " the best 
 speak it best, and her majesty none better ; "* for she 
 " delights to speak to Italians." ^ Further illustra- 
 
 1 L. Humphrey, op. cit. 2 j^g^ Bodleian. 
 
 * Historia, 1569, p. 206. * Second Fruites, preface. 
 
 fi First Fruites, ff. 1 1 b, and 18. 
 
THE COURTIER 99 
 
 tions of the popularity of Italian might be given. 
 Burleigh and Walsingham both made use of it fre- 
 quently in their diplomatic correspondence. One of the 
 Venetian envoys noted the fact that at a dinner given 
 him by Cecil, where the entire Privy Council was present, 
 the conversation was carried on chiefly in Italian, " almost 
 all of them speaking our Italian tongue, or at least all 
 understanding it." ^ Robert Cecil had travelled in 
 Italy and was proficient in the language ; so were 
 the Earl of Rutland and Countess of Bedford ; the 
 Earl of Leicester had learned it in his youth, and even 
 had Itahan musicians in his employ.^ Many others 
 had Italians in their personal service ; thus Virginio 
 Orsini, a Roman baron, begged Lord Essex to allow 
 him to be numbered among his servants.^ Henry 
 Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, had John Florio 
 in his pay and patronage, and, according to him, 
 rapidly acquired a knowledge of Italian. On every 
 side could be seen evidences of the same keen desire 
 to learn the language. Hubert Languet, in a letter to 
 Sidney, alluded jestingly to the craze : '' It seems to me 
 quite absurd that your countrymen should make such a 
 point of speaking Italian well. . . . Perhaps you are 
 afraid you will not persuade them to take your money 
 unless you speak with perfect fluency."^ 
 
 WiUiam Thomas, the author of the History of Ital}\ 
 
 1 Cal. State Pap. Ven., VII, 524 et seq. 
 
 2 Cotton Ms. Titus, B. VII, Brit. Mus. 
 
 8 Hist. Ms. Com., Hatfield House, VI, 534. 
 ^ Letter of Jan. 2S, 1574. 
 
100 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 wrote also the first English manual of Italian, which 
 appeared in 1550. This was in the form of a grammar 
 followed by a dictionary, the former containing the 
 usual classifications, the latter consisting chiefly of 
 a compilation taken from earher Itahan works. The 
 purpose of the book was to enable the reader better to 
 understand Italian writers. In the author's judgment, 
 Italian was gradually coming to be considered on the 
 same plane with Latin and Greek. If in Italy, he said, 
 they would only continue for another ten years the 
 same kind of work they had accomplished in the past 
 ten, " surely their tongue will be as plentiful as any 
 of the other." In support of these arguments he men- 
 tioned the various branches of science and history, 
 eloquence and poetry, examples of which could be 
 found in Italian. 
 
 Thomas's Grammar, while still in manuscript, fell 
 into the hands of Sir Walter Mildmay, the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, by whom it was printed for such as 
 might be anxious to learn the language. Similar man- 
 uals were written, some of which were never published ; 
 as, for instance, the Regole delta Lingua Toscana^ by 
 Michelangelo Florio, a Florentine refugee and teacher 
 of Italian, whose son later became the great English 
 apostle of Italian culture. New methods of instruc- 
 tion appeared from time to time : such as Lentulo's 
 Gratnmar, " a very necessary book (in my concept) 
 for all such as are studious of the Italian tongue."^ 
 
 ^ Ms. Cambridge University Library. 
 2 Preface by Granthan, 
 
THE COURTIER TOI 
 
 This was translated in 1575 by Henry Granthan and 
 dedicated to the daughters of Lord Berkeley, who had 
 been very anxious to learn the language. Even more 
 significant testimony to the far-reaching knowledge of 
 Italian can be found in a Latin method, translated by 
 David Rowland, in 1578, from an Italian book. As he 
 remarked in the preface, "Once every one knew Latin, 
 and from that Italian was learned, and now the Italian 
 is as widely spread." 
 
 In 1575 a Frenchman in London, called Desainliens, 
 better known however as Claudius Hollyband, 
 published an Italian method, which was subsequently 
 reprinted in an enlarged form, under the title of the 
 Italian Schoolmaster. This he dedicated to Master 
 John Smith (probably the same Smith who later 
 became a friend of Giordano Bruno) in gratitude for 
 his having selected him to be his Italian teacher, from 
 among so many in London. The book contained both 
 a grammar with rules of conversation and a series of 
 dialogues, referring for the most part to the common- 
 places of life, and chiefly of use to the English 
 traveller in Italy. Occasionally the conversation 
 bordered unconsciously on the humorous. Thus an 
 ardent lover was made to say, in both Italian and 
 English : " Ho, fair maiden, will you take me for your 
 lawful spouse and husband, and I will love and serve 
 you faithfully? Say yea; defer not so long." In the 
 later edition of this book, following the dialogues, 
 speeches and phrases were printed, " taken out of the 
 best Italian authors." The method by degrees led up 
 
102 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 to the main feature of the book, the Novelle of Arnalt 
 and Ltccenda, which, given in EngUsh and Itahan, was 
 held out as an inducement and reward to study the 
 language. Hollyband wrote also the Cainpo di Fior, 
 or else the Flowery Field of Four Languages^ con- 
 taining sentences and conversations in the form of 
 more or less disconnected dialogues in Latin, French, 
 Italian and English. The book, however, was of use 
 only for beginners, and was in every way inferior to 
 Florio's series of dialogues. 
 
 John Florio, the son of an Italian Protestant refugee, 
 and the translator of Montaigne, was to be the best 
 known by far of the Italian teachers in England. He 
 was probably educated first on the Continent, and 
 afterwards at Oxford. He called himself " an English- 
 man in Italian,"^ and certainly appears to have 
 combined the double training. From his first youth he 
 lived in an atmosphere of teaching. Early in life, before 
 entering the Earl of Southampton's household, he had 
 been tutor in foreign languages to Robert Barnes, the 
 son of the Bishop of Durham. Later, during the 
 reign of James the First, he became Italian reader to 
 the queen. His celebrity, however, apart from his 
 translation of Montaigne, arose chiefly from his books 
 which helped to popularize Italian among the young 
 gallants of the court. 
 
 Florio made use of his books of instruction to give 
 his own ideas on many subjects ; he thus combined the 
 teaching of a foreign language with the expression of 
 
 ^ Second Fruites^ preface. 
 
-ji^u I'lrtute sm Limtc:ntn>,nohilis iirtc • 
 Jfdius ore,. Itiiilus vcrtoi\ ,vhTth ovcrc 
 - '^bm iiJImc.d diWucfhn-hititJim'iitvhra 
 FL OFJVS . hac spmt'^ flmJus , ovtat ijtnans . 
 
 rJocm/r^y'JrZ^ 
 
 6"U^' 
 
THE COURTIER IO3 
 
 personal opinions. The use of dialogue, the Italian 
 and English being printed in parallel columns, aided 
 him in this. Furthermore, he was able to say what he 
 liked without fear of criticism. An instance of this 
 freedom of speech will be found in his opinion of the 
 English people : " a handicraftsman will be a mer- 
 chant, a merchant will be a gentleman, a gentleman 
 will be a lord, a lord a duke, a duke a king ; so that 
 every one seeks to overcome another in pride." ^ 
 He had other remarks to make as well ; the nobility, 
 for instance, he found very courteous, but it was other- 
 wise with the commons, especially toward strangers.^ 
 His advice to the English people was that they should 
 teach their children several languages, and not do as 
 so many who studied foreign tongues, and "when 
 they have learned two words of Spanish, three words 
 of French and four words of Italian, they think they 
 have enough, they will study no more." ^ On another 
 occasion, an Italian in England, asked to give his 
 opinion of the language, replied that it was good 
 enough in its own country, but worthless beyond Dover. 
 " What a shame it is, therefore, that an Englishman, in 
 the company of strangers, should be unable to speak 
 to them, and should thus stand dumb, mocked of them 
 and despised of all. . . . What a reproach to his 
 parents; what a loss to him."* 
 
 In other dialogues the student could find expressed 
 in Italian the ordinary conversations of the day ; thus, 
 
 1 First FruUes, L 16 b. ^ Ibid., f. 51 <^. 
 
 a Ibid., f.gb. * Ibid., f. 62 b. 
 
104 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 friends talked of going to see a comedy at the Bull, in 
 spite of the sermons preached against theatres. A 
 practical lesson in grammar was illustrated by a 
 young man flirting with a girl, who went through 
 the parts of the verb " to love " ; it ended by her accept- 
 ing an invitation to the play j or again a youth bear- 
 ing viola and lute goes to serenade his lady ; court 
 gossip, the amusements of the day and even the price 
 of shirts and stockings, were all introduced into these 
 dialogues. 
 
 Florio's first book, which had appeared in 1578, 
 was followed by the Second Frtdtes in 159 1. In this 
 new work he boasted that, having " ransacked and 
 rifled all the gardens of fame throughout Italy " to 
 adorn English orchards, he had given the reader " a 
 taste of the best Italian fruits." 
 
 The purpose of the book was to perfect one's knowl- 
 edge of Italian, especially by making use of appropriate 
 proverbs. These, it was said, both argued " a good 
 conceit," and would prevent Italians from talking 
 bookish, as they were inclined to do when conversing 
 with strangers whose Itahan had been learned out of 
 Guazzo or Castiglione. The Second Fridtes were 
 intended likewise for the young gallants of the 
 court, who had literary pretensions, " not unfit for those 
 that embrace the language of the Muses." 
 
 Florio's second book, like its predecessor, was in 
 dialogue form. Some of the names of the speakers, 
 Nolano and Torquato for instance, were probably 
 selected to add interest, Giordano Bruno, who had been 
 
THE COURTIER IO5 
 
 in England but shortly before, being usually known by 
 the former name, while he also had made use of 
 Torquato as a speaker in his own dialogues. The 
 conversations, however, were for the most part ex- 
 tremely commonplace, though answering their purpose 
 in introducing an extended vocabulary. Quips and 
 puns were of common occurrence all through the book. 
 An imaginary journey to Italy was described, and 
 doggerel rhymes on different cities, probably trans- 
 lated into English by Florio himself, were quoted. 
 Thus of Rome it was said : — 
 
 In Roman court no sheep may dwell : 
 But such as are thrice fleeced well; 
 
 Who goes to Rome, and hath good store of pence, 
 May soon return a priest or bishop thence.^ 
 
 Florio had announced in the preface to the Second 
 Fruites that he intended shortly to publish an " ex- 
 quisite " Italian and English dictionary, which was 
 intended neither for scholars exclusively, nor beginners, 
 nor even for advanced students who had run through 
 Guarini and Ariosto, Tasso and Boccaccio. It was to 
 be of use to " the most complete " doctor even though 
 he had the memory of Scaliger. "Well to know Italian 
 is a grace of all grace " ; yet without knowing the 
 language thoroughly, it was impossible to read Aretino 
 or Doni, nor even understand Castelvetro or Caro, or 
 any of the different Italian dialects. For all such 
 purposes a dictionary was absolutely necessary. He 
 compared his work to what Sir Thomas Elyot and 
 
 1 Second Fruites, p. 109. 
 
I06 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Bishop Cooper had accomplished in Latin, and the 
 Estiennes in Greek ; and lest any one might think that 
 he had received too much assistance from the works 
 of Alunno or Venuto, he bade his reader remember 
 that a single letter in his dictionary contained more 
 than twenty in theirs. 
 
 Of the dictionary itself, not much need be said. It 
 was a careful work of over five hundred pages, each 
 Italian word being given with several English equiv- 
 alents. Florio's books, however, formed as a whole 
 a series more or less indispensable to the English 
 student of Italian. Their number attests their pop- 
 ularity, and the fact that so important a work as his 
 dictionary should have been compiled at that time 
 indicates a demand for similar work. 
 
 Italian proverbs were likewise popular in Ehzabethan 
 England. Close after the Second Fruifes, followed the 
 Garden of Recreation, a collection of six thousand 
 proverbs, for the use of English students of Italian. 
 Sometimes such proverbs were printed in books which 
 had otherwise no bearing on the subject. Charles 
 Merbury, for instance, to his Discourse of Royal Mon- 
 archy, published in 1581, added a '^ collection of Italian 
 proverbs in benefit of such as were studious of that 
 language, with an Italian preface to all courtiers and 
 other gentlemen conversant in Italian." He main- 
 tained that a knowledge of proverbs would aid them 
 greatly in conversation, and teach them foreign cus- 
 toms ; if his readers would only learn a few of them, 
 in a short time it would seem as if they had suddenly 
 
 ,^ 
 
THE COURTIER 10/ 
 
 been transferred to Italy and had returned thence, 
 
 although in fact they had passed over neither seas nor 
 
 mountains. 
 
 VII 
 
 The theoretical expression of the courtier has 
 chiefly been noticed hitherto. His actions and ac- 
 complishments, his tastes and conduct, as laid down 
 by various writers in the Renaissance, have all been 
 considered. The facts here brought together have been 
 selected from the contemporary English translations 
 of Italian books. The question may therefore well be 
 asked : What was the effect of these books, and did 
 they bring into England any new ideals of manners and 
 education ? 
 
 The translation and publication of numerous Italian 
 manuals of courtesy and conversation, was more con- 
 clusive in the sixteenth century in England of a 
 demand for such books than it would have been in 
 any subsequent age when printing was widely spread. 
 It is by no means necessary, however, to remain 
 satisfied with that. One has only to notice the 
 numerous references in contemporary Enghsh liter- 
 ature to such translations and search for their in- 
 fluence in the English books themselves. Lastly, this 
 influence can be observed in many English men and 
 women who discovered in culture a new ideal to be 
 striven for. 
 
 The mention of Italian courtesy books in Eliza- 
 bethan literature would suffice for a study in itself. 
 The Cortegiano, the Galafeo, and Guazzo's Conversa- 
 
I08 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 tions especially were frequently referred to. Gabriel 
 Harvey alluded to their great popularity at Cambridge, 
 where every one had read them.^ In recognition of the 
 author of the Courtier, the names of Castillo and 
 Balthazar came to mean in the Enghsh language the 
 perfection of courtesy ; Marston, Guilpin and Ben 
 Jonson all employed the words in this sense. Thomas 
 Lupton called the book a manual of true gentleman- 
 hness;^ and Roger Ascham, the puritanical opponent 
 of Italian influence, said in his recommendation of the 
 work : " to join learning with comely exercises, Conte 
 Baldessar Castiglione in his book Cortegiano doth 
 trimly teach ; which book advisedly read and dili- 
 gently followed but one year at home in England, 
 would do a young gentleman more good, I wiss, than 
 three years travel abroad spent in Italy." ^ So late as 
 the eighteenth century, it was regarded by Dr. Johnson 
 as the best work on good breeding ever written.* 
 
 Courtesy books written in Enghsh were not very 
 numerous in Tudor England. Even in such early works 
 as Sir Thomas Elyot's Governotir, Laurence Hum- 
 phrey's The Nobles and the Institution of a Gentle- 
 ma7i, the influence of certain Italian writers is plainly 
 evident, though not always acknowledged. Boccaccio 
 and Patrizi, from whom the above mentioned writers 
 borrowed, were, however, of a different type from the 
 true writers of courtesy, whose influence became later 
 
 1 Letter- Book, p. 79. 2 f Lupton, Civil and Uncivil Life, 
 
 8 Scholemaster, p. 66. 
 
 * Boswell, Life of Johnson, ed. G. B. Hill, V, 314. 
 
THE COURTIER IO9 
 
 so noticeable in England. In William Segar, for in- 
 stance, the influence and example of these Italian cour- 
 tesy writers was apparent. In the Book of Honor and 
 Arms, he decided a question of etiquette, by quoting 
 as eminent authority the Duke of Urbino ; his sub- 
 sequent work contained numerous allusions to Italian 
 practices of chivalry and even made use of Italian ex- 
 pressions. His argument on virtue as essential to 
 nobility followed closely the example of Italian writers ; 
 although himself garter king- of- arms, he further imi- 
 tated them by maintaining that the pursuit of learning 
 was in no way inferior to a military career ; no state, 
 indeed, could be well governed " unless the governors 
 thereof had studied philosophy." ^ 
 
 George Pettie, in the preface to his translation of 
 Guazzo's Conversations, was even more emphatic on 
 the same subject. A soldier himself, he said that he 
 ought not to be condemned for spending his time in 
 writing, since learning was necessary to the military 
 man. "Those which mislike study or learning in a 
 gentleman are some fresh water soldiers, who think 
 that in war it is the body which only must bear the 
 brunt of all, not knowing that the body is ruled by the 
 mind, and that in all doubtful and dangerous matters 
 it is the mind only which is the man. . . . Therefore 
 (gentlemen) never deny yourselves to be scholars, 
 never be ashamed to show your learning ... it is 
 only it which maketh you gentlemen, and seeing 
 that the only way to win immortality is either to 
 
 1 Honor, Military and Civil, p. 200 et seq. 
 
no ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 do things worth the writing, or write things worth 
 the reading." 
 
 If one idea could be picked out as the dominant 
 thought in Italian courtesy books, it was that the out- 
 ward graces of man should all be cultivated by educa- 
 tion. Such education, however, was to be something 
 more than a narrow book learning, and to rest on a 
 broad basis of life. The courtier should be learned, 
 said Pettie, in order that he might be able to properly 
 advise his prince in the government of the state.^ It 
 was for this reason also that Castighone wished his 
 courtier to be accomplished in so many things. The 
 courtier, however, was to be a soldier as well, and thus 
 the new education was grafted on to the military ideal. 
 Many Englishmen were to exemplify it ; Sidney and 
 Raleigh were both scholars and soldiers ; so too were 
 Gascoigne, Turbervile, Pettie, Whitehorne, Bedingfield 
 and Hitchcock, to mention only some of the names 
 of English poets and translators, who were to prove 
 that the Italian idea of the soldier as a man of cultiva- 
 tion had likewise taken root in England. 
 
 In the Renaissance, when the encouragement of 
 learned men was almost a matter of state policy, the 
 numerous small Italian courts formed centres of 
 patronage for the needy scholar and poet. In Eng- 
 land, on the other hand, where similar centres did not 
 exist, and the royal court did not entirely fill their 
 place, this patronage was effected rather by the nobihty, 
 who in the sixteenth century began to regard them- 
 
 1 Guazzo, preface. 
 
'^y n^y &.^Z4^^^J^.^^ ^^t 
 
 iC-Ct}tZ4-C>^ 
 
THE COURTIER III 
 
 selves iib LUC protectors of learning and the arts. Their 
 travels abroad had both familiarized them with the 
 Itahan example, and at the same time destroyed 
 their prejudices against foreigners which existed among 
 other classes in England. Without mentioning the 
 numerous literary men in the time of Shakespeare who 
 lived under the friendly protection of great noblemen, 
 among Italians in England, Pietro Bizari dedicated his 
 History to the Earl of Bedford, Saviolo his Practise to 
 the Earl of Essex, " whose encouragement of letters 
 has won for him the title of the Students' McEcenas^ 
 Among Florio's patrons likewise were the Earls of 
 Rutland and Southampton, and Lucy, Countess of 
 Bedford, while he in his praise of Leicester, his first pro- 
 tector, called him thrice fortunate in having had such a 
 herald of his virtues as Edmund Spenser. '' Courteous 
 Lord, Courteous Spenser, I know not which hath pur- 
 chased more fame, either he in deserving well of so 
 famous a scholar, or so famous a scholar in being so 
 thankful without hope of requital to so famous a 
 lord." 1 
 
 In other ways as well Itahan examples were followed 
 in England. The English courtier, in the sixteenth 
 century, hke his Italian brother, desired to shine 
 in the cultivation of letters. It is only necessary to 
 glance at the names of those who then wrote verse and 
 were in fact known as " courtly makers." The Earl of 
 Surrey, Sir Thomas VVyatt, Lord Rochford, Lord Mor- 
 ley. Lord Oxford, Sir Thomas Sackville, Sir Philip 
 
 ^ Second Fritites, preface. 
 
112 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Sidney and Sir Walter Raleigh were only some of the 
 better known courtier poets. What deserves espe- 
 cially to be noticed is not so much the poetical 
 faculty, possessed by a few imitators for the most part 
 of Italian models, as the vast spread of education 
 among the classes who previously had despised it. 
 A literary taste had been awakened in them by the 
 study of foreign models, and they now endeavored 
 to accomplish in England what had already been done 
 in Italy. 
 
 The rapid spread of education in the Renaissance, 
 no less than its transformation, deserves to rank among 
 the most marked features of the age. Especially in 
 Italy, a universahty of knowledge had characterized the 
 greater minds of the sixteenth century. Later, in 
 England, this same broad ideal of cultivation can also 
 be found in such men as Crichton and Raleigh. The 
 new humanism in all its breadth, no longer confined 
 to any narrow group of scholars, left its mark in the 
 education of Italian women. In England, as well, 
 women, no longer satisfied to remain in their former 
 sphere and anxious to follow the example of their 
 Italian sisters, desired to shine in the pursuit of letters. 
 Lady Jane Grey still passes for a wonder of erudition, 
 and Queen Elizabeth is said to have known eight 
 languages. Women Hke the Countesses of Bedford 
 and Pembroke were the friends and patrons of literary 
 men. In many ways the great change which had come 
 over womanhood in the Renaissance was apparent. To 
 give a single illustration. In 1550, Anne Cooke, who 
 
 I 
 
THE COURTIER II3 
 
 later became the mother of Francis Bacon, translated 
 into English some of the sermons of the famous Sien- 
 ese preacher, Bernardino Ochino, then a refugee in 
 England. Her mother, it appeared, had often re- 
 proved her for her pursuit of Italian, considering it a 
 godless study, and, therefore, a waste of time. This 
 book was intended to prove the contrary, in revealing 
 the spiritual side of the Italian nature. It showed, 
 however, another side as well, — a touch of conscious 
 pride in the idea that it was by a woman's work that 
 the book had been translated. Although it were more 
 fitting, she wrote, for " doctors of divinity " to meddle 
 with such matters than young girls, yet now, " through 
 the honest travail of a well-occupied gentlewoman and 
 virtuous maiden, they speak in English. ... If 
 ought be erred in the translation, remember 'tis a 
 woman's, yea, a gentlewoman's, who commonly are 
 wonted to live idly, a maiden who never gadded farther 
 than her father's house to learn the language." 
 
 In the age of Ehzabeth men and women alike were 
 to receive the benefit of Italian humanism as it spread 
 through Europe. The olden days, when the upper 
 classes could afford to hve in ignorance, had given way 
 to a new age, when learning was taught from child- 
 hood. Even in the sixteenth century, merit meant 
 more and birth less than is commonly supposed. Car- 
 dinal Wolsey, Thomas Cromwell Earl of Essex, and 
 Lord Burleigh were all of ordinary extraction. Edu- 
 cation, however, often took the place of genius, in 
 raising those of low descent to the highest places in 
 
114 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 I 
 
 the land. At one time even the king complained 
 that positions of great responsibility had to be in- 
 trusted to those of low origin, who alone were fitted 
 for them, on account of the lack of education on the 
 part of the nobles. It was to remedy this and pre- 
 serve their former ascendency that noblemen sought 
 its benefits ; while to the commoner, who obtained an 
 education, it went far to remove differences of rank, to 
 level class distinctions, and place him on an equahty 
 with those who were his superiors by position. In 
 England, as in Italy, it came to be acknowledged that 
 scholarship was a noble profession, and that by virtue 
 of it scholars were gentlemen.^ Every one was now 
 interested in learning. There was a time, wrote 
 Richard Willes, when logic and astrology so wearied 
 the minds of scholars that true philosophy was almost 
 forgotten, eloquence defaced, the languages exiled ; that 
 time was past. Not long since, happy was he who had 
 any skill in Greek ; while if he could make a Greek 
 verse, he was thought a great scholar. " Nowadays 
 who studieth not rather the Hebrew language? " ^ All 
 ranks and classes bore witness to this new zeal for 
 education, which had swept over the Enghsh nation 
 and placed side by side with the old feudal distinctions 
 a new field of honor in learning. 
 
 ^ Segar, Honor and Arms, p. 36. 
 
 2 Anglerius, History of Travel, I577> preface. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 THE TRAVELLER 
 
 The first recorded description of Italy by an English- \^^^ \ 
 man is in Sir Richard Guylforde's diary of 1506.^ This 
 was written entirely in the spirit of the Middle Ages 
 and failed to take into account the new Renaissance 
 civilization. Its author passed through Verona and 
 Mantua on his way to Palestine, scarcely making 
 a comment on v/hat he saw. In Venice he was most 
 impressed by the munitions of war stored in the arsenal. 
 He went on excursions to Moryaii [Murano] where he 
 remarked that glass was made, and saw " many houses 
 of rehgion that stand in the sea." He was present, 
 moreover, at the Doge's marriage to the Adriatic, 
 which he described very briefly. " And so they rowed 
 in to the sea with the assistance of their Patriarch, and 
 there spoused the sea with a ring. . . . The Duke let 
 fall the ring into the sea, the process and the ceremo- 
 nies whereof were too long to write." He expressed 
 some surprise, it is true, at the beauty of Venetian 
 buildings, but failed altogether to observe any diifer- 
 ence between the Hfe of Italy and that of England, 
 still half in the Middle Ages. 
 
 1 Camden Society^ 185 1. 
 "5 
 
Il6 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 A very similar account was written some ten years 
 Ji after by Sir Richard Torkington/ who also passed 
 through Italy on his way to the Holy Land. He saw 
 Milan and Padua, and later Naples and Rome, but 
 almost the only thing which impressed him was a 
 banquet in Venice, where there was music and danc- 
 ing, and the guests had basins and ewers in which to 
 wash. The charm of Italy was thus felt neither by 
 Torkington nor Guylforde. It was to be otherwise 
 with the travellers of the next generation, when the 
 new ideas brought in by the Renaissance had had 
 time to develop. 
 
 There were several reasons why Englishmen should 
 wish to visit Italy. In former years the numerous 
 churchmen and diplomats, pilgrims and soldiers of 
 fortune, who passed to and fro between the two coun- 
 tries, brought back with them admiring recollections 
 of their travels. The scholars also, on their return, 
 could give glowing accounts of Italian universities, 
 then far in advance of their own. Moreover, the 
 growth of the Renaissance in England developed the 
 new taste for travel. With it there went a keen 
 desire to see the country, which was celebrated no 
 less for containing the treasures of former ages than 
 for the splendor of its actual life. A knowledge of 
 Italy having once spread from university to court the 
 desire to share its culture drew across the Alps the 
 cultivated classes of all Europe. Pious Catholics still 
 went there, and eager students, attracted by its 
 
 1 Oldest Diary of English Travel. 
 
THE TRAVELLER II7 
 
 institutions of learning. The new type of traveller, 
 however, who was neither diplomat, scholar nor 
 pilgrim, now found his way in increasing numbers 
 to Italy. 
 
 Sir Thomas Hoby and William Thomas, two English- 
 men who were in Italy shortly before the middle of 
 the sixteenth century, were both typical of this move- 
 ment, and can be singled out from among so many 
 by the records of their travels, written entirely from 
 this new point of view. Italy itself was their goal, its 
 sights the object of their visit. They were travellers 
 for a purpose, who looked forward to the education 
 and experience they should acquire which might be 
 of service to them in their future careers. Unlike 
 their English predecessors, they took interest in 
 everything they saw, noting carefully the sights and 
 customs of the strange country. William Thomas' 
 observations are hardly in any way inferior to those of 
 the Italian travellers of the age, from whose accounts he 
 had profited. His keenness of penetration and ready 
 sympathy with a foreign culture fitted him peculiarly for 
 the work he undertook. The avowed purpose of his 1 
 History of Italy, written after five years of residence 
 there, and first published in 1549, vvas by a selection 
 of examples from Italian history to enable Englishmen 
 to see how a nation had been enriched through peace 
 and concord and made poor by strife. The histori- 
 cal portion of the work was, however, the least impor- 
 tant. Its real interest and merit lay in the fact of its -" 
 being a guide to Italy, full of antiquarian and political 
 
Il8 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 information, and containing, moreover, the impressions 
 and experiences of one of the most cultivated men of 
 the age. It was unquestionably the best English 
 \account of any foreign nation written before the seven- 
 ''teenth century ; and its popularity, to judge only from 
 the editions it passed through, points it out as an im- 
 portant channel by which a knowledge of Italy filtered 
 into England. 
 
 Sir Thomas Hoby had gone to Italy after having 
 been at Cambridge, in order both to complete his 
 education and prepare himself for public life, since 
 " the Itahan nation which seemeth to flourish in civihty 
 most of all others at this date " ^ then offered the great- 
 est opportunities to the student of politics as well 
 as of culture. Hoby kept a record of his foreign 
 travels in a diary, intended, however, only for private 
 use, and which has never been pubHshed.^ In shrewd- 
 ness of observation it certainly does not begin to com- 
 pare with Thomas' work. It is of considerable interest, 
 nevertheless, in presenting without literary artifice the 
 Italian experiences of an English gentleman of culture, 
 in the middle of the sixteenth century. Hoby's pur- 
 pose in travelling was to see what he could of Italy. 
 With this in mind, he described the different Italian 
 cities one after the other, with more repetition than 
 variety. The ruins and antiquities of the ancient 
 world chiefly attracted his curiosity; unlike Thomas, 
 he never moralized on such sights, and rarely con- 
 
 1 Thomas, History of Italy, preface. 
 
 2 British Museum, Egerton Mss., 2148. 
 
THE TRAVELLER II9 
 
 cerned himself with objects of merely historic in- 
 terest. One would almost judge from his impressions 
 that he was satisfied rather with outward appearances 
 than the inner character of things. Some of the chief 
 elements of interest in Hoby's diary can be found in 
 his own personal experiences, which afford glimpses 
 of Italian life in the Renaissance. The celebrated 
 Hurtado de Mendoza, the Spanish governor of Siena, 
 showed him great courtesy while there, as did, on 
 another occasion, the young Marquis of Capistrano at 
 Amalfi. The important influence Italy had on Hoby 
 was thus the impression he derived from its courtly 
 life, which led him later to undertake his famous trans- 
 lation of the Courtier. With William Thomas, on the 
 other hand, the influence had been mainly political; 
 he typified in some degree the serious traveller, while 
 in Hoby there was something of the dilettante, who 
 travefled because to do so was the fashion. 
 
 The tide of foreign travel in Italy began in the reign 
 of Henry the Eighth. Hoby remarked the numbers 
 of Englishmen he met in every Italian city, while 
 Thomas wrote that in no region of the world were 
 ''half so many strangers as in Italy, specially of 
 gentlemen, whose resort thither is principally under 
 pretence of study." ^ At this time, however, the 
 English travellers came almost exclusively from the 
 gentry and the court circle. A common impress of 
 class appears to animate them ; all alike seem to 
 have passed through one mould. Even Thomas, who 
 
 1 Op. cit.y p. 2. 
 
120 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 was above most prejudices, contrasted the Italian uni- 
 versities, whose students were nearly all gentlemen, 
 with the English colleges, with their " mean men's 
 children set to school in hope to live upon hired learn- 
 ing." 1 
 
 The desire to travel, however, had not as yet pene- 
 trated very deeply in England, beyond the narrow 
 circle who then alone were conscious of the attraction 
 of Italy. The English travellers of this period repre- 
 sent, for this reason, a unity of type never afterwards 
 attained. They ought, moreover, to be judged not 
 as travellers alone : often the traveller and the cour- 
 tier were only different aspects of the same man, 
 who looked upon travel as a necessary element 
 in the perfection of the courtly type. Travel was 
 thus intended solely for the upper classes, who 
 would bring back with them on their return the 
 new foreign culture. More than any other element, 
 it familiarized England with the achievements of the 
 Renaissance. 
 
 With the vast diffusion of Itahan influence in the 
 second half of the sixteenth century, a gradual evolu- 
 tion took place in the whole idea of travel. Already, 
 with Thomas and Hoby, the type of traveller had 
 begun to differentiate, and these differences were 
 later to widen still more.) One type was that of the 
 dilettante pleasure-seeker, who travelled because it 
 was fashionable, and returned to England with all the 
 affectations and vices of the foreign country. -^The 
 
 1 Op. ciL, p. 3. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 121 
 
 Other regarded travel almost entirely from an educa- 
 tional point of view, showing in his character an in- 
 clination toward puritanism, and in his work a tend- 
 ency to specialization. There were many gentlemen in 
 England whom all the " siren songs of Italy " could 
 never turn aside/ while the books on Italy which now 
 appeared in England, as translations or otherwise, 
 were not so much general accounts as detailed de- 
 scriptions of different parts of the country. Such, for 
 instance, were Turler's Naples, Lewkenor's Venice, 
 Marlianus' Rojtie, and Dallington's Tuscany? In 
 reading these later works, one is able to realize the 
 extent to which Italy had degenerated. Venice alone 
 remained comparatively pure amid degradation and ser- 
 vility elsewhere. Dallington especially wrote from this 
 new point of view, which regarded the Italians as hav- 
 ing little more to teach Englishmen. Even their 
 learning was a thing of the past, and in their universi- 
 ties, " ye shall scarcely find two that are good Gre- 
 cians." ^ 
 
 The same reasons which once induced men to cross 
 the Alps no longer held good. Only the arts con- 
 tinued to draw the foreign student. Architecture and 
 music were then in their prime, and serious minded 
 
 1 Ascham, Scholemaster, p. 74 ei seq. 
 
 2 The Grand Duke of Tuscany complained of this book to 
 King James, who gave orders for it to be publicly burned in 
 the cemetery of St. Paul's, and for its author to be imprisoned 
 at the Grand Duke's pleasure (Archivio Mediceo, Florence, 
 4185). 
 
 ^ Dallington, Tuscany^ p. 62. 
 
122 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 men like Inigo Jones and John Dowland were still 
 able to learn new lessons in Italy. It was quite 
 different with the ordinary traveller. The purely edu- 
 cational value of travel had, by degrees, been slighted, 
 but the growing appreciation of art, no less than the 
 ruins of antiquity, now influenced him. His point of 
 view had changed, however. In place of the unquali- 
 fied admiration of former years, there had arisen, espe- 
 cially in political matters, a conscious superiority in 
 the Englishman, which often governed his judgment. 
 The dilettante, on the other hand, regarded travel 
 in a somewhat different light, and was soon to bring 
 ridicule on himself in his affectation of foreign fash- 
 ions, which he carried back with him to England. 
 "A great number of us never thought in ourselves 
 why we went (on travels) but a certain tickling hu- 
 mour to do as other men had done. ... I think ere 
 it be long, like the mountebanks of Italy, we travellers 
 shall be made sport of in comedies," wrote Sir Philip 
 Sidney to his brother. The " nice travellers who re- 
 turn home with such queasy stomachs, that nothing 
 will down with them but French, Italian or Spanish,"^ 
 were condemned by many. Especially censured were 
 those " who having gotten a fond affected phrase of 
 speech, or some conceited togs in their habit, would 
 be accounted great travellers." ^ The dilettante trav- 
 eller abroad became the "Italianate Englishman" at 
 home, who was responsible for bringing the idea of 
 
 1 Guazzo, preface by G. Pettie. 
 ^ Lewkenor, Venice, prefacCt 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 23 
 
 travel into disfavor, and largely for causing the reaction 
 against Italy. He is of interest not only in himself as 
 a type, but as the last creation in the evolution of ' 
 Enghsh travel in the sixteenth century. 
 
 II 
 
 English books on the art of travel were a somewhat • 
 late development in the Hterature of the sixteenth cen- 1 
 tury. In this as in many other things practice had 
 preceded theory. After it had finally been accepted 
 that travelling was necessary as the finishing touch to 
 an education, its philosophical justification was sought 
 for, and advice in plenty was given as how best to 
 profit from it. The whole theory of travel was dis- 
 cussed in this rational spirit of inquiry, and certain 
 definite results arrived at. 
 
 One of the greatest effects of the Renaissance had 
 been to magnify the importance of the central power 
 of government to a degree unknown since the days of 
 the Roman Empire. This resulted more and more 
 in making the welfare of the state a final test in every- 
 thing. The important question at issue in regard to 
 travel was with respect to its advantage to one's coun- 
 try. Its apologists tried naturally to prove it of posi- 
 tive benefit to the state. " If there be anything in the 
 world that will bring a man into consideration of his 
 own state, surely it is travel." ^ It was shown, first 
 of all, that the desire to travel was characteristic of 
 " noble and virtuous natures." The baser sort might 
 
 1 Tuder, Traveller, p. 38. 
 
124 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 be satisfied to remain in their own country; nobler 
 natures were only contented when they imitated the 
 heavens, which were in continual motion.^ This rather 
 curious idea was frequently expressed by others as well.^ 
 Another argument was based on the antiquity of travel. 
 It was said that Homer had tried to portray in Ulysses 
 '^the most perfect and accomplished gentleman of 
 Greece," that he praised him chiefly because he had 
 travelled in foreign lands, and noted their customs.^ 
 One writer even mentioned a long list of names, begin- 
 ning with Noah and Jupiter, and selected impartially 
 from sacred and profane history, to prove that the 
 heroes of every nation in all times had been travellers. 
 ^' These men think it a great stain, and dishonor to 
 the liberty which nature hath given them (to be cos- 
 mopolites, that is, citizens of the whole world), and yet 
 to be restrained within the narrow precincts of a little 
 country."* 
 
 The distinguished ancestry and noble motives of 
 the traveller having thus been demonstrated, it was 
 no less easy to prove his utility to the state. He had 
 to make up his mind that the purpose of his travels 
 was to ripen his knowledge, the object of which was 
 the service of his country.^ In travelling abroad, he 
 ought for that very reason, to seek only profit, and 
 
 1 Direction for Travailers. 
 
 2 Cf. Dallington, Method for Travel, 
 
 ^ Lewkenor, Venice, preface. * Directioit for Travailers. 
 ^ Dallington, Method for Travel ; Sidney, Letter to his 
 Brother. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 12$ 
 
 after he had well spent his time, to be ready at his 
 country's service, whenever the occasion demanded.^ 
 It was generally recognized that travelling without 
 some definite purpose in view was useless. On the 
 other hand, " those who for a good cause depart their 
 country, are as men of a singular and divine quality."- 
 The necessary qualifications of the traveller were laid 
 down without difficulty. Women were debarred as 
 bringing suspicion upon themselves.^ Young men Hke- 
 wise were considered too frivolous. The proper age 
 was said to be between forty and sixty.'* 
 
 The general theory of travel was thus mapped out 
 for the prospective traveller. This was contained at first 
 in letters of advice, but it later became systematized in 
 books, till with Dallington and Palmer ^ an entire anal- 
 ysis was presented in the form of diagrams, in which 
 all possible methods and objects of travel were sub- 
 divided into classes. Travellers, for instance, were said 
 to be both regular and irregular, and the first were 
 either voluntary, involuntary or non-voluntary. To 
 mention only the last class, this included ambassadors, 
 messengers and spies, and soldiers in time of war. The 
 many subdivisions are, however, far too numerous to de- 
 scribe. The writer elaborated at length each separate 
 heading, working out his plan from the diagrams. In 
 similar fashion the different kinds of knowledge the 
 
 ^ Direction for Travailers ; Lewkenor, op. cit. 
 
 2 F. Meres, Palladis Tatnia, p. 237. ^ Turler, op. cit., p. 9. 
 
 * W. Bourne, Treasure for Travellers. 
 
 ^ Essay on Travel. 
 
126 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 traveller should possess before beginning his journey 
 were presented in tabular form. He should try to 
 perfect himself in the sciences, in virtues " moral and 
 divine," and in the ornamental qualities, not only 
 languages, but skill at arms, music, dancing and por- 
 traiture.^ 
 
 The important question was with regard to what the 
 traveller should observe, and the advantages he ought to 
 derive from his travels. The first was easily answered. 
 The traveller ought to acquire while abroad both facts 
 and ideas. Whoever wished to hold public office should 
 study the characteristics of different nations, to enable 
 him to see their good and avoid their bad sides ; ^ a 
 knowledge of facts which included a general acquaint- 
 ance with the country, its products and trade, its armed 
 strength, and political alliances and also its revenues 
 and taxes, was useful. A knowledge of ideas was 
 far more difficult to obtain, since it dealt witli the 
 religion, laws and education of foreign countries.^ 
 While any one could travel abroad, few only were 
 capable of searching the deep meanings of things, 
 and comparing the customs and governments of dif- 
 ferent nations.^ 
 
 That the educational value of travel was more than 
 mere talk and idle theory can be seen from contempo- 
 rary letters. Francis Davison, for instance, carried with 
 
 ^ Palmer, op. cit., p. 37 et seq. 
 
 2 Relation of Petruccio Ubaldini, Ms. cit., f. i. 
 
 ^ Sidney, Letter to his Brother ; cf. Bacon, Essay on Travel. 
 
 '^ Direction for Travailers. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 12/ 
 
 him on his continental tour over sixty " relations " or 
 descriptions of foreign countries, all of which were in 
 Italian, with the exception of one in Latin.^ Later, in 
 writing to his father the Secretary, to whom he ex- 
 plained that his time had been occupied in reading the 
 history and policy of nations, he said : " I am ashamed 
 of myself that I have no new relation or discourse ready 
 of some of these parts of Italy. . . . My promised re- 
 lation of Tuscany your last letter hath so dashed as I 
 am resolved not to proceed withal. ... In the mean- 
 time I go on with my studies, contenting myself with 
 the profit and use I make, without displaying it to 
 others." And again — "Touching giving some proof 
 to yourself and others, whether I have made the same 
 use of our travel in Italy that it pleased you to think I 
 did in Germany, [a relation of Saxony], I have gath- 
 ered and observed divers particulars both in Tuscany, 
 and some other places, which I forbear to reduce into 
 an absolute discourse before I hear how my Lord ac- 
 cepted of my other." 
 
 The chief advantage to be derived from travel was the 
 acquisition of knowledge, and the fact that the infor- 
 mation obtained would fit a man to be of service to 
 his state, and give good advice to his prince.^ This 
 last idea was especially popular in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury. It can be found in Sidney and Lewkenor, who 
 
 1 Harleian Ms., Brit. Mus., 298, f. 154. 
 
 2 Add. Mss., Brit. Mus., 4i2i,f. 265; 4122, ff. 111,139. Also 
 cited in Davison's Works, edited by Harris Nicolas, 1826. 
 
 ^ Bourne, op. cit. 
 
128 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 regarded it almost as the final justification of travel. 
 It was, in a way, another side to Castiglione's belief that 
 the ultimate purpose of the courtier was to advise his 
 prince. 
 
 In spite of the many advantages offered by travel, it 
 was useless to try and conceal its dangers. " Such is 
 our nature, especially of us English, that as we admire 
 and entertain strange artificers before our own, so we 
 wonder at, and more willingly entreat of learning with 
 the learned foreigners, than with our own native coun- 
 trymen."^ In another direction, this exposed the 
 English traveller to the temptations of foreign countries, 
 and especially of Italy, " for Italy moveth most of our 
 travellers to go and visit it, of any other state in the 
 world." ^ The danger of religion and morals should 
 therefore be guarded against, the last especially, since 
 "our [English] nature is prone to imitate outlandish 
 vices." ^ 
 
 The extent to which the idea of travel, and its edu- 
 cational function, had been developed, may be judged 
 from the numerous books on the subject. It was sup- 
 posed to teach experience and wisdom, to refine 
 manners, and give instruction in general conduct.^ 
 It was likewise intended to bring the traveller in con- 
 tact with foreign scholars, with whom he was urged 
 to maintain a correspondence after he had left their 
 country.^ 
 
 ^ Direction for Travailers. * Ibid. 
 
 2 Palmer, op. cit., p. 42. ^ Bacon, Essay on Travel. 
 
 ^ Direction for Travailers. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 29 
 
 Regarding the part played by Italy in such books, 
 it should be said that invariably reference was made to 
 it as being the foreign country of greatest interest to 
 Englishmen, while in addition, Italian examples were 
 generally made use of as illustrations. Often, too, 
 methods of travel preceded the guide-books. Turler's 
 account of Naples followed his manual, while Lew- 
 kenor's advice on the subject was in the preface to his 
 translation of Contarini's Venice. 
 
 The EHzabethan Age thus developed a theory of 
 travel. It found in it an educational element of great 
 value, and regarded it half as a science, half as an art. 
 The different works on travel gave the criteria for the 
 judging of foreign countries. The traveller of the Re- 
 naissance regarded himself as no teller of idle tales but 
 as a skilled observer engaged almost in a solemn duty 
 toward his country. In this high sense of public duty, 
 and in its ethical and educational sides, the strength 
 of the Renaissance theory of travel can at once be seen. 
 At the same time, the very loftiness of the ideal aimed 
 at was the cause of its one-sidedness. The traveller, 
 in theory, was animated only by a stern sense of duty, 
 which made of him almost a slave for the benefit of 
 his country. There was no place in this conception 
 for the pleasure-seeker, nor even for the most culti- 
 vated of dilettantes. In the ideas of the English 
 Renaissance, travel was never regarded as a rational 
 amusement. 
 
 K 
 
I30 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 III 
 
 The amount and variety of information given to the 
 traveller about to set out on his journey was further 
 evidence of the great popularity of travel in the Eliza- 
 bethan Age. Instruction and advice was offered him 
 in plenty. He was told where he ought to go, how 
 he should act, and what he was especially to look for 
 in Italy. For Italy was always the final goal in the 
 grand tour. To Italy " all nations of Christendom do 
 flock." ^ Dallington for a similar reason advised his 
 traveller to leave it for the last, since "we best re- 
 member the last impressions." The other countries 
 traversed on the journey were of secondary considera- 
 tion, if not in importance, at least in attraction. To 
 follow the Enghsh traveller on his Italian journey, to 
 note his quahfications, the advice given him, the sights 
 he saw, and the benefits he derived from his travels 
 ought, therefore, to present certain elements of in- 
 terest. 
 
 He went abroad as a rule fresh from the university, 
 where he had received a classical education. In rare 
 cases did he possess more than a smattering of the 
 modern languages. 
 
 It was to remedy this that the traveller's first care in 
 Italy was usually to learn the language ; the testimony 
 of all points to this ; thus Hoby studied Italian at 
 Padua, and afterwards went alone on a journey through 
 
 1 Sandys, Speculimi Etcropcz, a Relation of the State of Re- 
 ligion, sig., M, 2 b. 
 
 
THE TRAVELLER I3I 
 
 southern Italy " to absent myself for a while out of 
 Englishmen's company for the tongue's sake." Francis 
 Davison likewise passed much of his time in " writing, 
 speaking and reading Italian,"^ and Robert Dalling- 
 ton, who placed the learning of languages among the 
 great advantages to be derived, advised the traveller 
 who did not care to settle in Florence to try either 
 Prato or Siena, where the speech was as good and the 
 expense far less.^ Of all methods employed in study- 
 ing the language, conversation was considered the 
 best ; the traveller was bidden to converse with all 
 classes of people. With his master he ought to read 
 preferably some modern comedy, and he should also" 
 attend lectures on the grammar of the language. 
 " Privately he may for his pleasure read poetry, espe- 
 cially if at his return he mean to court it ; but for 
 his profit, if he be a man of means and likely here- 
 after to bear charge in his country, or if a man of 
 endeavors and wiUing to prefer himself by service, I 
 wish him to history." ^ 
 
 Rome was the principal place to be avoided on the 
 journey. " Let them beware of Rome," wrote Thomas 
 Palmer.* Dallington likewise advised against going 
 there because of its being the seminary of English 
 fugitives. He also warned his traveller of the Jesuits ; 
 " these men I would have my traveller never hear except 
 in the pulpit, for, being eloquent, they speak excellent 
 language." This was not the case with members of 
 
 1 Add. Mss., Brit. Mus., 4122, f. 43. 
 
 2 Method for Travel. ^ Ibid. * op. cit., p. 44. 
 
132 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Other orders, who were often of use in improving one's 
 knowledge of the language, and frequently proved to 
 be pleasant companions. One last warning was to be 
 careful not to carry books prohibited by the Inquisi- 
 tion, as they were likely to cause trouble when trunks 
 were examined, which was done in every city. 
 
 The traveller was advised to follow the custom of the 
 country as far as possible ; whoever lived after his own 
 fashion, it was said, made a laughing-stock of himself, 
 and never improved his own barbarous manners.^ 
 " Nowhere more than in Italy do the three golden 
 rules of Fi'ons aperta, Lingua parca, Mens clausa, hold 
 good. Be friendly to all, familiar to a few, and speak 
 but seldom. In countenance be as courteous as you 
 can ... in talk as affable as you shall see cause ; but 
 keep your mind secret unto yourself, till you come to 
 those whose hearts are as yours." ^ 
 
 Last of all advice was given regarding the amount of 
 money needed by the traveller. A hundred and fifty 
 pounds was considered by many to be ample for a 
 year's travel ; two hundred " were superfluous, and to 
 his hurt." ^ Yet Edward Smyth, the tutor and com- 
 panion of Francis Davison, in writing to the latter's 
 father, the secretary of state, said that two hundred 
 pounds would hardly suffice them, although he had 
 never before endured so much hardship to save money. 
 " I have hitherto gone to the market, and as frugally 
 as I could, made our provision of all our necessaries ; 
 
 ^ Turler, p. 21. ^ Direction for Travailers. 
 
 ^ Dallington, Method for Travel. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 33 
 
 and albeit we have not at any time more than one 
 dish, and that not very costly neither, yet, with the 
 rent of our chamber, our weekly expenses amount very 
 nearly to forty shillings, besides apparel, books, and 
 many other trifling charges which I see cannot be 
 avoided, especially so long as we are in these parts, 
 where in truth such are not fit to remain as cannot 
 eat oil, roots, salad, cheese and such like cheap dishes, 
 which Mr. Francis can in no wise digest, and any good 
 thing else whatsoever is at very great rate ; we are nec- 
 essarily compelled to spend the more, and yet not so 
 much as other gentlemen of our nation in this town do 
 make show of." ^ The traveller was advised to carry 
 his money in four bills of exchange, " with letters of 
 advice, to be paid him quarterly." Regarding the 
 ordinary rates of expense, they would be about as fol- 
 lows : ten gold crowns a month for his own board and 
 lodging, eight at the most for his man, two crowns a 
 month for his fencing, and the like amount for his 
 dancing and reading ; his riding would cost him fif- 
 teen crowns monthly, but he was to discontinue it 
 during the heat of the year. The remainder of the 
 money was to be given up to " apparel, books, trav- 
 elling charges, tennis play, and other extraordinary 
 expenses." ^ 
 
 The travelling itself was done almost entirely on 
 horseback ; occasionally the litter was employed,^ but 
 it was unusual for men in good health to use it. Travel, 
 
 1 Davison, Works, p. vii, and Had. Ms., 296, f. 114. 
 
 2 Dallington, Method for Travel. 3 cf. Hoby, Ms. cit., f. 28. 
 
134 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 where possible, was often by water rather than by land, 
 and there can be little doubt that many of the poorer 
 Englishmen who visited Italy in the sixteenth century 
 went there by sea; to give a single instance, one 
 Nicholas Fluto, in his anxiety to see the country, em- 
 barked on a ship at Dartmouth, without passage- 
 money; the condition being that if he deserved his 
 food and drink by his labor, he should have it free ; 
 otherwise his father was to pay for it.^ Travel then 
 was never altogether safe from the danger of bandits 
 and pirates. Hoby alluded to " the great corsair, Drag- 
 out Rais,"^ and spoke also of receiving an escort of 
 Spanish soldiers to protect him from the brigands, who 
 " did great damage to the inhabitants of the country." ^ 
 It was this presence of danger, as well as of personal 
 inconvenience in travelling, which perhaps delayed for 
 so long the appreciation of natural beauties. The 
 interest in scenery and landscape on the part of the 
 English travellers then in Italy was certainly not very 
 pronounced. They noticed the general situation of 
 each city, and at times made a few remarks on the 
 beauty of the locality, but their observations on nature 
 fell behind their other comments ; the real attraction 
 they found in Italy lay in other directions. 
 
 The great common bond which united each traveller 
 in Italy was his love of antiquity. Classical training 
 played so large a part in the education of the 
 Renaissance that it seemed as if a realization of the 
 
 1 Hist. Ms. Com., Hatfield House, IV, 581. 
 
 2 Ms. cit., f. 79 b, 3 jjjid,^ f. 82. 
 
THE TRAVELLER I 35 
 
 ancient world, so to speak, could be seen in the 
 Roman ruins, which were then far more numerous 
 and in better preservation than at the present day. 
 Whatever else the influence of Italy may have stood 
 for, it was always classical. 
 
 The general attitude toward antiquity changed, how- 
 ever, with the progress of the century. Before the full 
 breath of the Renaissance made itself felt in England, 
 the interest taken in the ancient world had been very 
 slight ; Sir Richard Guylforde had barely mentioned the 
 supposed tombs of Antenor of Troy and Livy the histo- 
 rian, which were pointed out to him at Padua ; similarly, 
 Robert Dallington, in his description of Tuscany in 
 1596, said very little about ancient ruins. The furor for 
 antiquity had come, and had afterwards begun to decline 
 in its relative importance, an interest in contemporary 
 Italy having taken its place. It was rather about the 
 middle of the sixteenth century that the greatest zeal for 
 Roman remains existed. In both Hoby and Thomas, it 
 is apparent at every step. Hoby's diary, for instance, 
 is full of citations of classical interest ; thus, when at 
 Mantua he went on a pilgrimage to Virgil's birthplace, 
 in the village of Pietole, and mentioned that " upon 
 the hill there, there is a little brick house which the 
 inhabitants of the country call Casetta di Virgilio^ hold- 
 ing opinion that was his house." ^ Later, when at 
 Naples, he likewise noted " a little old house where 
 they say Virgil was buried," ^ and quoted from it the 
 well-known epitaph, — 
 
 1 Ms. cit., f. 17. 2 ibid,^ f. 52 b. 
 
136 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Mantua me genuit, Calabri rapuere, tenet nunc 
 Parthenope, Cecini pascua rura, duces. 
 
 The ancient world, however, impressed itself on Will- 
 iam Thomas in a quite different way. The sight of 
 the ruins of Rome brought out in him the Puritan and 
 morahst, no less than the classical scholar. 
 
 "When I came there and beheld the wonderful 
 majesty of buildings that the only roots thereof do yet 
 represent, the huge temples, the infinite great palaces, 
 the immeasurable pillars, most part of one piece, fine 
 marble and well wrought, the goodly arches of triumph, 
 the bains, the conduits of water, the images as well of 
 brass as of marble, the obelisks, and a number of 
 other like things not to be found again throughout an 
 whole world ; imagining withal, what majesty the city 
 might be of, when all these things flourished. Then 
 did it grieve me to see the only jewel mirror mistress 
 and beauty of this world that never had her like nor 
 (as I think) never shall, lie so desolate and dis- 
 figured. . . . Nevertheless when I remembered again 
 the occasions whereof these glorious things have grown, 
 what numbers of wars the Romans have maintained with 
 infinite blood shedding, destructions of whole coun- 
 tries, ravishments of chaste women, sack, spoil, trib- 
 utes, oppression of commonwealths, and a thousand 
 other tyrannies without the which the Romans could 
 never have achieved the perfection of so many 
 wonders as mine eye did there behold. Then per- 
 ceived I how just the judgment of God is, that hath 
 made those antiquities to remain as a foul spoil of the 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 37 
 
 Roman pride, and for a witness to the world's end of 
 their tyranny, so that I wot not, whether of these two 
 is greater, either the glory of that fame that the 
 Romans purchased with their wonderful conquests ; 
 or their present miserable estate with the deformity of 
 their antiquities." ^ 
 
 In addition, however, to his moralizing on the deca- 
 dence of the once great city, he described at length 
 the Roman antiquities. In his account of them he 
 wove a thread of mythical and historical anecdotes. 
 He remarked of the great temples which once stood 
 upon the Aventine, that nothing remained of them, not 
 so much as a fragment of the aqueduct of Claudius. 
 He made each of the seven hills tell its own story, 
 and doing so, discussed the theories regarding the 
 destruction of the great buildings of the ancient world. 
 Some ascribed it to the barbarians, others to time, and 
 still others to the stupid greed of the inhabitants 
 themselves, who cared only for " those noble antiqui- 
 ties to garnish and beautify private buildings." In 
 this manner he made the tour of pagan Rome, gain- 
 ing from Frontinus, Cassiodorus and Vitruvius his 
 insight into the life of the ancient world. He de- 
 scribed in detail the sights of the Eternal City ; the 
 Thermae and the Cohseum, the triumphal arches and 
 obelisks. His chief desire was to see " some of those 
 ancient Romans that with their naked majesty durst 
 pass through the power of their victorious enemies, 
 as Livy writeth that Caius Fabius did when the French- 
 
 1 Op. ciL, p. 22. 
 
138 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 men [Gauls] had gotten Rome and besieged the 
 Capital." 1 
 
 The ruins of Rome made a deep impression on the 
 visitor from the northern land ; Joachim du Bellay 
 had expressed their attraction in his sonnets, which 
 were later translated by Spenser ; their subtle charm 
 was further described by many other travellers. The 
 modern idea that the whole of Italy is one vast mu- 
 seum, was felt even then, though in a different sense. 
 To the reader of the Roman historians it was only 
 necessary to look around, to recall their pages, and 
 see before his eyes the truth of their descriptions. 
 Then " if he be not ravished with delight I shall take 
 him, but for some stock or stone. . . . What a pleas- 
 ure will it be to see the house where Pliny dwelt, the 
 country wherein the famous Virgil, or the renowned 
 Ovid was born." How delightful to behold so many 
 ancient monuments and stately churches ! " The 
 mind of man begins to revive, and lift up himself 
 above itself, and to affect and meditate on excellent 
 and noble things at the very sight and consideration of 
 these so great and glorious monuments of antiquity ; 
 neither can the remembrance of the valor, prowess 
 and virtue of former men and ages, but engender 
 brave and worthy thoughts in every gentle heart and 
 noble blood." ^ 
 
 The effect of the remains of antiquity upon the 
 traveller was thus supposed by some to elevate the 
 
 1 Op. cit., p. 32 b. 
 
 2 Direction for Travailers, 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 39 
 
 mind, by others to point out moral lessons. In each 
 individual it varied to a certain degree, but a com- 
 mon element of interest yet existed. At times, how- 
 ever, it was rather archaeological ; thus, for instance, 
 Jerome Turler, in his Traveller , alluded to the delight 
 in discovering relics of classical times, and mentioned 
 as an example the unearthing in the Via Appia of the 
 embalmed body of a woman supposed to have been 
 Cicero's daughter. The interest taken in Latin epig- 
 raphy and classical quotations was also great. Hoby, 
 in his diary, copied a considerable number of inscrip- 
 tions from the ancient ruins, likewise quoting freely 
 from Latin poets ; and William Barker, on his return 
 from Italy, even published a book of epitaphs he had 
 collected there.^ 
 
 IV 
 
 The interest taken in antiquity, if it did not yield 
 entirely to that found in contemporary Italy, was 
 obhged, nevertheless, to share its attraction with it. 
 The contemplation of an entirely new world, differing 
 in almost every respect from England, aroused the 
 Elizabethan imagination. The novelty of the situation 
 
 ^ Epitaphia et inscriptiones Lugubres a Gulielmo Berchero^ 
 cum in Italia ani??ii causa peregrinaretiir collccta. William 
 Barker, whom Hoby met at Siena in 1549 (Ms. cit., f. 25 b), 
 later became one of the secretaries to the Duke of Norfolk, 
 and was deeply implicated in his plot. He confessed his 
 share under torture, whereupon the duke, who had denied 
 everything, called him contemptuously an Itolianijied English- 
 man. 
 
140 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 impressed itself on the visitor, and in many cases he 
 described the smallest details as well as what was of 
 real importance. The characteristics of the Italians 
 were especially interesting to him ; to note their 
 traits and customs became, so to speak, an important 
 object of every traveller. 
 
 William Thomas, in spite of his Puritan leanings, 
 was a great admirer of the Italians and saw much to 
 praise in their character. He himself had found the 
 Italian gentlemen honorable, courteous and prudent, 
 so that it seemed as if each one had received a princely 
 training. They were, moreover, modest in dress, and 
 neat at table. But above all they were sober of speech, 
 enemies of slander, " and so tender over their own 
 good name (which they call their honor) that whoso- 
 ever speaketh ill of any one of them, shall die for it, if 
 the party slandered may know it, and find time and 
 place to do it. Whereof there is a use grown amongst 
 them, that few gentlemen go abroad unarmed." ^ He 
 and many others had, however, to censure the Italians 
 for their sensuality and other vices. It is interesting 
 to note that, as foreigners became more familiar with 
 Italy, the censure increased ; thus Turler noted that 
 the Italians, although grave and learned, were crafty and 
 jealous.^ Languet, too, had written Sidney that while 
 he could admire their keen wit, yet it was mostly on 
 the surface, and they generally spoiled their attain- 
 ments by undue display.^ Still later, travellers found 
 
 1 Op. cit, p. 4. 2 Turler, op. cit., p. 40 et seq. 
 
 3 Sidney and Languet, Correspondence, p. 12. 
 
THE TRAVELLER I4I 
 
 the Italians hypocritical, sensual and, worst of all, jeal- 
 ous to an absurd degree. They were called " invei- 
 gling underminers and deep dissemblers who when 
 they have pried into your nature and are privy to 
 your secrets will straight change their copy and show 
 themselves in their colors."^ The gravity and dignity 
 of Italians were, however, admired by all," even in after 
 years, when the common idea of their treachery and 
 sensuaHty had passed into a byword. 
 
 Regarding the division of classes in Italy, an observer 
 like Thomas was greatly impressed by the fact that 
 the leading merchants were for the most part gentle- 
 men. If there are three or four brothers, he wrote, 
 one or two of them go into a trade ; ^ and in case 
 they do not divide their father's patrimony, then the 
 merchants work as well for their brothers' benefit as 
 for their own. And inasmuch as their reputation 
 does not suffer by reason of their trade, it follows that 
 there are more wealthy men in Italy than in any other 
 country, and there was nothing remarkable to find, in a 
 single city, twenty people worth one hundred thou- 
 sand crowns or more. Thomas admired the Italian 
 artificers " as being the finest and most inventive work- 
 men of all others ; " although they often acquired great 
 wealth, they rarely rose in the social scale. The 
 peasants, on the other hand, he found were every- 
 
 ^ Direction for Travailers. 
 
 2 Even Dallington in his Method for Travel alludes to it; cf. 
 Sandys, Spectihnn Europce, etc. 
 
 3 Op. cit., p. 5. 
 
142 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 where oppressed, often not having enough to buy 
 bread with. All wealthy people and gentlemen lived 
 in the towns, renting their farms and pastures ; but 
 they had country houses, where they went in the 
 heat of the summer, and there " under the fresh 
 arbors, hedges, and boughs, amongst the delicate 
 fruits, they triumph in as much pleasure as may be 
 imagined . . . with some instrument of music and 
 such other things as serve for his recreation. And if 
 ever the tenant have good day, then licketh he his lips 
 of his master's leavings." ^ 
 
 This contrast between the luxury and poverty of 
 Italy greatly impressed Englishmen still unused to 
 such extremes. Wealth in Italy was so unevenly 
 divided that, while the rich people were the richest 
 anywhere, the poor were likewise the poorest.^ Dalling- 
 ton remarked, when at Prato, that one-quarter of the 
 population were bare-legged, so " that we know all is 
 not gold in Italy, though many travellers, gazing only 
 on the beauty of their cities, and the painted surface 
 of their houses, think it the only Paradise of Europe. 
 But if they would come with me — 
 
 Sordida rura 
 Atque humiles intrare casas, et visere gentem — 
 
 they would surely grant that poverty and famine had not 
 a greater kingdom." ^ On the other hand, fifty years 
 earher, Thomas was struck by the luxury of the Milan- 
 
 ^ Op. cit, p. 6. 2 Sandys, op. cit. 
 
 ^ Dallington, Ttiscaiiy, p. i6. 
 
THE TRAVELLER I 43 
 
 ese ; " there is almost no craftsman's wife in Milan, 
 that hath not her gown of silk and her chain of gold ; " ^ 
 Hoby was similarly impressed by the magnificence he 
 saw around him in the Italian cities. 
 
 The characteristic traits of the inhabitants of the dif- 
 ferent cities of Italy were likewise noticed, and also the 
 uniformity of speech on the part of the better classes 
 who " are brought up in the courtesan [language] 
 only ; " although between Florentines and Vene- 
 tians there is as great a difference " as with us be- 
 tween a Londoner and a Yorkshireman." ^ Venice in 
 particular aroused the admiration of all, and even 
 Languet excepted its citizens from his almost univer- 
 sal condemnation of the country. What observers 
 particularly admired was that "unweaponed men in 
 gowns should with such happiness of success give 
 direction and law to many mighty and warlike armies 
 both by sea and land, and that a single city unwalled 
 and alone should command and overtop mighty king- 
 doms . . . sued unto for entertainment by the greatest 
 princes and peers of Italy ; amidst which infinite afflu- 
 ence of glory, and unmeasurable mightiness of power, 
 of which there are in sovereignty partakers above three 
 thousand gentlemen, yet is there not one among them 
 to be found that doth aspire to any greater appellation 
 of honor, or higher title of dignity than to be called 
 ' A gentleman of Venice.' " ^ These lines were written 
 at a time when all else in Italy was in decay ; but a 
 half century before, when the contrast was not so sharp, 
 
 1 Op. cit, p. 188. 2 jiijd., p. 3. 8 Lewkenor, Vetiice, preface. 
 
144 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Thomas remarked that if the Venetians had been men 
 as were the Romans, and given as much to deeds on 
 land as on water, " they might many years ago have 
 subdued the world." As it was, their power had 
 declined ever since the taking of Constantinople, and 
 " they rather practise with money to buy and sell 
 countries peace and war than to exercise deeds of 
 arms ; . . . most Venetians are at these days become 
 better merchants than men of war." ^ 
 
 Thomas, in his account of the private life of the 
 Venetians, in spite of their alleged faults of sensuaUty, 
 avarice and pride, observed many good qualities as 
 well. He had met both old and young men who were 
 all they ought to be. He tried to give both sides of 
 their character, and allowed an imaginary Venetian to 
 defend himself against his accusers ; to justify his pride, 
 because he was " a prince, and no subject," his fru- 
 gality, since the state allowed no pomp or display, and 
 his lending money to the commonwealth because it 
 was of advantage to both parties.^ One other custom 
 he noticed was the excessive liberty given to children. 
 " One is no sooner out of the shell but he is hail fellow 
 with father and friend."^ Altogether, in spite of the 
 faults alleged against them, one cannot but be im- 
 pressed by the greater breadth of view of the Vene- 
 tians over the other Italians of the late sixteenth 
 century. The English traveller could not, however, 
 foresee that a far greater colonial empire than the 
 
 1 Op. cit., p. 75. 2 Ibid., p. 84 et seq. 
 
 3 Ibid., p. 84. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 45 
 
 one slipping from the Venetians' grasp would one day 
 be the heritage of his own descendants, and that its 
 possession would bring with it many of the qualities and 
 faults he had noted as especially belonging to Venice. 
 
 The ordinary impression made by the Florentines was 
 one of talkativeness and a great desire to appear elo- 
 quent. Thomas observed that " he is not reputed 
 a man among them that cannot play the orator in his 
 tale, as well in gesture as in word." ^ Dallington, fifty 
 years later, wrote that although he had heard much of 
 the great wit of the Florentines he was unable to find it 
 himself, whatever Machiavelli might say about it ; the 
 Florentine was good enough for conversation on frivo- 
 lous subjects, but for nothing deeper. And this, though 
 they " do all things alia mostra and speak always alia 
 grande, witness their great houses, and small furniture 
 of the one, their great words and small matter."^ 
 Everything was done for show, — even their duels, 
 where each party was well armed under his garments. 
 He himself had seen " two gallants in Pisa fight thus 
 completely provided where after a very furious en- 
 counter, and a most merciless shredding and slashing 
 of their apparel, with a most desperate resolution to 
 cut one another out of his clothes, they were (to the 
 saving of many a stitch) parted and by mediation with 
 much ado made friends."^ 
 
 To follow the English traveller through the cities of 
 Italy would be a study in itself. Each place excited 
 
 1 Op. cit., p. 139. 2 Dallington, Tuscany, p. 61. 
 
 « Ibid., p. 65. 
 
146 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 some comment on his part. Thus at Siena, Hoby no- 
 ticed the hospitality of every one/ while at Naples, 
 Thomas remarked the pohteness of the people, but 
 qualified it by saying that they could not be trusted. 
 In Genoa he was especially struck by the amorous 
 qualities of its inhabitants, who could indeed teach 
 Ovid "a dozen points ... so that in mine opinion 
 the supreme court of love is nowhere to be found out 
 of Genoa." 2 
 
 Although the EngHsh traveller in Italy no longer 
 went there purely to study, he was still interested in 
 culture ; while at Padua, for instance, Hoby alluded 
 to the great professors of classics, and mentioned later 
 that he passed the birthplace of " the famous clerk in 
 letters of humanity, Lazarus Bonamicus, stipended 
 reader in the schools of Padua." ^ The learning of 
 the Italian women was also noticed,^ especially that 
 of the Sienese who " wrote excellently well both in 
 prose and verse." ^ What made a deep impression, how- 
 ever, was the Florentine Academy, of which Thomas 
 wrote probably the first English account, all the more 
 interesting in view of the Areopagus of Sidney, and 
 of Bolton's idea of a similar institution which was 
 never to take root in England. The Academy seemed 
 to Thomas one of the most interesting of all the sights 
 he had seen. He described how the learned Floren- 
 tines met there, the duke being of their number. The 
 
 1 Ms. cit., f. 24 b. •* Turler, op. cit., p. 43. 
 
 2 Thomas, op. at., p. 162. ^ Hoby, Ms. cit., f. 24 b. 
 8 Ms. cit., f. 93. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 47 
 
 one to whom the task had been assigned beforehand 
 would ascend the tribune and dehver an oration, last- 
 ing an hour, on any subject of his choice, the orator of 
 the occasion being seated higher than the duke himself. 
 Thomas confessed to never having heard "reader in 
 school nor preacher in pulpit handle themselves 
 better." ^ Later on, Dallington presented the other 
 side of the picture. In former days, he wrote, the 
 Florentines may well have had wit, but Hke spend- 
 thrifts they had run through the fortune that was left 
 them ; if Machiavelli were still ahve and could see 
 those wont to rule a state pay toll for a few lettuce 
 brought from their villa, " he would unsay that which 
 he had formerly said, and swear they had no wit." 
 
 V 
 
 Architecture was then the only art really noticed by 
 English travellers, perhaps because of its learned side. 
 Thomas devoted considerable attention to it, and, 
 following Vitruvius, he explained at some length the 
 different classic orders and styles, probably for the first 
 time in Enghsh. The ruins of antiquity were likewise 
 often regarded from the point of view of their own 
 intrinsic beauty. Frequently, too, the churches im- 
 pressed the traveller. St. Peter's was briefly described 
 by Thomas, who admired the grandeur of its dimen- 
 sions, but said that most people were in doubt as to 
 whether it would ever be finished.^ 
 
 The great palaces of the Renaissance were also 
 
 1 Op. cit., p. 139. 2 /^/^.^ p. 40. 
 
148 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 objects of the traveller's admiration. Thomas re- 
 marked of Venice that no place in all Europe was able 
 to compare with it in number of sumptuous houses, 
 and that there were over two hundred palaces there, 
 all able to lodge any king.^ In Rome, too, he thought 
 the Palazzo Farnese one of the grandest buildings in 
 the world, and admired beyond measure the Belve- 
 dere, with the fountains and orange trees around it, 
 which made it look like another paradise. 
 
 The aesthetic appreciation of the Englishman in 
 the sixteenth century may be judged from the fact 
 that the only statues observed by him were antiques. 
 Classical education had not yet deigned to notice con- 
 temporary sculpture ; Hoby almost alone admired a 
 marble fountain representing the story of Actaeon by 
 Giovan Angelo [Montorsoli] at Messina, " which to my 
 eyes is one of the fairest works of marble that ever I 
 saw." ^ But he passed the bronze gates of the Bap- 
 tistery in Florence without a remark of any kind. On 
 the other hand, such works as the marble horses on 
 the Monte Cavallo in Rome, supposed to have been by 
 Phidias and Praxiteles, were mentioned by nearly every 
 traveller. The statues of the Belvedere were also de- 
 scribed by Thomas, who spoke of " the images of fine 
 marble, of Romulus and Remus playing with a wolf's 
 teats, of Apollo with his bow and arrows, of Laocoon 
 with his two children wrapped about with serpents, of 
 Venus beholding httle Cupido, of the sorrowful Cleo- 
 patra [Ariadne] lying by the river side, and divers 
 
 1 Turler, op. cit., p. 74. ^ ]y[s. cit., f. 69 b. 
 
S^/r:^ ^<r/^i>v,^ .c>^-^^e^^ 
 
 l:^:4r^yW(}yi^ ^C^ ■ ■''^'''4 
 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 49 
 
 Others too long to rehearse."^ He noticed, also, the 
 numerous headless statues he saw everywhere, which 
 he ascribed to the zeal of collectors who cut off the 
 heads to transport them home. Even the most culti- 
 vated Englishmen of the time were unable to appreciate 
 the greatest of the Italian arts. At a time when painting 
 had barely passed its zenith, Hoby and Thomas passed 
 through Italy without even noticing its existence, and 
 quite insensible to its charms. A little later, Sidney al- 
 luded, in a letter to his brother, to the Italian superiority 
 in painting ; and he himself, it will be remembered, un- 
 decided at first whether to have his portrait painted by 
 Tintoretto or Veronese, finally chose the latter. It was 
 not, however, until toward the very end of the century 
 that any appreciation of the Italian fine arts could be 
 found in England. Lomazzo's treatise was then first 
 translated, and Constable alluded in a sonnet to Michel- 
 angelo "the archpainter," and to Raphael's great skill.^ 
 Dallington likewise, who had previously praised 
 Michelangelo as an " excellent painter," wrote that 
 Italy generally excelled in that art as well as in poetry ; 
 " and no marvel, when all their time is spent in amours, 
 and all their churches decked with colors." " 
 
 One of the great causes which led Englishmen to 
 travel in Italy was the supposed preparation it gave 
 for court life. To see as much as possible of this was 
 the object of most travellers. What particularly im- 
 pressed them, however, was the luxury of the great 
 
 1 Op. cit., p. 40. 2 Sonnet to Mr. Hilliard. 
 
 3 Dallington, Tuscany^ p. 62. 
 
150 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 houses, while the Italian festivities and pageants were 
 noticed by all. The former, especially, greatly struck 
 Hoby, who wrote that when he stopped with the 
 Marquis of Capistrano at Amalfi, he slept in " a chamber 
 hanged with cloth of gold and velvet," while on the 
 bed was silver work, and even the bolsters were of 
 velvet.^ Thomas had been similarly impressed with 
 the luxury in other parts of Italy. The pageants and 
 great spectacles were likewise sights to be seen by 
 travellers. Perhaps the earliest existing record of 
 these by any Englishman in Italy, was a letter written 
 in 1458 by John Free, while a student at Ferrara, to 
 his protector, WiUiam Grey, describing the celebrations, 
 lasting four days, intended to celebrate the elevation of 
 ^neas Sylvius to the papacy. A Virgihan song com- 
 posed by the prince himself was sung and the feitx de 
 joie were lit in the evening. Youths and maidens 
 sang through the whole night, and the rejoicings turned 
 almost into frenzy as the populace rushed madly from 
 one end of the town to the other to the ringing 
 sound of trumpets. On the next day every one turned 
 out to see the horse races and athletic games. Free 
 described all this with the enthusiasm of the young 
 student, who saw before him the realization of a 
 world he had dreamed of.^ 
 
 Other spectacles of similar nature were mentioned 
 by later travellers : the ceremony of the Bucentaur, 
 when the Doge went out to wed the Adriatic, was 
 written of both by Torkington and Hoby. One last 
 
 1 Ms. cit., f. 82 b, 2 Ms. Bod., 587, f. 161. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 151 
 
 description may be mentioned. The procession of 
 Pope Paul the Third, on Christmas day, 1547, was nar- 
 rated at length by William Thomas, who allowed all his 
 Puritanism to appear in the account he gave. " O 
 what a world it is to see the pride and abomination 
 that the churchmen there maintain. What is a king? 
 What is an emperor in his majesty? Anything like to 
 the Roman bishop ? No, surely, nor would I not wish 
 them so to be." He described the salvo of cannon 
 which greeted the cardinals as they crossed St. Angelo's 
 bridge, and the guard of Switzers, all in white harness, 
 marching out to meet them. " There was no cardinal 
 that came without a great train of gentlemen and 
 prelates, well horsed and appointed ; some had forty, 
 some fifty, and some sixty or mo[re]. And next, before 
 every of them, rode two henchmen, the one carrying 
 a cushion and a rich cloth and the other a pillar of 
 silver, and the cardinals themselves appareled in robes 
 of crimson chamlet, with red hats on their heads, rode 
 on mules." 
 
 When they were all within the palace, the " bishop " 
 (for Thomas never wrote of him as Pope) appeared 
 with his " triple-crowned mitre and shoes of crimson 
 velvet set with precious stones and all his other pon- 
 tifical apparel." Then the prelates and officers passed 
 before him " which are such a number as were able to 
 make the muster of a battail, if they were well-ordered 
 in the field. Dataries, Treasurers, Clerks of the Cham- 
 ber, Penitentiaries, Prebendaries, Notaries, Protono- 
 taries, and a thousand more, each order of them in 
 
152 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 his diverse devise of parliamentary robes, all in scar- 
 let, and for the most part finely furred. Then came 
 the double cross, the sword and the imperial hat, and 
 after that the cardinals by two and two, and between 
 every two a great rout of gentlemen. Then came the 
 ambassadors, and next them the bishop himself bless- 
 ing all the way, and carried in his chaise by eight men 
 clothed in scarlet j and on either side of him went his 
 guard making room and crying, Abasso abasso, 
 for they that will not kneel shall be made kneel by 
 force." And the Pope, having been carried into a 
 chapel behind the altar, on " a throne of wonderful 
 majesty was set up as a god." ^ 
 
 Turning from the personal reminiscences of the 
 traveller to the interest he took in matters which might 
 later be of use to him in public life, besides the gen- 
 eral descriptions of the country, there was also a con- 
 siderable amount of historical and similar information. 
 The first, in the case of Thomas, was usually compiled 
 from the best authorities available, as he wrote in ex- 
 planation of his own method : " Conferring the dis- 
 course of divers authors together, touching the Floren- 
 tine histories and finding the effects of them all gathered 
 in one by Nicholas Machiavegli, a notable learned 
 man, and secretary of late days to the commonwealth 
 there, I determined to take him for mine only author in 
 that behalf." ^ In like manner, other historical accounts 
 were given by him of the cities of Italy, for the purpose 
 of teaching the Enghsh how from 'kittle beginnings 
 
 1 Op. cit., p. 37 et seq. ^ Ibid.^ p. 140. 
 
THE TRAVELLER 1 53 
 
 many great estates have arisen, and how they that have 
 the power to rule, by using their authorities well and 
 prudently, have merited immortal fame of honor and 
 prize." ^ It was, however, not so much the historical 
 portions which were of interest as those treating of the 
 government, the laws and regulations of each state. 
 In these were put in practice, so to speak, the advice 
 given in the theories of travel. The methods of raising 
 the revenue and the powers and duties of each office 
 were all described. Thus, in Venice it was said of the 
 Doge that " though in appearance he seemeth of great 
 estate, yet in very deed his power is but small. . . . 
 some of the Venetians themselves call him an honor- 
 able slave." - The privileges and duties of every office 
 were discussed in this way. The great council was 
 compared to the English Parliament, since matters 
 of importance were submitted to it and its judgment 
 was final on all subjects. In a similar manner the other 
 institutions of the state were considered. The liberty 
 enjoyed by strangers was greatly admired in Venice. 
 " All men have so much liberty that they can say what 
 they like about the Venetians so long as they attempt 
 nothing." No man marks another's doings or med- 
 dles with his affairs. " If thou be a papist, then shalt 
 thou want no kind of superstition to feed upon. If 
 thou be a gospeller, no man shall ask why thou comest 
 not to church. If thou be a Jew or a Turk, or believ- 
 est in the devil (so thou spread not thy opinions 
 abroad) thou art free from all controlment . . . and 
 1 Op, cit., p. I. 2 jiji^^^ p. 77, 
 
154 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 generally of all other things, so thou offend no man 
 privately no man shall offend thee ; which undoubt- 
 edly is one principal cause that draweth so many 
 strangers thither." ^ In a similar spirit, the institu- 
 tions of the other states were discussed. But they 
 offered few lessons to the English student of govern- 
 ment. Italy had without a doubt degenerated from its 
 former condition. Sidney's and Languet's letters are 
 full of expressions of disgust at the servility found there. 
 Thomas long before had noted that the Romans, in 
 spite of the recollections of their former liberty, were 
 held in such subjection by the Pope that they dared 
 not stir.^ Last of all, DalHngton spoke of the discon- 
 tent of the Tuscans, who found the yoke lie heavy on 
 their backs, and ended his book with the two-edged 
 saying, Qui sub Medicis vivit, misei-e vivit. 
 
 1 Op. ciL, p. 85. ^ Ibid., p. 37. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE ITALIAN DANGER | 
 
 I 
 
 A NEW era dawned in England with Elizabeth's 
 accession to the throne. The long preparation of pre- 
 vious years was to bear its fruit during her reign, and 
 amid the dangers which then threatened the nation, a 
 generous enthusiasm swept over England, and made 
 of those years an heroic period in its history. One of 
 the main reasons, perhaps, of the greatness of the 
 Elizabethan Age, lay in the growth of national con- 
 sciousness. Kindred feelings and sentiments were in- 
 fused into every class, while a new social structure was 
 replacing the old distinctions of mediaeval feudalism. 
 The period was also characterized by the wide diifusion 
 of Italian culture, and its spread from the powerful but 
 necessarily narrow court circle to the educated middle 
 classes. With the progress of the age, travel abroad, 
 which meant especially Italy, became even more com- 
 mon, until it was regarded as a necessary complement 
 to the education of a gentleman ; while in England, 
 during this time, the Italian language was taught and 
 Italian fashions extensively copied. A reaction, how- 
 ever, set in. The growth of Puritanism encouraged 
 
 155 
 
156 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 novelists to attack the " Circean Charms " of Italy and 
 point out their pitfalls and perils. The "Itahanate 
 
 I Englishman/' as he was then known, became alike an 
 
 t object of satire and reproach. 
 
 The reaction against Italy was not altogether unex- 
 
 \ pected. There had always existed in England a dis- 
 like for anything foreign, noticed by all the early 
 travellers. Italians had questioned WiUiam Thomas 
 regarding the English incivility to strangers, and he re- 
 plied that it was then a thing of the past,^ yet Petruccio 
 Ubaldini, writing later, thought it inadvisable for stran- 
 gers to travel in England without a royal pass, as the 
 inhabitants would find out how their own compatriots 
 had been treated in the stranger's country, and if 
 badly, the traveller would not be very secure.^ Florio 
 likewise complained that the masses were very dis- 
 courteous toward strangers.^ This hatred of everything 
 foreign, existing in the minds of all untravelled Eng- 
 lishmen and running counter to the excessive imita- 
 tion of Italian fashions, stirred up a feeling which 
 found its outlet in the invectives launched against 
 Italy and the " Italianate Englishman." The cry was 
 joined in by others who, having been in Italy them- 
 selves, had been shocked by its open wickedness. 
 Satirists, eager for new sensations, scholars and states- 
 men, pamphleteers and moralists all joined hands in 
 condemning what had been the fashion of the age. 
 Florio in vain attempted feebly to defend the Italians, 
 
 ^ Pilgrim, p. 6. ^ Ms. cit., f. 230 <?/ seg. 
 
 3 First Fruites, ch. 13. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER 1 5/ 
 
 urging that great virtues flourished in Italy side by 
 side with vice.^ His was almost the only note raised 
 in defence ; all else was invective and condemnation. 
 It must be said that there was justification for much 
 of the anti-Italian feehng which then sprang up. Even 
 Erasmus in his day had complained that many of the 
 scholars who went to Italy in search of learning re- 
 turned with a knowledge of evil practices they had 
 acquired there." As travel became more and more of 
 an amusement, and as its educational value, while per- 
 haps not entirely lost sight of, was yet shghted, it was 
 pleasure alone which many travellers sought for 
 abroad, where remoteness from criticism gave license 
 to their desires. Temptations lay before them in Italy, 
 which, even if found in England, were there, at least, 
 kept within strict limits. The richness of Italian life 
 had not departed in a day, and long after the down- 
 fall of its liberties in the very midst of political servi- 
 tude faint glimmers of former splendor remained in 
 its celebrations and festivals. Too often the young 
 Englishman, travelling there for the experience which 
 was to fit him for the service of his prince and state, 
 saw little beyond vice of every kind. In many cases 
 he was himself fresh from the university, for the first 
 time, perhaps, his own master, with abundant money 
 at his command ; and around him he found those 
 willing to pander to him in all ways, and in case his 
 conscience revolted, to ease his qualms with the sophis- 
 try of v/hich they were masters. It was not so much 
 
 1 Second Fruites, Introd. ^ Epist., CCCLXIII. 
 
158 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 that vice was more widely spread in Italy than be- 
 fore, but rather that the counterbalancing virtues had 
 departed, and it alone remained. Liberty, crushed 
 in Italy, left sensuality and treachery. Former virtues 
 might still remain, but they were beneath the surface. 
 The ordinary English traveller in Italian cities saw 
 only their worst side, often caring for no other. As 
 Ascham expressed it, he witnessed greater freedom to 
 sin in his nine days' stay in Venice than he had ever 
 heard of in nine years in London. 
 
 There can be no doubt that Italy had degenerated 
 from its former condition. The country which had 
 been the foster-mother of all Europe was at length 
 exhausted. Even among Italians this decay was no- 
 ticeable. They deplored the past greatness of their 
 land; superfluous titles had alone increased; the 
 day for deeds had gone by.^ Italy, however, still 
 traded on its past fame, when first in Europe it had 
 discovered the ancient world. But its fate had been 
 sealed from the day when Rome was sacked and 
 pillaged, and the last stand for liberty had been made 
 on the walls of Florence. Venice might still continue 
 in apparent magnificence to be queen of the Adriatic, 
 but even her hfe-blood had been sapped. The living 
 glory of Italy was soon to leave it. In the influence 
 of its teachings beyond the Alps, rather than in its own 
 deeds, its greatness was mainly to continue. 
 
 Foreign observers likewise commented on the degen- 
 eracy of Italy ; some said that the long years of servi- 
 
 1 Delia Casa, Galateo, p. 42. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER 1 59 
 
 tude had subdued the minds of ItaUans, who were 
 ready to endure all kinds of indignities.^ Edwin 
 Sandys thought their national faults to be sensuality, 
 malice and deceit. In spite of his having met good 
 men in Italy, he wrote, nevertheless, that " the whole 
 country is strongly overflown with wickedness." - 
 There can be little cause for surprise that moralists, 
 when they saw the best youth of England returning 
 from Italian travel, aping ridiculous customs and fash- 
 ions and outwardly advocating immoraHty and atheism, 
 should have preached against the foreign influence. 
 " Our countrymen usually bring three things with 
 them out of Italy, a naughty conscience, an empty 
 purse, and a weak stomach."^ The movement was 
 fostered by the growth of Puritanism, which looked 
 with suspicion on anything hailing from a Catholic 
 nation. At a time when the conflict arising from 
 the Reformation was still in its most deadly phase, 
 Italy, which to many Englishmen seemed the enemies' 
 country, was to be rigidly avoided in spite of its attrac- 
 tions. News of Englishmen imprisoned by the Inquisi- 
 tion was extensively circulated to frighten others away ; 
 the fanatic Richard Atkins, who attempted to convert 
 the Pope, was made into a martyr and a hero. Trav- 
 ellers were especially warned against Jesuits, who would 
 make of men "bad Christians and worse subjects."^ 
 On account of these dangers, Rome was not considered 
 a safe place to visit. Sidney, at Languet's request, 
 
 1 Languet, EpisL, XXXIII. 3 Turler, op. cit. 
 
 ^ Speculum Europa. * Dallington, Method of Travel. 
 
l60 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 refrained from going there, much as he would have 
 hked to have done so. Others similarly recommended 
 their readers to keep away from Rome, which was per- 
 ilous both to conscience and conduct.^ The whole of 
 Italy was considered scarcely less dangerous. " I am 
 convinced that this baneful Italy would so contaminate 
 the very Turks, would so ensnare them with all its vile 
 allurements, that they would soon fall down of them- 
 selves from their high place," Sidney wrote in a letter 
 from Venice.^ For similar reasons Lord Burleigh, in 
 giving advice to his son Robert Cecil, urged him never 
 to allow his sons to cross the Alps " for they shall learn 
 nothing there but pride, blasphemy and atheism." ^ 
 
 Those supposedly best qualified to judge, who had 
 written of travels in foreign countries, warned their 
 compatriots of the physical as well as moral perils they 
 would have to encounter. " O Italy academy of man- 
 slaughter, the sporting place of murder, the apothecary 
 shop of all nations ! How many kinds of weapons has 
 thou invented for malice ! " * George Gascoigne, in his 
 lines to a friend about to travel in Italy, advised 
 him to beware of poison when invited to dinners, 
 never to drink before another had tasted the beverage, 
 to be on the lookout for poisoned soap, and take 
 care lest the tailor stuff his doublet with what might 
 bring on a deadly sweat.^ The Italian art of poisoning 
 
 1 Marlianus, preface. Dallington, Method for Travel. 
 
 2 Letters, p. 48. ^ Cited in Zouch, Life of Sidney, p. 373. 
 * Nash, Piers Penniless, p. 2>^. 
 
 ^ Hundred Sundry Flowers. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER l6l 
 
 impressed itself especially on the Elizabethan imagina- 
 tion and furnished endless material to the dramatists. 
 
 Dangers of different kinds were thus alleged against 
 the insidious influences of Italy. Travellers thence 
 ''bring home nothing but mere atheism, infidehty, 
 vicious conversation," and returned to England far 
 worse than they came.^ Just as the young Athenian 
 who, going to Corinth to hear the eloquence of Demos- 
 thenes, was seduced by the beauty of Lais, so the young 
 Englishman who travelled to learn a strange language 
 was "in short time transformed into so monstrous a 
 shape, that he is fain to alter his mansion with his 
 manners." ^ The zealous Protestant, after having been 
 in Italy, would proclaim that faith and truth were to be 
 kept only where there was no loss, and forgiveness 
 should not be shown until full revenge had been 
 exacted. Another would say on his return, that he 
 was a fool who took account of any religion, but an 
 even greater fool if he lost any of his wealth thereby ; 
 and if he were willing to give up his life for it, he must 
 be stark mad. Still a third said he cared not for God, 
 so long as he had the prince and the country's laws 
 on his side.^ It was said of the " Itahanate English- 
 man " that he held in greater reverence the Triui7iphs 
 of Petrarch than the book of Genesis, and preferred a 
 tale of Boccaccio to a story in the Bible. The mys- 
 teries of religion he considered to be fables, and made 
 
 1 Harrison, England, p. 129 et seq. 
 
 2 F. Meres, Palladis Tamia, p. 237. 
 * Harrison, loc. cit. 
 
 M 
 
1 62 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 " Christ and his Gospels only serve civil policy." If 
 it suited his purpose, he would openly promote rehgion, 
 and again scoff at it in private. He cared neither for 
 scripture nor church, and when in the company of 
 those who thought like him, he would mock the Pope 
 and rail at Luther, explaining all the mysteries of 
 rehgion with a half- verse of Horace, Credat Judceus 
 Apella. An epicure in living, an atheist in doctrine, the 
 only heaven he desired was that of his own pleasure.^ 
 In Italy itself the Inglese Italianato e tm Diavolo 
 Incarnato passed as a byword. 
 
 The Italianate Englishman was to be described, 
 even more plainly, as one who, after living and travel- 
 ling in Italy, brought back with him to England " the 
 religion, the learning, the policy, the experience, the 
 manners of Italy. . . . These be the enchantments 
 of Circe brought out of Italia to mar men's manners 
 in England, and which ' Our Italians ' returned with." ^ 
 A young man thus brought up, said Ascham, contemn- 
 ing all rehgion and honest living, would come back to 
 England but ill taught to be either an honest man or 
 a good subject of his prince or his God. 
 
 It was scarcely to be wondered at, that educators 
 and moralists looked with alarm on the effects of 
 Italian travel on Englishmen. Roger Ascham, meet- 
 ing Sir Richard Sackville in the queen's privy chamber 
 at Windsor, had been asked his opinion regarding 
 the desire of so many Englishmen to travel abroad, 
 and especially to spend a long time in Italy. In 
 
 1 Ascham, Scholeniaster, p. 71 et seq. ^ Ibid. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER 1 63 
 
 his reply he stated that he did not underrate the 
 value of experiences acquired in foreign countries, 
 nor disparage the Italian language which, after Latin 
 and Greek, he loved above all other foreign tongues, 
 nor did he bear personal maUce toward Italy. For- 
 merly it had been of the greatest benefit to the 
 world at large, and had brought forth the worthiest 
 men in all activities of public life. Times, however, 
 had changed, and between the new and the old there 
 was as great difference as between black and white. 
 Virtue had once made Italy mistress of the world. 
 Vice now compelled her to be a slave to all other 
 nations, and made its inhabitants willing to bear the 
 stranger's yoke. It was no longer the place where a 
 man could learn either wisdom or proper conduct.^ 
 On similar grounds Harrison wrote that the usual 
 sending of " noblemen's and mean gentlemen's sons 
 into Italy " was to the detriment of England.- " Eng- 
 land is indeed injured by the taste of the upper classes 
 for foreign things alone," wrote Richard Mulcaster.^ 
 Everything learned in travel, he argued, could as 
 readily be acquired at home, and with it, moreover, a 
 love for one's native soil. Each country ought to de- 
 velop its own individuality ; foreign customs would not 
 fit, and foreign ideas only distorted one's own. The 
 things observed in travel were not in themselves 
 valuable. It was rather the language and learning, 
 which could as readily be studied at home, as in the 
 
 1 Ascham, op. ciL, p. 72. 2 Harrison, he. cit. 
 
 '* Positions, p. 210. 
 
1 64 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 case of Queen Elizabeth, who had gathered in England 
 the best fruits of the wisdom of other nations. The 
 greatest danger Englishmen had to fear was their too 
 great liking for what was foreign. The true lesson of 
 patriotism was to be studied in one's native land. " I 
 love Rome, but London better. I favor Italy, but 
 England more. I honor the Latin, but I worship the 
 
 Enghsh." 1 
 
 II 
 
 The new type of Italianate Englishman who re- 
 turned home, bringing with him foreign affectations 
 and vices, with a smattering of learning and a pretence 
 of worldly wisdom doubly irritating to sober English- 
 men, was no rare exception. Marlowe represented 
 him in Piers Gaveston, the royal favorite. Shake- 
 speare portrayed him somewhat differently m Jacques'^ 
 who, after a career of hbertinage, returned from his 
 travels abroad disappointed with Hfe and with every- 
 thing English. To him Rosalind says: "Farewell, 
 Monsieur Traveller ; look you lisp and wear strange 
 suits ; disable all the benefits of your own country ; 
 be out of love with your nativity and almost chide 
 God for making you that countenance you are, or 
 I will scarce think you have swam in a gondola." 
 In Jack Wilton, Nash wrote that Italy made the young 
 man kiss his hand like an ape, and cringe his neck. 
 " From thence he brings the art of atheism, the art 
 of epicurising, the art of poisoning, lasciviousness," and 
 
 1 Elementary, p. 254 et seq. 
 
 2 As You Like It, IV, i, 32. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER 1 65 
 
 unnatural vices. The only benefit he acquired was 
 that it made him a good courtier, an excellent 
 "carpet knight." The young English " Itahanate 
 Signior," as Gabriel Harvey called him, in a letter 
 to Spenser, would praise the Italian poets above all 
 others, and denounce everything English, whether in 
 apparel, language or behavior. Everything not out- 
 landish, or which savored in any way of England, was 
 thought vulgar and base. "O Italish England," he 
 wrote, " what has become of your ancient fortitude 
 and might ; since Tuscanism has come in, Vanity is 
 above all else, and next comes villainy; there is no 
 one who is not a minion ; grand words cover feeble 
 deeds." ^ He drew a picture of the Italianate Eng- 
 lishman, which, according to Nash, was meant to be a 
 satire on the Earl of Oxford, who, but lately returned 
 from his Italian travels, had introduced from that coun- 
 try various articles of dress and toilet previously un- 
 known in England : — 
 
 Indeed most frivolous : not a look but Italish always. 
 
 His cringing side neck, eyes gleaming, physiognomy smirking. 
 
 With forefinger kiss, and brave embrace to the footward. 
 
 ******* 
 A little apish hat, crushed fast to the pate like an oyster; 
 French cambric ruffs, deep with a witness starched to the purpose. 
 Every one a per se a; his terms and braveries in print. 
 Delicate in speech, quaint in array, conceited in all points. 
 
 ******* 
 In courtly guises, a passing singular odd man. 
 This nay more than this doth practice of Italy m one year. 2 
 
 1 Letter-Book, p. 65. 2 /^^-^^ p ^^^ 
 
1 66 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 There was much in the behavior of Englishmen fresh 
 from Itahan travels, in their depreciation of their 
 own country and excessive admiration for everything 
 foreign, to irritate sensible men. George Pettie said 
 that he had himself heard them telling foreigners that 
 England was barbarous, that English manners were 
 rude, and EngHsh people uncivil; and if strangers 
 should think this true, he said it was owing to Eng- 
 lish travellers abroad, who ran down their own country, 
 and contemned one another, no less than they " apishly 
 imitate every outlandish ass, in their gestures, behavior, 
 and apparel."^ 
 
 This affectation of everything Itahan, noticed by 
 the Italians themselves,^ offered the dramatists and 
 poets, but chiefly the pamphleteers, fine opportunities 
 for satires and jests. Shakespeare makes the Duke 
 of York say : — 
 
 The open ear of youth doth always listen ; 
 Report of fashions in proud Italy, 
 Whose manners still our tardy apish nation 
 Limps after in base imitation.^ 
 
 Strangely enough the literary men, who were them- 
 selves most influenced by Italy, were the loudest in 
 their denunciations. John Marston, himself partly 
 Italian, spoke of the youth who abused their time in 
 
 1 Guazzo, preface. 
 
 2 " Costumi e maniere Italiane estimate et imitate da loro 
 [Inglesi] piu che quelli di altre nationi." — Cal. St. Pap.^ Ven., 
 VI, 1080-8 1. Vide also Cardan's Diary, etc. 
 
 3 Richard 11, II, i, 20 et seq. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER 1 67 
 
 travel and came home " in clothes Italianate," ^ 
 returning with all kinds of half- devised villanies, of 
 which the very beasts of the field would blush. Vice 
 and the art of poisoning was what they brought 
 back with them. Gabriel Harvey had accused Nash 
 of having travelled in Italy " to fetch him twopenny 
 worth of Tuscanism," quite renouncing his ordinary 
 Enghsh intonation and gestures to adopt the Italian 
 manner. Nash, however, in spite of being known as 
 the " Enghsh Aretine," was full of condemnation for the 
 " filthy Itahanate," and described how he himself had 
 hastened "out of the Sodom of Italy," where only 
 lasciviousness could be learned.^ And Robert Greene 
 confessed regretfully that on his Italian travels he 
 " saw and practised such villany as it is abominable 
 to declare." ^ 
 
 The dramatists and pamphleteers, however, could 
 not equal the ardor of the Puritans who thundered 
 invectives in denouncing the Italian danger. " We 
 have robbed Italy of wantonness," wrote Stephen 
 Gosson ; " compare London to Rome, and England 
 to Italy, you shall find the theatres of the one and the 
 abuses of the other, to be rife among us." * He 
 complained especially of the " many wanton books 
 which, being translated into English, have poisoned 
 the old manners of our country with foreign 
 
 1 Scourge of Villainy, Bk. Ill, Sat. IX, 1. 90; Vide Bk. I, 
 Sat. II. 
 
 2 Nash, III, 243; V, 146, e\.c., passim. 
 
 * The Repentance. * School of Abuse, p. 34. 
 
1 68 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 delights."^ Others likewise found a great source 
 of danger in the English translations of Italian 
 books. It was thought a pity that they were 
 allowed to be printed. Ten sermons at St. Paul's 
 did not so much good as a single one of these 
 books did harm in enticing men to wickedness, 
 corrupting honest living, and undermining religion.^ 
 Although Ascham condemned the chivalric romance 
 of former years, where the noblest knights were 
 those who killed most men and committed the 
 foulest adulteries, he could not but feel that ten 
 Morte (f Arthurs did not do one-tenth as much 
 harm as the English translation of Italian books, 
 " sold in every shop in London, commended by 
 honest titles, the sooner to corrupt honest manners ; 
 dedicated over boldly to virtuous and honest person- 
 ages, the easier to beguile simple and innocent wits." 
 They taught such things and such wickedness " as 
 the simple head of an Englishman was unable to 
 invent, nor had, indeed, ever before been heard of in 
 England." « 
 
 A different side of the Italian danger was brought 
 out by the numerous Italian adventurers of every 
 description, who then overran all Europe, and were 
 regarded as the corrupters of nations. A parliamentary 
 inquiry in 1559 had stated that the Italians, above all 
 
 1 Plays Co7tfuted in Five Actions. 
 - Op. cit, p. 80. 
 
 3 Ibid. Ascham had probably in mind Fenton's transla- 
 tion of Bandello, dedicated to Lady Mary Sidney. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER 1 69 
 
 Others, should be guarded against, since they passed 
 to and fro everywhere, " serve all princes at once," and 
 " with their perfumed gloves and wanton presents, and 
 gold enough to boot if need be, work what they list, 
 and lick the fat even from our beards." ^ From 
 time to time many similar expressions of opinion can 
 be found.^ In a speech against Elizabeth's marrying 
 a foreigner, particular reference was made to the im- 
 morality of the Italians.^ 
 
 In France, where the power of the Italians was even 
 greater than in England, a similar reaction of anti- 
 Italian feeling had been going on. Jacques Grevin, 
 Henri Estienne, Jacques Tahureau and Jean de la 
 Taille, all satirized those who aped the Italian fashions, 
 and were then trying to make the French language a 
 servile copy of Italian. A special attack was made 
 by Gentillet against Machiavelli, whose name, in con- 
 sequence, passed into an English byword for tyranny 
 and treachery. The Huguenot Languet, in a letter to 
 Sidney, also called attention to the fact that the coun- 
 tries which made use of Italian counsels in their gov- 
 ernment had, in consequence, been involved in the 
 greatest calamities."* 
 
 The most interesting, however, of all anti-Italian 
 literature was a work on the subtlety of the Italians, 
 
 1 Hist. Mss. Com., Hatfield House, I, 163. 
 
 2 Vide Silver, Paradoxes of Defettce. 
 ^ Strype, Sir Tkof?ias Smith, p. 233. 
 
 * Correspondence, Epist. XXXIII, cited in Zouch's Sidney, 
 p. 79. 
 
I/O ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 which bade the nations of Europe rise up in common 
 defence against Italy.-^ From internal evidence the 
 book was probably written by a Frenchman. There 
 was, however, nothing very unusual in this ; Claudius 
 Hollyband wrote in English, as did likewise the Italian 
 Vincenzo Saviolo. 
 
 The writer traced the alleged cunning of the 
 Italians from its earliest origin in Roman times. 
 He found it even in Romulus, the murderer of 
 Remus, in Numa Pompilius, " a most subtle in- 
 venter of a forged religion " ; in Julius Caesar, 
 who had pillaged all Europe. He saw it con- 
 tinuing after the papacy had taken the place of 
 paganism. Although intending neither to censure 
 the Pope nor even the Church of Rome, he could 
 not help noticing the fact that the subtle Italians 
 borrowed the papal authority to mask their wiles. 
 Whatever was done under the name of the Pope 
 was in reality only " the counsel and invention of 
 the Italians of Rome." In this manner, the clergy, 
 fighting over the interpretation of biblical texts, 
 fell into the traps laid for them by the wily Italians, 
 who were always inventing new obscurities, so that 
 their assistance might be summoned to show the way 
 to heaven and salvation, that they might thus reap 
 profit from the ruin of others. 
 
 If the Italians could only obtain a footing north of 
 the Alps, the writer went on to say, by various shifts 
 and subtleties they tore asunder all bonds of friend- 
 
 1 The Subtlety of the Italians, by F. G. B. A., 1 591. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER I7I 
 
 ship, and set the different nations fighting among 
 themselves, after which they would " fish for their 
 riches and dignities." Their crafty and deceitful 
 nature had, without difficulty, been able to domi- 
 nate other people and obtain their money from them. 
 In this manner, Catherine de' Medici, with her coun- 
 cil of Italians, had disposed of all the affairs of 
 France. " Like bloodsuckers, they sucked the blood 
 of the poor people as dry as if it had been crushed 
 out in a wine press," filling their own purses in the 
 meantime, while they managed to throw the blame on 
 other people's shoulders. If any one should ask what 
 had become of all the money levied in France, he had 
 only to go to Florence and see its sumptuous buildings 
 and " the wondrous wealth, wherein many Florentines 
 swim, which came like poor snakes into France." 
 
 The supposed method by which the ItaHans set out 
 to ruin a country was described in detail. They 
 would begin with one part or class, and then gradually 
 work round to the others. One could not but admire 
 their ingenuity, in reaping every advantage to the 
 utmost. They used religion merely as a cloak to 
 domination, caring for its truth only in so far as it was 
 of use to them. In order to make the kings of the 
 earth their vassals, they stirred up wars among 
 them. "To fish money out of Judaea" they had 
 brought about the Crusades. To blind the youth 
 of other countries to their machinations, they made 
 use of Jesuits to fill the chairs of universities. By 
 every conceivable means, from ecclesiastical patron- 
 
1/2 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 age to bestowing empty titles on monarchs, they 
 secured the upper hand.^ 
 
 It was only the Italian form of Catholicism which 
 was so savagely attacked ; of all other Catholics the 
 writer spoke in the very highest terms of respect, even 
 half suggesting that another Pope be established for 
 the rest of Europe, who should be independent of 
 Rome. His grievance was largely an economic one, 
 as was Luther's, when he wrote that German money 
 took wings to fly across the Alps but never returned.^ 
 The remedy proposed was to be of equal benefit to 
 Catholic and Protestant nations. If men did only 
 observe, they would see that God had set as pro- 
 tection for the rest of mankind, on one side the 
 Alps and on the other the deep seas. The Italians 
 ought, therefore, to be shut up from all access or 
 entrance into other countries. If such means were 
 adopted, " we no more shall be exposed to the lamen- 
 table miseries into which they were wont to bring us 
 headlong at their own lust and pleasure." 
 
 Ill 
 
 It seems remarkable that one of the most curious 
 types of EngHshmen should be known by no account 
 of himself, or of his own tastes and peculiarities, but 
 
 1 To many the power of Rome seemed the centre of Italian 
 schemes; Thomas Palmer declared it to be " the forge of every 
 policy that setteth princes at odds." Method of Travel, p. 44. 
 
 2 Address to the German Nobility. Ed. Wace and Buchheim, 
 p. 32 et seq. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER 1 73 
 
 only by the satires and invectives written against him. 
 The Itahanate Englishman, who followed Italian ways / 
 in everything, who admired no wisdom which did not ' 
 come from across the Alps, who regulated his life to f 
 imitate the Italians, wrote no defence of himself. He \ 
 who was accused of corrupting his native land by 
 introducing foreign vices, paid no attention to the 
 popular voice. His own position at court was secure 
 from the fumings of moralists and the bitter attacks of 
 pamphleteers. Some were even afraid to attack him ; 
 Harrison, for instance, in a rather general condemnation, 
 ended abruptly by refusing to say more about Italia- 
 nates, lest he should offend too much.^ But although 
 unaffected by popular clamor, it is noteworthy that 
 his example was not followed, and the very name of 
 Italianate Enghshman passed into disuse, even though 
 Bishop Hall, and much later James Howell, were still 
 to warn their readers of the continuance of the Italian 
 danger. 
 
 The great success of Italianism in England con-1 
 tributed to its final overthrow. Along with the ridicu- 
 lous aping of Italian fashions on the part of the 
 courtiers,- a freedom was professed by many from all -" 
 moral and religious restraints, till the Englishman return- ) 
 ing from Italy began to be looked upon as an enemy 
 of society. The vices he flaunted so openly were 
 turned against him and served to fan the flame of 
 Puritanism. At the same time the Italianate Eng- 
 
 1 Harrison, o/>. cit., p. 129 et seq. 
 
 2 Vide The English Ape, the Italian Imitation, 1588. 
 
174 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 lishman cannot fairly be charged with being the only 
 factor in the reaction which now made itself felt against 
 Italy, nor were the dangers of immorality, of atheism 
 and the power of the Roman church, the only charges 
 which were brought up against Italy. A hatred for every- 
 thing foreign had long existed in the English mind, and 
 the competition of Italians in commerce and trade only 
 increased the dislike. Along with it, too, there went 
 a growing feeHng of nationality, which stoutly rebelled 
 at every sign of alien power; it penetrated even the 
 scholarly world, where it brought about a strong move- 
 ment against the introduction of foreign and learned 
 words into the English language, protesting against 
 both Italianisms and the so-called ink-horn terms.-^ 
 
 In the century and a half which extended from the 
 first beginnings of the English Renaissance to the time 
 when with the death of Ehzabeth it properly ended, 
 much of what was good in Italy had been transplanted 
 to England. In certain cases the work failed of result ; 
 the fine arts, for instance, can scarcely be said to have 
 taken English root ; but, generally speaking, whatever 
 was suitable for the Northern Land had found its way 
 there. Scholarship, literature, social life, and even 
 statecraft, were all affected by the Italian influence. 
 Toward the end of the sixteenth century, however, 
 England, still growing in the fulness of its youth, had, 
 as it were, little to learn from the aged Italy, which 
 then lay helpless beneath the invader. The degen- 
 eracy of the country was apparent to all thoughtful 
 
 1 Cf. Gascoigne, Wot-ks. 
 
THE ITALIAN DANGER 1 75 
 
 persons. Those who then combated its influence should 
 for that reason not be thought bUnd PhiHstines, anxious 
 only to destroy what they were themselves unable to 
 understand, but stern-minded moralists, who saw the 
 hollowness of what once was great, and reahzed the 
 dangers which lay in its decay. With the beginning!-^ 
 of the seventeenth century, moreover, the Italian in- ■-'■ 
 fluence was in many ways stationary, if not actually on ' 
 the wane ; the want of fresh vigor to reenforce its 
 claims, perhaps no less than the attacks of moralists, 
 had brought it to a standstill ; but more than anything 
 else was the fact that its place had been filled by Spain 
 and France, then growing in their strength. Both coun- 
 tries, influenced by Italian traditions, contained beneath 
 the surface the civilization and culture of Italy, which 
 was often outwardly hidden from view. It was Italy 
 transformed, passed through another mould, and bear- 
 ing on its surface the stamp of France or Spain, — 
 but it was Italy none the less, whose foster-children 
 were now to continue her work. It is for this reason 
 that the history of Italian influence in England after 
 the death of EHzabeth has in one way little new to offer. 
 For a time, indeed, the influence hngered at the court i 
 of the Stuarts ; the poetry of Drummond, the masks i 
 of Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones, bore witness that it 
 was not yet dead, while the mansions erected by the 
 latter showed that the architecture of the Italian 
 Renaissance could flourish in England as well ; but 
 its vitahty in the hfe of the English people had de- \ 
 parted once and for all. — ' 
 
PART SECOND 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND : CHURCHMEN, 
 ARTISTS AND TRAVELLERS 
 
 The presence of Italians in England was by no means 
 unusual, even before the conquest. The many ties with 
 Rome caused papal legates and collectors, who were 
 almost invariably Italians, to cross the channel fre- 
 quently. Moreover they were often granted English 
 benefices. Five successive bishops of Worcester were 
 Italians, and Bishop Grosseteste, about the year 1250, 
 refused to admit an Italian ignorant of English to a 
 living in his diocese.^ Cardinal Gualli, a little earlier, 
 conferred Chesterton Rectory to the monastery of St. 
 Andrews, which he had founded at Vercelli.^ Italians 
 likewise were found at Oxford from time to time. In 
 the twelfth century, a certain Vicario had been called 
 by the Archbishop of Canterbury to introduce the 
 
 ^ Vide Calendars of entries in Papal Registers, Bliss Series; 
 the Marini Vatican Transcripts (Brit. Mus. Mss. Dept.) ; Steven- 
 son and Bliss, Roman Transcripts, Record Office, London; 
 J. Paton, British History and Papal Claims, for accounts of 
 the relations existing in the Middle Ages between England 
 and the papacy. 
 
 - Beckynton, II, 344. It was probably in this way that the 
 Anglo-Saxon Vercelli Book found its way there. 
 
 179 
 
l80 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 new study of Roman law in the university,' and a little 
 later, Francesco d' Accorso, a lecturer in civil law at 
 Bologna, who had attached himself to Edward the 
 First, and became his counsellor, also settled at Oxford. 
 It has even been thought by some that Dante studied 
 theology there. Strangers from foreign lands were 
 often drawn to Oxford during the period when it 
 was one of the great centres of medieval learning. 
 Specific reference was made to its Italian students 
 in a letter of 1454, addressed to the Earl of Salis- 
 bury, chancellor of the university, complaining of the 
 foreign students who came over during Lent, ostensibly 
 to preach and shrive penitents, but in reality to receive 
 the alms intended for such Italians as were regular 
 students " to the injury of these last mentioned and 
 discredit of our university." "- 
 
 In addition to the Italian scholars sent for by Duke 
 Humphrey, several others of distinction came, likewise, 
 on different occasions. Poggio, for instance, searched 
 EngHsh monasteries for rare manuscripts, but found 
 nothing of interest. " Most of their libraries are full of 
 foolishness," he wrote in disgust.^ Although profoundly 
 dissatisfied by his stay in London among the"Sarma- 
 tians and Scythians," and accusing the English of caring 
 little for letters,* he formed, nevertheless, enduring 
 friendships with several Englishmen, with whom he 
 afterwards corresponded, ^neas Sylvius, whose visit 
 to England was not dictated by the same motives, pre- 
 
 ^ Tiraboschi, Storia della Lette7'attira Italiana, III, 442. 
 '-^ Epist. Acad., I, 322. ^ EpisL, I, 70. * Ibid., I, 43, 74. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND l8l 
 
 served pleasanter remembrances of his stay there and 
 of the learned men he met. One of Guarino's former 
 pupils, the Venetian, Piero del Monte, who had first 
 come over as papal collector, made friends with Duke 
 Humphrey, and later dedicated to him his philosophi- 
 cal dramas.^ It is only natural to suppose that the 
 love of letters, then universal in Italy, caused Italian 
 churchmen abroad to stimulate the latent zeal for 
 learning they saw everywhere about them. 
 
 Toward the end of the fifteenth century a number 
 of Italians were occupying important positions in 
 England. One of the most learned of these, Giovanni 
 Gigli, better known as John of Sighs, had first been 
 sent to England as papal collector ; he was subse- 
 quently made Canon of Wells, and still later Bishop 
 of Worcester. He was in the semce of both the Vati- 
 can and the king, being successively commissioner of 
 papal indulgences, and Henry the Seventh's diplo- 
 matic agent and orator at Rome. He showed there 
 his friendship for Oxford, when the authorities requested 
 his aid in obtaining certain favors from the Pope. He 
 had not forgotten, he said in his reply, that he was a 
 member of the university, although an unworthy one.^ 
 Giovanni Gigli was a poet, as well, and on the occasion 
 of Henry's marriage to Elizabeth of York, he composed 
 a Latin epithalamium in the Virgilian style, in which 
 Parliament was represented as entreating Henry to 
 marry in order to ward off the evils of a civil war. 
 
 Peter Carmeliano, of Brescia, was another Italian 
 
 1 Voigt, II, 257. - Epist. Acad., II, 564, 567. 
 
1 82 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 poet of this period, in England. His earliest work, on 
 the life of St. Mary the Egyptian, had praised Richard 
 the Third as a model king and pattern of virtue ; but 
 little more than a year after his death, in a poem 
 which celebrated Prince Arthur's birth, he denounced 
 him as a bloodthirsty monster ready to commit any 
 crime. After describing his defeat, and the accession 
 of Henry to the throne, he bade Englishmen rejoice 
 over the birth of b^ royal heir. This poem was written 
 in hexameters, in imitation of Virgil. Carmeliano, who 
 was a kind of court poet, wrote considerable verse of 
 different kinds. He was also Latin secretary to Henry 
 the Seventh and one of the king's chaplains. As a 
 reward for his services various pensions were granted 
 him.^ Later, his poetic functions seem to have been 
 dispensed with. He became lute player to Henry the 
 Eighth, but wrote one last poem on the death of the 
 Scottish king at Flodden Field. His verse was not very 
 successful, while his false quantities furnished amuse- 
 ment for Erasmus. It is noteworthy, however, that of 
 the very few contemporary narratives of the reign of 
 Henry the Seventh, three should have been written by 
 Itahans, and a fourth writer, Johannes Opicius, was 
 probably likewise of Italian origin. It is also remark- 
 able that the Latin secretaries of the king, Carmeliano, 
 and then Ammonio and Peter Vannes, should all have 
 been Italians, as if to prove that polished Latin could 
 then properly be written by no one else. 
 
 1 Campbell, History of Henry VII, II, 244, 289; J. Gairdner, 
 Memorials of Henry VII. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 1 83 
 
 Several other Italian churchmen who were more 
 or less connected with the English court during this 
 period were likewise interested in the growth of 
 humanism. It can scarcely be supposed that it was 
 chance which led the shrewd, calculating nature of 
 Henry the Seventh to cultivate their friendship, as he 
 did in many instances. It was rather that he found 
 his own ideas reflected in them, and was able to make 
 use of their services and intelligence. Silvestro GigH, 
 who had been trained by his uncle in diplomacy, and 
 succeeded him in the bishopric of Worcester, was 
 appointed by the king his master of ceremonies,^ and 
 later resident ambassador at Rome. In after years he 
 became Wolsey's chief diplomatic agent there, and 
 was in constant correspondence with the king and car- 
 dinal. Like most other Italians of that age, he was a 
 man of letters as well, corresponding with Erasmus. 
 The example offered to English churchmen of Italian 
 dignitaries who were patrons of the new learning and 
 interested in humanism, might well have led them 
 on in a similar direction, had such encouragement 
 been necessary. 
 
 Adrian de Castello belonged also to the same group. 
 After having been papal nuncio to Scotland, he had 
 been sent by Pope Innocent as collector of Peter's 
 pence in England. He became, however, an English 
 citizen, and was employed by Henry the Seventh as 
 his agent in Rome, and still later as ambassador to 
 Alexander the Sixth, who conferred on him an English 
 
 1 Bernard Andre, Annates Henrici VII, pp. 86, 122-123. 
 
1 84 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 bishopric. He was also a man of the most cultivated 
 tastes, and the author of a Latin poem published by 
 Aldus. 
 
 By far the most interesting, hoAvever, of the Italian 
 friends of Henry was Polydore Vergil, the historian. 
 He was already an author of some reputation^ when 
 appointed papal sub-collector. In England he found 
 his brother, who was there as a merchant, and his friend, 
 Adrian de Castello. Although he himself was later to 
 receive ecclesiastical preferment, and to hold several 
 lucrative benefices in the church, his life was spent 
 chiefly in Hterary and historical writing. 
 
 Having found, as he alleged, the English annals con- 
 fused and unknown, even to natives, he had deter- 
 mined to write a short history of the country. The 
 historical method of this work, compiled, it is said, at 
 the request of Henry himself, was far in advance of 
 anything England had known till then. In spite of 
 many errors and prejudices, it was nevertheless the 
 first history written along modern lines in which any 
 attempt was made to weigh authorities. Its author, 
 moreover, was a friend of Henry the Seventh, in com- 
 plete sympathy with his task, and one who realized the 
 rapid changes which had come over England, and 
 marked the transition between the vanishing Middle 
 Ages and the Renaissance now dawning on the land. 
 It was a pity for his reputation that Polydore Vergil 
 did not die before his friend and patron. Although he 
 
 1 His De Invenforibiis Rei'um passed through i lo editions 
 and was translated into English. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 185 
 
 returned to Italy after his death, he came back once 
 more to be Adrian de Castello's factor in England. 
 Both, however, fell into disgrace on account of some 
 over-frank letters which had cast reflections on Wolsey 
 and Henry the Eighth. One of these, containing im- 
 putations against both Pope and king, was intercepted, 
 probably by Adrian's enemy, Silvestro Gigli, the Bishop 
 of Worcester, who sent it to Andrea Ammonio, Poly- 
 dore's rival. It was shown to Wolsey, and a few days 
 later Vergil was a prisoner in the Tower, with his col- 
 lectorship forfeited.^ In his captivity he addressed the 
 most servile letters to W^olsey, stating he would like to 
 bow in worship before him, in order that his spirit might 
 rejoice in him " as in God my Saviour." He was released 
 in 15 16, and took his revenge, when out of Wolsey 's 
 reach, by abusing him in his history of England. 
 
 Henry the Eighth, who succeeded his father, like- 
 wise welcomed many Italians at the court. " He is 
 glad to see them, and especially Italians," wrote 
 Savorgnano.^ Ammonio, who had come to England as 
 the papal collector, was appointed his Latin secretary. 
 Ammonio had enjoyed a reputation for classical schol- 
 arship, even in Rome, and in later years he was known 
 for his Latin verse. Like Polydore Vergil, he was also 
 a friend of Erasmus, to whom he confided occasional 
 grievances regarding the barbarism of the " inhospita- 
 ble Britons."^ He was a friend, however, of Linacre, 
 
 1 Brewer, Henry VIII, I, 264 et seq. 
 
 2 Cal. Si. Pap., Ven., IV, 287. 
 
 3 Cal. St. Pap., Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, I, No. 1948. 
 
1 86 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Colet and More, and formed part of their small cote- 
 rie in London. When afterwards he was appointed 
 papal nuncio at the English court, he was succeeded 
 in his secretaryship by Peter Vannes, another Italian. 
 Vannes himself, who became Wolsey's secretary, was 
 with him on many of his missions, and accompanied 
 Sir Francis Bryan on his unsuccessful embassy to 
 Rome, when it was intended that he should bribe the 
 cardinals to declare the marriage of Henry the Eighth 
 with Katherine invalid, and Pope Julius' brief a for- 
 gery.^ Several other English diplomatic charges were 
 intrusted to Vannes in the course of his long life. 
 
 It was especially in the matter of the king's divorce 
 that Wolsey proposed to employ Italians, not only as 
 more Hkely to secure aid at the Vatican, but also con- 
 fessedly on the ground of their being more skilful 
 diplomatists. Among his agents, besides the ones 
 mentioned, were Ghinucci, Bishop of Worcester, Sir 
 Thomas Spinelli, and the two Casales, John and Greg- 
 ory, who was afterwards knighted.^ By degrees, Enghsh 
 diplomacy was able to dispense with the churchmen 
 sent from Rome, on whom in former times it had 
 relied so largely. With the rapid growth of inter- 
 national relations centring around the Itahan apple of 
 discord and the rise of the Spanish power, a new 
 set of men had been found necessary in diplomacy. In 
 part, they were humble, and often unknown, like the 
 
 1 Vide Vococ\i, Records of the Reformation, I, no et seq. 
 
 2 Vide Marini, Vatican Transcripts, Brit. Mus., Vol. XXXVII, 
 passim. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 18/ 
 
 numerous news agents employed by Thomas Crom- 
 well, who made use of their services, just as Lord 
 Burleigh did in after years. Many of these were 
 Italian merchants, whose natural shrewdness, added to 
 the facilities of communication they enjoyed, placed 
 them in a peculiarly favorable position for the rapid 
 forwarding of information. In the higher ranks of Eng- 
 lish diplomacy there were other Italians as well. Italy 
 itself had offered the first examples of trained diplomats, 
 while, moreover, the talented and pliable nature of the 
 Italian of the Renaissance lent itself readily to all such 
 work, especially if it had anything to do with the court. 
 A number of Italians from time to time visited Eng- 
 land, either out of curiosity, or else engaged on some 
 mission. Marco Savorgnano, the celebrated military 
 engineer, was perhaps an example of the first kind ; 
 Cardinal Campeggio, the papal legate and a protector 
 of the new learning, of the second. Such missions, 
 however, were not exclusively diplomatic. Baldessare 
 Castighone, the finest type of the ItaUan courtier, 
 came over to acknowledge the Order of the Garter, 
 conferred upon his master, the Duke of Urbino.^ He 
 himself, as he wrote his mother, was anxious to see 
 the country, and looked forward to the company of his 
 good friend Bishop Gigh, who "although a Floren- 
 tine [Luccan], yet holds a rich bishopric in England 
 and is the King's ambassador with the pope." He 
 was accepted by Henry the Seventh as proxy to the 
 
 1 Vide Dennistoun, Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, II, 
 443 ei seq. 
 
1 88 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 duke, and installed in his place a Knight of the 
 Garter. The king, moreover, showed him every pos- 
 sible attention, knighted him personally, and made 
 him- presents of horses and dogs, and a gold chain 
 bearing the royal badge.^ 
 
 From time to time, during the sixteenth century, 
 numerous Italians took up their residence at court, 
 or were in the royal service. The musicians, for 
 instance, were " almost all ItaHans." ^ The same thing 
 was largely true of the court physicians. Henry the 
 Eighth's surgeon was Antonio Ciabo ; Battista de 
 Boeria and Fernando de Vittoria were also his doctors, 
 with Linacre and John Chamber, both of whom had 
 studied in Italy. Later, Jerome Cardan, the greatest 
 physician of his day, who was also a friend of Sir John 
 Cheke's, was entreated to give an opinion on the 
 health of Edward the Sixth. He cast his horoscope 
 and predicted a long life, but in after years explained 
 this by showing the influences he had to submit to, 
 owing to the intrigues at the English court. Edward 
 granted him an audience and gave him a hundred 
 scudi, not so much as he had received from the Scot- 
 tish king. A more liberal present would have been 
 given, had he only acknowledged Edward's title as 
 king; but as a prominent Catholic, who intended to 
 return to Italy, he could not do so.^ Cardan recorded 
 his impressions of England in the Dialogue on Death. 
 
 1 Leliere del Conte B. Castiglione, Letters XIII, XIV, XXVII. 
 
 2 Florio, First Fruites ; Ubaldini, Ms. cit., f. 43 b. 
 
 ^ Vide Cardan's Vita ; Waters, Jerome Cardan, p. 132 et seq. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 1 89 
 
 He spoke of the English imitating the ItaUans in 
 habit, manner and dress as closely as they could. 
 They also seemed similar to him in appearance. 
 The difference in speech struck him chiefly, since 
 he could not understand a word of the language. 
 He thought them Italians gone mad : " The tongue 
 is curved upon the palate ; they turn about their 
 words in the mouth, and make a hissing sound with 
 their teeth." 
 
 Among other Italian physicians at the English 
 court was Pietro Maria Adelmare, the father of 
 Sir Julius Caesar, the famous judge. He was the 
 medical adviser of both Mary and Elizabeth, from 
 whom he received fees of a hundred pounds for a 
 single attendance. Giulio Borgarucci also, who first 
 attended the Earl of Leicester, and distinguished 
 himself in his treatment of plague sufferers by bleed- 
 ing, later became the court physician; Elizabeth, 
 moreover, held her Venetian doctor, Caesar Scacco, in 
 such high regard that she even wrote the doge, re- 
 questing that his stay in England might not prove 
 prejudicial to his personal affairs in Italy.^ ]\Iany 
 other ItaHans at court enjoyed the protection of the 
 Virgin Queen. " Doth she love Italians ? Yes, sir, 
 very well. Delighteth she to speak with them? Yes, 
 sir, and she speaketh very eloquently," wrote Florio.- 
 Even on the list of her New Years' gifts among those 
 to whom perfumed gloves or gilt plate were given ap- 
 
 1 Cal. St. Pap., Ven., VII, 55 1. 
 ^ First Fruites, ch. 15. 
 
190 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 peared such names as Bassano, Caliardi, Lupo and 
 Ubaldini.^ Petruccio Ubaldini was an example of the 
 better type of Italian adventurers then to be found at 
 every European court. He had first come over to 
 England in the reign of Henry the Eighth, and having 
 obtained government employ, had served in the war 
 with Scotland. Shortly after this he wrote, probably 
 for the Venetian Signory, an account of English man- 
 ners, customs and institutions.^ He found a patron in 
 the Earl of Arundel, who presented him to the queen. 
 The rest of his life he passed as one of the hangers-on 
 at the court, engaged in teaching Italian, transcribing 
 and illuminating manuscripts, rhyming and writing, or 
 translating historical works. Twice he exchanged gifts 
 with the queen, although never quite a courtier, nor 
 yet a dependant. He was one of the many Italians 
 who lived amid courtly surroundings, ready to turn 
 hands and brains to any account. He tried to be 
 historian, soldier, poet and artist, showing ahke the 
 many-sidedness and versatility of his nation and his 
 century. 
 
 One of his books, a hfe of Charlemagne,^ was dedi- 
 cated by Ubaldini to the gentlemen of England in ap- 
 preciation of their courtesy toward foreigners. In its 
 preface he bade Englishmen rejoice, since Italian 
 
 1 Add. Ms. Brit. Mus., 4827. 
 
 2 Add. Ms. Brit. Mus., 10,169. Several other transcripts 
 exist of this interesting manuscript. 
 
 * La Vita di Carlo Magno, da Petruccio Ubaldini, Londra, 
 1581. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 191 
 
 could be printed in England as well as in Italy. His 
 own book he proclaimed had been the first so printed 
 " by the diligence and effort of your citizen John Wolfe, 
 and you will be able to have other such works from 
 day to day, if you should give it that welcome, that I 
 expect you will." Ubaldini's claim, however, was not 
 strictly accurate. In 1545 already, a little work by John 
 Clerk, on the resurrection of the dead,^ had been 
 printed in London, in Latin, English, French and 
 Italian ; and a few years later an Italian translation 
 of a Latin catechism was published,- while another 
 curious work also appeared not long afterward.^ 
 Ubaldini's history marked, however, a real beginning. 
 Battista Castiglione, the queen's Italian master, in 
 publishing a book by Accontio, which he dedicated 
 to her,^ stated that he had made up his mind to print it, 
 owing to the fact that a young Londoner (John Wolfe) 
 had just returned from Italy where he had learned the 
 art, and was now able to print in Italian. Several books 
 soon appeared from his press. Among these were 
 the Pastor Fido of Guarini ^ and Tasso's Amintay both 
 published at Jacopo Castelvetri's expense, who said that, 
 encouraged by friends, he was having them printed 
 in London, on account of the great length of time 
 necessary to obtain them from Italy. One edition 
 
 1 Opusculum Plane Divimim, London, 1545. 
 
 ^ Catechismo per amaestrare i fanciulli, Londra (?), I553(?). 
 
 * Esposizione di Giovanbattista Agnello^ Londra, 1566. 
 
 * Una Esortazione al Timor di Dio, Londra, 1 590 (?). 
 
 ^ // Pastor fido ; A spese di Jacopo Castelvetri, Londra, 1591. 
 
192 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 of the Principe^ although bearing the press-mark of 
 Palermo was probably also printed in England, as 
 were likewise a number of Giordano Bruno's works, 
 which first saw light on British soil.^ Giordano Bruno 
 was the greatest of all the Italians who came over 
 to England in the sixteenth century ; he was at the 
 court of Elizabeth from 1583 to 1585, and came in 
 contact with the best English minds of that age. Two 
 of his dialogues were dedicated by him to Sir Philip 
 Sidney, and in his Supper of Ashes he gave an account 
 of a banquet at Fulke Greville's house, recording 
 some very vivid impressions of the English people. 
 His visit, however, left only doubtful traces on contem- 
 porary literature, and was barely noticed even by his 
 EngHsh friends. 
 
 II 
 
 The genius of Italy in the Renaissance found its 
 noblest expression in the fine arts. It was only natural, 
 therefore, that some of the many Italian artists in an 
 age of wandering should have found their way to Eng- 
 land. It was really more remarkable that none of the 
 first importance were attracted there. The arts, how- 
 ever, flourished in Italy, in the very midst of internal 
 disturbances. Inducements to travel were not great, so 
 long as reward awaited merit at home. Yet there 
 were several Italians of note at the emperor's court, 
 and Francis the First gathered round him such ar- 
 tists as Leonardo da Vinci, Benvenuto Cellini and Pri- 
 
 1 Several bear other press-marks as well. Vide Athencewn, 
 April 30, 1898. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 193 
 
 maticcio, although the greatest of the three, accom- 
 pUshed nothing in the land of exile. 
 
 Pietro Torrigiano was the best known of the Italian 
 artists who came to seek their fortune in England. 
 After leading a life of adventure, and having been a 
 soldier of fortune, he was persuaded by some Floren- 
 tine merchants to accompany them to London. The 
 execution of the royal shrine in the chapel of Henry 
 the Seventh at Westminster was entrusted to him in 
 default of native workmen. During the years he was 
 engaged on it, he executed many things in marble and 
 bronze for the king, although one of his best works 
 was the tomb of Dr. John Young, master of the Rolls.^ 
 His masterpiece, still preserved at Westminster, was 
 the tomb of Lady Margaret of Richmond, which has 
 been called *' the most beautiful and venerable figure 
 that the Abbey contains."^ It seems strange, in 
 contemplating it, to note the contrast between its 
 Florentine Renaissance sculpture, and the mediaeval 
 architecture of the cathedral. It is more particularly 
 in certain details that the Tuscan fancifulness and 
 wealth of ornamentation show themselves even though 
 the lightness of touch and joyousness of the school of 
 Donatello were wanting in his chisel. He himself 
 made use of Gothic shafts in the ornament, as if to 
 reconcile to the Renaissance the spirit of the Middle 
 Ages, long forgotten in his native city. 
 
 1 Formerly in the Rolls Chapel, now in the Museum of the 
 Record Office, London, 
 
 2 Dean Stanley, Memorials of Westminster Abbey, p. i(^\. 
 
 o 
 
194 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Torrigiano's most important work, however, was to 
 be the tomb of Henry the Seventh and his queen, also 
 in the Abbey. The contract for this was drawn up in 
 15 12. He entered into an agreement with the king's 
 executors, " to make and work, or do to be made and 
 wrought, well, surely, cleanly, workmanly, curiously, 
 and substantially for the sum of ;£i5oo sterHng . . . 
 a tomb or sepulture of white marble and of black 
 touchstone, with images, figures, beasts, and other 
 things of copper gilt . . . together with other diverse 
 images, epitaphs and other things. . . . [This agreement 
 to be entered upon] by Peter Torrysany of the city of 
 Florence, painter."^ The tomb itself, although dif- 
 fering from the conventional Florentine type, yet shows 
 the Tuscan hand, in the fine bronze figures, the medal- 
 lions of the base, and in many of the minor details. 
 It is a significant proof of the lack of native talent and 
 dependence on Italians, that the execution of royal 
 tombs should have been intrusted to them. Another 
 similar undertaking was, however, to fall through. 
 This was the tomb Henry the Eighth wanted for him- 
 self and Queen Katherine. It was likewise to be of 
 white marble and black touchstone, but " more greater 
 by the fourth part," than his father's and to cost ^2000. 
 Wolsey, one of whose ideas it probably was, had charge 
 of the financial arrangements. After prolonged nego- 
 tiations with the king, who was unable to make up his 
 mind to order it, Torrigiano left in great temper for 
 Italy. It was on this occasion that Rinaldo de Ricasoli, 
 ^ Cited in Archeologia, XVI, 84, 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 195 
 
 consul of the Florentine nation in London, wrote to 
 the signory in Florence, requesting them to see to it 
 that he should get none of the money deposited by the 
 king for the altar, since he had left England without 
 his Majesty's permission and under dishonorable cir- 
 cumstances, perhaps to the detriment of the Floren- 
 tine colony.^ He returned to England, however, in 
 15 1 9, possibly at the instance of the signory. It is 
 significant of the manner in which artistic work was 
 then conducted, that before his return he entered into 
 an agreement with Antonio de Lorenzo, Antonio called 
 Toto del Nunziata, a painter, and later with Giovanni 
 Luigi da Verona, who bound themselves to work with 
 him for four and a half years and to practise their arts 
 in Italy, France, Flanders, England and Germany, or 
 in any other part of the world, for a salary of three 
 gold florins a month the first year, and forty ducats 
 thereafter a year besides the cost of food, lodgings, and 
 horse hire.- He himself told Benvenuto Celhni, whom 
 he wanted to engage, that the king of England had 
 intrusted him with a great undertaking, and he had in 
 consequence gone to Florence to procure the aid 
 of as many young men as possible. On his return 
 to London he and his assistants completed the altar,' 
 for which the king had previously advanced a thou- 
 
 1 Cited in Milanesi's Vasari, IV, 262 note. 
 
 2 Ibid. 
 
 ^ Like so many other works of art, it was destroyed during 
 lue civil wars. Three pieces of it were, however, preserved, and 
 have been set up as an altar by Dean Stanley. 
 
196 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 sand pounds. Torrigiano's irascible temperament did 
 not long permit him to enjoy quiet among "those 
 beasts the Enghsh " as he was wont to call them, and 
 he left for Spain, where some of his best works are 
 still preserved. 
 
 Other Italian artists also came over to seek service 
 under a monarch whose overflowing coffers seemed to 
 promise reward to all alike. Guido Mazzoni of Modena, 
 whose sobriquet of Paganino was later anglicized into 
 that of Pageny, had previously followed Charles the 
 Eighth to Paris, and then crossed over to England 
 where he designed a tomb for Henry the Seventh, 
 which was, however, rejected. 
 
 Among the painters employed by Henry the Eighth 
 were Vincent Volpe, Anthony Toto, Antonio Cavallari, 
 Bartholomew Penni, and even a woman miniaturist, 
 Alice Carmellian, a relative probably of Carmeliano, 
 the court poet.^ Little is known of Vincent Volpe, 
 save that in 15 14 he painted the streamers and ban- 
 ners for the great ship Henry Grace a Dieu. It is 
 interesting to note among the causes which make the 
 presence of foreigners in England often difficult to 
 detect, that he anglicized his name to Fox. 
 
 Antonio Toto, likewise an architect and designer 
 of masques, was considered the best of the Italian 
 painters in England. He had studied under the 
 younger Ghirlandajo, and had then been engaged 
 by Torrigiano to accompany him to England, where 
 he entered the royal service as " Sergeant painter," 
 1 Archeologia, XXXIX, 22. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 1 97 
 
 his name being usually associated with that of Bartholo- 
 mew Penni, another Florentine. The Italian frescoes 
 in one of the rooms of Cardinal Wolsey's apartment 
 at Hampton Court are almost certainly the work of 
 either Penni or Toto. The latter, who was naturalized 
 an Englishman, remained long in the service of Henry 
 the Eighth, and, according to Vasari, executed many 
 works for the king. It is remarkable that most of the 
 Italian artists were in some way connected with 
 Wolsey, whose orders were usually given in the name 
 of the king and who, amid the duties of state, found 
 time for the encouragement of art and learning. 
 Torrigiano's real successors in England were Benedetto 
 da Rovezzano and Giovanni da Majano. The former 
 was engaged by Wolsey through Cromwell, to prepare 
 his tomb. It was to be on a magnificent scale, worthy 
 of the tastes of a cardinal who was such a lover of 
 art, and far to surpass in splendor that of Henry the 
 Seventh. ^ The sculptor labored over it for five years. 
 But when Wolsey died in disgrace and was buried in 
 the Abbey Church at Leicester, the king tried to make 
 use of as much of the tomb as he could, although 
 according to Vasari, Baccio Bandinelli had prepared a 
 beautiful model in wood, with wax figures, which was in- 
 tended for him. Rovezzano, however, was left in charge 
 of the royal monument, and cast it in metal. Among 
 the founders he employed were several other Italians, 
 Pietro Baldi, Giovanni Utrin, and two " engineers," 
 Rinieri and Ambrogio. The monument, which Wolsey 
 1 Vide Arch. Journal^ September, 1894, pp. i, 59, 203 ei seq. 
 
198 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 had begun was left unfinished at the king's death, in 
 the Lady Chapel of Henry the Seventh at Windsor, 
 and was never completed. Its subsequent history is 
 not without interest. Charles the First, another lover 
 of art, wished to be buried in it, but after his execu- 
 tion Parliament ordered the sale of all the bronze 
 work on the monument. In the beginning of the last 
 century, the marble sarcophagus was removed from 
 Windsor to be used for Nelson's tomb, in the crypt of 
 St. Pauls, and a little later the pavement it had rested 
 on was taken up to build the royal vault for George 
 the Third.i 
 
 The materials for the history of the Florentine 
 sculptors in England during this period, are not very 
 plentiful.^ When all but the greatest artists were con- 
 sidered craftsmen, it is scarcely to be wondered that 
 not much attention was given to the lives of the others. 
 It can be said, however, that there was nothing un- 
 usual in the presence of Italian artists in England ; 
 the Bernardis for instance, settled at Chichester in 
 1 5 19, at the invitation of Bishop Sherburne, and were 
 probably the earliest decorative painters in England.^ 
 Only very little is really known of the English residence 
 
 1 Blomfield, Renaissance Architecture, I, 13 et seq. 
 
 2 Letters of Torrigiano, Rovezzafio and Majano to Wolsey, 
 the records of payments and inventories showing the work 
 executed on Wolsey's tomb, and the accounts and records of 
 the work done on Henry the Eighth's tomb from 1530 to 1536 
 are cited by Mr. Higgins, in his valuable article in the. Arch. 
 Journal, September, 1894. 
 
 ^ Digby Wyatt, Foreign Artists in England, p. 227. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 199 
 
 of the sculptor Nicholas of Modena, who executed 
 the royal effigy at the funeral of Henry the Eighth; 
 likewise of John of Padua, who was both a musician 
 and the "Devizor of his Majesty's buildings," entering 
 afterward the service of the Protector Somerset, whose 
 palace on the Strand he very likely built ; ^ or of 
 Jerome of Treviso, an imitator of Raphael," who was 
 architect, military engineer {inagister iormentoruin) 
 and a favorite of Henry the Eighth. Their very 
 names prove, however, that the great art of Italy had 
 crossed the Alps to find new homes in distant lands. 
 
 The work of another Tuscan sculptor, Giovanni da 
 Majano,'' who assisted Rovezzano in the decoration of 
 Hampton Court, can be seen there in the well-known 
 terra-cotta roundels of Roman emperors.^ The tal- 
 ents of the Italian artists were especially required in 
 decoration, where their influence in England was then 
 chiefly felt. In all matters of detail, ornamentation 
 of surfaces, delicate arabesques, plaster modelling, 
 terra-cotta medallions, and carving of every kind, they 
 excelled. The German traveller, Braun, who was al- 
 most a contemporary, spoke of the numerous Italian 
 artificers, sculptors, and architects in the service of 
 Henry the Eighth. The royal palace of Nonesuch, 
 
 1 Digby Wyatt, op. cit., p. 234. 
 
 2 A picture by him representing the Madonna and the Child 
 with saints and angels is in the National Gallery, London. 
 
 ^ Often called John de Menns, or Demyans; Rovezzano's 
 name was similarly anglicized into Rovesham or Rovesanne. 
 
 * For the terra-cotta busts he received the sum of £2 6s. 8^., 
 and for three " histories of Hercules," ;^4 apiece. 
 
200 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 the greatest building of that age in England, which 
 was probably designed by Toto, contained numerous 
 statues in plaster, and life-size reliefs representing the 
 stories of pagan gods, said by Evelyn to have been the 
 work of some celebrated Italian. Camden the anti- 
 quary also praised its splendor, and described the 
 statuary as rivalling the monuments of ancient Rome. 
 
 The direct influence of Italy in the arts, or rather 
 the work of Italians in England at this time, was 
 largely confined to the southeastern counties, espe- 
 cially around Southampton and Winchester, where 
 there were settlements of Italians. It was chiefly the 
 product of small wandering handicraftsmen, who often 
 carved their arabesques on the plain surfaces left by 
 English masons. Another evidence of Italian influ- 
 ence can be seen in the use of terra- cotta, and plaster 
 work in ceilings and friezes, of common occurrence 
 toward the end of the sixteenth century. Although 
 local tradition has usually assigned this to travelling 
 companies of Italians, it was more likely inspired by 
 the work of the Tuscan sculptors of the time of Henry 
 the Eighth, from whom many Englishmen learned the 
 new style.^ Italian workmen, however, were probably 
 employed at times, as, for instance, on the wooden 
 screens and stalls in the chapel of King's College, 
 Cambridge, where the mouldings show plainly the 
 Renaissance design in all its beauty. 
 
 The Italian artists who centred around Wolsey and 
 
 1 Blomfield, op. cit, I, 23, mentions Richard Ridge's work 
 at Hampton Court as an example of this. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 20I 
 
 Henry the Eighth disappeared as silently as they 
 came. Excepting John of Padua, none seem to have 
 remained in England after the king's death. The 
 English lack of artistic interest and talent caused 
 their places to remain unfilled, even though certain 
 individuals were trying to encourage art. The first 
 Earl of Bedford, who had been in Italy, was probably 
 among its patrons. His tomb, dating from 1556, in 
 the Russel Chapel at Chenies, is quite in the northern 
 Italian style, bearing considerable resemblance to the 
 Sforza monument by Solari at Pavia. The ideal treat- 
 ment of the eyes, hair and beard all suggest a knowl- 
 edge of the antique, unshared by any Englishmen of 
 the time ; the arabesque decoration of the cushion 
 on which Lady Bedford's head rests is also character- 
 istically Italian. The work on the base, which is of 
 alabaster incrusted with black marble, may have been 
 partly the labor of native artisans, but the statues them- 
 selves appear undoubtedly to be the work of an Ital- 
 ian, or at least of some thoroughly Italianated Fleming. 
 The indirect influence of the Italian artists in Eng- 
 land proved of considerable importance. The example 
 they set, their technical skill and ingenuity, the novelty 
 of their designs and forms, must have come like a 
 revelation to English craftsmen. The ancient Gothic 
 architecture had degenerated, and the flamboyant style 
 could not successfully oppose the Renaissance art 
 with its new method of decoration. At the same 
 time, the true Italian influence on English architecture 
 was not to be felt for some time. Of exact copying 
 
202 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 from Italian buildings there was little or none. The 
 Italian style was considerably modified by transmission 
 through different lands, especially France and the 
 Low Countries. When it once obtained a foothold in 
 England, thousands of native artisans transformed it still 
 further, until its original form could scarcely be recog- 
 nized.^ In the earlier buildings, however, numerous 
 Itahan traces can still be observed. Not only at Hamp- 
 ton Court, but at Sutton Place, Surrey, Layer Marney 
 in Essex, Guildford, East Barsham and many other 
 localities, there was considerable use made of terra- 
 cotta for decorative purposes. At Sutton Place, for 
 instance, it was utiHzed in the amorini above the hall 
 door. The arabesque work in the mullions and the 
 small mouldings were all of Italian design.^ 
 
 There were no regular architects in England in the 
 sixteenth century. The work was done by so-called 
 "surveyors," who as a rule were English. Sometimes, 
 as in the building of Wollaton Hall, master workmen 
 were sent for from Italy. Most of the stone figures 
 adorning the house were likewise Italian. Even the 
 pilasters had gondola rings on their pedestals, which 
 were copied from Venice. The circular panels con- 
 tained busts of classic personages. Many of the niches 
 are, however, empty, tradition ascribing the reason to 
 the wrecking of the ship which was bringing their 
 occupants from Italy.^ 
 
 ^ J, Alfred Gotch, Arch, of the Ren., I, xxii. 
 
 2 F. Harrison, Annals of an Old Manor House, p. 126. 
 
 3 Gotch, op. cit.y II, 62. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 203 
 
 In numerous other buildings of the Elizabethan 
 Age, the Italian influence was strongly marked ; Audley 
 End showed it. Moreton Corbet, built in 1599, gave 
 the effect of 2, palazzo. Longford Castle, constructed 
 a year later, with its use of pilasters and columns, its 
 open loggia effect and niches for statues, was quite in 
 the Italian style. At Lyveden, the cornice of the 
 new building was brought over from Italy. At Hat- 
 field there was also use of fresco work, and of Italian 
 columns and pilasters, and at Hardwick Hall an 
 Italian portico.^ When the queen went to Greenwich 
 in 1583, Roger Manners wrote to the Earl of Rutland 
 that " she was never in any place better pleased, and 
 sure the house, garden, and walks may compare with 
 any delicate place in Italy." ^ Gardens especially were 
 imitated from the Italians. 
 
 The improvement in English architecture had 
 not taken place over night. In 1550, John Shute, 
 who, besides being a painter and miniaturist, was 
 later to write one of the earliest English treatises 
 on architecture, had been sent to Italy by the Duke 
 of Northumberland to study there under the best 
 architects. It was not, however, until the seventeenth 
 century that, with Inigo Jones, the classic style of 
 Palladio found a new home in England ; but his years 
 of study had been in the reign of Elizabeth. " Being 
 
 1 Vide J. A. Gotch, Early Renaissance Architecture in En^- 
 landzxidi Architecture of the Renaissance in England, for accounts 
 of the subject. 
 
 2 Hist. Ms. Coin., Report 12, Appendix IV, p. 150. 
 
204 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 naturally inclined," he wrote, "to study the arts of 
 design, I passed into foreign parts to converse with 
 the great masters thereof in Italy." The instruction 
 he received was to bear its fruits in the time of James, 
 but it would scarcely have been possible without the 
 work of the Italians in England, in the first half of 
 the sixteenth century, who prepared and smoothed 
 the way, bridging over the transition between the 
 Gothic and the new style of the Renaissance. 
 
 Hardly a single Italian artist of consequence came to 
 England in the reign of Elizabeth ; the few who did 
 come were all of minor importance. Valerio Belli, it is 
 true, the celebrated engraver of gems, is supposed to 
 have visited England and to have carved many portraits 
 in cameo,^ but even this is doubtful. The processes em- 
 ployed in the medaUic art came, however, from Italy .^ 
 The first medallic portrait of an Englishman was made 
 in Venice in 1480. Although considerably later the 
 art was transplanted to England, it is very unlikely I 
 that either Jacopo Trezzo or Primavera, who executed 
 the portraits of Mary, and Mary Queen of Scots, ever 
 set foot on English soil.'^ A great number of paintings 
 of all kinds, few of which have been authenticated, 1 
 are ascribed to Frederick Zuccaro, who in his four I 
 years' residence in England painted Elizabeth and a 
 number of her courtiers. His merit as an artist was 
 
 1 Horace Walpole, Anecdotes of Painting, p. 188. 
 
 2 Hawkins and Franks, Medallic Illustratiotis of English 
 History, p. xii. 
 
 8 Ibid.i p. 71. 
 
/o/'f-y. Ji^/^?^^//,^'/y^yy/f;^ /y (2^t^J^.a^i*^^ciK 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 20$ 
 
 very slight, and it is scarcely remarkable that his influ- 
 ence was not more strongly felt. Petruccio Ubaldini, 
 who has been mentioned before, was both an illumina- 
 tor and painter of miniatures at the court. The Eng- 
 hsh miniaturists, however, inclined rather to the French 
 and Flemish schools, even where in other respects they 
 felt the Italian influence. Isaac Oliver, for instance, 
 one of whose drawings in the northern Italian style is 
 reproduced, was quite un-Italian in his miniatures, and 
 the same was true of his master, Nicholas Hilliard. 
 
 A taste for art was slowly growing in England, 
 though not much proof of this now remains.^ Sir Philip 
 Hoby was counted by Titian among his friends. Con- 
 stable also alluded to Raphael and Michelangelo 
 in his sonnets.^ Richard Haydocke, in his well-known 
 translation of Lomazzo's Aft of Painting, greatly de- 
 plored the EngHsh lack of artistic feehng and the 
 alleged decay of the arts, the cause of which he 
 ascribed largely to the fact that the purchaser would 
 not pay well for the work of art, and in consequence 
 the artist would not do his best. Haydocke's effort 
 was to induce a cultivated class of patrons who might 
 encourage art. From his words it is evident that the 
 English were then beginning to appreciate painting. 
 Previously there had been but few illustrations of this. 
 In the reign of Henry the Seventh, it is true, the 
 Duke of Urbino had sent over as a gift to that mon- 
 
 1 For list of contemporary English painters, vide Francis 
 Meres, Palladis Tai?tia, 1598, p. 287. 
 
 2 Vide p. 143. 
 
206 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 arch a small picture by Raphael^ of St. George slay- 
 ing the dragon. Presents of similar nature were made 
 from time to time. The Grand Duke of Tuscany, for 
 instance, sent Queen Mary a miniature of the Three 
 Magi.^ The zeal for collecting works of art, begun in 
 Italy, had spread to England — " In which point some 
 of our nobility and divers private gentlemen have very 
 well acquitted themselves ; as may appear by their 
 galleries, carefully furnished with the excellent monu- 
 ments of sundry famous ancient masters, both Italian 
 and German."® Even the native painters were appre- 
 ciated ; Richard Haydocke desired " the skilful pen of 
 George Vasari" to draw parallels between Enghsh 
 painters and Italian, and compare Nicholas Hilliard 
 " with the mild spirit of the late world's wonder, 
 Raphael Urbini." 
 
 It is significant of the interest which was beginning 
 to be taken in all works of art, especially by such 
 collectors as the Earl of Arundel, that a special in- 
 voice of bronzes by John Bologna was not long after- 
 ward sent on commission from Florence to London.'* 
 Inigo Jones himself purchased works of art, when in 
 
 1 Now at St. Petersburg. 
 
 2 Guardaroba Medicea, Florence, filza 34. 
 2 R. Haydocke, preface to Lomazzo, 1598. 
 
 * Guardaroba Medicea, 293, p. 81. Among other subjects 
 were represented a Hercules with a club in his hand (perhaps 
 the one now in the print room of the Fitzwilliam Museum, 
 Cambridge), a Hercules killing the Centaur, a woman with a 
 ball, a figure of Fortune, a Centaur carrying away Dejanira, etc. 
 In this consignment there were also several wax figures. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 20/ 
 
 Italy, for the Earl of Arundel and Lords Pembroke 
 and Danvers. The history of the collector's zeal in 
 England rightly belongs, however, to a later period 
 than the age of Elizabeth. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The Reformation has, until recently, been regarded 
 almost as an exclusively Teutonic counterpart of the 
 Italian Renaissance. As a result of this, the ethical 
 and religious influence of Italy has been underrated, 
 even when not entirely neglected. Toward the end of 
 the sixteenth century it had become almost a fashion 
 for moralists to see in Italy only a centre of vice and 
 corruption. Partly, perhaps, on account of the survival 
 of this idea, partly through ignorance, the sterner and 
 more austere aspects of Italian life were generally over- 
 looked. The religious enthusiasm of a Savonarola lay 
 covered by the iniquity of the Borgias. The great 
 crimes of the age, and not its virtues, alone struck the 
 popular eye. It would, however, be a very one-sided 
 estimate of the Italian Renaissance to regard it as an age 
 when only the arts and learning flourished in an atmos- 
 phere of depravity. To deny the excesses committed, 
 or the vice of the age, would be no less untrue than 
 to blind one's eyes to its piety, which existed then, all 
 the brighter, perhaps, for the evil which surrounded 
 it. Too little attention has been given to the Italian 
 religious influence in England, first noticeable in the 
 effect of the humanist criticism of the Scriptures on 
 Grocyn and Colet. The Italian reformers who found 
 
208 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 their way to England in the reign of Henry the Eighth 
 showed a different side of the same influence. 
 
 Among the most eminent of these was Bernardino | 
 Ochino, a Capuchin monk of Siena, considered to be 
 the most eloquent preacher of his time in all Italy. 
 He had gradually drifted toward an attitude of dissent 
 from Rome, and in consequence had been obliged 
 to seek refuge elsewhere. His love of truth, it was 
 said, led him to choose suffering and exile rather than 
 wealth and honors. Because he followed " the true 
 gospel," he had been persecuted by Paul the Third, 
 who forced him to leave Italy .^ In 1547 he went to 
 England, at Cranmer's invitation. He received there 
 a hearty welcome, was granted a crown pension, and 
 appointed preacher of the Italian church in London. 
 His presence in England attracted considerable atten- 
 tion, and his sermons were often translated, being among 
 the most popular theological books of the time. In 
 1549, Bishop Ponet translated his Tragedy^ which had 
 for its subject the rise of the papacy and contained 
 a severe indictment directed against the Church 
 of Rome. Ochino's sermons proved more popular, 
 however, passing through several editions. The first 
 appeared the year after his arrival in England, and 
 was dedicated to the Duke of Somerset. In the 
 address to the reader, the printer mentioned the 
 
 1 Preface to the Sermons of Ochino^ 1548. 
 
 ^ The Tragedy by Bernardino Ochino, 1549. A remarkable 
 parallel between it and Paradise Lost has been pointed out by 
 Dr. Garnett. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 209 
 
 translations of the Scriptures, then beginning to be 
 widely known. The prophets and patriarchs, it was 
 said, were now familiar to all having " become English 
 men. . . . God himself in our own tongue speaketh 
 to us . . . and Paul being a Hebrew born hath changed 
 his tongue, and is become ours, as though he had been 
 bred and brought up all the days of his life amongst 
 us." In consequence of the evil conditions in Eng- 
 land, God had sent prophets out of strange countries. 
 " Amongst the which, Bernardinus Ochinus and Petrus 
 Martyr, men of great learning which are now come 
 unto us." Inasmuch as Ochino's sermons had been 
 preached in Italian, a selection of six were at first trans- 
 lated, with the intention of publishing the others, 
 should the first meet with favor. In this way, it was 
 hoped, " his native tongue thereby may be made ours." 
 The chief object of the sermons was to show the 
 benefits of making proper use of the Scriptures to 
 attain knowledge of the Deity. Their further popu- 
 larity was attested by an enlarged edition, printed not 
 long afterward by a different publisher. 
 
 Another translation of Ochino's sermons ^ by Anne 
 Cooke was more interesting. It was intended to show 
 the spiritual side of the Italians and prove that a study 
 of the language need by no means be fruitless from the 
 rehgious point of view, although the object of this edi- 
 tion was to make Ochino's doctrines accessible to those 
 ignorant of ItaHan. To defend the book seemed, 
 however, unnecessary to the translator, since the author 
 
 1 Fourteen Sermons of Barnadine Ochyne (1550 ?). 
 P 
 
2IO ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 lived in England — "A man whose life without words 
 would be sufficient protection to his work." As late, 
 indeed, as 1580 a new edition appeared of Ochino's 
 sermons^ which praised the spiritual wisdom of the 
 author and the "pure and perfect godUness of his 
 works." 
 
 Peter Martyr Vermigli, the friend and contemporary 
 of Ochino, was born in Florence, where his father had 
 been a follower of Savonarola. He himself had studied 
 for eight years at Padua, and came under the influ- 
 ence of the Spanish reformer, Juan de Valdes. In 
 1547, with Ochino, he had been invited by Cranmer 
 to come to England. Together they were placed in 
 the charge of John Abell, an English merchant, who 
 escorted them from Basle to London, where Peter 
 Martyr lived for some time with Cranmer. He was 
 given a crown pension, was soon afterward made Regius 
 professor of divinity at Oxford and later appointed to 
 the first canonry of Christ Church. Peter Martyr was 
 one of the three persons whom Cranmer associated 
 with himself in revising the ecclesiastical laws. Cran- 
 mer selected him also to aid him in defending the 
 Book of Common Prayer, established under Edward 
 the Sixth when, at the beginning of Mary's reign, he 
 challenged the Romanists to a public disputation. 
 The two were on terms of cordial intimacy and 
 friendship ; the archbishop made particular use of 
 him in the different steps of the Reformation, and 
 
 ^ Certain Godly Sermons, translated by William Phiston, 
 1580. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 211 
 
 whenever he could be spared from his pubhc readings 
 at Oxford would send for him/ it was said, to confer on 
 matters of importance. 
 
 Peter Martyr was also a prolific writer, and many of 
 his works were translated into English. While few are 
 of interest to the layman, they yet show the influence 
 of an Italian in shaping the course of the English 
 Reformation. His Puritanism appeared, for instance, 
 in his tract on the Abuse of Dancing, in which he proved 
 its wickedness by the Scriptures. One of his many 
 religious treatises was translated by Nicholas Udall for 
 the benefit of such curates and other good people " who 
 in default of sufiicient learning are unable thoroughly 
 to instruct their flocks, nor to stop the mouths of ma- 
 licious people, and of Papists." His most important 
 writings, however, were the commentaries on the 
 Scriptures ; in his great book of Commonplaces, later 
 translated by Anthony Martin,- were contained his 
 ideas on the subject, and many inquiries on predes- 
 tination, justification by faith, and the salvation of man 
 through Christ. The work was especially praised for 
 reproving the errors and heresies of Rome, and its 
 author was eulogized for having devoted his Hfe to 
 preaching Protestantism in England. To accomplish 
 this, it was said, he had left his own wealth and repose. 
 His letters were also pubhshed, but contain Httle of 
 general interest save his sorrows for Italy, and com- 
 plaints of the penury in England "of the word of 
 
 1 Strype, Thomas Cranmer, I, 593. 
 
 2 The Commonplaces of rttL.r Martyr, 1583. 
 
212 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 God." Like his other writings, the letters were full 
 of an intense zeal and a deep religious enthusiasm 
 not commonly associated with the Itahans of the 
 Renaissance. 
 
 The rehgious influence Italy exerted on Protestant 
 England was by no means confined to the few reform- 
 ers who came over. Even then a devotional and reli- 
 gious literature flourished south of the Alps which was 
 known in England. Edward Courtenay, Earl of 
 Devon, during his long imprisonment in the Tower, 
 translated, in 1548, Aonio Paleario's book on the 
 Benefit of Chrisfs Death^ a work of such extraor- 
 dinary popularity in the sixteenth century that, until 
 condemned by the Inquisition, it was admired 
 alike by pious Catholics and those who favored the 
 Reformation. 
 
 England then became a home and refuge for Italian 
 reformers, just as in the nineteenth century it was one 
 for political refugees. Jacopo Calco was another Ital- 
 ian theologian who came over for rehgious reasons.^ 
 Giulio Terenziano, better known in England as Julius, 
 followed Peter Martyr, and in later years came such 
 men as Jacopo Acontio, author of Satati's Strata- 
 gems^ Alessandro Cittolini^ and Giulio Borgarucci, 
 who, arriving a Protestant refugee, later became court 
 physician. Francesco Pucci was also one whose 
 
 1 Trattato Utilissimo, by Antonio della Paglia, known as 
 Aonio Paleario. Another English rendering of this book was 
 made by Arthur Golding from its French translation. 
 
 2 Bale, Scriptorium Illustriuvi, 1557, II, 140. 
 
 3 Vide Roger Ascham, EpistolcB, passim. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 213 
 
 reforming zeal led him to London and Oxford, 
 where he delivered a course of lectures in theology. 
 Still another was Pietro Bizari of Perugia, an his- 
 torian and poet who described himself as " an exile 
 from Italy his native country by reason of his con- 
 fession of the doctrine of the Gospel." Michael 
 Angelo Florio, a Florentine Protestant who had come 
 over to England, in addition to being a teacher of 
 Italian, became, in 1550, preacher to the congregation 
 of Italian Protestants in London. This had been estab- 
 lished chiefly through the influence of Archbishop Cran- 
 mer and Sir WiUiam Cecil. The archbishop obtained 
 certain privileges for the members of the congregation, 
 who were to be treated like free denizens, and given 
 permission to reside and do business in London, with as 
 much freedom as native-born Enghshmen. The only 
 obligation they were under was to swear fidelity and 
 allegiance. Other requests were granted them from 
 time to time, and many joined the church for worldly 
 reasons. In spite of these advantages, quite a few 
 returned to the Roman semce. Florio complained of 
 this to Cecil, then secretary of state, who bade him 
 prepare a list of the apostates' names, which he did. 
 The secretary sent for these, and informed them that, 
 since they were citizens, and in consequence subject 
 to English law, they ought to be punished the same as 
 other Englishmen who heard the mass.^ Florio, whose 
 morals were not of the best, subsequently lost the 
 favor of Cecil, who had before been his friend ; 
 
 ^ Strype, Memorials^ p. 343 et seq. 
 
214 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Jerome Zerlito later became the pastor of this church. 
 Its existence for many years is perhaps the best proof 
 of the Itahan colony in London. Roger Ascham 
 alluded to it, in condemning the courtiers who went 
 there to hear the language and not for the service ; 
 " Italianated Englishmen," he called them,^ who were 
 unable to abide the godly Italian church at home 
 and attended it only to listen to the Itahan tongue 
 naturally spoken. 
 
 The Italian reformers in England prove how one- 
 sided any judgment would be, which laid down abso- 
 lutely the nature of the Italian influence in England, 
 condemning it for the same reasons which once acted 
 on moralists hke Ascham. The Italian spiritual nature, 
 though less on the surface than its carnal side, was yet 
 to be found by those who sought it. There were 
 many besides John Colet who felt the Italian influ- 
 ences of piety and austerity. 
 
 IV 
 
 The Italians of the Renaissance were the first mod- 
 ern people to take note of the traits and characteristics 
 of other nations. Beginning with Poggio and ^neas 
 Sylvius, they recorded at length their impressions of 
 foreign countries. During the sixteenth century a 
 series of deep and accurate studies of national char- 
 acter was written by the Venetian ambassadors, one of 
 whose duties it was to keep their government posted 
 
 1 Scholemaster^ p. 82. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 21 5 
 
 on the condition of the countries with whom they had 
 diplomatic relations. This had been the custom since 
 the early years of the republic. The Grand Council 
 decreed, in 1268, that all Venetian ambassadors on 
 their return should report in full their proceedings to 
 the signory, being supplied with a clerk to write out 
 the narrative. By degrees it became usual to add 
 descriptions of the country visited, and these were 
 often elaborated at considerable length. The Vene- 
 tian reports became celebrated as models of what 
 such work should be, and copies were eagerly sought 
 for in other countries as well.^ 
 
 The Italian accounts of England in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury were of several different kinds. Without consider- 
 ing the numerous letters containing information on 
 many subjects, or the sharp but scattered impressions 
 which Bruno recorded in the Siippe?' of Ashes, partial 
 descriptions of England can be found in such diaries as 
 that of the Milanese merchant, who travelled there in 
 15 18," and in Jerome Cardan's experiences in the reign 
 of Edward the Sixth ; also in Paolus Jovius' and Bote- 
 ro's general histories and geographies. 
 
 The Venetian relations, however, were by far the 
 most important. Although diplomatic intercourse, cen- 
 tring mainly on commercial questions, had existed for 
 some time between the two states, yet Andrea Trevi- 
 sani's embassy to the English court, in 1497, was really 
 the first. During the sixteenth century, the Venetian 
 
 1 Cal. St. Pap., Ven., I, xliii ei seq. 
 
 2 Add. Ms. 24,180, Brit. Mus. 
 
2l6 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ambassadors in England numbered twenty-three in all. 
 Diplomatic intercourse ceased almost entirely in the 
 reign of Elizabeth, owing to the religious differences.^ 
 
 The reports of the different ambassadors have 
 many elements in common. The model the writers 
 employed was the same, and they saw things through 
 similar eyes. At the same time the outward panorama 
 was continually changing. For this reason, while each 
 " relation " serves in one way to corroborate the others, 
 it adds also a certain amount of fresh material. 
 
 Almost invariably in the sixteenth century the first 
 desire of any one who wished to relate the experiences 
 of his travels was to preface these with a general 
 account of the country he had visited. England was 
 still too remote and distant a nation, and accurate 
 knowledge too scarce, for its physical characteristics 
 not to be of interest. This is scarcely the place, how- 
 ever, to dwell on such matters. The government of 
 the country, the crown revenues, parliament and judi- 
 ciary can be passed over likewise, although naturally of 
 the greatest interest to the signory for whose benefit 
 these accounts were written. It may briefly be said 
 that the liberties enjoyed by Englishmen and their 
 freedom from oppressive taxes especially impressed 
 the shrewd Italian observer. 
 
 Although the English characteristics noticed would 
 be too numerous to mention here, the general im- 
 pression derived from reading these accounts is one 
 of keen and accurate observation. The religious trans- 
 
 1 Baschet, Diplomaiie Venitienne, p. io6. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 21/ 
 
 formation of the country was naturally of great interest 
 to the intelligent foreigner, and one writer, at least, 
 described in detail the new prayer book of 1549 which 
 made use of the English language, and the new church 
 ceremonies and regulations.^ England, especially in 
 the first half of the sixteenth century, was passing 
 through a period of transition, and the numerous 
 changes of faith undergone perhaps almost justified 
 one critic's remarks, that the English used religion 
 merely as a cloak ; that they believed what the king 
 believed, and if he were to turn Mahometan or Jew, 
 they would follow suit.^ 
 
 The great effort of the kings of Spain ever since the 
 Reformation had been directed to bringing England 
 back to the Roman faith, accomphshing thereby both 
 a poHtical and a religious end. The military resources 
 of England were consequently a matter of considerable 
 interest, even to states which were neutral. For- 
 eigners' opinions on English soldiers varied considera- 
 bly, although certain of the traits then noticed still 
 continue to hold true at the present day. 
 
 One of the least favorable of miilitary critics was a 
 certain Giovanni Sovico, who had lived many years in 
 England, and gave as his opinion that ten or twelve 
 thousand Spanish or Italian infantry and two thousand 
 cavalry would be sufficient to restore the Catholic reli- 
 gion.^ Petruccio Ubaldini, who had served in the Scotch 
 war, thought it to be the general impression that if a 
 
 1 Relazione Ubaldini, f. 93. ^ Relazione Michele, f. 22 et seq. 
 8 Arch. Med. Flor., 4185, Letk?- to Father Panigarola. 
 
2l8 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 foreign prince were only able to land an army on Eng- 
 lish soil, and win the first battle, he would encounter 
 no further difficulties, since, owing to the inability of 
 the people to endure fatigue, and their nature, they 
 would no longer oppose him. He went on to explain 
 that this was not so easy as it seemed at first sight. 
 All similar attempts since the Conquest had failed, and 
 William only succeeded on account of the weakness of 
 the opposing army.^ Italian critics, generally, agreed 
 on the English inability to withstand fatigue, and their 
 need of an abundant meat diet. Without a great supply 
 of food they were able to endure but little exertion.^ 
 " When war was raging most furiously, they would 
 look for good eating and all their other comforts 
 without thinking of what harm might befall them."^ 
 Although they showed great aptitude for sport, and 
 readiness in times of danger, it could not be said that 
 they cared much for arms. Their only opportunity to 
 make use of them was in war, and once that was over 
 they forgot all about them.^ Enghsh soldiers enjoyed, 
 however, a high reputation, and from the fear the 
 French held them in, it was believed to have been 
 justly acquired.^ The critics singled out for especial 
 praise the English proficiency in the use of the long 
 bow.^ 
 
 1 Ubaldini, f. S3. 
 
 2 /did., f. 112 d. Rel. Soranzo, 1554, ed. Alberi, Ft. II, p. 53. 
 
 3 Relation of England^ 1500, p. 22 et seq. 
 
 4 Soranzo, p. 52. ^ Rel. of England, loc. cit. 
 ^ Rel. Raviglio, Ms. Siena, Libreria comunale K., X, 29, f. 64, 
 
 and Cal. St Pap., Ven., IV, 285-2S9. 
 
 1 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 219 
 
 It was easily recognized that the natural strength of 
 the country lay in its insular position. Long before 
 the Armada, the Italians appreciated the fact that the 
 strong point of the English was in naval warfare, where 
 they succeeded much better and were far braver than 
 on land. They placed reliance in their ships, and, 
 utterly regardless of death, performed prodigies of 
 valor with them. The courage of English sailors 
 in their attack was wonderful, wrote another writer. 
 '^ These people fight to the death ; and it is their 
 habit before they sail, to swear to one another that 
 they will fire the ship rather than yield themselves 
 prisoners. So resolute is this race in battle." ^ This 
 courage was admired in other respects as well. It was 
 noticed especially that Englishmen had often been seen 
 laughing while on their way to the stake or gibbet, ridi- 
 cuUng, as it were, such martyrdom.^ 
 
 To the foreign diplomatist, especially, whose glimpses 
 of national life were largely obtained at court, the 
 reigning prince was always a subject of great interest. 
 His relatives and favorites, his accomplishments, and 
 even his most trivial wishes were all mentioned.^ Sur- 
 rounding Henry the Eighth, it was said, were many 
 Spaniards and Italians of every profession, who in turn 
 had a company of courtiers running after them, anxious 
 to learn foreign languages.'' The etiquette of the court, 
 
 1 Cal. St. Pap., Ven., IX, 239. 
 
 2 Litolfi, Episf. cit., Cal. St. Pap., Ven., VI, 1668-73. 
 
 3 Rel. Falier, 1531, ed. Alberi, Pt. II, p. lO et seq. 
 * Cal. St. Pap., Fen., IV, 285-289. 
 
220 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 and the continual use of ceremonies on the sHghtest 
 occasion, seemed almost ridiculous to the Italian ob- 
 server. Whether the king was present or absent there 
 existed the same formalities.^ It was the duty of the 
 president of the royal council, the highest official in all 
 England, to serve the sovereign at table.^ Ubaldini 
 had seen the Princess Elizabeth kneel five times 
 in succession to the king, her father, before sitting 
 down. It was even customary for the children of 
 Henry the Eighth to address him on bended knees. 
 The daily life of Edward the Sixth was similarly 
 described. Cardan, who saw the young king when 
 still in his fifteenth year, wrote that he was skilled 
 in seven languages. His tennis, horsemanship and 
 archery were noticed, as well as the fact that his 
 riding and dancing master, and many of his musicians, 
 were Italians.^ The attention of later travellers centred 
 naturally on Queen Elizabeth, who was to become the 
 most conspicuous figure of her age. In her youth, 
 report had it that she lived a life of such splendor as 
 could hardly be imagined. Much of her time was 
 occupied by balls and banquets, hunting, and similar 
 amusements, all of which were conducted with the 
 greatest possible display. She insisted, however, that 
 far greater respect be shown her than the late queen 
 had exacted ; and although she had summoned Par- 
 liament, she gave orders that her commands be exe- 
 cuted, even if contrary to its will.* 
 
 1 Rel. Raviglio, Ms. cit., f. 70. ^ Ubaldini, f. 43 b. 
 
 2 Ibid., f. 64. * Cal. St. Pap., Ven., VII, 659. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 221 
 
 Shortly after her accession, one envoy wrote regard- 
 ing the HkeHhood of any foreigner ascending the 
 throne. " During the last twenty years three princes 
 of the blood, four dukes, forty earls, and more than 
 three thousand other persons have died by violent 
 death. It may therefore be easily imagined that no 
 foreigner could rule this kind of people, when even 
 their own countrymen are not safe. . . . Queen Eliza- 
 beth, who has succeeded to the throne . . . declines to 
 rely upon any one save herself, although she is most 
 gracious to all." ^ Her personal appearance was often 
 described as well. Even in her seventieth year, it 
 was said of her that she walked straight as a rod, 
 com' una canna, clad all in white.^ 
 
 Next in interest came the nobles directly after the 
 sovereign. Poggio remarked in his day that they con- 
 sidered it disgraceful to live in towns, and judged the 
 degree of a man's nobility by the extent of his estates. 
 Their time was spent in agriculture, although they did 
 not consider trading in wool and sheep to be beneath 
 their dignity. He himself had known a wealthy mer- 
 chant, who having invested his money in land became 
 the founder of a noble race ; and had likewise seen 
 admitted into the highest circles many persons of low 
 birth who had been ennobled on account of their war- 
 like achievements.^ Later in the sixteenth century, 
 although very few of the old nobility remained, they yet 
 
 1 Cal. St. Pap., Ven., VII, 328 ei seq. 
 
 2 Arch. Med. Flor., 4185, July, 1599. 
 * Letter of Oct. 29th, 1420. 
 
222 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 made use of almost royal ceremony, and were looked 
 upon with nearly as much respect as the monarch him- 
 self. They had their followers and retainers, who at 
 their lord's command would fight even against the king. 
 The people regarded them as their representatives, al- 
 though the crown had often tried to break their power. 
 The nobles, except when at court, lived in the country 
 where they kept open house with great retinues of ser- 
 vants,^ the Earl of Pembroke alone having more than 
 a thousand, who were all attired in his livery. Further- 
 more, there was not a lord in the land who did not 
 have foreign servants and gentlemen in his service.^ 
 
 At the end of the fifteenth century, an Italian trav- 
 eller in England had noticed that the common people 
 were held in but little higher regard than serfs.^ Sub- 
 sequent writers did not observe this, but many petty vex- 
 ations remained to indicate differences of rank. Thus, 
 even fifty years later, while commoners were forbidden 
 to go around at night without good reason, noblemen 
 might do so.^ Another difference was that while the 
 nobility were extremely polite, especially to foreigners, 
 the populace were just as hostile^ The common people 
 had indeed many curious habits. Toward the infirm 
 they would show compassion in this way; if a man 
 were given up by the physicians and there was abso- 
 lutely no hope, his nearest relatives would take a pil- 
 low, place it on his head, and then sit on it until he 
 
 1 Soranzo, p. 52 et seq. * Raviglio, Ms. cit., f. 71. 
 
 2 Ubaldini, i. wd b. ^ Soranzo, loc. cit. 
 ^ Rel. of England, p. 34. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 223 
 
 suffocated, a father doing this to his son, or a son to 
 his own father ; and they did it thinking that since 
 there was no chance for his recovery, it was an act of 
 charity to reUeve him from his pain.^ Another trait 
 noticed was that when they fought, it was usually about 
 some trifle, and after having exchanged a few thrusts with 
 each other in the German fashion ( Coltellate alia Te- 
 desca), when one had wounded the other, they made 
 peace instantly and went to drink together. They had 
 not the point of honor of Italians, either as regards 
 women or when the lie was given. ^ 
 
 The freedom allowed women was very puzzling to 
 the Italians, who often misinterpreted it. It was in 
 striking contrast to what a former traveller had alluded 
 to when he said that the EngHsh kept very jealous 
 guard over their wives.^ Most writers agreed 
 about the great attractiveness of English women ; 
 one proclaimed that in no respect were they inferior 
 to the women of Siena or any of the most esteemed 
 in Italy ;^ others, too, alluded to their handsome 
 presence, fine complexions and ready wit, saying that 
 only at xA-Ugsburg were their equals to be seen.^ It 
 was the liberty they enjoyed, however, which amazed 
 the foreigners so much ; no one inquired as to what 
 they did either at home or abroad, and under pretence 
 
 1 Relazione Daniele Barbaro, Ed. Alberi, 155 1, Pt. I, p. 157. 
 
 2 Letters of Annibale Litolfi to the Duke of Mantua, June 20, 
 1557, Cal. St. Pap., Ven., VI, 1668-73. 
 
 * Jiel. of England, p. 23. 
 
 * Ubaldini, Ms. cit., f. 11^ b. ^ Litolfi, Epis/. cit. 
 
224 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 of going out for meals, they could do what they liked. 
 Married women especially, either alone or with a 
 female companion, would accept invitations to dine, 
 not only from an Englishman but a foreigner as well. It 
 was said to be the custom, after having spoken once or 
 twice to any woman, on meeting her again in the street 
 " to take her to a tavern where all persons go without 
 any reserve, or some other place, the husband not 
 taking it amiss but remaining obliged to you and always 
 thanking you, and if he sees you with her he departs."^ 
 Another curious custom mentioned was that if a man 
 should give flowers to a lady, she had to wear them for 
 three months {sic)^ when they were exchanged for 
 others. 
 
 Great surprise was shown at the alleged want of 
 affection displayed by Englishmen toward their chil- 
 dren ; every one, however rich, sent his children away 
 into the houses of others, receiving those of strangers 
 in return ; the reason given for such severity was that 
 they might learn better manners ; but one traveller,^ at 
 least, thought it was because they liked to enjoy all 
 their comforts themselves, and that they were better 
 served by strangers than they would be by their own 
 children, since the English were great epicures and 
 hked to indulge in the most delicate fare themselves, 
 while the rest they gave to their household. The Eng- 
 lish fondness for food and long dinners was a trait al- 
 ways noticed by the more frugal Italians, who called 
 
 ^ Litolfi, loc. cit. 
 
 ^ Rel. of England^ p. 25. 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 22$ 
 
 them gluttons/ and remarked that they ate five or six 
 times a day.^ Many years before Poggio had dreaded, 
 while in England, the meals which sometimes lasted 
 four hours, where he was obliged to wash his eyes with 
 cold water to keep himself awake ; ^ others, too, bore 
 witness to similar conditions, and a century later this 
 practice still continued, although conversation with ladies 
 then accounted for part of the time spent. " The Eng- 
 lish thought no greater honor could be conferred or 
 received than to invite others to eat with them or to 
 be invited themselves ; and they would sooner give 
 five or six ducats to provide an entertainment for a 
 person, than a groat to assist him in any distress." * 
 
 A characteristic noticed was their enjoyment of com- 
 fort. They loved their ease, and there was no peasant 
 who did not ride on horseback ; England was even 
 called the land of comforts. Among the national traits 
 observed was also their desire for novelty and change,^ 
 and their inconstancy, for which they were renowned in 
 the sixteenth century. One day they did one thing in 
 regard to religion, and the next day another.^ An 
 Italian, alluding to their fondness for novelty, says of 
 them that they attempted to do anything that came 
 into their heads, just as if what the imagination sug- 
 gested could easily be executed ; hence it was, he 
 said, that a greater number of insurrections had broken 
 out in England than in all the rest of the world. It 
 
 1 Poggio, Epist., I, 43. 
 
 2 Litolfi, Epist. cit., p. 1671. Vide Ubaldini, f. 112 b. 
 8 Vespasiano, p. 420. ^ Falier, p. 26. 
 
 * Rel. 0/ Etiglaftd, p. 22 et seq. ^ Barbaro, p. 18. 
 
 Q 
 
226 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 was perhaps on account of this that many people 
 would boast of the members of their family who had 
 been executed. "Lately a foreigner, having asked 
 an English captain if any one of his family had been 
 hanged and quartered, was answered, ' not that he knew 
 of.' Another Englishman whispered to the foreigner, 
 ' Don't be surprised, for he is not a gentleman.' " ^ 
 
 A certain arrogance and feeling of superiority over 
 other nations was also noticed of the English. Litolfi 
 remarked of it in a letter, " The man who said that 
 England was a paradise inhabited by devils did not 
 deceive himself"^ Long before this it was said that 
 the English were great lovers of themselves and of 
 everything belonging to them ; that they thought 
 there were no other men as good as they were, and 
 no other world but England. If they but shared some 
 delicacy with a stranger they would ask him if such a 
 thing was to be found in his country ; and whenever 
 they saw a handsome foreigner, they would say he 
 looked like an Englishman, or that it was a pity he 
 was' not an EngUshman.^ They considered them- 
 selves handsomer than any other nation in the world.^ 
 Still another writer remarked that its inhabitants 
 thought nothing existed outside England, from which 
 they proceeded to such silly propositions that they 
 aroused the laughter even of their own countrymen 
 of better judgment.^ 
 
 Many of the customs of the country were also 
 
 1 Litolfi, Epist. cit. ^ /^^^^ 3 j^^i of England, p. 20. 
 * Litolfi, ibid. ^ Ubaldini, Ms. cit., f. 115 <^. 
 
 1 
 
 i f 
 
THE ITALIANS IN ENGLAND 22/ 
 
 described by the writers on the subject. The fashion 
 in travelUng was for gentlemen to be followed by their 
 servants, one of whom carried a valise containing his 
 master's cloak, hat and a book, while the others went 
 behind, bearing each a little round buckler and a 
 sword. Ladies travelled on horseback preceded by 
 footmen, and followed by their maids of honor, who 
 were usually of noble birth. ^ 
 
 The system of wards in chancery, a source of royal 
 revenue, by which the crown administered the estates 
 of orphans, and enjoyed the income until their com- 
 ing of age, was described. The king enriched his 
 retainers by giving them wealthy wards in marriage, 
 to whom, if rejected, they were obliged to pay a 
 year's revenues. Matches were often purposely pro- 
 posed, so that they might be refused, in order to gain 
 this money for the favorite of either sex.- Women, it 
 was noticed, were given but small dowries. Many 
 houses, however, such as the Arundels, had been en- 
 riched through the female Hne, the reason for this 
 being that, on a man's marriage, one-third of his estate 
 was settled on his wife, and in case of her remaining 
 a widow she could dispose of it as she liked, if there 
 were no children. The king, therefore, would often 
 try to marry one of his courtiers to a rich widow, and, 
 in case she refused her consent, he could seize her 
 estate pretending it was his intention to unite it to 
 another's. For fear of this many widows married 
 almost immediately after their husband's death.*'' 
 
 1 Litolfi, Epist. cit. - Ravi-lio, f. 62. 3 Rel. Michele, f. 28. 
 
228 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 It was said of the English that they were gifted 
 with good understandings, and quick at anything 
 they applied their mind to. In the beginning of the 
 sixteenth century it was noticed that few except 
 the clergy were given to study ; later, however, one 
 writer remarked that many of the women, and above I 
 all the nobility, were very learned in the classics. One 
 curious bit of advice given by Ubaldini to his com- 
 patriots was for them to be careful not to offend 
 Englishmen by a flat contradiction, but little by little to 
 show them the truth, which they would then recog- 
 
 nize.^ 
 
 1 Ms. cit., f. 1 1 6. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 
 
 The condition of commerce in England, through 
 the long period of the Middle Ages, was in striking 
 contrast to its importance in Italy. One country had 
 remained to a great extent an agricultural community, 
 the chief export of which was wool ; the other, situated 
 midway between Western Europe and the East, had 
 developed a commercial life in its city republics far in 
 advance of what was then known elsewhere. Coin- 
 ciding with the first development of the Renais- 
 sance, there came a great expansion of trade. Long 
 before this, however, the Venetians and Genoese in the 
 Orient, and the Italian merchants in Western Europe, 
 made of their country a central point in the com- 
 merce of the world. At a time when all the rest of 
 Europe was still deep in the Middle Ages, the Italian 
 city communities had realized the benefits which were 
 to be derived from trade. A rapid accumulation of 
 wealth followed the success of their undertakings. 
 They were the first who introduced commercial life 
 and ideas into the countries of Western Europe, 
 teaching them banking and a knowledge of financial 
 
 229 
 
230 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 affairs. In commerce, as in literature and the arts, 
 Italy led the way for the rest of Europe to follow. 
 
 In the great fairs that were held in Champagne, in 
 the early Middle Ages, the Italian merchants had taken 
 a prominent part. They had then gradually branched 
 out, first going to Flanders, and then crossing the 
 channel to England. They came over, hkewise, in the 
 trains of the Roman prelates sent to foreign countries, 
 acting as their business men and bankers, and often 
 too as the papal collectors of revenue. 
 
 Commercial relations of one nature or another had 
 existed between Italy and England from very early 
 times. Thus Otto degli Gherardini, a rich Florentine, 
 was in England toward the end of the eleventh cen- 
 tury, and acquired much landed property; his son, 
 Walter Fitz Otto, became castellan of Windsor. A 
 little later King John carried on negotiations with the 
 Mercatores Tuscie, as they were then called, and even 
 forbade them at one time to do business in England,^ 
 although he granted commercial privileges to a Vene- 
 tian. On another occasion the great Florentine family 
 of Bardi became impoverished, through having lent 
 money to Prince Henry, the son of Henry the Second, 
 which was never repaid. The Italian merchants, how- 
 ever, who had come over to England prior to 1229, 
 were the exception, rather than the rule. In that 
 year Master Stephen, chaplain and nuncio of the 
 Pope, who had been charged to collect the tithes to 
 
 1 Vide Davidsohn, Geschichie von Florenz, I, 798. Gold- 
 schmidt, Universal Geschichie des Handelsrechts, I, 186. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 23 1 
 
 pay the expenses of the war which was to be waged 
 against Frederick the Second, appeared with several 
 of them in his retinue, who engaged in business under 
 the papal protection.^ The Pope, moreover, induced 
 the unwary Henry the Third to accept for his second 
 son, Edmund, the crown of Sicily. As security for the 
 payment of the money he had expended, the Pope 
 obtained a hold on English religious houses, and, in 
 order to administer his affairs, numerous Italians were 
 sent over. In the meantime more and more English 
 money flowed into Sicily, till, at last, the barons, exas- 
 perated, rose in revolt to depose the king, while the 
 Pope deprived the son of the empty title which had 
 proved so ruinous to his father.^ 
 
 The first half of the fourteenth century was a period 
 of great commercial prosperity for the merchants and 
 traders of Italy. The Italian bankers who accom- 
 panied the collectors of the papal tithes attended to 
 forwarding, to the Curia, the sums they collected. 
 From this time the names of Florentine, Sienese and 
 Luccan bankers and money lenders appear on the 
 English rolls, and in Italy, it was said, whoever had 
 any ready money at his disposal became at once a 
 banker.^ The Italian merchants in England prospered 
 greatly, and in very few years extended their enter- 
 prises throughout the kingdom j"* the king and the 
 
 1 Matthew Paris, Chronica, IV, 410. 
 
 2 Archaologia, XXVIII, 237. 
 
 3 Vide F. Patetta in Bollettino Senese di Storia Patria, IV, 
 320 et uq. * Matthew Paris, op. cit., Ill, 328 et seq. 
 
232 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 clergy especially were in their debt for enormous 
 amounts. 
 
 In 1240, a royal edict was issued expelling 
 foreign merchants ^ on the ground of their iniquitous 
 usury, but many of them managed to escape this de- 
 cree by bribery. Some eleven years later, when they 
 had once more settled comfortably in London, and 
 were living under papal protection in the finest houses 
 of the city, the king, perhaps because in need of money 
 which they were unwilling to supply, accused them of 
 being heretics and guilty of lese majesty. They were 
 charged with contaminating England by their usury, 
 as well as with offending the royal conscience by prac- 
 tices which were contrary to the precepts of the 
 church ; but this persecution ended, like others, in 
 the payment of money.^ 
 
 In spite of the many risks involved, England 
 offered a profitable field for the enterprise of Italian 
 bankers and merchants, and it is not surprising to 
 find many of them, as, for instance, the Salimbeni 
 family of Siena, returning to their native city and 
 purchasing castles and estates in the neighborhood. 
 In 1262, however, the Pope issued a bull against the 
 Sienese, declaring them excommunicate, and further- 
 more decreeing that no debts be paid them until they 
 had made their peace with the church.^ Exceptions 
 were soon made to this edict, and before long the 
 Sienese were once again under the papal protection, 
 
 1 Matthew Paris, op. cit., IV, 8. ^ Patetta, op. cit., p. 331. 
 3 Ibid.j p. 340. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 233 
 
 although in the meantime they had suffered con- 
 siderably. An incident which occurred about this 
 time illustrates at once the jealousy which existed 
 between the merchants of the different Italian cities, 
 and the declining power of the Sienese as com- 
 pared to the Florentines. Henry the Third, at the 
 instigation of the latter, had expelled from England 
 all Sienese bankers and merchants, who in conse- 
 quence addressed a letter^ to the king's brother, 
 Richard, Duke of Cornwall, the newly elected emperor 
 of the Holy Roman Empire, requesting his protection 
 and defaming the Florentines as the enemies of man- 
 kind. From 1260 the Sienese yielded the palm to 
 their rivals, who assumed the mastership. The Flor- 
 entines long preserved the lead they had won. In 
 1375 Gregory the Eleventh issued his bull in which he 
 declared them excommunicate. William Courtenay, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, published it in England, 
 whereupon the Londoners pillaged the houses of all 
 Florentine merchants. The king, in consequence of 
 this, took them under his protection, and obtained 
 thereby large sums of money, while on the other hand the 
 archbishop was summoned to answer for his conduct. 
 The Italians at first had been merely trading mer- 
 chants or agents of the Pope. They were, as a rule, 
 members of established companies doing business in 
 common. Thus, under Edward the First, there were 
 four such companies of Sienese merchants known as 
 campso7-es Papce. As papal agents they had to remit 
 
 1 Donati, Boll. Stor. Pat. Sen., V, 257. 
 
234 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 yearly to Rome one-tenth of the profits on ecclesiasti- 
 cal property. The king's connivance in this was often 
 purchased by allowing him a share as well.^ The 
 Pope, moreover, was at first their protector, and inter- 
 ceded with the king in their behalf in case of trouble. 
 Already before the end of Henry the Third's reign the 
 ItaHans had obtained a firm footing in England. The 
 facilities they enjoyed enabled them to issue letters of 
 credit to ambassadors,^ and bills of exchange were 
 probably sold only by them. They also forwarded 
 the money necessary to conduct the many English 
 ecclesiastical lawsuits and cases, which were continu- 
 ally being pleaded in Rome.^ In England, on the 
 other hand, they purchased wool; the returns still 
 exist of the quantity of wool in the possession of ten 
 different companies of Italian merchants in the reign 
 of Edward the First."* At a time, moreover, when it 
 was extremely difficult to raise money on credit, princes 
 like Henry the Third and the first three Edwards 
 made use of their resources. Under Edward the First 
 they enjoyed close connection with the throne, and 
 the merchants of Lucca even remitted him from Eng- 
 land the necessary sums for his expenses in Palestine,"^ 
 and kept him informed of what went on at home. 
 Later, when he became king, he fostered their trade 
 and induced them to come over in considerable num- 
 bers, obtaining readily from them the money he could 
 find nowhere else. Interest was rarely promised in the 
 
 1 Arch., XXVIII, 214 et seq. "^ Ibid., p. 218. 
 
 8 Ibid. * Ibid., p. 220. ^ n,id., p, 241. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 235 
 
 royal loans from Italians, for interest meant usury, and 
 usurers were liable to be treated as heretics ; but 
 charges of usury were often avoided by making loans 
 gratuitous for a period. Instead of interest an addi- 
 tional amount was usually given as compensation for 
 any losses or expenses incurred. Thus ^^ 10,000 was 
 granted by Edward the First to the Frescobaldi of 
 Florence^ to reimburse them for the losses they had 
 suffered, and similar premiums were often given. 
 Later, however, as loans grew larger, interest began 
 to be paid. Edward the Third, for instance, was 
 obliged to grant it on 140,000 florins he had borrowed 
 from a merchant of Lucca, and engage himself fur- 
 thermore not to cross the seas until the sum advanced 
 had been repaid. Security for loans was usually given 
 by an assignment of a portion of the royal revenue 
 for the amount received. Edward the Third sur- 
 rendered all the customs of the kingdom for one year 
 to the Bardi of Florence, who had undertaken to 
 provide 1000 florins every month for the expenses 
 of the royal household.^ Often the great noblemen 
 and sometimes the Italian merchants themselves would 
 become the king's securities to other companies of 
 their countrymen for sums advanced ; Lord Derby 
 was even confined in France for debts in which he 
 had been the king's security, until he was released by 
 the company of Leopardi who advanced the required 
 sum.^ Under Edward the First all the revenues of 
 Ireland were assigned to the Frescobaldi in payment 
 
 ^ Vide Arch., p. 229, 2 //,/^., p. 230. ^ Ibid. 
 
236 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 of a loan of ;^i 1,000 j^ for in Ireland the Italians 
 were hardly less active than in England. The customs 
 indeed came more often into their hands than into 
 the royal treasury during the latter part of the first 
 Edward's reign, and in the early years of Edward the 
 Second all its receipts were made over to them.^ 
 
 Another source of remuneration was obtained by 
 means of the various commercial privileges granted 
 them. If it had not been for the king's good will, 
 the Itahans could scarcely have been able to pursue 
 their undertakings. By an ancient custom they were 
 obliged to dispose of their cargo within forty days 
 after landing, and so-called hosts were awarded them 
 to watch and report on their dealings ; but almost the 
 only notices which occur of these restraints are in 
 the petitions of English merchants regarding their 
 infringement.^ The offices to which they were ap- 
 pointed were another source of profit ; they were 
 often collectors of subsidies and customs, and the mint 
 was generally in their charge, the coiners being prin- 
 cipally Italians. But they held positions of greater 
 trust as well ; Amerigo de Frescobaldi was constable 
 of Bordeaux under Edward the Second, and Alberto 
 de' Medici was justice of the Jews of Agenois at the 
 same time.^ They seem also to have acted as royal 
 agents and emissaries in foreign parts ; under the 
 second and third Edwards, Antonio Pessagno and 
 Antonio Bache, merchants of Genoa, were frequently 
 
 1 Arch., p. 290. ^ Ibid., p. 232 ei seq. 
 
 2 Ibid.f p. 231. * Ibid.y p. 233. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 237 
 
 engaged abroad in the king's affairs.^ The favor they 
 enjoyed in England can be seen also in royal letters 
 recommending them to the Pope and the king of 
 France. The natural talents of the Itahans fitted 
 them peculiarly for all diplomatic work ; as an illus- 
 tration of this, it was said that, in 1244, there were 
 no less than twelve Florentines at the Vatican acting 
 as ambassadors from the different states of Europe.^ 
 
 The great success enjoyed by the Italian merchants 
 and money lenders in England roused native jealousy 
 and hatred. At the death of Edward the First, the 
 Frescobaldis alone obtained ;£5 6,500 out of his estate 
 of ;!^i 18,000, and much of the remainder went to pay 
 other Italian creditors.^ In the statutes of the Barons 
 in the time of Edward the Second, several articles 
 were directed especially against them : thus the cus- 
 toms were no longer to be trusted to aliens, and all who 
 had received profits from them were to be arrested 
 with their goods, and obliged to render account of 
 their receipts. Amerigo de Frescobaldi, then con- 
 stable of Bordeaux, was made a particular object of 
 persecution in a special article directed against him. 
 These measures checked the Italian money lenders for 
 a time, and most of their loans after that were made 
 to rehgious houses and private individuals,^ with whom 
 dealings were safer. 
 
 The greatest blow of all was to be received in 
 
 ^ Arch., p, 234. 
 
 ^ Delle eccelenze . . . della Jtazione Fiorentina, p. 18. 
 
 * Arch., p. 249 et seq. * Ibid., p. 257. 
 
238 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 the reign of Edward the Third. The Bardi and 
 Peruzzi of Florence had assisted that monarch to the 
 full extent of their capital, and it was their money alone 
 which enabled him to financier and carry on his wars 
 with France. In spite of the successful ending of this 
 war, the payment of the sums they had lent was con- 
 stantly deferred. Although all the royal revenue and 
 wool passed into their hands, yet their outlays were so 
 much greater that, when the war was over, it was found 
 that the king owed the Bardi 100,000 and the Peruzzi 
 over 135,000 marks sterling. Much of this was not 
 their own, but had been borrowed or received in trust 
 from citizens and strangers. Unable finally to meet their 
 obligations, they lost their credit and became bankrupt. 
 In consequence of this, Florence received a great 
 shock, and its wealth was perceptibly diminished, "for 
 the Bardi and Peruzzi Jiad held so large a share of the 
 commerce of Christendom that upon their fall every 
 other merchant was suspected and distrusted."^ 
 
 In the beginning of the fourteenth century the 
 Venetians began to make their appearance in Eng- 
 land, coming over in their " Flanders Galleys," which 
 were long the connecting link between the two states.^ 
 The first voyage made to the Low Countries was in 1 3 1 7, 
 and the first Venetian diplomatic agent, Gabriel Dan- 
 dolo, captain of the galleys,^ was also sent to England 
 on this occasion. From that time on, some of the ves- 
 
 1 Villani, Cronica, Bk. XII, ch. LV. 
 
 2 Cal. St. Pap., Ven., I, Ixi. 
 ^ Ibid., 1, cxxii. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 239 
 
 sels were regularly diverted to Southampton, whither 
 they carried the products of the East and brought back 
 in return cloth and wool. 
 
 The English kings found, however, another use for 
 the galleys. In 1340 Edward the Third wrote to the 
 Doge of Venice,^ requesting the hire of forty or more 
 vessels for one year, to assist him in his war against 
 France, and asked him furthermore to urge the Doge 
 of Genoa not to give any subsidy to Philip of Valois. 
 Characteristic of the chivalrous English monarch was 
 his letter to the Doge in which he wrote that, in order 
 to avoid further bloodshed, he had defied Philip either 
 in single combat or with an equal number of knights, 
 and had also challenged him to prove his kingship by 
 placing himself in a lion's den, since in case he were 
 a true king they would do him no harm. In his letter 
 to the Doge, Edward likewise offered to place the 
 Venetians in England on an equal footing with his own 
 subjects, and requested that one or both of the Doge's 
 sons be sent him to be educated at the English court, 
 promising to confer on them every honor, including 
 knighthood. 
 
 For two hundred years Southampton was the centre 
 of Italian trade with England.- In 1379 a Genoese 
 merchant who had promised the king^ to make it 
 the great port of Western Europe was assassinated by 
 the merchants of London, for the English traders 
 
 1 Cal. St. Pap., Ven., I, 8. 
 
 2 Mrs. J. R. Green, Town Life in the Fifteenth Century, II, 
 290. ^ Ibid., II, 293. 
 
240 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 were extremely jealous of the Italians. The republic 
 of Genoa, on another occasion, had made complaints 
 of the depredations on its commerce by English priva- 
 teers, and, as the outcome of this, in 13 71, it ratified 
 a treaty of commerce with England. The next year 
 Geoffrey Chaucer was joined in a commission with two 
 Genoese, James Pronan and John de Mari, to treat 
 regarding the selection of a place on the English coast 
 where the Genoese might locate a commercial estab- 
 lishment. 
 
 The English merchants, however, were bitterly hos- 
 tile. They proposed a bill in Parliament to forbid the 
 Venetians carrying any wares except those of their 
 own manufacture, the effect of which would have been 
 to destroy Venetian trade with England ; and advo- 
 cated another law forbidding sales of any kind to the 
 Genoese, or even carrying anything to their port,^ 
 while an act of Parhament of 1439, still in force at 
 the time of Polydore Vergil, prohibited strangers from 
 selling merchandise to others than Englishmen, so that 
 they should not get all the trade. This jealousy, how- 
 ever, was to some extent natural, as the carrying trade 
 of England was then largely in the hands of the 
 Italians ; the Florentine society of the Alberti, for 
 instance, carried all the wool from Southampton to 
 Gascony.^ Enough has been said to give some idea 
 of the extent of the commercial relations existing in 
 the Middle Ages between the two countries. The oft- 
 cited name of Lombard Street still bears witness to 
 
 1 Mrs. J. R. Green, op. cit., I, 1 16. ^ /^^v., II, 290. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 24 1 
 
 the time when the business of banking and exchange 
 was in the hands of the Itahans. The free commer- 
 cial Hfe of their city repubhcs, their large shipping, 
 their commanding position, situated between the Orient 
 and Western Europe, all helped to make them the 
 dominant factor in the trade of the Middle Ages. 
 Long before the rest of Europe had awakened from 
 its feudal dreams and the impracticable ideals of the 
 age, the Italians had reahzed the benefits that were to 
 be attained through commerce. Their success stirred 
 the jealousy and hatred of the nations with whom they 
 traded. But royal protection and court favor stood 
 them in good stead, while those who were loudest in 
 denouncing them learned the lessons which they taught. 
 
 II 
 
 No sudden transition separated the history of Italian 
 commerce in the Renaissance from its course in the 
 Middle Ages. Commercial development, although 
 perhaps not quite orderly in its growth, yet remained 
 constant. It is for this reason that the fifteenth century 
 does not bear the same significance in its relation to 
 Italian commerce in England as it did in the introduc- 
 tion of humanism. At the same time its end marked 
 hkewise the end of a certain stage in the commercial 
 relations between England and Italy, when Italians no 
 longer looked upon England as a country to be merely 
 exploited, but as a land in which they could settle, 
 acquire citizenship and justly take pride. 
 
242 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 It may be of interest to enter into the composition 
 of an Italian banking house in London in the fifteenth 
 century; to show the manner in which such a firm 
 was estabhshed, the arrangements made between the 
 partners, regarding their shares of the profits, the 
 capital which was to be put in by each, and study 
 the details of management, the risks to be under- 
 taken, the insurance to be paid on the shipping, and 
 the penalties for violation of rules ; the whole organi- 
 zation, in a word, of a commercial firm in the fifteenth 
 century. 
 
 A typical instance can be found in the contract 
 drawn up on May 31, 1446, between Cosimo de' 
 Medici and Giovanni Benci on one hand, and Gierozo 
 de Pigli on the other, for the purpose of carrying 
 on a business in the city of London.^ The arrange- 
 ment made was for Gierozo de Pigli, a young man 
 with a limited capital, to be sent to England on a 
 four years' contract to engage in a business of ex- 
 change and general merchandise. The capital of the 
 company was to be ;^25oo sterling, of which Cosimo 
 and Giovanni were to supply ;^2i66-|, and Gierozo the 
 balance, all of which was to be accounted for by the 
 first day of November. In case any money had not 
 been paid in by that time, twelve per cent interest was 
 to be charged on it. The said Gierozo was to go to 
 London and there manage in person the affairs of the 
 firm, nor was he to leave that city without writing for 
 
 ^ Carteggio Mediceo avanti il Principato, filza 94, Mss. 
 Archives Florence. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 243 
 
 permission from his partners, except to go to South- 
 ampton or elsewhere in England on the firm's busi- 
 ness. If he went anywhere without consent, it was at 
 his own peril and expense, while otherwise the com- 
 pany assumed it. 
 
 Cosimo and Giovanni were each to get two-fifths 
 of the profits, and Gierozo the other fifth ; and the 
 same arrangement was to hold good in case of loss, 
 *' which God forbid ! " Nor were the profits to be 
 removed from the business for the entire term of the 
 agreement. Cosimo and Giovanni together, or even 
 Cosimo alone, had, however, the privilege of termi- 
 nating the four years' contract earher in case they 
 should see fit. Gierozo was to be allowed ;£33 los. 
 a year for necessary expenses. By the terms of the 
 agreement, moreover, Gierozo was not to lend or give 
 credit in any way to any S/gnori, but only to lend 
 money to merchants and craftsmen of good reputa- 
 tion and credit. Since, however, it was often neces- 
 sary to sell Roman exchange on credit to churchmen 
 and pilgrims, and Venetian to knights of Rhodes and 
 other gentlemen and pilgrims, and furthermore on ac- 
 count of favors at the court it was sometimes necessary 
 to allow credit in different ways, he was to exercise his 
 own judgment and discretion in all such matters, only 
 securing himself sufficiently to cover risks. 
 
 Gierozo, moreover, was instructed not to purchase 
 more than ^^500 worth of wool or cloth without the 
 permission of Cosimo and Giovanni. He was not to 
 forward cargo of a greater value than fifteen hundred 
 
244 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ducats on Florentine and Venetian galleys ; on any 
 larger amount shipped he should obtain insurance. 
 He was also to do this if the merchandise was sent 
 on ships of any other nationality, otherwise it was to be 
 at his own risk ; moreover, he was not to insure any 
 one else, except for his own personal account. He 
 had to pledge himself not to engage, either directly 
 or indirectly, during the length of this contract, in 
 any other mercantile or exchange business without 
 having first asked the permission of Cosimo and 
 Giovanni and obtained it in writing from them; and 
 if at any time he should violate this agreement, he 
 was to pay a penalty of five hundred florins for each 
 offence. He had also to promise not to gamble or 
 play at dice ; in case he did so, any winnings of over 
 ten ducats were to go to the company, while any 
 losses were to be out of his own pocket. Moreover, 
 any gifts he might receive of over ten ducats in value 
 were to be the property of the company. 
 
 Gierozo was to remit his balance sheets and ac- 
 counts to Florence at least once a year, and at any 
 other time Cosimo and Giovanni might demand. He 
 was not to negotiate business of importance with any 
 other firm without having previously consulted them. 
 Nor was he to export gold from England or do any- 
 thing else against the laws of the kingdom without 
 first obtaining the permission of Cosimo and Giovanni, 
 nor involve the firm in any way directly or indirectly 
 under penalty of five hundred ducats for each 
 offence. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 245 
 
 The details of what was to happen at the expiration 
 of the contract, before anything new could be un- 
 dertaken, were also given. Unless the agreement 
 were renewed, the signers bound themselves to settle 
 the affairs of the old firm, and wind up the business, 
 even if Gierozo should be obliged to remain in Eng- 
 land an additional six months at the expense of the 
 company. The house in London as well as all the 
 books of the firm were to belong to Cosimo and Gio- 
 vanni, but Gierozo was to have access to the latter. 
 All the creditors then unpaid, as well as the money 
 left to pay them, were to be looked after by the two 
 senior partners. 
 
 The above articles Cosimo, Giovanni and Gierozo 
 solemnly bound themselves to follow and observe, 
 submitting any difficulties which might arise before 
 the court of the Mercanzia in Florence, or any other 
 court, either in England, at Bruges, or elsewhere ; in 
 recognition whereof they signed the agreement, 
 promising faithfully to obey it. 
 
 A second document in the same series^ contains 
 the instructions given the same day the contract was 
 drawn, by Cosimo de' Medici and Giovanni Benci to 
 the said Gierozo, on his setting out to take charge of 
 the new firm in London. He was advised with regard 
 to his relations with other Italian merchants, and in- 
 structed further as to the nature of the loans he 
 should make, and the exchange he was to give. On 
 
 1 Carte^gio Mediceo avanti il PrincipatOy filza 94, Archives 
 Florence. 
 
246 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 account of his youth he was warned first of all to be 
 careful of himself and also of the company he kept. 
 His journey was also mapped out beforehand ; in his 
 partners' judgment it seemed best for him to travel by 
 way of Milan and Geneva, through Burgundy to Bruges, 
 and then on to London. He was given a letter of 
 introduction to be presented in Milan to Alexander 
 Castagniolo, who would give him further advice or aid if 
 any were necessary, as well as furnish him with money, 
 which he could also obtain at Geneva. He was told 
 at the outset the amount of credit he could give cer- 
 tain firms, whose reputation had been good in the 
 younger days of Cosimo and was still unchanged. In 
 Milan he would be able to acquaint himself about 
 other concerns. The next stopping place on the 
 journey was Geneva, where he could stay at their own 
 house, for the Medici possessed branch houses in many 
 different cities. He was instructed to stir up the young 
 men who conducted the firm's affairs in that city to do 
 their best, and if necessary to advise them himself, as 
 the head of that branch was absent on business ; the 
 youngsters, it was said, would obey any advice he saw 
 fit to give them. Bruges was the next town where he 
 could stay at the company's house ; he was to urge the 
 two agents, Simone Nori and Tomaso Portinari, to do 
 their utmost, in order that they might give an account 
 of themselves and of what they really were doing. He 
 should report on this, as well as what his opinion of them 
 really was ; in the meantime Cosimo and Giovanni 
 would write Nori to obey him and follow his instructions. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 247 
 
 Arrived in London, he was told to occupy the same 
 house he had taken there two years before, and make 
 all necessary business arrangements in the name of the 
 company. He had also a letter of introduction to a 
 certain Angelo Tani ; Tani was his subordinate, and 
 to be directed by him as to what he should do ; in 
 the opinion of Cosimo he was best fitted to keep the 
 accounts and attend to all the correspondence. Gerard 
 Canigiani, another member of the firm, would probably 
 be of most use behind the counter, while yet another 
 who had learned English would do elsewhere ; power 
 was given him to dispose of them all as he saw fit. He 
 was cautioned not to permit exchange or credit to be 
 allowed nor loans made without his permission. In 
 the places where the Medici and Benci had branches 
 he was to do business with their houses and no others ; 
 at Bruges, for instance, they felt sure he could do better 
 with Simone Nori than with any one else, and they 
 thought he would be able to transact some profitable 
 affairs with his assistance. In such places where they 
 had no branch houses he was to select the best 
 merchants, and be very careful to act in all honor 
 toward those who treated him well. He would have 
 to ship wool and cloth to the value of one thousand 
 or fifteen hundred florins to the different houses of 
 Medici in Rome, Florence, and Venice, the Benci in 
 Geneva, and other allied firms at Avignon and Pisa, 
 and he was to attend to any orders they might send 
 him. Many firms as soon as they had heard of this 
 new concern in London would forward goods on con- 
 
248 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 signment. For this reason he was advised, at the out- 
 set, with whom he should do business. At Naples, for 
 instance, there was no one of sufficiently good stand- 
 ing for him to have dealings with; at Rome were the 
 Pazzi, whose credit was of the best ; several other 
 firms, too, were mentioned where a limit of fifteen 
 hundred florins' credit was set down. In Florence 
 there were also good concerns, such as the Serristori 
 and the Rucellai. Cosimo confessed his ignorance of 
 mercantile houses in Venice, and advised him to be 
 very cautious and conservative in dealing with them, 
 but he mentioned houses of good standing at Genoa 
 and Avignon, Barcelona and Valencia. He warned 
 Gierozo always to be on his guard and not pay more 
 than merchandise was worth ; nor remit money or 
 exchange to any Genoese or Venetian merchants with- 
 out special permission. He was to have no business 
 relations with either Brittany or Gascony ; but in case 
 good wines should be sent him on consignment, he 
 could keep them so long as it was not a matter of 
 any importance. It was also thought best for him 
 to have nothing to do with Catalan merchants. Re- 
 garding English traders who did business in the fairs 
 of Flanders, he must exercise his own judgment and 
 discretion. 
 
 Cosimo and Giovanni hoped he would enjoy the 
 favor of the king and queen ; in case he should find 
 need for any letters of recommendation from King 
 R6n^ [of Provence, father of Margaret, the wife of 
 Henry the Sixth], if he would let them know, they 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 249 
 
 would send them to him very quickly. In London 
 he was to have the direction of the entire concern, 
 and the younger men were to follow his instructions 
 and look up to him as their chief. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The animosity felt by the populace against the 
 Italian merchants was difficult to overcome, and their 
 very success in commerce only served to increase this 
 hatred. The English dislike of everything foreign was 
 long characteristic of the nation, and Voltaire himself 
 was hooted and chased by a London mob for no other 
 reason than being a foreigner. In earlier centuries 
 popular indignation at the success of aliens took more 
 violent forms in the frequent riots against them, when 
 the king was obliged to take them under his protec- 
 tion. This hostility to all foreigners was well known 
 on the continent. Itahan gentlemen had asked its 
 meaning of William Thomas,^ who replied that it had 
 existed at a time when there was no foreign com- 
 merce in England, and when ignorant people, seeing 
 strangers resort thither for purposes of trade, imag- 
 ined that they went there, not to buy commodities 
 but to rob them, and that foreigners unable to make a 
 living in their own country came to England to plun- 
 der the natives. But all that was a thing of the past, 
 continued Thomas. Later travellers, however, did not 
 cease to complain of the discourtesy shown them by 
 the populace. Long before Thomas' day there had 
 
 1 Piigrim, p. 6. 
 
250 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 been numerous complaints, and at Southampton 
 there were frequent fights between Italians and Eng- 
 lish.i An Italian who travelled in England about the 
 year 1500 noticed the general antipathy to foreigners, 
 who were supposed, he said, never to go there but to 
 make themselves masters of it and usurp English 
 goods; 2 and a Milanese traveller in 15 16 com- 
 mented likewise on the hostility to strangers.^ 
 
 Vexatious acts had several times already been 
 aimed against them in Parliament. In 1455, however, 
 a law was passed forbidding Italian merchants to 
 buy wools or wool cloth of the producers in the 
 country, or anywhere except in the cities of London, 
 Southampton and Sandwich.* The disturbances 
 leading up to this had begun some years earlier. 
 Wool had frequently been seized on Venetian galleys, 
 and the Doge had remonstrated on account of this, as 
 well as about injurious trade regulations.^ Many annoy- 
 ances were suffered by Florentine merchants as well, 
 and former favors were now refused, on account of an 
 EngHshman in the royal service who had some un- 
 settled claims in Florence. The Florentines there- 
 fore came together, and selected, as their ambassador 
 to the king, Bindo da Staggio, who was to request him 
 to renew the safe-conducts and again allow the Floren- 
 
 1 Cal St. Pap., Ven., I, 5. 
 
 2 Relation of E^tgland, p. 21 et seq. 
 8 Add. Ms. 24,180, Brit. Mus., f. 29. 
 
 4 Mrs. J. R. Green, op. cit., II, 293. 
 
 5 Beckynton, II, 126. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 25 1 
 
 tines to purchase English wool.^ To procure these 
 favors required a considerable sum of money, and they 
 voted to allow Bindo five hundred and fifty ducats a 
 year for eight years ; the cost of this was to be borne 
 by the galleys trading between England and Tuscany, 
 which were to pay a tax of one-half per cent in value 
 of the merchandise they carried. Any one violating 
 this agreement was to be fined five hundred florins. 
 All difficulties were to be submitted to the consuls of 
 the sea, whose duty it was to supervise the maritime 
 trade. A further tax of the same amount was also im- 
 posed on the merchandise carried by the galleys, in 
 order to pay off an English claim of forty-four hun- 
 dred ducats, which had been the alleged cause of the 
 annoyances suffered by the Florentines in London. 
 Additional' precautions were taken against possible 
 fraud, and further penalties assigned for violation of 
 the rules, the jurisdiction on all similar matters being 
 placed under the general direction of the consuls of 
 the sea. From these taxes, moreover, the expenses 
 of any Florentine who had been arrested in England 
 in consequence of th" reprisals were to be paid pro- 
 vided the costs did not exceed five hundred florins. 
 It was also agreed that a syndic, or official, should be 
 selected in Florence, who was to have jurisdiction 
 over all Florentines residing in England, in order that 
 they might be properly organized. The two chosen for 
 this were Francesco Strozzi and Gierozo de Pigli, both 
 
 1 Fiha Strozziana, Archives Florence, 294 Cte,, 135-136, 
 31st August 1448. 
 
252 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 at that time residing in London, who were to arrange 
 between themselves who should begin and who finish 
 the term. In the Middle Ages the consul had been 
 a magistrate elected by a colony of merchants at a 
 foreign port to watch over their interests and govern 
 them, being paid in fees fixed by the merchants 
 themselves. The two before mentioned were thus 
 the first consuls of the Florentine colony in London. 
 Adversity was perhaps the cause which forced the 
 other " nations " to organize in similar manner and 
 plan measures of self- protection. In 1456 a popular 
 riot drove the Italian merchants out of London, to 
 seek refuge elsewhere. In consequence of this a 
 mutual agreement was signed by the Florentines, 
 Venetians, Genoese and Luccans residing there, in 
 which they pledged themselves to remain away from 
 London and have no business relations with any one 
 in that city for the term of three years. The docu- 
 ment itself will repay a closer examination.^ 
 
 In the name of the Almighty, of the Most Holy 
 Virgin, and the entire celestial court of Paradise, it 
 began, the delegates representing the merchants of 
 Venice, Genoa, Florence and Lucca, residing in Lon- 
 don, bind other traders of their respective nations to 
 observe the terms of the agreement here signed 
 under a penalty of ;£200 sterling, which fine is to 
 be inflicted by the consuls of his nation on any 
 merchant breaking the agreement. And furthermore, 
 
 1 Filza Sirozziana, Archives Florence, 294 Cte., 138, 139, 
 22d June 1457. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 253 
 
 in case the said consuls should neglect to enforce it, 
 they themselves shall be held responsible and fined 
 a like amount. In addition, the said merchants agree 
 to leave London with all their possessions within six 
 months (unless some good reason such as severe ill- 
 ness or imprisonment shall prevent them from so 
 doing), and go to the city of Winchester, or any other 
 place in the island, not within a radius of thirty miles 
 from London. Those merchants only might stay who 
 had wine or similar articles on hand, provided that on 
 expiration of the six months they gave notice to their 
 consuls, swearing that only such merchandise and no 
 other was still for sale. But no merchant could import 
 further goods from the first of July, eight days after the 
 agreement had been signed, nor was he to receive any 
 either directly or indirectly. After the first of January, 
 which was six months from date, no business relations 
 of any kind were to be conducted with any one in 
 London, nor was exchange to be bought or sold there. 
 Special provision was made, however, for goods shipped 
 by way of Zealand which might be in transit at that 
 time. 
 
 The signers furthermore bound themselves to do 
 their best to dissuade all Italian, Sicilian, Catalan, 
 or Spanish merchants from doing business either of 
 money lending, importing, selling merchandise or 
 exchange, or of any nature whatever, in London, dur- 
 ing the same period, and in case they failed in this, 
 such merchant was to be discriminated against by the 
 rest and boycotted in every way possible, even to 
 
254 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 the extent of refusing to carry his goods in their ships. 
 The same merchants signing this agreement were also 
 to write to their respective governments requesting 
 them to ratify the articles, and by inflicting suitable 
 penalties see to it that they were observed by others of 
 their community. This was acceded to very promptly, 
 by the Venetian Senate at least.^ The consuls were 
 to notify all captains of merchantmen trading with 
 England that they must observe the terms of the 
 agreement; and the said captains were to certify 
 before the consuls, within reasonable time from date, 
 regarding the goods which had been shipped in their 
 care. 
 
 The " nations " which signed this agreement bound 
 themselves to stay away from the city of London for 
 the term of three years, and not to return except by 
 mutual agreement on the part of all four parties; 
 at the end of that time a majority of three was 
 to determine whether or not they should stay 
 away from London for a longer time. Three months 
 before the expiration of the agreement, each nation 
 was to select two delegates, and on their coming 
 together, a three-quarters vote should decide what was 
 to be done. At the end of five years, in any case, 
 they would be at liberty to do what they hked. Each 
 nation, too, was to be permitted to send a representa- 
 tive to London, but only to collect outstanding debts. 
 These articles were thus signed and sealed by the 
 delegates of the four nations, who swore on the sac- 
 
 1 Cal. St. Pap,, Ven., I, 84. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 255 
 
 rament to observe the agreement under the penalty of 
 eternal damnation. Four copies of the compact were 
 made, each nation preserving one. Last of all, they 
 promised not to injure each other without good cause, 
 through anything which might arise from these mutual 
 obligations. 
 
 This agreement is of interest as showing the meas- 
 ures taken in self-defence by the Italian merchants 
 against the hatred and violence of the London mob. 
 That it was probably not without effect may be judged 
 from the fact that they moved back before 1461.^ 
 The second term of absence was thus considered unnec- 
 essary, nor was any further self-imposed exile heard of 
 from that time. The compact showed, also, the power 
 of organization possessed by them ; they were able 
 to show their strength, and bind not only themselves 
 but others as well who feared to incur their displeasure. 
 Their consuls and Massari were the responsible offi- 
 cers of each community, through whom official relations 
 with their respective republics could be maintained. 
 A close connection existed between them and their 
 native cities, and at no time in this early period did 
 they make any decided attempt to identify themselves 
 with those with whom they traded, nor break the ties 
 which bound them to their own cities. There was 
 then good reason for thinking that to be a citizen of 
 Florence or Venice might well seem a nobler title of 
 distinction than that of Englishman ; the hatred, more- 
 over, manifested toward foreigners also stood in the 
 
 1 Cal. Si. Pap., Fen., I, 84. 
 
256 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 way of any effort they might make toward seeking 
 another allegiance. 
 
 In spite of certain disadvantages they labored under, 
 the ItaHan merchants prospered in England. Soon 
 after their return to London, in 1465, a new company 
 was formed in Florence, to do business in England : 
 this time Piero de' Medici and Tommaso Portinari 
 provided most of the capital. Of this, too, the terms 
 of contract and preliminary agreement are still pre- 
 served.^ Without going into the details, which resem- 
 ble in substance the contract already examined, in the 
 present instance the conduct of affairs in England was 
 assigned to two men, Gherardo Canigiani and Giovanni 
 de Bardi. Its capital was to be two thousand pounds, 
 of which Piero de' Medici alone put in nine hundred ; 
 instructions were given that all negotiations, exchanges 
 and loans must be conducted in an honest and honor- 
 able manner. Moreover, a one-tenth share of the profits 
 was to be distributed in charity, either in building 
 churches, or in other pious works, to be disposed of by 
 Piero de' Medici and Tommaso Portinari. The modern 
 English traveller in Florence may find consolation in the 
 thought that some of the money made from his fore- 
 fathers went to construct the Renaissance churches 
 of that city. 
 
 Each one of the junior partners had fifteen pounds 
 granted him yearly for his living expenses in 
 London, which gives a clew to the purchasing power 
 of money at that time. They had to bind them- 
 
 1 Arch. Y\ox.,Jilza 99, Mediceo Avanti il Principato, 108. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 257 
 
 selves not to undertake any other kind of busi- 
 ness, either directly or indirectly. Other provisions 
 were made regarding the rendering of accounts, their 
 employees, leaves of absence, the final winding up 
 of the business, and various contingencies. They 
 were instructed regarding the risks which should be 
 taken in shipping merchandise ; while limited to fifty 
 pounds on ordinary vessels, they had permission 
 to go up to one hundred in the case of Venetian or 
 Florentine galleys. They must do no insuring for 
 others ; and also pledged themselves not to involve 
 the firm, either by their own actions or those of their 
 friends or relatives. All gifts of greater value than 
 two pounds must be handed over to the company, 
 or else charged to their account. They promised 
 also to do nothing against the laws of the country ex- 
 cept at their own personal risk. This agreement they 
 swore faithfully to abide by, leaving any points of dis- 
 pute which might arise to be decided by the courts. 
 
 Such contracts as the two cited afford illustrations 
 of the commercial Ufe of the time, and the nature 
 of the business relations existing between England 
 and Italy. On the one hand, Italian merchants im- 
 ported to their own country wool and wool cloth, for 
 which England was then famous. On the other, they 
 exported general merchandise, and especially the spices 
 and products of the East,^ for the Itahans were then 
 the intermediaries between the Orient and Western 
 Europe. In addition to this they did a business of 
 
 1 W. Heyd, Geschichte des Levant Handels, II, 715. 
 S 
 
258 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 banking, money lending and exchange ; their excep- 
 tional facilities in different quarters of the civihzed world 
 gave them almost a monopoly of such transactions ; at 
 the same time their carrying trade was enormous for 
 that age, and Itahan ships long enjoyed the supremacy 
 of the seas. Their success, however, in different com- 
 mercial enterprises lent a spur to the English mer- 
 chants and sailors who profited by their example. 
 
 Richard the Third, in 1483, issued an act regu- 
 lating the sales of Italian merchants. The fact that 
 they sold retail as well as wholesale, to the alleged 
 injury of native traders ; that their success was of 
 no benefit to England since they did not spend there 
 the money they had made ; and further, that they 
 played into each other's hands, — were the reasons 
 given for his restriction of their trade. Under the wise 
 legislation of Henry the Seventh, however, a com- 
 mercial treaty was made with the Florentine Republic,^ 
 in 1485, by which English merchants undertook to 
 carry every year to Florence sufficient wool to supply 
 all the Italian states save Venice, while the Florentines 
 promised to buy no wool unless carried on Enghsh 
 ships. In return for this and other privileges, corre- 
 sponding ones were given to the Florentines. The 
 Venetians, also, had their charter to trade renewed by 
 Henry, in 1507,^ but only on condition that they 
 do no more of the carrying trade between England 
 and Flanders, which was now left to the " Merchant 
 Adventurers." 
 
 1 Mrs. T. R. Green, op. ciL, I, 117. 2 jud. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 259 
 
 The early years of the Renaissance in England 
 were coincident with the growth and protection of 
 trade. At a time when commercial life was still 
 despised in feudal Europe, the Italians had reahzed its 
 possibilities. Their methods and ideas were largely 
 followed and imitated, in banking and exchange, as 
 well as in other branches of industry. In many ways 
 England was dependent upon Italy ; to give but a 
 trivial illustration, the famous cloth of Nottingham was 
 long sent to Italy, to receive there the proper scarlet 
 dye.^ In commerce, as in other directions, England 
 received from Italy a powerful and long-lasting 
 stimulus. Through the possibiHties of such inter- 
 course, other streams of Italian influence were filtering 
 in slowly. Perhaps, had commerce been alone, the 
 others might have amounted to nothing, though John 
 Free, it is said, was urged to study in Italy by some 
 Italian merchants he had met in his native town of 
 Bristol. The influence in commerce, however, was 
 only a portion of that greater wave which had swept 
 over all of Europe. 
 
 IV 
 
 There was no sharp dividing line in the history of 
 Italian merchants in England during the Renaissance. 
 At the same time, certain distinguishing points of view 
 are clearly discernible at different times. In the early 
 days, for instance, the feeling existed of the wide gulf 
 between them and those with whom they traded. 
 
 1 Mrs. T. R. Green, op. cit., II, 326. 
 
26o ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 The years they spent in England were years almost of 
 exile, undergone by needy ones, among people whom 
 they considered barbarians, and among whom, it must 
 be said, they Hved in constant danger. The young 
 men starting in life were sent out from Italy by wealthier 
 merchants, who stayed at home, to establish commer- 
 cial houses in England ; but at no time then did they 
 endeavor to identify themselves with English hfe in any 
 other than a business way. It was undoubtedly true 
 that such an attempt, on their part, would have been 
 much in the nature of a retrogression. To modern 
 minds a sharp cleavage seems almost to separate the 
 Middle Ages from the Renaissance. It is difficult to 
 imagine the gradual change, when the shadows of one 
 age slowly retreated before lights of the new era. 
 But the separation was as distinct in place as in time, 
 and the years which marked it varied with each nation, 
 those who discerned it latest cherishing it the longest. 
 In England, through the whole fifteenth century, the 
 vitality of the Middle Ages was sinking, and there was 
 nothing, as yet, to take its place. Faint glimmers 
 of the new fire of Italy flickered above the Alps 
 from time to time, while, at the same time, men 
 bred in the surroundings of the early Italian Renais- 
 sance left their land to trade in foreign countries. 
 Between London and Florence there was then 
 almost a difference of two ages. However superior 
 the Venetian and Florentine may have felt in his 
 English mediaeval environment, it seems likely that 
 his example may, perhaps unconsciously, have done 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 26 1 
 
 something to further the cause of the Renaissance 
 in England, and hasten the coming of the new learn- 
 ing. The story of John Free is significant of what 
 may well have taken place. It would be strange 
 indeed if, in the leisure hours of the counting house, the 
 merchants who, when at home, loved their Petrarch 
 and Ovid failed to read them while absent in their 
 foreign exile. It is easily conceivable that some of the 
 early manuscripts of the ItaHan poets and humanists_. 
 still preserved in the college libraries of Oxford 
 and Cambridge, were first brought over by Italian 
 traders. 
 
 The Italian community in England, and especially 
 in London, could not forever keep aloof from the 
 native population. So long as centuries of culture 
 may be said to have separated the two people, 
 the gulf was a natural one ; but after the first seeds of 
 the Renaissance had taken root and the new spirit, 
 transmitted in a dozen ways, had been planted in Eng- 
 land, the chasm was to a great extent bridged over. 
 What facilitated the friendlier intercourse between 
 Italian merchants and Englishmen, more than anything 
 else, was the growth of the centralized monarchy in the 
 strong hands of the king. Henry the Seventh endeav- 
 ored in every way to promote the commercial welfare 
 of his people, and reahzed the advantages to be derived 
 from Italian trade and friendlier relations with Italian 
 merchants. Earlier ordinances had, it is true, been 
 passed in their favor, such as a statute of Henry the Sixth, 
 decreeing that no tin or lead be exported from England 
 
262 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 (except to Calais), save only by mercjiants of Genoa, 
 Venice, and Florence, and burgesses of Berwick.^ 
 The court, it must be said, had always been least 
 open to anti-foreign prejudices, and tried its best to 
 shield and protect the Itahans from the violence of the 
 London mob; but it was not until the time of the 
 Tudors that the crown tried to foster friendly relations, 
 not only with Italian merchants, but with Italian com- 
 mercial communities. In 1496, in the reign of Henry 
 the Seventh, the diplomatic intercourse between Venice 
 and England really began.^ For the signory, it was 
 transacted by Pietro Contarini and Luca Valatesso, two 
 Venetian merchants established in London, who induced 
 the king to join the Holy League.^ The next year 
 Andrea Trevisani was sent over as regular ambassador, 
 and a few years later Francesco Capello, another Vene- 
 tian envoy, was knighted by the king. The commercial 
 treaties signed by Henry with Florence and Venice have 
 been mentioned, as well as his relations with individual 
 Italians and his fondness for them at the court. In 
 various ways this was noticeable, and the first diplomatic 
 
 1 Hist. Ms, Com., Hatfield House, V, 136. 
 
 2 That is to say, regular relations between the two countries 
 began then. Gabriel Dandolo was the first Venetian agent, in 
 131 7. Another Venetian, Antonio Bembo, requested Henry the 
 Fourth to force the Duke of Norfolk to repay a loan of 750 ducats 
 borrowed of him for the duke's pilgrimage to the Holy Land 
 in 1404. Michael Steno, then Doge, also interceded for 
 Bembo with the king. (Cot. Mss., Brit. Mus., Nero B. VII, 
 5 and 6.) 
 
 5 Rawdon Brown, Four Years at the Court of Henry VIII, 
 I, XX, note. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 263 
 
 correspondence ^between England and Florence con- 
 tained letters from Henry ^ requesting the Signoria 
 to assist his equerry, Ambonio Spinola, to recover cer- 
 tain sums of money, and declared himself willing to 
 execute similar demands against his own subjects. 
 Another letter recommended his retainer, Antonio 
 Corsi,^ whom he was sending to Florence to purchase 
 gold cloth and silks sufficient to load three mules, 
 at the same time expressing his perfect wilhngness to 
 reciprocate in any way he could. 
 
 Although the Italians were for long not permitted to 
 have shops in London,* yet, after their return there, 
 they began again to assume even greater importance 
 than before, and had almost an established position at 
 court. Henry the Eighth, for instance, granted letters 
 of recommendation, addressed to the Pope and other 
 dignitaries, to such merchants as Thomas Corbo and 
 Giovanni Cavalcanti, who were among his favorites.5 
 There can be but little doubt that the artisans and 
 handicraftsmen who came over from Italy to England 
 in the early years of the sixteenth century were largely 
 encouraged to do so by merchants already there. 
 In more ways than one Italians were now beginning 
 to mingle with the community at large. Occasion- 
 
 1 The magistrates of Florence had already interceded with 
 Edward the Third in behalf of the Bardi (Cot. Mss., Brit. Mus., 
 Nero B. VII, 4). 
 
 2 Arch. Flor., Atti Ptcl>., 12th January 1498. 
 
 3 Ibid., 6th July 1502. 
 
 ' * Ubaldini, f. 236 ; also Add. Ms. 24,180, Brit. Mus., f. 27. 
 5 Manni Trans., Brit. Mus., XXXVH, ff. 128, 616. 
 
264 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ally one would marry a native and become an 
 Englishman to all intent ; the grandfather of Nicholas 
 Grimald, the poet, for instance, was Giovanni Grim- 
 aldi, a merchant of Genoa, who became a denizen of 
 England in 1485. Usually the position enjoyed by 
 Italian merchants at home made them wish to retain 
 their nationality. Many of them, however, became 
 important personages in the early sixteenth century. 
 Leonardo Frescobaldi, the " Master Friskiball " of 
 Shakespeare, was well known in London and is men- 
 tioned in the Life and Death of Cromwell. Thomas 
 Cromwell was also said to have been befriended by 
 the Frescobaldis when as a youth he had to beg for 
 alms in Florence.^ Frescobaldi was one of the great 
 merchants of the day and supplied the king with his 
 " damask gold," gilt axes, hand guns, and similar 
 merchandise.^ The most prominent of the Italians 
 of that time, in England, was Antonio Bonvisi, the 
 friend of Sir Thomas More, Cardinal Pole, and other 
 well-known men. Stowe says of him that he came 
 over to England in 1505, and taught the English 
 people to spin with a distaff.^ He acted also as 
 banker and news collector for the government, and 
 transmitted money and letters to ambassadors abroad. 
 He was, moreover, a patron and friend of learned men, 
 especially of those anxious to visit or study in Italy. 
 
 1 This story of Bandello, though probably spurious, is yet 
 worth repeating. 
 
 2 Stowe Mss., 1 216, Brit. Mus. 
 
 ^ Burgon, Sir Thomas Gresham, II, 453. 
 
 ^ 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 265 
 
 Thomas Starkey, Thomas Winter, Florence Volusenus, 
 were all his associates, and Sir Thomas More, from 
 whom he purchased his residence of Crosby Place, in 
 one of the last letters he wrote, spoke of himself 
 not " as a guest but a continual nursling of the house 
 of Bonvisi." Bonvisi was thus one of the links which 
 then bound together the two countries ; it is note- 
 worthy that his family did not return to Italy, but 
 settled in England. The old Italian idea of exile 
 abroad was fast disappearing ; England had caught up 
 with rapid strides in the march of civilization, and the 
 darkness beyond the Alps was giving away to a new 
 dawn. Italians, too, could now feel that another home 
 lay open to them. More and more from this time on 
 they identified themselves with English life, and al- 
 though the anti-foreign prejudices, especially of the 
 populace, were not dispelled till long after, there were 
 no longer unsurmountable obstacles separating the two 
 people. 
 
 At the same time the Italians did not give up their 
 almost inherited rights as foreign traders in a day. 
 The household book of Henry the Eighth ^ is full of 
 records of payments to such merchants as the Fres- 
 cobaldi, the Corsi, the Cavalcanti, the Bardi, and so 
 forth; and there were many other similar warrants, 
 as one of the King, to pay " Charowchon," ^ Merchant 
 of Florence, for " three pieces of cloth of gold." The 
 same names recur time and time again, and would 
 seem to show that the Italian bankers and merchants 
 
 1 Brit. Mus., Mss. 2481 passim. ^ Stowe, Ms. cit. 
 
266 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 in London were in constant intercourse with the court, 
 either as purveyors or money lenders. It was said 
 that the king frequently lent money to the Floren- 
 tine merchants in order to allow them to extend 
 their trade ; they sometimes owed him as much as 
 300,000 ducats. The merchants were in this way able 
 to obtain funds at a fair rate of interest, while the 
 king often empowered his favorites to collect these 
 debts for him, allowing them to keep the interest.-^ 
 The Italian proclivities of Wolsey and Cromwell further 
 encouraged the merchants. Wolsey in particular prob- 
 ably influenced the king to suppress the anti-foreign 
 riots of 15 1 7. Numerous complaints had been made 
 at that time of foreigners bringing over ready-made 
 goods to the injury of Englishmen whose work they 
 took away : — 
 
 Poor tradesmen had small dealings then; 
 
 And who but strangers bore the bell ? 
 Which was a grief to Englishmen, 
 
 To see them here in London dwell. ^ 
 
 The trouble had been stirred by a certain popular 
 preacher, who abused the foreigners, accusing them 
 not only of depriving Englishmen of the just earnings 
 of their labor, but of debauching their famihes. He 
 urged the people no longer to permit such a state of 
 affairs to go on, and so inflamed them that from that 
 day on they threatened to massacre the strangers and 
 sack their houses. On the first day of May a mob of 
 
 1 Sebastian Giustiniani, Cal. St. Pap., Ven., II, 562. 
 
 2 Cited by Digby Wyatt, op. cit.y 222. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 26/ 
 
 two thousand apprentices and a number of ruffians, 
 after pillaging the French and Flemish quarters, pro- 
 ceeded to the Italian, shouting death to the cardinal 
 for his foreign sympathies. But as the Italians were 
 well armed the mob could do but little damage.^ The 
 king, however, had been warned of the intended 
 massacre. Although at Richmond, he sent troops to 
 London who seized all the rioters they found in the 
 streets. Gibbets were then raised all over the town, 
 and sixty of the mob were hanged, and many others 
 executed in other ways. " Very great vengeance was 
 taken on them, and his Majesty showed great love 
 and good will to the strangers." ^ 
 
 Wolsey employed numerous Italian news collec- 
 tors, among whom were Antonio Bonvisi and An- 
 tonio Grimaldi.^ Cromwell, also, favored foreigners 
 and the Venetian merchants addressed themselves to 
 him when they requested him to obtain from the 
 king a renewal of their license to trade in England ;* 
 the celebrated Aretino even recommended young men 
 to his care.' It should not be supposed, however, that 
 the Italian traders and bankers preserved the virtual 
 monopoly they once enjoyed. Not only were the 
 merchants of the Hanseatic League their rivals, 
 although chiefly in other branches of trade ; but Eng- 
 lishmen, too, had profited from the success of for- 
 
 1 Brewer, Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, II, Pt. II, 1031. 
 
 2 Cal. St. Pap., Ven., II, 385. 
 
 8 Cot. Mss., Brit. Mus., Vitellius, B. XIV, 173. 
 
 * Ibid., Nero, B. VII, 21. & Ibid., Nero, B. VII, 123. 
 
268 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 eigners and were rapidly learning from them. After 
 the silent preparation in the fifteenth century, there 
 had come a swift awakening in the next hundred 
 years, and the same necessity for foreign enterprise 
 to open up English commerce was no longer felt. 
 Englishmen were now quite capable of looking after 
 their own affairs and developing national industries, 
 while judicious protection fostered the growth of 
 their foreign trade. The sixteenth century also 
 marked a relative decline in Italian commerce. 
 Italian merchants were no longer undisputed masters 
 of every field, but found new rivals springing up on all 
 sides. Italy was fast approaching the downward path, 
 and its importance was no longer the same. Although 
 Italians during the age of Elizabeth occupied many 
 positions of prominence in commercial and bank- 
 ing circles, their situation was yet a different one from 
 what it once had been. Toward the end of the cen- 
 tury they formed rather isolated instances, or seemed 
 so at least when considered among the greater number 
 of English competitors. On the other hand, they no 
 longer assumed the entirely alien point of view which 
 made their sojourn in England in former days seem 
 temporary; although retaining their Italian charac- 
 ter, they yet entered English life, sharing alike its 
 privileges and responsibilities. Some became citi- 
 zens, others married English women. One, the most 
 prominent member of the Italian community of his 
 day, in the time of national danger, equipped a vessel 
 at his own cost in the fight against the Armada. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 269 
 
 An English contemporary observer wrote of the 
 Italian merchants that they " fly abroad in exceed- 
 ing abundance to all places, and in wealth (wherever 
 they come) overtop all other, such is their skill, 
 their wit, their industry, their parsimony," ^ It 
 will be sufficient to consider here certain of the 
 Italian merchants in England during the sixteenth 
 century, as illustrating phases of the commercial re- 
 lations between the two countries, and showing their 
 general character. Three types of men can be 
 found : Sir Antonio Guidotti, the negotiator of 
 loans betv/een Henry the Eighth and Duke Cosimo 
 of Florence, who was knighted by Edward the Sixth 
 and later returned to Italy, leaving behind him in 
 poverty an English wife and children ; Ruberto Ri- 
 dolfi, banker, conspirator and unofficial agent of 
 the Pope, who plotted against Elizabeth ; and Sir 
 Horatio Pallavicino, merchant and political agent, who 
 came to England in the service of the Vatican, and 
 then identified himself in every way with the inter- 
 ests of the country he was to make his home. 
 
 Sir Antonio Guidotti belongs to the first half of 
 the sixteenth century. In a letter to Cromwell, 
 written in 1536, he offered to bring over to England 
 some silk weavers from Messina ; " what became of this 
 project is unknown. He was one of the Florentine 
 
 ^ Sandys, Speculum Europce, Sig. M. 2 b. 
 
 2 Cot. Mss., Brit. Mus., Vitellius, B. XIV, 241. 
 
270 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 merchants, however, whose trading ventures brought 
 him into close relations with the king. He was the 
 go-between and negotiator of a loan of ^15,000 
 made by Duke Cosimo of Florence to Henry the 
 Eighth, who wanted the money for his invasion of 
 France. The duke seems to have been unwilling at 
 first to lend the money, but was advised to do so 
 by Guidotti, who argued that it would be to his 
 advantage in Italy. 
 
 The amount borrowed was to be paid back in instal- 
 ments extending over a period of thirty years ; ^ the 
 interest given was to be twelve per cent ; Guidotti 
 assured the duke that it was both a sound and profit- 
 able investment. His own share, he wanted him to 
 understand, would come in only in the thanks he 
 should receive from the duke and the king, which 
 would compensate him amply for the trouble he had 
 taken and the slander of his enemies. He informed 
 the duke also that King Henry had given him plated 
 money in exchange on which a profit could be made, 
 as it was greatly in demand, particularly in Venice and 
 Pisa. The royal treasurer, Briam Tuck [Sir Bryan 
 Tuke], was a very intimate friend of his and he had 
 arranged the loan with him. Guidotti himself had 
 borrowed of him five thousand ducats, Cavalcanti and 
 Giraldi, the duke's London correspondents, vouching 
 for him.^ From subsequent letters it would appear 
 that Guidotti had a falling-out of some sort with the 
 
 1 Carteggio Universale Mediceo, Arch. Flor., 341. 
 2 Vide Filza Med., 371 Cte., 3/4, 55. 
 
THE ITx\LIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 2J\ 
 
 London agents for he wrote the duke that he had been 
 warned against them. He feared that if the affair fell 
 through he would lose the king's consideration entirely ; 
 but the loan, he felt sure, possessed too many advan- 
 tages to fail. The thousand ducats profits which he 
 acknowledged he expected to make on the negotia- 
 tions, he hoped to give as dowry to his eighteen-year- 
 old daughter, who was still in a convent, and whom he 
 wanted to marry off as soon as possible. He assured 
 the duke that the king bore him great good will, and 
 held him in greater consideration than any of the other 
 princes of Italy. This he could say without any flattery 
 at all, as few knew the king better than he did. He 
 had been about this affair for the last three years, 
 and almost ruined himself over it. If it were to fall 
 through now, it would break his heart, and he implored 
 the duke to have pity on him and on his little chil- 
 dren. There is a curious combination in all these 
 letters of personal appeals and business considera- 
 tions : at one time he proclaimed total disinterested- 
 ness in the matter, and then confessed that unless the 
 loan should materialize he would be virtually a ruined 
 man ; elsewhere again he brought in his own personal 
 affairs, and tried to interest the duke in them ; it 
 was a strange spectacle, however, to see a reigning 
 prince occupied with business transactions and lending 
 money at a remunerative rate of interest to another 
 sovereign. 
 
 Guidotti at last wrote the duke that there was grave 
 danger lest the king of Portugal might lend the 
 
272 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 money to Henry. This evidently settled matters, for 
 in a letter to his agent in London ^ the duke wrote 
 that he had definitely accepted the proposition. The 
 payments were to be made by Bartholomew Fortini,- the 
 agent of the firm of Cavalcanti and Giraldi in London. 
 The instructions were given and explained in Latin 
 letters to Sir Bryan Tuke, the royal treasurer.^ Anto- 
 nio Guidotti himself received a pension in 1550 for his 
 services,* and was later knighted by Edward the Sixth.^ 
 On his return to Florence he is said to have been 
 publicly welcomed, and to have received the con- 
 gratulations of the entire city. He left his family 
 in England, however, and a letter of Queen Mary to 
 Cosimo^ requested the duke to see to it that Guidotti, 
 who had been given an ample pension, should provide 
 for his wife, Dorothy Guidotti, and her three chil- 
 dren, who were then living in great poverty. The later 
 history of the loan can be quickly told. In 1558 
 Elizabeth wrote the duke that she wished to pay it.^ 
 No immediate steps seem at first to have been taken ; 
 but a few years later she began payment of the loan, 
 and made good the money her father had borrowed.^ 
 Elizabeth, it may be said, took good care to protect 
 and foster English trade and shipping, which was still 
 in its infancy. Many of her communications to the 
 
 1 Arch, rior., Arch. Med. Minute del \<^6,^,filza No. 6. 
 
 2 Ibid. 7 Ibid., f. 16. 
 
 * Arch. Med., 372 Cte., 258 ei seg. ^ Ibid. 
 
 * Lit. Rem. of Ed. VI, II, 256. 
 
 * Correspondence of Sir Thomas Copley, p. 112. 
 6 Arch. Med., 4183, f. 9. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 273 
 
 Grand Duke of Tuscany relate to commerce, and she 
 tried to obtain special trading facilities for her sub- 
 jects.* 
 
 Ruberto Ridolfi, banker and conspirator, belongs 
 rather to the type of Italian who refused to identify 
 himself with the interests of the country in which he 
 had for so many years made his home. He used the 
 position he had acquired in banking circles to plot 
 against Queen Elizabeth, although he was shrewd 
 enough to escape detection while his fellow conspira- 
 tors perished on the scaffold. He was employed in 
 various ways by Sir William Cecil and the crown, and 
 at the same time supplied English information to the 
 French and Spanish ambassadors, receiving pensions 
 from both. Protestant England meant to him the 
 enemy's country, and his life there was that of an in- 
 triguer and spy, shielding his own work behind that 
 of nobler men who gave up their lives for the Catholic 
 cause. Ridolfi's career in contrast with that of Pal- 
 lavicino explains how difficult it is to draw general- 
 izations. Of the two Italians, both prominent in 
 England, the one refused to assimilate himself in 
 any way, the other became to all purposes an 
 Englishman. 
 
 Sir Horatio Pallavicino, a Genoese by birth, was one 
 of the most interesting men of his time. He had first 
 gone to England recommended to Mary, who was then 
 queen. Having received an appointment as collector 
 of papal taxes, he turned Protestant, kept what he had 
 
 1 Arch. Med., 4183, fif. 26, 54. 
 
274 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 collected/ and became one of the great merchants of 
 the day, lending money at usurious rates of interest to 
 Elizabeth and Henry of Navarre. He was even said 
 to have saved the English monarchs from ruin on one 
 occasion. In addition to his banking business, he was 
 a great collector of pohtical intelhgence. His many 
 correspondents enabled him to secure information 
 ahead of others, and he was often employed by the 
 government to furnish foreign news.^ He was natu- 
 ralized an Englishman, and at the time of the Armada 
 equipped a vessel at his own expense and was present 
 as a volunteer. Anxious, as he wrote in a letter to 
 Cecil, to show his devotion to the queen and to Eng- 
 land, he decided that his best service could be done 
 by sea ; he was easily able to provide himself with 
 what was necessary for a naval battle, and trusted the 
 lord admiral would give him, as he had promised, 
 one of the queen's ships to command.^ In 1589 he 
 tried political intrigue of his own, to upset the Spanish 
 rule in the Netherlands;^ and several of his cipher 
 letters to Burghley on affairs of state are still preserved.^ 
 His chief occupation, however, was the negotiation of 
 loans for the British and Dutch governments. At the 
 time of his death the queen owed him ;^2 9,000, 
 
 1 An epitaph written after his death read : — 
 " Here lies Horatio Palavazene 
 
 Who robbed the Pope to lend the queen." 
 
 2 Hist. Ms. Com., Hatfield House, IV passim. 
 8 Ibid., IV, 563. 
 
 * Motley, United Netherlands, H, 539 et seq. 
 6 Hist. Ms. Com., Hatfield House, \\\ passtm. 
 
^ THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 275 
 
 which was never fully repaid to his heirs by the gov- 
 ernment. Money from the queen had been due for 
 some time, and there are many memoranda of such 
 debts. Already, in 1593, she owed him ^30,000; 
 two years he begged for payment^ which was not 
 forthcoming. His brothers, he wrote, had suffered 
 much in Italy for the sake of her Majesty, and the 
 debt in question was the better part of their patri- 
 mony as well as the means of maintaining their dignity. 
 Regarding the interest on the debt, although by no 
 means small, he submitted himself entirely to the 
 queen's pleasure, but begged that the loan might 
 soon be settled, otherwise he feared that his brothers 
 would seize as security the merchandise of English 
 subjects and thereby incur her displeasure. In this 
 letter he alluded to the bond of the City of London 
 as " the first to-day in Europe." 
 
 Pallavicino throughout his life acted the part of a 
 patriotic Englishman, and maintained his position with 
 dignity and honor. He was on terms of friendship 
 with Cecil, who reminded him in one letter'' of the 
 reputation he enjoyed at court ; Lord Buckhurst also 
 in a letter to Ehzabeth's great minister spoke of him 
 as his friend.' In the correspondence which passed 
 between Pallavicino and Cecil, he told the latter that 
 he would like his son Henry to pass under his guardian- 
 ship,* and later sent him another son,^ Edward, whom 
 
 1 Hist. Ms. Com., Hatfield House, IV, 444. V, 462. 
 
 2 Ibid., IV, 609. a Ibid., IV, 552. 4 Ibid., V, 24S. 
 ^ Ibid.,\l, 175. 
 
276 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 he had promised to take into his service. He trusted 
 that he would find use for his pen as well as for his 
 body. He was evidently anxious to become Angli- 
 cized in every way, and even wrote Cecil^ that he 
 wanted to marry his sisters-in-law to Englishmen 
 according to arrangements he had made, but that 
 they were timid. His own family, by a rather remark- 
 able series of alHances, married Cromwells, and broke 
 away entirely from their Italian ties. 
 
 Pallavicino was a remarkable character in many 
 ways. Not only was he banker and political agent, 
 but Italian architect as well to Queen Elizabeth. 
 At his death Theophilus Field wrote and edited An 
 Italian's Dead Body, a book of elegies on the death 
 of Sir Horatio Pallavicino, and Bishop Hall contrib- 
 uted verses to his memory. But he was remarkable 
 in showing that, in spite of somewhat evil beginnings, 
 he could become a loyal and patriotic Englishman, 
 ready to do his duty to his adopted country. Ideas 
 had greatly changed since the days of Antonio 
 Bonvisi. Italy had retrograded, crushed by foreign 
 oppression ; and England had advanced, and asserted 
 her place in the first rank of nations. She had 
 destroyed the invincible Armada, and her sailors had 
 singed the beard of the king of Spain. English gold 
 and English arms on the Continent were now lend- 
 ing aid to the Protestants in France and the Low 
 Countries. Italians therefore needed no longer to 
 be ashamed to seek another nationality. Excepting 
 
 1 Hist. Ms. Com., Hatfield House, V, 2. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 2JJ 
 
 Venice, which was even then in its decline, the 
 other cities of Italy retained scarce a shadow of 
 their former power. Their earlier commercial su- 
 premacy was a thing of the past ; Elizabeth might still 
 borrow huge sums from a Pallavicino or a Spinola,^ 
 but the crown was no longer dependent on Italian 
 bankers alone, whose capital had been accumulated 
 in former years. The growing resources of England 
 were coming into play, and English industry and 
 commerce, wisely encouraged, were forging to the 
 front. It is therefore scarcely surprising that the 
 Italians who settled in England should seek to 
 identify themselves with the new nation, rather than 
 cling to their own decaying cities. Fanatics and 
 zealots like Ridolfi might still remain irreconcilably 
 hostile, but the wiser, the more far-sighted among 
 them saw that the old sun had set and a new star 
 was above the horizon. They could throw in their 
 lot with England, and of their English citizenship 
 justly feel proud. 
 
 VI 
 
 There was another way in which Italians may be 
 said to have influenced English trade and commerce. 
 Not only did the example of Italian bankers and mer- 
 chants give Englishmen a knowledge of commercial 
 methods such as had hitherto been unknown to 
 them, but Italian navigators and explorers, and Italian 
 geographers and writers of travel, prepared the way for 
 
 1 Hist. Ms. Com., Hatfield House, II, 356. 
 
278 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 1 
 
 Englishmen to follow, and distinguish themselves in the 
 deeds of daring which marked the closing years of the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 It would be idle to dwell here on the numerous 
 Italian explorers and navigators. Columbus, who 
 gave a new continent to Spain, was but the greatest 
 of a long line of Italian navigators. In England, 
 as is well known, the elder Cabot, who was Genoese 
 by birth, Venetian by citizenship, EngHsh by adop- 
 tion, sailed from Bristol to discover the American 
 coast in his attempt to reach India. His daring son 
 commanded the first English ship to visit the West 
 Indies and South America, and he was later made life 
 governor of the Company of Merchant Adventurers. 
 But long before the Cabots first led English sailors 
 on paths of adventure and exploration, Venetian and 
 Genoese galleys between Southampton and other 
 ports acted as carriers for English merchandise. 
 There can be little doubt that this example, com- 
 bined with the natural seafaring inclination of the 
 race, led Englishmen to ply the trade which was so 
 successful in enriching Italians. English shipping, 
 moreover, was greatly encouraged by the wise regu- 
 lations of Henry the Seventh, who tried to foster 
 and protect the new source of national wealth. 
 
 But the influence and example here to be con- 
 sidered was rather a literary one, derived from the 
 books of exploration and travels. It is well known 
 that the Florentine, Amerigo Vespucci, whose name 
 has been given to the new continent, wrote the first 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 279 
 
 account of it. Italian geographers and cosmographers 
 were then far ahead of those of other nations. It is 
 scarcely to be wondered at, therefore^ that some of the 
 first English books of travel in the Renaissance were 
 translations from Italian works. Already, in 1550-51, 
 Wilham Thomas dedicated to the king, as his New 
 Year's gift, a translation of Josaphat Barbaro's Ac- 
 count of his Voyages to the East, published in Venice 
 in 1543. A more interesting and important work, 
 however, was to be published a few years later, The 
 Decades of the New World, by Pietro Martire d'An- 
 ghiera,^ one of the principal authorities on the settle- 
 ment of America to this day.^ A second and more 
 complete edition (in spite of its omitting several of 
 the earlier accounts) appeared some twenty years 
 later.^ The book was a general history of travel and 
 exploration from the time of Columbus, compiled 
 by Peter Martyr, an Italian by birth, who, like many 
 of his compatriots, had gone into the service of the 
 king of Spain, where he became president of the Royal 
 Council for the West Indies, and collected narratives 
 of the great explorers in the Spanish service. To the 
 
 1 The Decades of the New World, by Peter Martyr of Angleria, 
 translated into English by Richard Eden, 1555. 
 
 2 Vide J. G. Underhill, Spanish Literature in the Englatid of 
 the Ticdors, p. 124, for the Spanish influence in EHzabethan 
 books of travel. 
 
 3 The History of Travel in the West ajid East Indies, and 
 other countries. . . . With a discourse of the northwest 
 passage. . . . Translated by Richard Eden and by Richard 
 Willes, 1577. 
 
28o ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 original edition, translated by Richard Eden, Willes 
 added the travels of Luigi Vertomanno of Rome, in 
 Arabia, Persia, Syria, and other countries of the Orient, 
 and a description of Northeast Frosty Seas as related 
 by the ambassador of the Duke of Muscovy to a learned 
 gentleman of Italy named Galeatius Butrigarius, who 
 had written them down. An account was added of 
 the voyages "of that worthy old man, Sebastian 
 Cabot," and several other translations as well from 
 the Italian, as, for instance, a description of China 
 by Galeotto Perera, who had been a prisoner there. 
 One of the few English records in the book consisted 
 of extracts from Anthony Jenkinson's Journey to 
 Persia in 1561, where he had been sent as ambas- 
 sador "With the Queen's Majesty's letters in the 
 Latin, Italian, and Hebrew tongue to the great Sophy 
 and King of Persia." 
 
 The most interesting portion of the work related 
 to Columbus' discovery of America. A description 
 was given of the new territories and their riches, 
 well calculated to inflame the Elizabethan imagina- 
 tion. In the epistle to the reader, Willes bade him 
 " consider the fruits, the drugs, the pearls, the treas- 
 ure, the miUions of gold and silver, the Spaniards 
 have brought out of the West Indies since the first 
 voyage of Columbus. . . . The north western voyage 
 be it never so full of difficulties will become as plau- 
 sible as any other journey, if our passengers may 
 return with plenty of silver, silks and pearl. Let 
 Columbus, Americus, Cortesius, be well set forth 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 28 1 
 
 again and bountifully rewarded, you shall hear of 
 other and new found lands yet altogether un- 
 known." 
 
 Other books were translated from the Italian, such 
 as the travels of Cesare Federici, a Venetian mer- 
 chant in the Orient.^ The author had spent eighteen 
 years in the far East, and as he thought the subject 
 new and never before treated, he gave an account 
 of the princes of the Indies, their religious faith, 
 rites, custom.s, and also a description of the products 
 of the countries. Both the novelty and rarity of the 
 subject attracted the translator, who apologized for 
 his want of learning and use of the ordinary speech; 
 his purpose had been that Enghsh merchants and 
 his other countrymen might profit by the book, and 
 he prophesied great wealth for those who travelled 
 in these regions. 
 
 In Italy, long before the rest of Europe, geography 
 had received the same stimulus as other arts and 
 sciences, and the superiority of Italians in its 
 study over all other nations was long maintained. 
 Italy, in the Renaissance, continued to be the home 
 of geographical hterature, at a time when the dis- 
 coverers themselves came almost exclusively from the 
 countries of Western Europe. In the first half of 
 the sixteenth century, Italian maps were in advance of 
 any others, and even much later a portion of Botero's 
 
 1 The Voyage and Travel of M. Cesare Frederick, Merchant 
 of Venice into the East India, the Indies, and beyond the Indies. 
 . . . Translated by T(homas) H(ickok), 1588. 
 
282 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 great work on the geography of the world was trans- 
 lated into English.^ 
 
 It would be too much to say that the accounts of 
 the great Italian navigators and explorers led EKza- 
 bethan seamen to similar deeds of daring. At the 
 same time, there can be little doubt that the example 
 set by a Columbus or a Cabot, or the descriptions of 
 a Vespucci, did much to fan their smouldering love 
 of adventure. The venturesome tendencies of the 
 nation could no longer be kept in, when once it 
 had heard or read the deeds of others. In this, also, 
 Italy led the v/ay for Western Europe to follow. The 
 art of Michael Angelo or Leonardo, the statecraft 
 of Machiavelli, the poetry of Ariosto, the discov- 
 eries of Columbus, seem widely separated at first 
 glance, looking back from modern times ; yet they 
 were but different phases of the same movement. 
 The energy which could not be restrained, the daring 
 which knew no bounds, the desire to tread still virgin 
 soil, the striving toward perfection, were all charac- 
 teristic of the Italian Renaissance. 
 
 In Italy, after the age of action was once over, 
 there followed a more critical period when the adven- 
 tures of former times were digested and studied, and 
 geography, enriched by many discoveries, became a 
 science. At a time when the countries of Western 
 Europe were sending their expeditions to distant seas, 
 
 ^ The Ti'avellers' Breviat, or an historical description of the 
 most famous kijigdoms in the world. Translated by Robert 
 Johnson from Botero, i6oi. 
 
THE ITALIAN MERCHANT IN ENGLAND 283 
 
 in search of gold, or to look for the western passage 
 to Cathay, Italian activity of this sort had narrowed 
 almost to a critical one alone. Their geographers were 
 now supreme, where once their navigators had been. 
 
 This was, then, the period when Italian books of 
 travel and adventure were translated into English, 
 and inflamed the Elizabethan imagination with their 
 tales of riches and conquest. Just as Italian bankers 
 and merchants had first shown England the possi- 
 bilities of commercial life, so too in exploration and 
 adventure their example proved a powerful one. 
 Even then, in the age of the hardy Ehzabethan sea- 
 men, the trade of Italy was not dead. Venice was 
 in many ways what England is to-day ; her colonies 
 formed a colonial empire governed by a merchant 
 aristocracy. Although the trade of the Atlantic, and 
 the new passage around the Cape of Good Hope, no 
 longer left Venice the highway for direct intercourse 
 with the East, the position she had taken centuries 
 to build was not lost in a day. The knowledge of 
 the Orient came first from Italy to England. It was 
 through Venice that English ambassadors and mer- 
 chants passed on their way to Constantinople and 
 the Orient. It was Venice which brought East and 
 West together in a common bond of trade. 
 
 The Italian influence in England through com- 
 merce was most important. The mere presence in 
 a city such as London of a number of foreign mer- 
 chants, trained in superior methods, possessing greater 
 skill in commerce than had heretofore been known. 
 
284 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 could not but influence, by their example, the native 
 community. Even to this day many Italian commer- 
 cial terms have remained in English use : debtor and 
 creditor, for instance ; cash from cassa ; journal from 
 giornale ; bank and bankrupt, from banco and banco- 
 rotto ; the abbreviations for /m, soldi and denari, and 
 that of company on the Bank of England notes, and the 
 oft-recurring ditto, which should be spelled with an e 
 instead of an {} When, toward the end of the sixteenth 
 century, the English succeeded in freeing themselves 
 from their foreign competitors, who had once enjoyed 
 almost a monopoly of banking and the commerce of 
 other countries, it was due as much to their growing 
 technical and commercial capacity as to the trade 
 regulations enforced by the government.^ Alongside 
 of the growth in native enterprise, and of commer- 
 cial ideas in England, and running parallel with it, 
 a great change had taken place in the Italian mer- 
 chants in England. Coming over at first for a tem- 
 porary sojourn in what they then regarded as a 
 barbarous country, whose inhabitants, ignorant of 
 the broader elements of commerce, hated them for 
 their success, they gradually settled in the land, and 
 many of them became English in their sentiments 
 and devotion. At the same time, by their residence 
 and example, they did much to teach ideas of trade 
 to the EngHsh. They had been merchants when 
 
 1 Burgon, op. cit., I, 282, note. 
 
 2 Vide Hamburg und England in Zeitalter der Konigin 
 Elizabeth^ Richard Ehrenberg, 1896. 
 
THE ITALIAN xMERCHANT IN ENGLAND 285 
 
 elsewhere in Europe trade was still despised. Their 
 industry and enterprise in foreign parts had amassed 
 wealth for them through the long years when other 
 nations were still in the Middle Ages. In commerce, 
 as in art and science, they discovered the new life, 
 recognizing possibilities which lay open to them, 
 and the new foundation for the work of nations as 
 of men. ItaUan city republics first in modern times 
 had grasped the idea of a navy necessary to protect 
 their shipping and uphold their interests. The 
 energy, the vigor, the daring and courage of the 
 Itahan Renaissance found itself reflected no less 
 strongly in the history of its merchants and explorers, 
 than in the works of its painters and poets. ( In 
 commerce, as in the arts and sciences, Italy held 
 up the guiding hght for the rest of Europe to follow.\ 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 ITALIAN POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL IDEAS 
 IN ENGLAND 
 
 The transition effected by the Wars of the Roses, 
 which led to the firm foundation of the Tudor mon- 
 archy under Henry the Seventh, marked the transfor- 
 mation of England from a feudal state to a centralized 
 government under a prince possessing practically abso- 
 lute power. It was characteristic of the period that 
 similar changes were taking place about the same time 
 in both France and Spain, where the decaying ideas of 
 the Middle Ages were gradually becoming obscured 
 by new conceptions, whose theoretical foundation at 
 least was made possible by the revival of classical 
 antiquity. 
 
 One of the most significant changes in the history 
 of civilization is that, while in modern times the study 
 of antiquity has suggested rather the Athenian democ- 
 racy and Roman republic, it was otherwise in past 
 centuries, when, from the time of the revival of 
 Roman law at Bologna and Padua, the memory of 
 imperial Rome was always present to the mind 
 of the student and political dreamer. It was per- 
 
 286 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 28/ 
 
 haps for this reason, in part, that the new humanism 
 obtained its first patrons among ItaHan despots, whose 
 example was later imitated in other countries of 
 Europe. Classical learning did not appear to them 
 as a dangerous model which might incite their sub- 
 jects to strike for hberty, but rather a justification, 
 in an age of reason, of the same despotic power they 
 were then endeavoring to wield. At a time when 
 precedent and tradition counted for so much, they 
 sought to find in the example of great men of former 
 times the sanction, as it were, of the power which 
 in many instances they had obtained by the most 
 unscrupulous means. This was especially the case 
 in Italy, where classical tradition was stronger than 
 in any other country. It would, however, be a mis- 
 take to suppose that princes elsewhere were insensible 
 to the advantages of a patronage of learned men, 
 ready to find an ancient pedigree for their methods of 
 government. The historical resemblances, which could 
 in all cases be discovered between their own rule and 
 that of the princes of classical antiquity, must natu- 
 rally have appealed to them at a time when they were 
 endeavoring to strip the nobility of their feudal power 
 in order to centralize it in themselves. In such pat- 
 ronage, moreover, they could feel that they were fol- 
 lowing in the footsteps of an Augustus or a Hadrian, 
 with whom the claims of an empire had not destroyed 
 an appreciation of letters and the arts. 
 
 From another point of view, as well, it is apparent 
 that Italian scholars and humanists could hope to find 
 
288 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 a ready welcome at foreign courts. Not only were they 
 first in the field, but the encouragement received 
 at the hands of a Montefeltro or a Malatesta must 
 have spurred them on to similar conquests. Beyond 
 the Alps the whole of Europe stretched before them, 
 while the competition among learned men diminished 
 where their numbers were few. The fact, moreover, 
 that they were aliens, with no ties binding them to the 
 soil, and dependent only on the good will of their 
 patron, favored them with princes, who often did not 
 dare trust their half- submissive noblemen. 
 
 Beginning about 1460, the new centralized power 
 at the court encouraged the growth of letters. Ed- 
 ward the Fourth laid the foundation of the new 
 monarchy in England ; he practically discontinued 
 Parliament and worked silently toward absolute power ; 
 he introduced a system of spies, and even interfered 
 with the pure administration of justice. But he also 
 encouraged Caxton in the new art of printing, and 
 gave directions that no hindrance be placed on any 
 stranger who might import or sell books in the king- 
 dom. He was the first in England of the new type 
 of princes who broke loose from the feudal traditions 
 of the Middle Ages, and endeavored to centraHze 
 power in the hands of the monarch alone, and make 
 of him at once an absolute ruler and a patron of arts 
 and letters, although Hke many of the Italian despots, 
 he united utter unscrupulousness with cultivation. But 
 stormy days were still at hand, and it was not until the 
 accession of Henry the Seventh that the position of 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 289 
 
 learning began to be secure. Although life gave Henry 
 but little opportunity for culture, his tastes were all 
 inclined toward the patronage of literature and *art. 
 What he did most successfully was to play in England 
 the role of an Italian despot. The best contemporary 
 appreciation of his methods and character has, per- 
 haps, for this reason been written by the Italian, 
 Polydore Vergil. 
 
 Edward the Fourth conferred the highest English 
 distinction, the Order of the Garter, upon Duke Fred- 
 erick of Urbino. The same honor was later granted 
 by Henry the Seventh to Duke Guidobaldo. There 
 were other evidences of his desire to be on a friendly 
 footing with Italian princes, even though they could 
 be of little direct advantage to him. His corre- 
 spondence, for instance, with the Estensi of Fer- 
 rara, and the frequent employment of Italians in his 
 service, would seem to indicate that they were sym- 
 pathetic to his nature. His policy, moreover, in its 
 steady direction toward an absolute despotism, had 
 been made familiar by Italian examples. While it "^ '^ 
 would be going too far to say that he held any Italian 
 model consciously before him in his creation of the 
 Tudor monarchy, it seems likely that the political 
 methods and ideas of Italy were present in his mind i 
 as he labored to strengthen his rule. 
 
 Polydore Vergil, soon after he had taken up his 
 
 residence in London, became intimate with Henry 
 
 the Seventh, at whose request he is said to have written 
 
 his history of England, on which he was to spend 
 
 u 
 
290 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 almost thirty years of his life. It was not the first 
 English historical work by an Italian ; Tito Livio of 
 Forli, "poet and orator of the Duke of Gloucester," 
 had long before written a life of Henry the Fifth.^ 
 Polydore Vergil, however, in spite of his poor reputa- 
 tion for veracity,^ was the first to employ modern 
 methods in English history, and attempt to weigh 
 authorities, summarize character, and tell a connected 
 story. The historical method he employed was far 
 in advance of anything England had known. The 
 first part of the book roused national prejudices ; he 
 discarded Brute, the reputed founder of England, as 
 an imaginary character, and treated Geoffrey of Mon- 
 mouth's history as a combination of fact and fable, 
 on which but little reliance could be placed.^ Vergil's 
 history, however, recorded not only political events, 
 but such facts as the introduction of the new learning 
 into England. It was of especial value for. its ac- 
 count of the reign of Henry the Seventh, with whose 
 aims and character he sympathized. His work, in spite 
 of numerous errors which can be excused by reason 
 of his ignorance of English dialects and customs, was 
 a contribution of real importance. A letter of his to 
 James the Fourth of Scotland is significant as show- 
 ing the method he employed in writing.* He had 
 
 1 Voigt, II, 255. 
 
 2 Cf. " Maro and Polydore bore Vergil's name ; 
 
 One reaps a poet's, one a liar's fame." 
 
 ^ Three Books of VergiVs English History, Camden Society, 
 1844. Introduction. ^ Cat. St. Pap., Henry VIII, I, 105. 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 29 1 
 
 visited England, he said, largely to see the country 
 and study its antiquities. He had been so surprised to 
 find its history confused, and unknown even to English- 
 men, that he determined, in consequence, to write a 
 short chronicle, which was now finished. Very few 
 references to Scotland had been made, since 
 there was no good author to follow. He therefore 
 requested King James to furnish him either with 
 annals of the country, or with the names and lives 
 of Scottish kings, his own amongst the number. 
 
 With all its blunders, the history enjoyed consider- 
 able influence. Vergil's personal animosity to Wolsey 
 led him, however, to defame the great cardinal's 
 character; his opinion was passed on from one 
 Enghsh historian to another. Hall taking it from 
 Vergil, Foxe from Hall, Burnet and Strype from Foxe, 
 Hume from Burnet, and so on.^ But English history 
 owed a real debt to Polydore Vergil. In the dedica- 
 tion of his work to Henry the Eighth he compared 
 the early chronicles of Bede and Gildas to meat with- 
 out the salt, which it was his object to supply ; but 
 recognizing their value, he edited Gildas for the first 
 time in 1525. Alike in his methods and in his use of 
 material he ushered the new study of history into 
 England. 
 
 II 
 
 The influence of Machiavelli first entered England 
 with Thomas Cromwell. Like many other EngHsh- 
 men of the age, Cromwell probably took part in the 
 
 1 Brewer, Henry VIII, I, 264 et seq. 
 
292 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Italian wars and there learned the language. From 
 soldiering he became a trader, and acted as commer- 
 cial agent to a Venetian merchant. In after years, 
 when he became minister, it appears to have been 
 Italy that left its deepest stamp on him. Not only, it 
 was said, ^' in the rapidity and unscrupulousness of his 
 designs, but in their larger scope, their clearer purpose 
 and admirable combination, the Italian statecraft en- 
 tered with Cromwell into EngUsh politics." ^ He was 
 the first EngUsh minister in whom there can be traced 
 the steady working out of a great and definite aim to 
 raise the king to absolute authority on the ruins of 
 every rival power within the realm. His policy was 
 -4- closely modelled on the lines laid down by Machiavelli. 
 While still in the employ of Wolsey, he advised Regi- 
 nald Pole to read as his manual in poUtics The 
 Prince which he possessed in manuscript even 
 before it had been pubhshed in Italy, and which he 
 described as a practical work on government far more 
 useful than the dreams of Plato.^ His own aim was 
 to secure peace and order for England by central- 
 izing all power in the crown, and strengthening the 
 hands of the king. As the church alone stood in the 
 way of the absolute rule of the king, the last check that 
 had survived the Wars of the Roses, his unbending 
 
 1 J. R. Green, Short History of England, p. 335. For the 
 influence of Machiavelli on other English statesmen, vide W. 
 Alison Phillips' article in the Nineteenth Century, December, 
 
 1896. 
 
 2 For Pole's opinion of Machiavelli, vide Epistolce Reg. Pole, 
 
 1744, p. 151. 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 293 
 
 efforts and energies were directed to destroying its 
 authority. His interest for the present study Hes, how- 
 ever, in his being the first great English disciple of 
 Machiavelh. 
 
 Long before the writings of Machiavelli had as yet 
 been read in England, or his influence had made 
 itself felt in pohtical philosophy, several other Italian 
 thinkers were well known. Sir Thomas More, it will 
 be remembered, was thoroughly famiHar with the best 
 Italian thought, and fondly cherished Pico della Mir- 
 andola as his one ideal. Sir Thomas Elyot was perhaps 
 even more affected by Italian philosophy. The influ- 
 ence of Pontano, the elder Patrizi, Pico, and many 
 minor writers, has been traced in his Governour} a 
 treatise on the education of statesmen, dedicated to 
 Henry the Eighth ; to this book Elyot owed his ap- 
 pointment as ambassador to Charles the Fifth. The 
 Governour was one of the earliest treatises on moral 
 philosophy in English, although similar works had been 
 written by Fortescue in the fifteenth century, and in 
 Italy, by Pontano and Beroaldo. To Pontano Elyot 
 readily acknowledged his indebtedness ; but the book 
 which he really took as his model, and borrowed from 
 to a great extent, was a work very popular at that 
 time, by Francesco Patrizi.- Between it and The 
 Governour a general similarity exists, and many 
 passages are identical, translated word for word., 
 
 1 Sir Thomas Elyot, The Governour, ed. H. II. S. Croft, 
 p. Ixiii et seq. 
 
 2 De Regno et Regio Institutione. 
 
 I^-^^- 
 
294 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Elyot showed his familiarity as well with the writ- 
 ings of several Italian humanists, such as Valla, Perotto, 
 Calepino, and many others of less repute.^ The 
 purpose he had in writing was that the children of the 
 upper classes should be better educated in order that 
 they too "may be deemed worthy to be Governours" ; 
 all this was thoroughly characteristic of the Renaissance. 
 The influence of Machiavelli, however, had not as yet 
 reached him, nor does he seem to have been aware of 
 its existence. 
 
 Another English political thinker, somewhat later in 
 date, was John Ponet (or Poynet), Bishop of Win- 
 chester, who was also familiar with Italian, and had 
 himself translated the Ti-agedy of Ochino. In his 
 treatise on political power ^ he discussed the causes 
 of its growth, the reasons which sanctioned it, and its 
 proper use and duty. He found a justification in the 
 law of nature for all animals to be ruled by a superior 
 creature. Government he divided, like Aristotle, into 
 monarchy, aristocracy and democracy; the state in 
 which all three had power was in his judgment the 
 best. A discussion followed as to whether kings, 
 princes and other governors possessed absolute power 
 and authority over their subjects : should the prince 
 be subject to the law of God and of his country? The 
 answer to this, that the prince must obey his own laws, 
 he pretended to find in the Bible. He considered the 
 
 ^ The Governour, p. cxxxv. 
 
 2 A Short Treatise of Politic Power and of the True Obedi- 
 ence which Subjects owe to Kings, 1556. 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 295 
 
 question as to how far subjects were bound to obey 
 their princes. Furthermore, if the property of the sub- 
 ject belonged to the prince, might he not lawfully take 
 it as his own. In discussing the great question " whether 
 it be lawful to depose an evil governor and kill a ty- 
 rant," Ponet proved himself to be one of the earliest 
 English advocates of tyrannicide. In the examples 
 given as illustrations, he showed his familiarity with 
 Itahan, and particularly Venetian, history. 
 
 Scattered through the pages of Elizabethan litera- 
 ture can be found hundreds of references to Machia- 
 velli,^ whose name passed as a synonym for treachery 
 and tyranny, used even by many who had never seen 
 his works. At the same time, in a less known direc- 
 tion, his influence made itself felt in English political 
 philosophy. His method and ideas were reflected 
 particularly in the writings of William Thomas, John 
 Leslie, Thomas Bedingfield and Charles Merbury, 
 while even Bacon was influenced by him. 
 
 The theory generally adopted by the English writers 
 of the sixteenth century, as to the form of government 
 which would present fewest dangers to the welfare of j 
 the state, favored absolute monarchy. Machiavelli "^ 
 had argued for this in T/ie Prince. To the great Floren- 
 tine, who elsewhere advocated a republic, the mere 
 form of government mattered Httle in comparison with 
 the methods employed for attaining and holding power. 
 Inasmuch as these means were best suited to abso- 
 
 1 Vide E. Meyer, Machiavelli and the Elizabethan Drama, 
 LiUerarhiiioruche Foj-schungen, 1897, p^^^^i^- 
 
296 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 lutism, his ideas seemed like the apology and 
 defence of the absolute ruler. Friend and foe ahke, 
 then, regarded him, not in the modern light of 
 an Italian patriot, but as the exponent and advocate 
 of a strong rule, regardless of the methods employed 
 to obtain power. Absolute government was the goal 
 to which his ideas led ; the Itahan political phi- 
 losophy of the age was all in the direction df ab- 
 solutism.-' This influence can be traced likewise in 
 England, where it provided the theoretical foundation 
 for the doctrine of the divine right of kings. 
 
 The English arguments in favor of the absolute 
 monarchy were generally reached after supposedly im- 
 partial investigations into the different forms of govern- 
 ment. Democracy and aristocracy were both discussed, 
 and the advantages and disadvantages of each were 
 weighed. In the ordinary division of every country 
 between the nobility and commons, it was recog- 
 nized that the desire of the one was always to rule, of 
 the other not to be ruled. The question, therefore, at 
 issue was whether the nobleman, endeavoring to main- 
 tain his position, or the commoner, seeking to attain 
 power for himself, was the more prejudicial to the wel- 
 fare of the state. Or, to describe it in another way, 
 whose desire was the greater, he who feared to lose 
 what he already possessed, or he who, having nothing, 
 had everything to gain? The desire of both was 
 thought equal, although the effects were unequal ; for 
 the man of property could easily obtain more, while 
 
 1 Cf. Castiglione, Courtier^ p. 312. 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 297 
 
 he who had nothing could not acquire more without 
 much labor. If, however, the one could grow rich 
 without toil and the other found no ease in his riches, 
 the world would become barbarous through lack of 
 work. In labor, therefore, lay the foundation of all " civil 
 pohcy." It was necessary both to force the needy 
 to labor, and maintain the rights of those possess- 
 ing property. As long as neither nobleman nor com- 
 moner overstepped their bounds, so long were both 
 of benefit to the state. If either should do so, 
 the party of the commons would certainly prove the 
 more dangerous on account of their ignorance and 
 inconstancy. Moreover, it was impossible for many 
 individuals long to preserve the same opinion. They 
 might agree, but it would only be for a short time, and 
 if once they lost their heads, no peril could be com- 
 pared to the frenzy of the multitude. Their occa- 
 sional success had come rather from good fortune 
 than wisdom. In Thomas' mind, if the commons 
 once attained power, they would destroy both the 
 nobiUty and themselves.^ Others likewise shared this 
 view of democracy. Its advantages, however, were also 
 considered. Democracy observed perfect equahty and 
 reduced the constitution of the state to the law of 
 nature. Just as nature gave riches, honor and office 
 to one man no more than to another, so popular gov- 
 ernment tended to make all men equal without privi- 
 lege or prerogative. The avarice of the rich and the 
 insolence of "the great were supposed alike to be done 
 
 1 Works, p. 157 et seg. 
 
298 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 away with by democracy. It fostered friendship and 
 equality in human society, and permitted every one to 
 enjoy liberty and equal justice without fear of tyranny 
 or oppression. In spite of all this the faults of 
 democracy were said to outweigh its advantages. 
 No true equality could be observed under any system 
 of popular government, since it was contrary to the 
 law of nature, which made certain men wiser than 
 others, decreeing that some were to command and 
 others to obey. General equality, moreover, seemed 
 impossible so long as there were magistrates and forms 
 of government.^ The characteristic of a democracy 
 was that "handicraftsmen" and the " baser sort " of 
 people should manage public affairs. Its main drawback 
 was that with it went envy of the rich, and an intense 
 conceit accompanied the feehng it possessed of its own 
 infalhbility. To describe democracy in a sentence, it 
 seemed a " horrible monster of many heads without 
 reason." ^ 
 
 After the popular form of government had been 
 removed from consideration, the question of aristocracy 
 was approached. It was observed that the greed of 
 the nobility resulted frequently in the oppression and 
 suffering of the multitude. So long as the commons 
 were in power, magistrates were careful to restrain 
 the excesses of the nobility and advance public welfare. ' 
 This condition would prove most beneficial if order 
 
 1 Bedingfield, Florentine History of Machiavelli, preface, 
 
 1595- 
 
 2 Merbury, Brief Discourse, 1581, p. ii. 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 299 
 
 could always be maintained, and laws remained invio- 
 late. What popular state, however, could point to 
 freedom from sedition, violence and faction for thirty 
 years, during which time the state had never been 
 in danger of overthrow?^ The tendency to faction 
 was among the greatest dangers of an aristocracy as well. 
 The greater the number of rulers, the more factions 
 and disputes there were,- while another peril lay in 
 state secrets being often disclosed. 
 
 The idea of government by parties is a compara- 
 tively modern one. Even to the framers of the 
 American Constitution the presence of party govern- 
 ment appeared as one of the grave dangers which 
 was to beset the young republic. Its presence in 
 the mind of William Thomas made him incline toward 
 possible tyranny in an absolute ruler, in preference 
 to the danger of an overthrow of government through 
 factional contests. His argument in favor of abso- 
 lute monarchy was that a good prince, even though 
 he diminished the power of the commons, preserved 
 them, at the same time, from the tyranny of the 
 nobiHty, acting toward the latter in the way they 
 did to the multitude ; he was as much interested in 
 governing well one class as the other. Contrariwise, 
 even if he were a tyrant, yet his tyranny was preferable 
 to that of the nobility. In the one case there were 
 many tyrants, while in the other a single one would 
 suffer no one but himself. The prince's tyranny was, 
 therefore, to be preferred to that of an aristocracy, 
 
 1 Thomas, op. cit., p. 166. ^ Bedingfield, loc. cii. 
 
300 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 and was infinitely better than the insolence of the multi- 
 tude. The conclusion reached was that it was best for 
 the prince to have supreme power. While he should 
 not oppress the people, he ought to train them so 
 that his very name would make them tremble.-' They 
 should not even be allowed to talk of his actions and 
 laws, since contempt and disobedience, the mother of 
 all errors, would follow such criticism. 
 
 John Leslie argued, likewise, in favor of the absolute 
 power of one prince. " By the providence of one 
 God, the whole world is ruled; so is the body of 
 man by one soul governed ; a ship by one master is 
 guided." One king stood for peace and unity, which 
 all good citizens should wish for.^ Charles Merbury 
 also tried to show that the rule of the lawful mon- 
 arch was the best of all forms of government. His 
 title should be by descent in blood royal. Election 
 was open to many disadvantages, not only in the 
 anarchy which necessarily existed before a new prince 
 could be chosen, but in the fact that to satisfy his 
 ambition in that direction a prince would even im- 
 poverish a country. Another drawback was the possible 
 election of an ahen. Italians, for instance, called all 
 others barbarians, and it was readily conceivable that 
 an Italian prince might try to change the language 
 and customs of the country. The great advantage in 
 ^ a prince who had absolute power over all his subjects 
 
 1 Thomas, p. 169. 
 
 2 Treatise touching the Right of Mary Queen of Scotland^ 
 1584, p. 65 et seq. 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 30I 
 
 was in sovereignty, which was without other limitation 
 of time than his own life, and after that passed to his 
 sons and heirs. He was accountable to no one, since 
 he received his power only from God. He was sub- 
 ject, therefore, to no other law than that of God. 
 Whatever differed from the divine law he was not 
 bound to obey. For the prince to be governed by 
 the estates and peers of his realm would be most 
 injurious to the whole idea of monarchy. Still less ought 
 he to be subject to the common multitude, who, as 
 they obtained greater authority, became both more 
 insolent and disposed to rebellion. In all well-ad- 
 ministered kingdoms, therefore, the commons had 
 only the power of petition, the nobles of deliberation, 
 and the prince alone of execution ; for " our Prince, 
 who is the image of God on Earth, and as it were, 
 Un Minor Esef?ipio of His almighty power, is not to 
 acknowledge any greater than himself, nor any author- 
 ity greater than his own." ^ The perfection of mon- 
 archy was therefore to be found in the absolute rule 
 of the monarch. Thomas Bedingfield, likewise, in his 
 translation of Machiavelli, congratulated his compatriots 
 that they were destined by God to live in the obedience 
 of an hereditary royal monarchy, where the prince sub- 
 mitted himself no less to the law of nature than he 
 desired his subjects to be obedient to him. Following 
 the idea expressed by Patrizi in his Civil Policy , which 
 Richard Robinson had translated into English, and 
 where an absolutism was declared to be the only 
 
 1 Op. ciL, p. 43 et seq.; cf, Castiglione, p. 314. 
 
302 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 logical form of government, Bedingfield argued in favor 
 of the monarch ruling alone, just as God ruled the 
 entire universe. It was the best state of affairs, and 
 all nations, it was said, were first so governed. Of all 
 forms it was " the most reasonable, most natural, most 
 honorable, and most necessary." ^ The power of the 
 king was of direct advantage to his subjects ; witness 
 the haughtiness of the Spaniard, who, although he 
 might have no clothes on his back, was proud simply 
 because his master was king of Spain. On the other 
 hand, said Merbury, it was only necessary to look at 
 the Italian, who had lost " the light and dignity of 
 his nation." It was no small comfort for the English 
 gentleman abroad to be able to sit side by side, the 
 equal of the proudest Spaniard and most boastful 
 Frenchman. 
 
 Other writers also argued in favor of the absolute 
 power of the sovereign. John Leslie, who cited 
 Machiavelli, Contarini and Polydore Vergil, described 
 the great difference between the king's right and that 
 of all others : the king alone was not subject to the 
 common law of the realm; nor could any law bind 
 the crown. ^ 
 
 It is remarkable that the writers in favor of the abso- 
 lute power of the king were all connected in some 
 way with Italy. William Thomas had been the greatest 
 EngHsh authority on everything Italian. Charles Mer- 
 bury prefaced his book with an Italian dedication to 
 Queen Elizabeth, and added to it a collection of Italian 
 1 Bedingfield, loc. cit. ^ Treatise ^ p. 21 3, et seq. 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 303 
 
 proverbs. John Leslie quoted from several Italian 
 authorities, while Thomas Bedingfield gave his ideas 
 on the subject as an introduction to a translation of 
 MachiavelH's History of Florence. Englishmen igno- 
 rant of Italian could even read in Patrizi, that as there 
 was but one God for all creation, so there should be 
 but one prince. All these arguments were constructed 
 on similar plans. There was always the same rational, 
 apparently unbiassed, historical examination into the 
 different forms of government ; and always the same 
 preference toward absolutism as the most logical form, 
 since it bestowed sovereignty on the most worthy. A 
 growing tendency existed to establish its foundation 
 on the divine right of kings. The ancient system of 
 checks on the royal authority was disappearing from 
 the political philosophy of the day ; the sovereign was 
 to be one and absolute in his power, accountable 
 only to God. 
 
 The Italian political ideas of that age were in 
 the direction of absolute monarchy. This influence 
 can be traced in English legal thought in the work 
 of Alberico Gentile, who came to England in 1580, and 
 seven years later was appointed Regius professor of 
 civil law at Oxford. Even before that, however, he 
 was consulted by the government as to what course to 
 pursue in the case of the Spanish ambassador who had 
 been detected plotting against Elizabeth ; it was by his 
 advice that Mendoza was merely ordered to leave the 
 country. He later took up his residence in London 
 with a view to forensic practice. His work brought 
 
304 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 new life to the dead body of civil law/ and gave a fresh 
 impulse to the study of Roman and international law, 
 which, before Grotius, he attempted to establish on a j 
 non-theological basis.^ His De Jure Belli combined 
 for the first time, it is said, the practical discussions 
 of Cathohc theologians with the Protestant theory of 
 natural law. It criticised and systematized the rules 
 for the conduct of warfare, and has been called a legal 
 commentary on the events of the sixteenth century. 
 In addition to this he wrote an apology for Machia- 
 velli,^ and also a treatise favoring the supreme power 
 of the prince, which he dedicated to James the First.^ 
 Herein he tried to prove the prince to be an absolute 
 monarch, and have arbitrary power over the lives and 
 estates of his people. Since the people had conferred 
 on him all their rule and power, he need acknowledge 
 no superior but God, whose will was sufficient reason, 
 and whose reason was absolute law. The prince pos- 
 sessed and enjoyed dominion over everything ; he was 
 above the civil law, and only under the law of God, of 
 nature and of nations. He was cautioned, however, 
 to use his power justly, otherwise trouble would follow. 
 This book by Gentile was not many years later to call 
 forth an indignant Puritan refutation.^ " The author's 
 
 1 Fulbeck, Direction to the Study of Law ^ 1620. 
 
 2 // Principe, Preface by Burd, p. 63. 
 
 ^ De legationibus libri tres, London, 1585. 
 
 * Regales Disputationes Tres de Potestate Regis Absolutis, 
 1605. 
 
 ^ England'' s Monarch, or a coitviction and refutation by the 
 Conwion Law of those false principles and insinuating flatteries 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 305 
 
 name is Albericus, . . . what countryman I know not, but 
 his name as also his principles seem to speak him a 
 stranger by birth." The ideas underlying absolute 
 monarchy were not English ; their root was foreign, 
 and British soil did not prove congenial to their 
 growth. In most cases Machiavelli was regarded as 
 their promoter and prime mover ; for his English 
 readers of that time abstracted from his writings only 
 the arguments favoring the absolute rule of the prince. 
 To sixteenth century Europe, Machiavelli represented 
 something entirely different from what we see in him 
 to-day ; to the men of the Renaissance, he seemed the 
 apologist of tyranny, the teacher of subtle methods of 
 how to enslave a free people. He was in fact known 
 rather by the books of his opponents than his own 
 writings, which were not translated till later. Inno- 
 cent Gentillet, a French Huguenot, wrote the most 
 celebrated of these denunciations, and fixed on Machia- 
 velU the responsibility for the massacre of Saint Bar- 
 tholomew, pointing out' the supposed influence of the 
 great Florentine on the politics and statecraft of 
 the time. From this book, most subsequent denun- 
 ciations were taken. In its Enghsh rendering^ the 
 translator referred to Machiavelli taking faith away from 
 princes, authority and majesty from laws, and liberty 
 
 of Albericus. . . . Together with a general confutation . . . of 
 all absolute monarchy, London, 1644. 
 
 1 A Discourse upon the means of well -governing a kingdom 
 against Nicholas Machiavell the Florentine (by I. Gentillet). 
 Translated into the English by Simon Patericke, London, 1602. 
 
 X 
 
306 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 from the people, and called his book " this deadly poison 
 sent out of Italy." A like opinion of Machiavelli was 
 then current in England. Contemporary literature 
 was full of it. Men judged him rather from hearsay 
 than by his actual writings, though they too were 
 known. A whole school grew up, whose conception 
 of statecraft, resting on a common basis of falsehood 
 and fraud, exaggerated his ideas.^ Carefully selected 
 passages in Gentillet further convinced Englishmen of 
 his wickedness. His influence with the dramatists, espe- 
 cially Greene and Marlowe, will be considered later, 
 but in ordinary life and conversation his very name 
 passed into a byword. Some idea of his general repu- 
 tation may perhaps be obtained from a letter of advice 
 written by a friend to a young Englishman in Italy ^ of 
 how best to profit from his travels ; after urging him 
 to study the Italian language and civil law, he advised 
 him to read the Discourse on Livy, by one whom he 
 called the " vile, treacherous, devilish person whom 
 you would call him devil is Machiavelli." He should 
 remember, however, that to be called by his name 
 was a disgrace and an infamy. Machiavelli's influence 
 was thus, in part, an imaginary one, many things 
 being attributed to him which he never advocated. 
 At the same time, the new spirit of rational inquiry 
 in state affairs, the historic sense and illustration, and 
 even the leaning toward absolutism, can all be traced 
 
 1 Janet, Science Politique, I, 542. 
 
 2 All Souls Library (Oxford), Ms. CLV, f. 77 b, dated 
 27th February, 1599. 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 307 
 
 to the influence of his writings. His popularity in 
 England was shown in other ways : Gabriel Harvey, 
 fresh from Cambridge, asked for the books of " the 
 great founder and master of pohcies," ^ claiming that 
 his works had supplanted all others ; and the Prince 
 and Discourses, it is said, were both printed in London 
 at this time.^ 
 
 Ill 
 
 Nannini's Civil Considerations, a treatise on prac- 
 tical government based on Guicciardini, was only one 
 of the numerous Italian books then translated into 
 English. More important than the problems it dis- 
 cussed, and the working side of the state it pre- 
 sented, in preference to its theoretical ideal, was its 
 new method of treatment by historical illustrations. 
 Questions were put in their relation to actual life, and 
 not the ideal possibilities they might contain. 
 
 Another book of this, period in which the influence 
 of the Italian method can be found was Sir Thomas 
 Smith's work on England, written on a plan similar to 
 Contarini's Venice. Smith, it should be remembered, 
 had studied under Ajciati, the reformer of civil law, 
 and listened to Accoramboni and Rubeo, at Padua, 
 where he graduated a doctor of laws. The book 
 he was later to write showed the power of system- 
 atic analysis so characteristic of the Italian treatises 
 of the time. In discussing the merits of difl"erent 
 
 1 Letter-Book, p. 1 74 et seq. 
 
 2 Nineteenth Century, December, 1896, p. 915. 
 
308 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 forms of government, he gave the quaUties and defects 
 of each, considering that state the best which was most 
 in accordance with the nature of its people. 
 
 The actual influence of the Italian historical 
 method was gathered not only from books but 
 from men; Tito Livio of Forli and Polydore Vergil 
 oifered early instances of Italian historians in Eng- 
 land, and later Pietro Bizari came over as well. 
 On the other hand, Nicholas Sanders, an English 
 controversiahst and historian, remained long in Rome, 
 where he lived under the protection of Cardinal 
 Morone. 
 
 The Italian influence in William Thomas was evident 
 in his historical work. In the History of Italy ^ before 
 describing the sights of each city came an account of 
 the place, written, as he frankly stated,^ by comparing 
 together the works of difl"erent authors ; he borrowed 
 especially from Machiavelli's account of Florence. 
 Machiavelli's history was later translated byBedingfield," 
 who prefaced the book with his arguments in favor of 
 absolute monarchy. The history itself equalled or ex- 
 celled, in his judgment, any hitherto written, not only in 
 the method of presentation, but on account of the ob- 
 servations of the author, who left aside all partiality and j 
 flattery and tried only to arrive at the truth. His method 
 of writing was to set forth the causes and effects of 
 every action rather than to extoll or condemn the per- 
 
 1 Op. cit., p. 140. 
 
 2 The Florentine History, translated by T[homas] B[eding-| 
 field], 1595. ' 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 309 
 
 sons of whom he wrote. Other ItaHan histories were 
 also translated into English ; Guicciardini's Wars of 
 Italy, by Geoffrey Fenton,^ and histories of Portugal,^ 
 of the Low Countries,^ and of the Turks and Persians.* 
 Examples of the manner in which history should be 
 written were presented in these works ; not only were 
 they chronicles of events, but descriptions as well of 
 the religion, mihtary strength, government, colonies 
 and revenues of the countries they described. 
 
 The Italian philosophy of history and method of 
 historical writing was illustrated in a selection from the 
 works of Francesco Patrizi and Jacopo Acontio,^ the 
 latter an Italian refugee in England, and one of Bacon's 
 forerunners in the method of experimental research. 
 This book, though almost unknown, was one of the 
 
 ^ The History of Guicciardin. . . . Reduced into English by 
 Geoffrey Fenton, London, 1579. 
 
 ^ The History of the Ufiiting of the Kingdom of Portugal to 
 the Crown of Castile . . . translated by Edward Blount (?) from 
 the Italian of Girolamo Conestaggio, London, 1600. 
 
 ^ The Description of the Low Countries . . . out of the history 
 of Lodovico Guicciardini by Th. Danett, London, 1593. 
 
 * The History of the Wars between the Turks and the Per- 
 sians, written in Italian by John Thomas Minadoi, and trans- 
 lated into English by Abraham Hartwell, London, 1595. The 
 Ottoman of Lazaro Soranzo . . . translated out of Italian into 
 English by Abraham Hartwell, London, 1603. 
 
 ^ The True Order and Alethod of writing and reading 
 Histories according to the Precepts of Francisco Patricio and 
 Accontio Tridenti)io, troo Italian writers ... by Thomas Blunde- 
 ville, London, 1574. The manuscript of Acontio, which has 
 never been published, is preserved at the Record Office, London 
 (Dom. Sen, Vol. XXXIV, Aug., 1564). It was dedicated by 
 him to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. 
 
 y }uTlV 
 
3IO ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 most remarkable of its kind in the sixteenth century, 
 foreshadowing, in its ideas, so much of what is com- 
 monly thought the creation of our own times and the 
 modern scientific method. It was an analysis of his- 
 tory, the study of which was looked upon as a prepara- 
 tion for princes, to guard them against errors. History 
 was treated from the point of view that everything had 
 its cause, and every cause a beginning, early growth, cli- 
 max, dechne and end. In considering any question, 
 therefore, one ought to begin by noticing its relations. 
 Four things especially should always be kept in mind, 
 trade, public revenues, armament and the form of 
 government. 
 
 The argument briefly stated was that history was 
 made up of deeds done either by a state, or against a 
 state, and such deeds arose in turn, either from some 
 outward cause, as force or fortune, or inward cause, 
 like reason or desire. Every action was therefore done 
 by some person, for some cause in time and place, with 
 means and instruments. This was true regardless of 
 the magnitude of the action. There was always a 
 principal doer, over and above the inferior doers ; 
 likewise a principal cause ruling inferior causes, and a 
 principal time, means and instrument. Such were 
 the outward conditions of an action; but within it, 
 also, there existed possibility, occasion and success. 
 Regarding the doer, both his position and his ability 
 were to be considered, the first dependent upon his 
 family and country, the second on his power, skill 
 and industry. No man ought for an instant to imagine 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 3 II 
 
 he could achieve success unless he possessed some of 
 these qualities. Even emotions had their final causes, 
 for the object of wrath was revenge, and of mercy, 
 help and comfort. 
 
 " Those whose lives ought to be chronicled " were 
 also considered. In writing a biography one ought 
 first to give the hero's family and country, and then 
 search for the principle which moved him in his under- 
 takings ; whether an outward one, such as destiny or 
 fortune ; or inward, as by choice or nature. It was also 
 necessary for the biographer to determine the origin 
 of that principle — whether it was passion, custom, or 
 reason. Such actions as were forced by outward cir- 
 cumstances deserved neither praise nor blame, and 
 were indeed only to be mentioned so far as they 
 brought out or hindered others springing from inward 
 causes, which alone were worthy of description. The 
 historian ought, therefore, to analyze the cause and 
 reason of each action, if it was by choice, and to 
 what extent education on the part of the doer had 
 modified it; for education both confirmed a man in 
 his bringing up, framed his inclinations, and trained 
 his mind. The historian's aim should be to show 
 the influence of environment and its exemplification 
 through outward deeds. The hero's personality ought 
 to be considered, however, not only for his deeds and 
 speeches, which were, after all, only the result of the 
 man, but in other respects as well. 
 
 All public actions everywhere depended on three 
 things, peace, sedition and war. Peace existed 
 
312 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 both in outward action and inward frame of mind. 
 It had for its proper foundation the contentment of 
 citizens and was broken only by some inward cause, | 
 such as famine, the denial to classes of their just rights, 
 or else by war. Analyses of revolutions and wars, with 
 an account of the great conspiracies of the sixteenth 
 century, further illustrated this discussion. 
 
 It was considered to be the duty of the historian to 
 relate everything without either adding to it or taking 
 away from it. Since every action resulted from some 
 person's activity the doer ought to be mentioned, with 
 the reasons which led him to undertake it ; and when 
 several had been engaged in it, the parts should be 
 kept in such relation as to form together one simple 
 action. 
 
 Regarding the order and method to be observed in 
 reading history, those eager to learn ought to under- 
 stand the object and purpose for which it was written. 
 There were three principal causes : first, to acknowl- 
 edge the providence of God ; secondly, in order that 
 wisdom might be learned from the example of the wise ; 
 and lastly, it was intended to lead men to greater good, 
 and similarly to shun evil. Nothing, it was thought, 
 removed one further from the desire of evil than to see 
 the punishment of the wicked, and history exposed 
 this clearly to the world. History made men wiser 
 both to direct their own actions and to advise others. 
 It was its proper fruit that it should be of benefit alike 
 to the reader and to his country. Regarding those 
 who, having spent their lifetime in study, knew noth- 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 313 
 
 ing beyond the genealogies and pedigrees of kings 
 and emperors, one knew not whether more to pity or 
 deride them. 
 
 This historical method has fallen into undeserved 
 oblivion. It was in many ways a remarkable work, 
 clearly demonstrating the influence of environment 
 on the individual, and of man as the product of 
 his age. It showed, too, the analytical and systematiz- 
 ing tendency of the Italians in the sixteenth century. 
 In history, as in other things, Italy gave the model, 
 from which the other nations of Europe could build. 
 
 IV 
 
 In the sixteenth century Italians did much to teach 
 Englishmen the writing of history, on a different plan 
 from that of the mediaeval chronicles. Polydore 
 Vergil's History of England was especially influential 
 and may be said to have been the first of the long 
 chain of English histories which have since appeared. 
 The translations of Guicciardini and Machiavelli gave 
 to Elizabethan historians the best of models and 
 examples, while Acontio and Patrizi's philosophy 
 and critique furnished an analysis of the methods of 
 writing history. 
 
 In considering the influence of Italy on England in 
 the political thought of the Renaissance, it should be 
 looked for in the intellectual substructure and theo- 
 retical foundation on which political action was based. 
 The pendulum had far to swing from the direction of 
 feudal ideas to that of absolute monarchy. Between 
 
314 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 the Plantagenets and the second of the Stuarts the 
 line of the Tudors bridged the interval, and their rule 
 prepared the way for the despotic attempt of Charles 
 the First. The absolute power of the prince had 
 begun to be wielded by Edward the Fourth in the | 
 earliest days of the Renaissance. In many ways 
 Henry the Seventh laid the firm foundations for the 
 monarchy. Its intellectual justification, however, was 
 still lacking in England. It was this which was sup- 
 plied by Italy and Italian thought. In practical life 
 and in the world of action it was from Italy that 
 Tiptoft brought the Paduan Law, and the ruthlessness 
 of his methods was worthy of the example set by the 
 Italian despots of the fifteenth century. It was an 
 ItaHan, too, who could sympathize with his ideas and 
 task in forming the new monarchy, that the first of the 
 Tudors chose to be his friend and biographer. In his 
 love of art and splendor, in his encouragement of 
 learning, as in his methods, Wolsey had much in com- 
 mon with the great Italian cardinals of the Renaissance. 
 A little later it was Thomas Cromwell, a reader of 
 Machiavelli, who crushed the last power of the church 
 that still dared assert itself in opposition to the authority 
 of the king. 
 
 In the world of ideas at the same time Italy sup- 
 plied the material for the apologists of the Tudor mon- 
 archy. Machiavelli offered, indeed, a ready reply to 
 all who searched his works for arguments. His calm, 
 dispassionate statements, his cool judgments, lent 
 themselves to many constructions. While, in the six- 
 
ITALIAN POLITICAL IDEAS IN ENGLAND 315 
 
 teenth and seventeenth centuries at least, the great 
 Florentine was a much mahgned man, at the same 
 time there can be little doubt that the men of the Re- 
 naissance found in his works a mine of arguments in 
 behalf of the absolute power of the state ; and to Eng- 
 hshmen then the state meant the monarchy. Thomas, 
 Leshe, Merbury and Bedingfield, students of Italian 
 statecraft, all showed his influence in their writings in 
 favor of the absolute power of the prince. His histori- 
 cal method, his balance and judgment, they adopted ; 
 but after weighing all considerations, their inclinations 
 led them toward absolute rule as the most perfect form 
 of government. Other Italians, too, whose works were 
 translated into English or written in England, all 
 favored it. The revival of antiquity had brought with 
 it the belief that the power of the sovereign should be 
 absolute, and to Englishmen unused to the Italian city 
 repubhcs and other forms of government, sovereignty 
 meant, therefore, the power of the prince. How alien 
 and foreign this was, in fact, to their own ideas was 
 not to be realized until the time of the Enghsh revo- 
 lution. ^'^"' 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 THE ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 
 
 The Renaissance, in its first intention at least, was 
 largely an effort to imitate the life and conditions of 
 antiquity. That it became otherwise, that, far from 
 being the servile imitation of another age, it was to 
 embody a great force in remoulding the civiHzed 
 world, from which almost every modern idea may be 
 said to trace its origin, was largely due to the influence 
 of Italy. The Renaissance in the countries beyond 
 the Alps was often, in more ways than one, a continua- 
 tion of the movement begun on ItaHan soil. Erasmus 
 and Holbein, Lope de Vega and Montaigne, Camoens 
 and even Shakespeare, owed each a debt of gratitude 
 ^to the art, the letters and the civilization of Italy. J 
 
 In Enghsh poetry this ItaHan influence was of a 
 twofold nature. On the one hand, it taught new forms 
 and stood for precision, balance and polish ; it brought 
 in a greater consciousness of the poet's art and dig- 
 nity, and demanded on his part a deeper learning and 
 scholarship. On the other, it created a fresh atmos- 
 phere for the poet's hfe. The new spirit of the 
 Renaissance in Italy, by removing existing barriers, 
 
 316 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 317 
 
 enriched the hfe of man, while, by a similar process, 
 his nature felt itself freed from all moral restraints. 
 Italy was thus destined to teach measure and art in 
 form, while in spirit it stood for unbridled Hcense and 
 excess. Its aesthetic side taught a new art of verse to 
 English poets ; its life created a romantic atmosphere 
 for English dramatists. 
 
 It is somewhat significant that the father of EngHsh 
 poetry was the first to express the influence of Italy, 
 (^haucer led his nation in realizing that a new age had 
 dawned. He had been the first in England to read the 
 Tuscan poets ; his writings, like Petrarch's, were the 
 first to be freed from theological purpose. He fore- 
 shadowed, though long in advance of his age, the 
 influence which was later to be felt. The glimmer 
 of the new era he awakened disappeared once more 
 after his death. His successors, Gower and Lydgate, 
 and later the Scotch Chaucerians, although familiar 
 with a few of the ItaHan writers, failed to appreciate 
 their true spirit. Petrarch they regarded as a scholar, 
 Boccaccio as a teacher. During the entire fifteenth 
 century this condition prevafled, the Tuscan poets 
 usually being valued for nothing else.^ The real sig- 
 nificance of the new poetry could not yet be grasped 
 beyond the Alps. It was necessary for Englishmen to 
 be educated to the point where the great Tuscan poets 
 
 1 Although two English bishops, Hallam and Bubwith, meet- 
 ing John of Serravalle at the Council of Constance, induced him 
 to write a commentary on Dante's CoTH?jicdia. — E. Moore, 
 Dante and his Early Biographers, London, 1890, p. 65. 
 
3l8 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 would be able to make an appeal to their taste and 
 understanding. Neither Stephen Hawes nor Skelton 
 ever really felt the spirit of the Renaissance, or 
 saw Petrarch otherwise than as a "famous clerk." ^ 
 Poetry remained backward when all else progressed. It 
 was time for it, however, to leave the sterile traditions of 
 the Middle Ages. At the court of Henry the Eighth, 
 with its affectations of foreign fashions, its love of Italian 
 learning, Italian music, and Italian art, it was scarcely 
 conceivable that poets alone should repeat allegorical 
 expressions then dead and meaningless. Latin human- 
 istic poetry had already been cultivated by Flemming, 
 Free and other English scholars, with fair success, 
 while numerous Italian residents at the Tudor court 
 also practised it. It was only natural that poetical 
 forms more in harmony with the spirit of the age 
 should be attempted. Italy, which in scholarship, art 
 and courtly life offered the example to Europe, was 
 to do so in poetry as well. 
 
 The cultivation of Latin verse had been among 
 the earhest labors of Italian humanists. The more 
 gifted and less pedantic among them, like Poli- 
 tian, wrote poetry also in the vernacular. Enghsh 
 scholars, by no means so talented as their masters, 
 left this for courtiers to do. At the court, therefore, 
 the new poetry grew up, just as the new learning 
 had prospered at the university. In each case the 
 limited sphere of its surroundings was responsible for 
 the slow development ; scholarship, for instance, had 
 
 1 Skelton, I, 377. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 319 
 
 taken fully seventy-five years to succeed. Its final 
 triumph was marked at the same time by the intro- 
 duction of the Italian verse forms into English poetry, 
 even though these were not to take firm hold until the 
 reign of Elizabeth. 
 
 Navagero's famous conversation with Boscan re- 
 mains unparalleled in the pages of English literature. 
 A number of circumstances might lead one, how- 
 ever, to suppose that it was something more than 
 chance which first induced Wyatt and Surrey to begin 
 their work of poetical reform. The Italian humanist 
 poets, resident at the EngUsh court, perhaps, en- 
 couraged it. Silvestro Gigli, Adrian de Castello and 
 Andrea Ammonio, all of whom were poets, must have 
 known Wyatt. Ammonio, especially, who lived for a 
 time in More's household, was a member of a liter- 
 ary coterie in London, which included other Italians 
 and several of the Oxford men who had studied 
 abroad.^ jThe new poetry was distinctively a product 
 of the court in the beginning, flourishing there and 
 nowhere else. In Italy, every courtier had been 
 a poet, and every poet a courtier. Castiglione, who 
 had himself visited England, laid it down as a rule 
 for his courtier to cultivate and polish his native 
 language. " Let him much exercise himself in poets 
 . . . and also in writing both rhyme and prose, and 
 especially in this our vulgar tongue." - 
 
 The new poetry in England was to be full of courtly 
 feelings and ideas. It was essentially a literature not 
 
 1 Giustiniani, II, 68. ^ Courtier^ p. 85. 
 
320 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGL.\ND 
 
 of the people at large, but of a narrow circle. A dis- 
 tinct connection existed, however, between scholars 
 and poets. Several of the former had left Oxford for 
 London, where a larger field awaited their activitiesv 
 Sir Thomas More, himself a Latin poet of eminence, 
 was high in favor with the king. Poets and scholars 
 alike had similar ambitions, and in different ways ac- 
 complished the same task. John Leland, the royal 
 antiquarian, linked together the two groups. Leland 
 had known Wyatt ever since the two had been together 
 at Cambridge, and on his death he wrote a threnody, 
 dedicated to Surrey, in which he praised him espe- 
 cially for his use of the English language in poetry, 
 regarding him as the equal of Dante and Petrarch.^ 
 
 The task of the courtly poets was not an easy one. 
 Vagueness and diffuseness, prolixity, tautology and 
 lack of taste had been among the commonest errors 
 of the earlier school. These faults were not cor- 
 rected immediately. The followers of Skelton and 
 Hawes did not cease to write after the new Italian 
 forms had been introduced. Their importance, how- 
 ever, was greatly diminished, while at the same time 
 the dignity of poetry was reestablished once more ; the 
 mere fact that it could flourish at court and be 
 taken up by favorites of the king was to act power- 
 
 ^ NcBfiicB in mortem Thomce Viati, 1 542. 
 Anglus per Italis 
 " Bella suum merito Jactei Florentia Dantem^, 
 Regia Petrarchce carmina Rojjia probet. 
 His non inferior pairio sermone Viatus 
 Eloquii secum qui decus omne tulit" 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 32 1 
 
 fully in its favor. There sprang up, in England, "a 
 new company of courtly-makers, of whom Sir Thomas 
 Wvatt, the elder, and Henry, Earl of Surrey, were the 
 t\ o chieftains, who, having travelled into Italy and 
 there tasted the sweet and stately measures and style 
 of the Italian poesy, as novices newly crept out of 
 the schools of Dante, Arioste, and Petrarch, they 
 greatly polished our rude and homely manner of vulgar 
 poesy, from that it had been before, and for that 
 cause may justly be said to be the first reformers of 
 our English metre and style." ^ 
 
 The great importance of Wyatt and Surrey was in 
 being the first to make use in English of the new 
 Italian poetic forms of the Renaissance. Their task 
 in literature was analogous to that of Grocyn and 
 Linacre in scholarship. Yet the positions of Wyatt 
 and Surrey in poetry were by no means the same. 
 There can be as little doubt that Wyatt was the in- 
 novator as that Surrey was the greater poet of the two. 
 Wyatt was born in 1503, thirteen years before the Earl 
 of Surrey. It is scarcely hkely that the older man 
 should learn from the younger one. Wyatt, moreover, 
 had travelled in Italy,- Surrey never did. In addition, 
 John Leland, in some memorial verses on Wyatt, re- 
 garded Surrey in the light of his poetic successor. He 
 wrote of him : — 
 
 Perge Howarde precor, virttcte refer re Viatum, 
 Discerisque iiite, clarissima gloria stirpis. 
 
 1 Puttenham, p. 74. 
 
 2 Vide article in Gentleman's Magazine, September, 1850. 
 
322 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND ! 
 
 Last of all, the technique of their poetry proves f 
 Wyatt's to have been the earlier. In every respect, 
 Surrey's work marked a distinct advance on that of 
 his predecessor and master. Wyatt was indeed the 
 father of modern English poetry ; Surrey, the greatest 
 of his immediate successors. Wyatt was the master 
 whose verse marked the beginning of the influence 
 of Petrarch in the poetry of the English Renaissance. 
 
 II 
 
 One of the most remarkable things in the history 
 of culture was that the influence of a single individual 
 should endure through centuries, and yet change 
 entirely in its nature. Petrarch to his contemporaries 
 had been first and foremost a humanist. More than 
 any one else he had brought into disfavor the old 
 scholastic learning, and ushered in the new age, which 
 revived the knowledge of the ancient world. Later 
 generations, however, were to praise him chiefly for 
 his sonnets which fitted in with the Platonic tendencies 
 of the age. Petrarch, who laid his title to immortality 
 on his longer Latin poems, was to have it granted to 
 him for that which he claimed to value least, the poetic 
 recollections of his love for Laura. 
 
 Petrarch nevertheless made the sonnet form es- 
 sentially his own, even if he did not create it. It was 
 to find popularity awaiting it, not only in Italy, but in 
 France, Spain, Portugal and England as well. Perhaps 
 its rigid form and construction, as much as the spirit 
 it breathed, appealed to the classical tendencies of 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 323 
 
 the period. The long, rambling poems of the Middle 
 Ages were no longer in favor after the literature of 
 antiquity had become familiar to every one. Rem- 
 nants of the old mediaeval spirit still remained in many 
 different ways, as, for instance, in the expression of 
 the lover's absolute devotion to his lady. The out- 
 ward form, however, had been entirely recast; the 
 style and metre especially became more poHshed. 
 The rude language of former times no longer sufficed 
 to express the subtler shades of meaning, the abundant 
 conceits and imagery, and the ingenuity, considered 
 necessary. Petrarch furnished the great model and 
 example for the new poetry. On the one hand the 
 novelty and technical perfection of his art, on the 
 other the supposed depth of his passion, along with 
 its Platonic ideas, made him the model for the court 
 poets of Western Europe, who, trained in both the 
 new humanism and the ancient spirit of chivalry, 
 were eager to reform and refine the poetry of their 
 native land. 
 
 Such poetry represented an ingenious effort to write 
 of love without any true emotion of the soul, to pretend 
 an ardent passion for an imaginary mistress, and relate 
 in verse the story of a fictitious intrigue conducted 
 along certain lines established by immovable tradi- 
 tion.^ It was only necessary for an abstract idea of 
 love to be embodied in a sensible image ; to do this 
 successfully, ingenuity and skill were far more essen- 
 tial than either learning or imagination. The usual 
 
 1 Vide M. Fieri, Petrarque et Ronsard, p. 88. 
 
324 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 1 
 
 process was to take the ideas of Petrarch, and, imitat- 
 ing the sources of his inspiration and poetic phrase- 
 ology, to reproduce the mannerisms. Petrarch's original 
 selection of the sonnet form had kept him within a 
 narrow range of ideas and feelings. It had obliged him 
 to repeat himself and make the most of his talents, in 
 dwelling at length and without too great monotony on 
 the relentless heart-burnings he experienced. The nar- 
 row range prescribed for the emotions required variety 
 in the metaphors by which they were presented, and 
 this brought with it necessary exaggeration. The 
 imitators of his school could easily discern through it 
 all the method of his composition, with its affectation 
 of ideas, its refinement of feeling and exaggeration of 
 style. They could borrow this with the acquired ease 
 of skilful rhetoricians. The main themes could thus 
 be preserved, and at the same time new details added, 
 while the methods of expression could be varied either 
 in the direction of over refinement or exaggeration, 
 thus escaping reproaches of plagiarism. Still another 
 way for imitators was to take selected phrases from 
 the sonnets, and, adding to them from their store, 
 develop them in their own way. 
 
 Petrarchism included within itself certain quite dif- 
 ferent sides. Its idea of love, for instance, with 
 its expression of austerity and sensuality in one, 
 was little else than the literary survival of the past 
 chivalric age, which found its noblest ideal in the Pla- 
 tonic affection for woman, regarding love as purify- 
 ing the heart, uplifting the soul, and the fountain- 
 
ftonvi&Syf.i 
 
 ///r '' '^/// rJ ■ f//y/r'/// /'^ ■ nf/fff'//. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 325 
 
 head, in a word, of all virtue. It was a revival which 
 proved all the more popular, since, in its outward 
 form at least, chivalry had become an amusement 
 of the court, while it was aided by the reaction which 
 had set in against Aristotle and the codified system of 
 courtly love, and favored the Petrarchan expression 
 of Platonic ideas. 
 
 The suffering of love, the timidity of the lover and 
 the permanence of his passion were always expressed. 
 In addition, there were certain tricks of phraseology 
 and style which were later exaggerated by the fol- 
 lowers of Petrarch. A straining after effect, an abuse 
 of conceits and ingenuities, of antitheses and puns, 
 were characteristic of this style. Its better side, how- 
 ever, could be found in the refinement, conciseness, 
 polish and dignity which, especially beyond the Alps, 
 distinguished it from previous poetry. Last of all, it 
 offered endless opportunities for skill in versification 
 and the technical development of the poet's art. 
 
 Wyatt and Surrey were " the two chief lanterns of 
 light" to all who in that century wrote poetry in 
 England. In the words of Puttenham, " their conceits 
 were lofty, their styles stately, . . . their terms proper, 
 their metre sweet and well proportioned, in all imitat- 
 ing very naturally and studiously this Master Francis 
 Petrarch." ^ Yet the verse of neither was a slavish 
 imitation of Petrarch. Wyatt's fresher English mind 
 rebelled at the repetition of meaningless conceits, and 
 at the same time the language he made use of was 
 
 1 Puttenham, op. cit., p. 76. 
 
326 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 too imperfect a medium to convey with accuracy the 
 subtler shades of meaning. The form he took from 
 Petrarch, and he translated, either entirely or in part,^ 
 many of his sonnets, though rarely literally. His at- 
 tempts to render adequately the master's conceits 
 usually ended in failure; recognizing this, he often 
 began his verse with a translation, and, realizing his 
 inabihty to go on, developed fresh thoughts of his 
 own.^ In other sonnets he borrowed only a few 
 lines from the Italian. It cannot be said that he 
 felt at home in the rigid form he had selected ; the 
 self-imposed restraints were too many for his technical 
 skill and proficiency ; nor could he reproduce the con- 
 struction of the successive steps which built up the 
 Petrarchan sonnet. The busy hfe he led afforded 
 him, perhaps, but little leisure to polish his verses. 
 They are rarely smooth, and are in striking contrast 
 to the polished lines of his master. Wyatt's imagery, 
 moreover, was generally simpler and less involved 
 than that of Petrarch. He could not compare with 
 him in skill, and the conceits he attempted were 
 clumsy and ill-fitting as a rule. Even the sonnet form 
 he reproduced but feebly, the rhymes being often bad 
 and the metrical effects by no means easy. He was 
 unable to handle it properly, while his translation 
 was inexact and his technique poor. He differed 
 further from his model in closing the sonnet with a 
 
 1 Cf. Wyatt, Sonnets i, 2, 4, 5, 9, ii, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 22, 
 24, 31, with Petrarch, Sonnets 109, 61, 220, 136, 81, 12, 104, 
 156* 44» 99> 19. 188, 229, 120. 
 
 2 Cf. Wyatt, Sonnet 4, with Petrarch, 220. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 327 
 
 couplet as nearly as possible epigrammatic in form, 
 instead of employing the usual Petrarchan ending.^ 
 In all likelihood both Wyatt and Surrey were quite 
 unaware of the almost sacred spirit in which the 
 Italian poets approached the sonnet form. They 
 probably confused it with the popular strambotto'^ ; 
 the mistake they made resulted, however, in setting 
 a new English example which was followed by the 
 Elizabethans. 
 
 In spite of Wyatt's deficiencies and lack of origi- 
 nality, his position in the history of English poetry is 
 of the greatest importance. Many have surpassed him 
 in genius, few in influence. Although Wyatt's native 
 strength and lofty ideal of patriotism will always 
 endear him to lovers of English poetry, his historical 
 significance came rather from his having been the first 
 English Petrarchist. His study of the Italians had 
 taught him that they alone offered new hope for 
 poetry, and their forms and style he tried to repro- 
 duce in his own language. To use Leland's words, 
 the Enghsh tongue, rude and rhythmless before, had 
 been forced by him to acknowledge the master's file. 
 He was the real teacher of the " courtly makers," who 
 learned the new forms from his example.^ Such men 
 
 1 Mellin de Saint Gelays makes occasional use of the couplet 
 ending. 
 
 2 Nuova Antologia, July i, 1895, article by De Marchi. 
 
 * " Anglica lingua fiiit rudis et sine nomine rhythmus 
 Nunc limam agnoscit, docte Viati tuam . . . 
 
 Nobilitas dedicit te praceptore Britamia 
 Carmina pro varios scribere posse viodos^ — NcBnice. 
 
328 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 1 
 
 as Sir Francis Bryan and Lords Rochford, Vaux, 
 Morley, and especially the Earl of Surrey, were to 
 carry on to triumph the work he had begun. 
 
 Little is known of Surrey's Hterary surroundings. 
 The legend which inspired Nash and Drayton, of his 
 travels in Italy and his knightly challenge while in 
 Florence to all who dared dispute the beauty of the 
 fair Geraldine, has been proved without foundation. 
 Almost the only certainty is that he himself was never 
 in Italy. His acquaintance with Petrarch and his school 
 came, therefore, from such men as Wyatt and Leland, 
 who had returned from foreign travels, and perhaps 
 also from some of the numerous Italians at the court. 
 The romantic interest which attaches itself to his life 
 is due in large measure to his surroundings, youth and 
 his untimely death. 
 
 As a poet, however, he showed far greater readiness 
 and ease in technique than did Wyatt ; he was not bur- 
 dened by the form, nor did the language present such 
 irksome restraints to him. The medium lay there 
 before him ; it was his task to give beauty where pre- 
 viously there had been none, and lend to it style, dis- 
 tinction and polish. It is only necessary to compare 
 his sonnet translations from Petrarch with correspond- 
 ing ones by Wyatt to see the difference between the 
 two and Surrey's artistic superiority. The latter fell 
 in better with the Petrarchan tradition. Geraldine 
 was his Laura, while Wyatt cannot be said to have 
 had any ideal mistress. In form of thought, as well 
 as in matter, Surrey was more akin to Petrarch, 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 329 
 
 although in metrical structure he does not follow 
 him so closely. Generally a single dominant idea 
 runs through his poems, and around it are grouped 
 kindred thoughts and images, often ending in an epi- 
 gram, the same motive being repeated in different 
 forms. The various moods and inconsistencies of 
 love were among his favorite subjects, and these he 
 expressed with a beauty and distinction gathered from 
 the Italian. Just as Wyatt, by introducing the Italian 
 verse forms into England, brought new vigor and life 
 to its decaying poetry, so Surrey brought in the Italian 
 artistic conscience, the love of pohsh and style and 
 the aim toward perfection. Wyatt had striven in the 
 right direction, but had misunderstood the nature 
 of the Itahan sonnet. Surrey likewise ignored the 
 Italian structure, and made use of a model which was 
 to be followed by Watson and Shakespeare. Sur- 
 rey's innovations were generally in the direction of 
 new forms. In one poem he employed the teiza 
 rima, a form which never took kindly root on English 
 soil. In translating the ^neid, he also first made 
 use in English of a decasyllabic blank verse, the versi 
 sciolti, which Cardinal Ippolito de' Medici and Molza 
 had employed in similar renderings only a few 
 years before. Of his other innovations in syntax and 
 metre little need here be said ; he and Wyatt stand 
 together as the exponents and advocates of the Pe- 
 trarchan influence in the new English school of poetry 
 they had founded. 
 
 The Petrarchan movement was slow at the start to 
 
330 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 take root in England; neither its language nor its 
 ideas proved congenial at first. Its very conceits 
 were misinterpreted in the beginning by the slow- 
 witted English, who took its stock of lovers' pangs and 
 sufferings quite literally. Gascoigne complained bit- 
 terly of this lack of appreciation and of readers who 
 construed " the contentions passed in verse long since 
 between Mr. Churchyard and Camel to have been, in 
 truth, a quarrel between two neighbors ... of whom 
 one having a camel in keeping, and that other having 
 charge of the churchyard, it was supposed they had 
 grown to debate because the camel came into the 
 churchyard. Laugh not at this, lusty yunkers, since 
 the pleasant ditty of the noble Earl of Surrey begin- 
 ning thus, In Winter's just return, was also construed 
 to be made indeed by a shepherd. ... Of a truth my 
 good gallants, there are such as having only learned to 
 read English, interpret Latin, Greek, French, and 
 Italian phrases or metaphors, even according to their 
 own motherly conception and childish skill." ^ When, 
 however, numerous Englishmen returning from Italian 
 travels brought back with them a knowledge of the 
 Tuscan revival which had swept over Italy, and reports 
 of Bembo and his school holding their country's poets 
 in no less esteem than the ancients, the vogue for the 
 Petrarchan sonnet set in also in England. 
 
 Following an example often practised in Italy, Tot- 
 teVs Miscellany, the first English collection of verse, was 
 brought out in 1557. While many of the new forms 
 1 Gascoigne's Posies^ I575> preface. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 331 
 
 of poetry were here published for the first time in Eng- 
 land, several of the poets who contributed to it were 
 practically unaffected by the Italian lyric. Nicholas 
 Grimald, for instance, in spite of his Italian origin, 
 belonged rather to the classical school. An occasional 
 use of conceits can be discovered in the verse of 
 Barnabe Googe,^ but he had no real conception of the 
 rigid form and structure of the Petrarchan sonnet, 
 although nearly all his lyrics, regardless of length, were 
 called " sonnets" in accordance with the loose mediae- 
 val use of the word. Turbervile, likewise, although 
 possessing a good knowledge of Itahan,^ made no real 
 use of the sonnet ; and George Gascoigne, whom an 
 Italian friend called "an imitator of Petrarch,"^ in 
 spite of a few sonnets of the conventional type, pre- 
 ferred the less rigid structure of the canzone^ and 
 copied the Tuscan lyric in spirit rather than in form. 
 Petrarch, however, was to become more and more the 
 recognized leader of the school, the "head and prince 
 of poets all." ^ No one, it was thought, could com- 
 pare to him as a poet, nor had any one attained so 
 lofty a style.'' Several of the sonnets in the Miscellany 
 were modelled on those of Petrarch, although they 
 had already been translated by Wyatt.^ The original 
 
 ^ Poems, p. 94 et seq. 
 
 2 Vide Anglia, XIII, article by Koeppel. 
 
 3 Gascoigne's Posies, 1575, commendatory letter in the preface. 
 * TotteVs Miscellany,^. 178. 
 
 ^ Ibid., p. 1 78, second sonnet. 
 
 ^ Ibid., p. 260; cf. Petrarch, Sonnet 156, and Wyatt, Son- 
 net 14. 
 
332 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 type was by this time firmly established in the courtier's 
 mind, and many people of note were writing imitations 
 of the Petrarchan sonnet. For a time, however, the 
 use of the sonnet form remained stationary in England. 
 At first it had been known only at the court. A cer- 
 tain time was to elapse before it was generally adopted. 
 Thomas Watson, in his Passionate Century of Love, 
 began afresh the later revival of the sonnet. His ad- 
 mirers had discovered that he could write verse in the 
 Petrarchan manner. 
 
 The stars which did at Petrarch's birthday reign 
 
 Were fixed again at thy nativity, 
 
 Destining thee the Tuscan's poesy, 
 
 Who scaled the skies in lofty quatorzain.^ 
 
 In his effort to improve the form, he added to it a 
 four-lined stanza ; at the same time he regarded him- 
 self as a successor to Petrarch, by translating whose 
 sonnets into Latin ^ he had begun his poetical career. 
 
 Watson became the most popular poet of his time, 
 and probably to him more than any one else was due 
 the fashion of the sonnet in England. It is difficult 
 to-day to explain the great vogue his verse enjoyed 
 by any other reason than its reintroducing the 
 Petrarchan fashion. His so-called "passions" had not 
 even the pretence of true emotion or feeling in them, 
 and were, in fact, little else than verses pieced to- 
 gether from the poetry of foreign Petrarchists. The 
 sources in every case were openly acknowledged, as 
 
 ^ Commendatory Sonnet to Watson, by G. Burke. 
 2 Watson, Passion, VI. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 333 
 
 they tended to show the author's erudition. Petrarch, 
 Serafino, Strozza, Firenzuola, and others, were ahke 
 brought under contribution to illustrate his wit. He 
 imitated especially the conceits which formed so largely 
 the stock of the Petrarchan school. The inward feel- 
 ing of love which was the main theme of this kind of 
 poetry offered but little variety of expression. The 
 successors of Petrarch, therefore, in order to escape 
 monotony, made use of extravagant metaphors and 
 exaggeration. Watson took from the Italians chiefly 
 their conceits and affectations — such, for instance, as 
 Cupid shooting an arrow from his mistress's fair eyes, 
 and so wounding the poet with love and desire that he 
 was beyond all remedy.^ Occasionally the affectation 
 took an outward metrical form as well, and verse was 
 written in the eccentric shape of "A Pasquin Pillar." 
 Nowhere was any real attempt made at originality or 
 freshness of expression, while at all times a display of 
 erudition was aimed at : in a single poem " he cited 
 no less than twelve sources. The form and spirit were 
 alike handed down to him by the tradition of the 
 Petrarchan school. His only task was to remodel in 
 English the mosaic of Itahan phrases. 
 
 The Elizabethan sonnets seem at first glance to 
 yield a rich harvest of intimate thoughts and emo- 
 tions, to take the reader into the poet's confidence 
 and lay bare his soul for him.^ It is only after 
 comparing together, the English with the French, 
 
 1 Passion, XXIV, from Serafino. 2 Passioji, LXXXIX. 
 
 ^ Cf. Lee, Shakespeare, p. 427. 
 
334 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Spanish and Italian, and tracing them back to their 
 source in Petrarch and his imitators, that a common 
 stock of expressions and conceits appears throughout. 
 No matter how much the individual genius of the poet 
 may have added new beauties of his own, underneath 
 it all certain forms and modes of thought remain 
 unaltered. The high artistic seriousness of the Ital- 
 ians may perhaps have been lessened when the sonnet 
 was transplanted to English soil. A greater sensuality, 
 and possibly a nearer approach to nature, made itself 
 felt, but the groundwork of the whole remained 
 identical. The same relations still existed between 
 the lady and her lover. In the poetic jargon of the 
 time, she was cold, cruel, insensible to him, while he 
 was timid and unworthy of her. Petrarch had estab- 
 lished a series of states necessary for every lover to 
 pass through ; his Laura became a pattern for all poets.^ 
 To show the true spirit of devotion there were defi- 
 nite sufferings they had to endure : alternately to 
 burn and freeze, to sorrow when removed from the 
 beloved one's presence, to live only in her sight, 
 and feel that all inspiration proceeded from her alone. 
 Convention demanded certain things ; the Petrarchan 
 lady was to be as beautiful and virtuous as she was 
 cold and indifferent to her lover. The type never 
 varied; she possessed no individuaUty, no life nor 
 movement ; she was, in fact, a stationary sun, radiat- 
 ing all happiness yet insensible of her own attraction. 
 A common poetic language was employed by the 
 
 1 Cf. Daniel, Delia, Sonnet XLIII. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 335 
 
 Petrarchists of the sixteenth century. There was a 
 similarity, not only in spirit, but in expression as well. 
 The same literary artifices can be traced throughout 
 in the frequent use of antitheses, puns, conceits and 
 even occasional grotesqueness. Tricks of enumera- 
 tion, a constant display of erudition, a use of meta- 
 physical ideas and abstractions, were all characteristic 
 of this school. There had been a constant use, or 
 rather abuse, in Petrarch, of eyes and hair, of tears and 
 sorrow, of fire and cold. All this was greatly exag- 
 gerated by his successors ; the happiness of nature 
 was contrasted with the misery of the lover, and the 
 same tricks of style were repeated again and again.^ 
 
 The great faults in Petrarch had been excess of 
 refinement, with its necessary removal from real life, 
 and exaggeration of feeling. His followers, especially 
 in Italy, developed his affectation in ideas and expres- 
 sion. To escape direct imitation or translation, 
 foreign Petrarchists would fall into errors of taste and 
 abuse of metaphor, which led to the over-employment 
 of mythology to illustrate what they had in mind. 
 Their poetic efforts were directed, therefore, toward 
 form rather than to originality of expression. The Pe- 
 trarchan tricks of style were easily mastered ; its ex- 
 pressions, ideas and feelings were alike at the disposal 
 of the poet-mechanic, while the form of allegory pre- 
 sented an easy method of expressing imaginary 
 passion ; the use of superlatives and a redundant 
 phraseology could swell out any conceit to the re- 
 
 1 Vide Fieri, op. cit., pp. 88, 137. 
 
336 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 quired fourteen lines. A poet had only to select 
 some lady and celebrate her charms ; in this fashion 
 Sidney chose his Stella, Lodge his Phillis, Giles 
 Fletcher his Licia, Constable his Diana. To imitate I 
 Petrarch became the greatest ambition of every poet. 
 Churchyard spoke of " One Barnes that Petrarch's 
 scholar is " ; and Gabriel Harvey had already called 
 Spenser " An English Petrarch," as the highest 
 praise he could give, further justifying his imita- 
 tion of him, since "all the noblest Italian, French 
 and Spanish poets have in their several veins Pe- 
 trarchized; and it is no dishonor for the dainti- 
 est or divinest Muse to be his scholar, whom the 
 amiablest invention and beautifullest elocution ac- 
 knowledged their master." ^ It was in vain that 
 Sidney protested against this imitation ; that he de- 
 rided those who searched " every purling spring which 
 from the ribs of old Parnasus flows," brought " dic- 
 tionary's method " into their rhymes, and 
 
 Poor Petrarch's long deceased woes 
 With new-born sighs and denisened wit do sing.2 
 
 In spite, too, of his asserting that he was no "pick- 
 purse of another's wit," ^ he himself conformed to all 
 the rules of the Petrarchan poetry. The spirit of 
 his conceits was often very similar, and there was 
 more than one resemblance between his sonnets and 
 
 1 G. Harvey, Pierce's Supererogation. Works, II, 93. 
 
 2 Sidney, Astrophel and Stella, Sonnet XV. 
 
 3 Ibid., LXXIV. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 337 
 
 those of the ItaUan Petrarchists.^ Stella represented 
 the conventional type of lady, " cold and cruel," who 
 found pleasure in her lover's pain; he too felt heart 
 burnings " and the power of love ; for his heartstrings 
 had been stretched on Cupid's bow.^ Many of his 
 tricks of style were likewise thoroughly Petrarchan. 
 In spite of calling those who flaunted their thoughts in 
 fine phrases " Pindar's Apes," '' he also made frequent 
 use of conceits, employing at different times the vari- 
 ous tricks of style of this school : enumeration, repe- 
 tition, punning, antithesis and elaborate metaphors 
 sustained to the end of the sonnet. His interspersing 
 of songs with sonnets, moreover, was in strict accord- 
 ance with the Petrarchan model. Sidney's poetry, 
 however, in spite of the elements of imitation, differed 
 from Petrarch's ; there was in it more life and vigor, 
 and also less art. He was far younger and fresher, 
 more natural and less restrained; more sensual, too, 
 as were indeed all the English Petrarchists, who, not 
 satisfied with the distant adoration of their ladies, 
 longed for their kisses as well.^ 
 
 The numerous Elizabethan collections of sonnets 
 betray alike in one form or another their Italian 
 sources and ideas. The Visions of Petrarch , published 
 in 1569 in Van der Noodt's Theatre, have now been 
 assigned to Spenser.® This collection, which showed 
 
 1 Romanische Forschungen, V, 90. Article by E. Koeppel. 
 
 2 Sidney, Sonnet LXXVI. ^ jbid,, XIX. 
 
 * Ibid.y III. 5 jiij^^ LXXIX, LXXXI-II. 
 
 • Englische Studien, 1S91. Article by E. Koeppel. 
 
338 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 1 
 
 traces of Ariosto, Sannazaro and Tasso as well as 
 Petrarch, he called by the Italian name of Amoretti, \ 
 Conceits which had been adapted or imitated can 
 be found even in Shakespeare's sonnets, for he assimi- 
 lated the thoughts and words of the Elizabethan Pe- 
 trarchists with as little compunction as the plays and 
 novels of his contemporaries -} his views of ideal beauty 
 as independent of time, of the power of love as superior 
 to its accidents, his very boasting that he would confer 
 immortality on the person he addressed, were merely 
 repetitions of what had become the commonplaces of 
 European poetry.^ 
 ^H*^ The expressions of the English Petrarchists were 
 all variations of a single principle. The differences 
 between them were only of degree, some more than 
 others attaining the ingenuity and polish sought for. 
 All alike reveal a common fund of ideas and condi- 
 tions, out of which their poetry developed. Some- 
 times indeed the Italianization proceeded a little 
 farther than at others ; thus Itahan mottoes begin 
 and end the Zepheria, which also contained verses ad- 
 dressed Alii veri figliuoli delle Muse; in certain of the 
 " Canzons " ^ in this collection there was even a curi- 
 ous combination of the pastoral of Sannazaro and the 
 Petrarchan sonnet ; the EngHsh imitators of Petrarch, 
 however, often differed from their master in trying to 
 wind up their sonnets with a couplet in epigram. 
 
 ^ S. Lee, Shakespeare, p. 109 et seq. 
 
 2 /^^v., p. 114. Vide also G. Wyndham, Puems of Skakspeare, 
 p. cxiii et seq. 3 Canzon 1 1. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY. 339 
 
 Henry Constable was, perhaps, after Watson, the 
 most conspicuous of the Petrarchistic poets. His 
 sonnets are full of concetti and exaggerated expres- 
 sions of all kinds. His mistress's eye, he declared, was 
 the glass through which he saw his heart, his own eye 
 the window through which she might see his ; ^ his 
 only idea in writing was to sacrifice his sighs to verse.^ 
 The entire expression of his thought was of the con- 
 ventional type ; he was the lover languishing, she the 
 cruel mistress. The other sonnetteers of the age, 
 Barnfield, Daniel, Griffin, Drayton, Lodge and the 
 rest, betray the same tendencies.^ Giles Fletcher 
 openly acknowledged his sonnets to be imitations. 
 Robert Tofte wrote most of the stanzas of his Laura 
 in Italy.* Nearly all the English poets had then 
 travelled abroad, and Dallington even gave advice to 
 such of his travellers in Italy as were anxious to follow 
 the muse.^ 
 
 A reaction, however, set in against the domination 
 of Petrarch. The very poets who felt most his influ- 
 ence were to revolt against it. Giles Fletcher, in the 
 preface to Licia, protested against " those who think 
 so basely of our bare English that they deem themselves 
 barbarous . . . unless they have borrowed from Italy, 
 
 1 Sonnet 5. 2 jf^id,, i. 
 
 8 Cf. Lodge, Sonnet 11, with Petrarch, 156, and Wyatt, 14. 
 Lodge was indebted as well to Dolce, Martelli, and Lodovico 
 Pascale, etc. (^Edinburgh Review, January, 1896, p. 51). 
 
 4 Laura, the Toys of a Traveler, dedicated " Alia Bellissima 
 Sua Signora," and signed " Affetionatissimo servitore della 
 divina bellezza sua, R. T." ^ Method for Travel. 
 
340 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Spain, and France, their best and choicest conceits." 
 Shakespeare Hkewise made fun of what he once had 
 practised himself,^ and even Sir John Davies parodied 
 the craze in a series of " guUing sonnets." 
 
 ^-^ "I 
 
 A feeling of native excellence was springing up in 
 England. Francis Meres echoed it, when he com- 
 pared his own countrymen, poets and artists to the 
 Greeks, the Romans and the Itahans. Wilham Clarke 
 wrote in similar vein : *' Let other countries sweet 
 Cambridge envy yet admire . . . thy Petrarch, sweet 
 Spenser." He urged Enghshmen to write as if " Italian 
 Ariosto did but shadow the meanest part of thy muse, 
 that Tassa's Godfrey is not worthy to make compare 
 with your truly eternizing Eliza's style." ^ Samuel 
 Daniel, hkewise, who had been in Italy and had met 
 Guarini,^ looked forward to seeing " Great Sidney 
 and our Spenser" ranked as the equals of the Italian 
 poets — 
 
 That the melody of our sweet isle, 
 Might now be heard to Tyber, Arne, and Po; 
 That they might know how far Thames doth outgo 
 The music of declined Italy.* 
 
 1 Two Gentlemen of Verona, III, ii, 68; Henry Fifth, III, 
 VII, 33 et seq. Vide also Lee, op. cit., p. 107 et seq. 
 
 2 Polinianteia, 1595. 
 
 3 Commendatory sonnet to Dymock's translation of the Pastor 
 Fido. 
 
 ^ Epistle to the Countess of Pembroke, in the preface to his 
 Ckopatra. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 34 1 
 
 Spenser himself was fully aware of the magnitude of 
 the task he had set out to accomplish, and considered 
 himself in the direct Hne of epic inheritance from 
 Homer and Virgil, Ariosto and Tasso. Not only did 
 he model his own verse form on the ottava rif?ia of 
 the Italians, but in the entire structure of the Faerie 
 Queene he kept the example of the Italian romantic 
 epic constantly in mind. In a letter to Harvey, he 
 wrote that he looked forward to " overgoing Ariosto." 
 To Spenser, however, the aims of the Italian poets 
 seemed lofty and moral. He read the Orlando from 
 his own ideal point of view ; ^ the bare facts of Ariosto 
 he made use of just as he took his satire, quite seri- 
 ously, entirely ignoring the irony ; his imitation, how- 
 ever, was in many cases deliberate, and there are 
 numerous passages both in the Orlando and in Tasso's 
 Gerusalemme Liberata which he either adapted or 
 translated from the Italian.^ Frequently, too, he took 
 only the external facts from Ariosto, but remodelled 
 them in such a way as to remove all humorous sug- 
 gestions ; thus, for instance, the scene where Zerbino 
 jousts with Marfisa over the old hag Gabrina was re- 
 
 1 Vide Spenser's Itnitations from Ariosto, Proceedings Mod- 
 ern Language Association, 1897, P- 7° ^^ ^^^- ^^^^ Warton, 
 Obserz'at707ts 077. the Faerie Queene, I, 272 etseq.; J. Schrombs, Ari- 
 osto und Englische Literatiir. 
 
 ^ Wide Aj/g/ia, XI. Article by E. Koeppel. Cf. : 
 Faerie Queene, I, II, 30-31, Gerusalemme Liberata, XIII, 41-42. 
 Ill, 31, « « III, 4- 
 
 VII, 31, « " IX, 25. 
 
 " XI, 44, " " VI, 8.. 
 
 XII, 21, " " XV, 60, etc. 
 
342 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 produced by Spenser in all seriousness.^ Again, he 
 occasionally reversed the situation as when he made 
 a triumph of chastity out of an amorous scene/ treat- 
 ing with perfect decorum the most daring passages in 
 Ariosto. 
 
 The importance of the Italian influence on Spenser 
 has often been exaggerated, especially by continen- 
 tal critics, who, looking at the surface rather than 
 the spirit, have seen reflected in the poem the art 
 and beauty of the Italian Renaissance. Even where 
 Spenser made use of characters and situations sug- 
 gested by Ariosto, and of descriptions by Tasso, the 
 Faerie Queene was yet written in a spirit far different I 
 from that which inspired the ItaHan romantic epic. 
 Its austerity inclined rather to the Platonism of Pe- 
 trarch than the easy self-indulgence of Ariosto, or the 
 high-colored seriousness of Tasso. The Italian literary 
 influence can be traced in Spenser in outward form 
 rather than in inward spirit. It was well for Watson 
 or Constable, devoid of originality, to borrow feelings 
 and thoughts where they themselves possessed none. 
 Minor poets who wrote sonnets because others did 
 Hkewise could steal outright from their Italian sources. 
 The greater ones, however, like Shakespeare, would seek 
 in Italy only those elements which England did not 
 offer; the outer shell, the framework and structure, 
 
 1 Orlando Furioso, XX, 113 ^/ seq. ; cf. Faerie Queene, IV, 
 IV, 9. 
 
 2 Orlando Furioso, VII, 21 et seq. ; cf. Faerie Queene, II, ni, 
 21 et seq. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 343 
 
 could be obtained there better than at home. A 
 learned poet like Spenser would find there as well a 
 more serious conception of the dignity of poetry, an 
 artistic conscience, and a love of beauty for its own 
 sake, which he could well emulate. But beyond it all 
 went something deeper, and any appreciation of the 
 Faerie Queene, other than as a gallery of splendid 
 pictures and a stringing together of beautiful Hnes, 
 must find behind it the genius of Spenser, almost 
 untouched in spirit by foreign influence. As an 
 artist he obeyed willingly the canons of the roman- 
 tic epic ; he made use in introductory stanzas of cer- 
 tain of Ariosto's mechanical details. His imitation 
 extended even to the characters of the plot ; Arthur, 
 hke Orlando, was merely the ostensible hero ; Brag- 
 gadocchio was suggested by Rodomonte and Man- 
 dricardo, Archimago by Atlante; Arthegall and Brito- 
 mart, likewise, were based to a certain extent on 
 Ruggiero and Bradamante ; their various actions had 
 all their counterparts in the Orlando} The structure 
 of the poem showed that at every stage of the compo- 
 sition he was influenced by the manner and methods 
 of Ariosto, just as Tasso appealed to him in descrip- 
 tions.2 Spenser felt, however, no deep interest either 
 in the story or in his characters ; the Faerie Queene 
 was both reflective and picturesque, differing altogether 
 from its model. The resemblances between the two 
 poems were thus on the surface, the differences in 
 
 1 Proc. Mod. Lang. Assoc, 1897, p. 128. 
 
 2 Courthope, English Poetry, II, 259. 
 
344 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 the spirit. The one poet was the Puritan Platonist 
 of the Enghsh Renaissance inheriting the traditions 
 of mediaeval allegory; the other was the child of 
 sixteenth century Italy, the contemporary of Machi- 
 avelli and Aretino. The one was anxious to present 
 the perfect gentleman " in virtuous and gentle disci- 
 phne," concerned alone with his moral qualities ; the 
 other wished merely to amuse, serious only in his 
 artistic conscience. Art was thus the common bond 
 uniting them ; it drew Spenser toward Italy, and 
 made his greatness as a poet shine in the austerity 
 and purity of his spirit, presented with the beauty of 
 his art. 
 
 Art was the great lesson Italy had to teach England. 
 Energy, freshness, imagination, purity and sweetness 
 belonged alike to the Enghsh of the sixteenth century. 
 They were deficient, however, in form and measure, 
 and the artistic qualities of style. It was precisely in 
 these qualities that the Italians were supreme. In Italy 
 the development of two centuries had brought with it 
 ^ a technical perfection in art ; hardly would one literary 
 form be exhausted before another would spring up. 
 When the lyric had nothing further to offer, the ro- 
 mantic epic and pastoral took its place, each in turn 
 finding its perfect expression. The constant pres- 
 ence, moreover, of classical models strengthened the 
 artistic conscience of Italian poetry, while the lack of 
 all other restraints in life served to concentrate on art 
 the same qualities which in northern Europe found 
 their outlet in moral conduct. It was only in Plato- 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 345 
 
 nism that the spirit of Spenser can be said to have 
 been affected by Italy. The intellectual atmosphere of 
 Cambridge was then Platonic, which meant not only 
 the influence of the master, but even more of the 
 fifteenth-century neo-Platonists whose aims had been 
 directed toward reconciling the doctrines of Plato with 
 Christianity. Spenser himself was perfectly familiar 
 with Italian Platonism, and repeated its current thoughts 
 in his hymns on heavenly love and beauty. 
 
 The Platonic writings of Ficino and Pico della 
 Mirandola had been known in England since the time 
 of Colet. Later, Sir John Cheke, who had lived at 
 Padua, and Roger Ascham both taught Platonism at 
 Cambridge. Other Italian books on philosophical sub- 
 jects were translated into English.^ The influence of 
 Italian philosophy was hkewise felt when Giordano 
 Bruno, whose doctrines of love were neo-Platonic, came 
 to England, where he lived for two years, lecturing at 
 Oxford on the immortality of the soul and holding there 
 a public disputation. Bruno, while disgusted by the 
 ignorance and conceit of the doctors of the university 
 with whom he disputed,^ was more than pleased at his 
 reception by the cultivated circle of which Sidney and 
 Fulke Greville were the chief luminaries. In their pres- 
 
 1 Circes ofjohii Baptiste Gello, Florentine, translated out of 
 Italian into English by Henry Iden, 1557. The Fearful Fan- 
 cies of the Florentine Cooper written in Tuscan by John Baptiste 
 Gelli, one of the free study of Florence, translated into English 
 by W. Barker, Pensoso d'' Altrui, London, 1^68. 
 
 2 La Cena dei Ceneriy ed. Wagner, p. 1 79. 
 

 346 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 ence he expounded the new Copernican philosophy, 
 while he dedicated two of his books to Sidney.^ 
 
 Italy, where the influence of rediscovered classic 
 form arrested, for a century, the course of native litera- 
 ture, led the way in reviving the writing of Latin verse. 
 Petrarch, whose Latin Africa gave an example, found 
 worthy successors in Vida, Fracastoro and Sannazaro. 
 Several of the Italian classical poets, it will be remem- 
 bered, came to England. Peter Carmeliano of Brescia 
 wrote a poetical epistle on the birth of Prince Arthur ; 
 Johannes Opicius, who was probably an Italian, com- 
 posed royal panegyrics in the classical style and Gio- 
 vanni Gigli, Bishop of Worcester, wrote a Latin epi- 
 thalamium on an English subject. Later, Ammonio 
 and Adrian de Castello were both to be celebrated for 
 their classical verse. Marcellus Palingenius, however, 
 was the Itahan whose works proved most popular 
 beyond the Alps. His Zodiac of Life ^ translated by 
 Barnabe Googe, went through half a dozen English 
 editions. Its supposed Protestantism and violent 
 denunciation of the loose living of the clergy made it 
 
 1 G. Bruno's most important Italian works were also printed 
 in London : Spaccio De La Bestia Trionfante . . . Parigi 
 (London), 1584; Giordano Bruno Nolano, Del gV Heroici 
 Ftirori Al moltolllustre et eccellente Cavalliero, Signer Phillippo 
 Sidneo, Parigi (London?), 1585. 
 
 2 The First Six Books of Marcellus Palingenius, translated 
 by Barnabe Googe, 1561. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 347 
 
 rank almost as a classic in England and other Protes- 
 tant countries.^ 
 
 Sir Thomas More, George Buchanan and Alexander 
 Barclay were conspicuous among those who distin- 
 guished themselves by their Latin poetry, More by 
 his epigrams, and Buchanan by his classical tragedies, 
 though he excelled no less in other forms of verse. 
 The fashion for writing Latin verse, however, was in no 
 sense an original movement, but merely continued what 
 had long since begun in Italy. It seemed in many cases 
 as if antiquity interpreted by Italians was more congenial 
 to the English than the ancient works themselves. 
 This perhaps accounted for the extraordinary vogue 
 enjoyed by the eclogues of Baptista Mantuanus,^ which 
 in Shakespeare's boyhood were even read in the 
 grammar schools.^ Alexander Barclay, in his own 
 eclogues,^ imitated openly both Mantuanus and ^neas 
 Sylvius, calHng the former " the best of that sort, since 
 poets first began." 
 
 The literary forms of antiquity, after remaining sterile 
 for many centuries, came into use once more with the 
 Renaissance. The influence of classical models was 
 to breathe new life into poetry. The pastoral was 
 only one of the many forms which, first imitated 
 in Italy, were later to flourish in other European 
 
 1 Warton, English Poetry, IV, 282. 
 
 2 The Eclogues of the Poet B. Mantuan, translated by George 
 Turbervile, 1567. 
 
 * Lee, op. cii., p. 1 3. Vide also Love's Labour's Lost, IV, 2, lOO. 
 
 * Alexander Barclay, prologue to the Eclogues, 1570. 
 
348 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 countries. Barnabe Googe, for instance, showed the 
 influence of Sannazaro through the medium of the 
 Spaniard Garcilaso de la Vega.^ At other times France 
 was to be the intermediary between Italy and Eng- 
 land. With Spenser, however, the influence was direct 
 and the October in his Shepheard^s Calendar was openly 
 imitated from Mantuanus.^ From E. K.'s introduc- 
 tory epistle it is apparent that Mantuanus, Petrarch, 
 Boccaccio and Sannazaro were regarded in the direct 
 line of tradition from Theocritus and Vergil. Spenser, 
 whom Drayton called the " great reformer," ^ was in fact 
 introducing in England the pastoral which had first 
 been revived in Italy. 
 
 The subsequent development of the English pasto- 
 ral was largely influenced by the Aminta of Tasso 
 and Guarini's Pastor Fido, The first was trans- 
 lated into Latin hexameters by Thomas Watson in 
 1587. An unauthorized English rendering was made 
 from this by Abraham Fraunce, which proved far more 
 popular than the Latin version of Watson. The Pastor 
 Fido was not translated till some years later ;^ it was 
 first printed in London, in the original Italian, as was 
 also the Aminta. The influence of Tasso and Guarini 
 can further be traced, not only in the pastorals proper 
 of Thomas Lodge and Giles Fletcher, but in the drama 
 
 1 Underbill, op. cit., p. 242. 
 
 2 For Mantuanus' influence on Spenser, vide Anglia III, 266, 
 and IX, 205, articles by F. Kluge. 
 
 * The Baro^is' IVars, preface. 
 
 * The Pastor Fido, translated by Sir Edward Dymock, 1602. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 349 
 
 as well ; in Lyly's, Greene's and Peele's pastoral plays, 
 as also much later, in the Faithful Shepherdess and the 
 Sad Shepherd. 
 
 Several of Sidney's songs in the Arcadia were in- 
 tended to be sung to the time of Neapolitan " Villa- 
 nells." Sir Thomas Wyatt's most successful ventures 
 had been his songs, often imitated from the Italian. 
 The musical accompaniment to which such songs were 
 sung came in many instances from across the Alps. 
 Madrigals also which were especially popular in England 
 had most of them originated in Italy.^ The first col- 
 lection of Italian madrigals printed in England was 
 by Nicholas Yonge.^ It was followed by Thomas Wat- 
 son's collection after Marenzio, Nannio and Converso.^ 
 Morley and Dowland continued the work,^ while Yonge 
 later brought out a second series.^ John Dowland, who 
 when in Italy had made friends with Giovanni Croce, 
 Luca Marenzio and the other great composers, was the 
 
 1 Vide T. Oliphant, Madrigals, 1836. 
 
 2 Musica Transalpina . . . 7vi^k the first and second part of 
 * La Verginella ' made by Master Byrd upon the tiuo stanzas of 
 AriostOf and brought to speak English with the rest, N. Yonge, 
 1588. 
 
 ^ The First Set of Italian Madrigals Englished ... by 
 T. Watson, 1590. 
 
 * Alto di Thomaso Morlei. II prima libro della Ballatte a 
 cinque voci, in Londra appresso Tomaso Este, 1595 (dedicated 
 to Sir Robert Cecil; both the dedication and the letterpress 
 were in Italian). The First Book of Songs or Airs, by John 
 Dowland, 1596. 
 
 ^ N. Yonge, Musica Transalpina, translated out of sundry 
 Italian authors, 1597. 
 
350 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 most celebrated, perhaps, of the English musicians of 
 the day. These English musicians formed the last link 
 in the chain of those who brought back new lessons from, 
 across the Alps. They also found a new art to learn in 
 Italy, where some of them became thoroughly Italian- 
 ated. John Cooper, for instance, called himself Gio- 
 vanni Coperario after having been in Italy. He 
 was among the first to bring back a knowledge of the 
 new homophonic school which had arisen there, and 
 which was later to be developed in England by his two 
 pupils, William and Henry Lawes. At a time when 
 the musical drama originated. Cooper forms, with La- 
 niere and Ferrabosco, the binding tie between Italy and 
 England. Ferrabosco himself was the son of an Ital- 
 ian musician, and had studied music at Bologna, where 
 he attached himself to the new school then growing 
 up. 
 
 In examining the different English books of madri- 
 gals of this time, one cannot but be impressed by their 
 almost exclusively Italian origin. Nicholas Yonge 
 wrote that he had " carefully culled out of the com- 
 positions of the best authors in Italy," alluding to the 
 musical books yearly sent him thence. Morley, Dow- 
 land, Byrd and Watson alike frankly acknowledged 
 the sources of their collections, and mentioned the 
 Italian composers whose songs they reproduced. In 
 Italy, during this time, music, the last product of the 
 Renaissance, was at its height, and Dowland spoke of 
 its flourishing in all the cities he visited. In England, 
 too, Italian musicians such as the Bassani, the Lupos 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 35 1 
 
 and the elder Ferrabosco were to be found at court, 
 while they were also in the service of great noble- 
 men.^ In music, as in the sciences and arts, Italy led 
 the way for the rest of Europe to follow. 
 
 The Italian influence on Enghsh satire began al- 
 ready with Sir Thomas Wyatt, who imitated Alamanni 
 both in the form of epistolary satire and in his use of 
 the terza rima? Wyatt was the first English poet to 
 imitate the original model of classic satire revived in 
 Italy, and adapt the ancient style to the conditions 
 of his own time and place. English satire, however, 
 in the sixteenth century was to follow a course simi- 
 lar to that taken by lyric poetry, especially the sonnet. 
 The classical model introduced by Wyatt was not to 
 flourish in England until toward the end of the 
 century, when Hall and Marston took it up. In the 
 meantime, satires continued to be written in accord- 
 ance with earUer models ; Edward Hake, for instance, 
 belonged almost to the mediaeval satirists and followed 
 no classical examples, while Gascoigne's Steel Glass 
 betrayed few evidences of the new style. 
 
 The influence of Italy on English satire was two- 
 fold. On the one hand was felt the revival of the 
 classical traditions in Alamanni and Ariosto; on the 
 other, was the prose satire, of which Aretino's writings 
 offered the great example. Aretino himself was one 
 
 1 Cot. Mss. Brit. Mus., Titus B. VI/, 155. 
 
 2 CX Wyatt, Satire II with Alamanni, Satire XII. 
 
352 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 of the Italians whose name was in every EngHshman's 
 mouth, where it became a byword for sensuaUty. He 
 had even dedicated a volume of letters to Henry the 
 Eighth/ who finally granted him a pension after years 
 of delay.i William Thomas in turn dedicated his 
 Pilgrim to Aretino whom he called a "right natural 
 poet . . . whose virtue consisteth in nature without any 
 art." 2 His influence was chiefly noticeable, however, 
 in the closing years of the sixteenth century, with the 
 Bohemian group of pamphleteers, which included 
 Robert Greene, and especially Thomas Nash, known 
 as the " EngHsh Aretine." The latter described his 
 master as '' one of the wittiest knaves that ever God 
 made," one whose pen was sharp like a poniard, and 
 who wrote never a line that failed to make a man 
 drunk with admiration.^ Nash relied, like Aretino, on 
 a free use of the vernacular to obtain his humor- 
 ous eflects, and would coin words from the Itahan 
 where the English was not to his taste. He copied 
 him especially in his too frequent abuse and vitupera- 
 tion. Gabriel Harvey censured him for this licentious- 
 ness,* though trying himself to imitate the wit of him 
 whom he called Unico Aretino. 
 
 The classical satire, first revived in Italy with Vinci- 
 guerra, did not really begin to flourish in England until 
 the last decade of the sixteenth century. Like so many 
 
 1 Vide Letters, II passim, IV, 53. 
 
 2 The Pilgrim, dedication. 
 
 ^ Jack Wilton, p. 107 et seq. 
 
 * New Letter of Notable Contents, Works, I, 272 et seq., 289. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 353 
 
 other foreign literary forms, it failed to attain its popu- 
 larity at first. The sonnet, the pastoral and the Sene- 
 can tragedy were all to enjoy their fashion before its 
 turn came ; between Wyatt and Donne there extended 
 an interval of half a century. Satire in Tudor England 
 never became, in fact, thoroughly acclimated. The 
 Elizabethan satirists followed, as a rule, the Latin tra- 
 ditions belonging rather to the school of Juvenal and 
 Persius, even though the Horatian influence was very 
 perceptible in Hall. The Enghsh satires, however, 
 contained numerous Italian words and expressions. 
 Guilpin, Marston, Lodge and the rest referred fre- 
 quently to the " filthy Aretine," and alluded to the 
 vices and crimes of Italy. Hall even prefaced his 
 satire with an Italian motto ^, and on more than one 
 occasion borrowed from Ariosto.^ 
 
 Beginning with Wyatt and Surrey, the English often 
 found models for their religious verse in Italian poetry ; 
 Wyatt's penitential psalms, for instance, were, like his 
 satires, adapted from Alamanni. The fashion for this 
 kind of poetry came also very much later, George 
 Chapman, for instance, translated Petrarch's hymns. 
 On the other hand, Laurence Bodley, an Oxford fel- 
 low, translated into Italian a number of the psalms.^ 
 This religious influence in poetry became far more 
 important, however, in the days of the Stuarts when 
 Crashaw echoed Marini. 
 
 1 Book IV, i. 
 
 2 Alden, Rise of Satire in England, p. 113. Vide also Hall, 
 Satires, I, iv. 3 Ms. Bodleian Library. 
 
 2A 
 
354 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 The Italian influence was, likewise, responsible in 
 part for the narrative poems of the later Elizabethan 
 Age. Hero and Leander, Venus and Adonis, Pygmalion 
 and the Hermaphrodite were all conceived in the florid 
 and sensuous Italian manner. At times this meant 
 merely that the Elizabethans read the classical stories 
 on which these tales were founded in the Italian, 
 which was far more widely known than the ancient 
 tongues. In Italian there existed usually both literal 
 and poetic translations. Bernardo Tasso, for instance, | 
 paraphrased freely the Hero and Leander of Musseus, 
 after Baldi had translated it Hterally. Tasso's render- 
 ing was certainly made use of by the Spaniard, Boscan,^ 
 and was perhaps not unknown to Marlowe himself, 
 whose word painting was thoroughly Italian. Musaeus, 
 for instance, described in two lines Leander's first 
 swimming of the Hellespont; Tasso and Boscan both 
 required over twenty to do so, while Marlowe elabo- 
 rated it to even greater length. Certain of the Hnes 
 not in the original Greek bear likewise a decided 
 resemblance to each other. 
 
 Le figlie di Nereo per /' onde sake 
 Scherzando coi Tritoni^ 
 
 of Tasso, is not unlike the 
 
 Sweet singing mermaids sported with their loves. 
 
 Hero and Leander, II, 162. 
 
 True classical scholarship was a rare acquisition 
 among the earlier Elizabethans, while the Italian 
 
 1 Vide Flamini, Studi di Storia italiana e straniera, Livorno. 
 1895. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 355 
 
 offered a means of approach easy to all. The literary 
 influence of Italy had further means of filtering into 
 England through the hundreds of translations from the 
 Italian.^ Plagiarism was not considered a vice in the 
 sixteenth century, and, commencing with Wyatt, there 
 began a long Hst of debts acknowledged and un- 
 acknowledged to Italian literature. Works of every 
 kind were translated, especially in the last quarter of 
 the century. The charge once made by Sir Thomas 
 Hoby that Englishmen were selfish in their studies and 
 unmindful of the intellectual wants of their country- 
 men, in contrast to the Italians who translated books 
 in foreign languages for the benefit of their less fortu- 
 nate compatriots, was no longer true ; translators were 
 highly regarded, and a perfect mania for translating set 
 in. There were few books of importance which did not 
 speedily appear in English. Some complained of these 
 renderings, urging against them all kinds of objec- 
 tions. George Pettie satirized those who, through 
 ignorance, were unable to see the faults in the original 
 which they discerned in the translation, and thought 
 nothing was good unless written in a foreign language.^ 
 The translators as well were to have their apologists 
 and defenders. Hoby declared that a man skilled in 
 English translations was no less learned than he who 
 had read the same in the original Latin and Greek.^ 
 
 1 Vide Bibliography of Elizabethan Translations from the 
 Italian, M. A. Scott, Proc. Mod. Lang. Assoc, 1895-98. 
 
 2 Guazzo's Civil Conversations, preface. 
 
 * " Epistle to the Reader," Courtier, p. 9. 
 
356 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Another writer quoted Giordano Bruno's saying that all 
 sciences owed their offspring to translations/ in order 
 to persuade Daniel not to be ashamed " to open 
 another man's shop " and " sell Italian wares " as 
 though being " a bankrupt in philosophy " he " could 
 not afford any pretty conceit without borrowing or em- 
 bezzling." Lodowick Bryskett, the friend of Sidney I 
 and Spenser, in the introduction to his translation of 
 Giraldi Cinthio's Discourse of Civil Life^ wrote that 
 he envied the ItaHans who had popularized moral 
 philosophy by explaining Plato and Aristotle in their 
 own language, wishing that English writers would fol- 
 low their example. Bryskett urged Spenser to set 
 himself to such a task, but he was already occupied 
 with the Faerie Queene, 
 
 The Italian epic poets were well known in England. 
 Florio had already quoted from Ariosto.^ To Sir John 
 Harington, however, a court wit and humorist, was 
 left the task of translating the Orlando into English 
 verse, one of the few translations which has remained 
 famous to this day. Drayton, in his Barons'* Wars, 
 was later to take the verse form from Ariosto on ac- 
 count of its being " of all other the most complete and 
 and best proportioned." A portion of Boiardo was 
 then translated into Enghsh.^ Tasso also was popular 
 in England from the very beginning, and Abraham 
 
 1 The Worthy Tract of Paulusj'oviusthy Samuel D&mel, 1585. 
 
 2 First Fruit esy ch. 25, 1578. 
 
 ^ Orlando Innamorato ; the first three books were translated 
 by Robert Tofte in 1598. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 357 
 
 Fraunce quoted freely from him as early as 1579.^ 
 The first five cantos of the Jerusalem Delivered were 
 translated by Richard Carew, who attempted to follow 
 the original line for Hne. There are many passages of 
 great beauty in this rendering,^ although it is by no 
 means accurate. The more famous version by Edward 
 Fairfax appeared a few years later.^ His poem has 
 almost the ring of the original, and far surpassed 
 Carew's translation, of which he made considerable 
 use. 
 
 VI 
 
 The classical influence in English literature came 
 largely from Italy. Classical metres, which Tolomei 
 had long before attempted to revive in Italy, were 
 tried by Sidney and Spenser, and found apologists in 
 Drant and Gabriel Harvey. Roger Ascham was, how- 
 ever, the first to advocate the use of quantity in Eng- 
 lish poetry. From Gabriel Harvey's letters^ one 
 can realize the extent of this movement, as well as the 
 attempt which was made then to introduce such metres 
 into Enghsh verse.^ Sidney, Spenser, Dyer and Gre- 
 ville formed a society bearing the name of the Areopa- 
 gus^ perhaps in imitation of the Florentine Academy 
 
 1 Arcadian Rhetorike. Vide Koeppel, Anglia, XI, XII, XIII. 
 
 2 Godfrey of Bulloigne, translated by R. C, 1594. 
 
 ' Godfrey of Bulloigne, translated by Edward Fairfax, 1600. 
 
 * Three proper and wiltie fatniliar letters ; Two other very 
 conwiendable letters, in Haslewood, Arte of English Poesy. 
 
 ^ Spingarn, Literary Criticistn in the Renaissance, p. 299 
 et seq. 
 
358 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 1 
 
 in the time of Lorenzo, which bore the same name/ 
 although probably based on the one which Baif 
 had founded in Paris shortly before. The original 
 model for all such learned societies was Italian, but the 
 idea of academies had long been present to the Eng- 
 Hsh mind. William Thomas, so far back as 1549? de- 
 scribed the Academy in Florence as among the most 
 interesting things he saw in all Italy. Later, Edmund 
 Bolton advocated an English Academy, and Richard 
 Carew deplored the lack ^ of such an institution in his 
 own country. The idea of an Academy in England 
 was even present in the mind of Milton.^ 
 
 The dominant influence in Elizabethan criticism 
 was Italian, and the introduction of the poetic canons 
 of Aristotle into England resulted from the influence 
 of Italian critics. Sir Philip Sidney introduced Italian 
 criticism just as Wyatt and Surrey had introduced the 
 Italian lyric. His Defense of Poesy has been called an 
 " epitome of the literary criticism of the Italian Re- 
 naissance," and its sources have been laid bare in the 
 treatises of Minturno and Scaliger ; ^ Dolce, Trissino 
 and Daniello were all placed by Sidney under contri- 
 bution. Puttenham, likewise, as he was careful to 
 inform the reader, had lived at the Italian courts ; 
 his conception of the poet was based directly on that 
 
 1 Cf. Pulci, Morgante Maggiore, XXV, 117. 
 
 2 Richard Carew in a letter to Cotton (1605), cited by Ellis, 
 Original Letters of Eminent Literary Men, Camden Society, 
 
 p. 99. 
 
 3 Prose Works, edited by St. John, 1848, II, pp. 477, 480. 
 * Spingarn, op. cit., p. 268 et seq. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 359 
 
 of Scaliger.^ The Italianated Harington, in his de- 
 fence of the Oiiando Furioso against the attacks made 
 on it, gave for the first time in EngHsh the'Aristotelian 
 theory of the epic as revived in Italy.- Italian poetic 
 criticism was also to have its influence in Elizabethan 
 literature. The dramatic unities of time and place, 
 formulated for the first time by Lodovico Castelvetro 
 in 1570, were copied by Sidney in his Defense^ and 
 utilized later in the classical plays of Daniel and 
 Fulke Greville. The Senecan tragedy also in part 
 through the Italian medium* influenced Enghsh at- 
 tempts at classical tragedy; Gascoigne's translation 
 of Jocasta, for instance, was made, not from the 
 original Greek of Euripides, but from Dolce's Italian 
 rendering. 
 
 A set-back was, however, experienced in the attempt 
 to classicize English poetry ; Hall satirized the move- 
 ment,^ and it received its death-blow in Daniel's 
 Defense of Rhyme. ^ It was a part of a similar reaction 
 felt no less in other directions. With the growth of 
 the Renaissance in Europe, Italian words and ex- 
 pressions had been introduced into other languages 
 
 1 Spingarn, op. cit., p. 264. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 293. Jacopo Castelvetro, who had lectured on 
 poetics in Paris (where he may have met Sidney), published in 
 London, in 1585, Julius Cccsar Stella's Epic on Columbus, and 
 dedicated it to Raleigh in appreciation of his exploits. 
 
 2 Ibid., p. 290. 
 
 * Vide Cunliffe, The Infuence of Seneca on the Elizabethan 
 Drama, London, 1893. 
 
 * Satires, I, 6. ® Spingarn, p. 298. 
 
36o ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 and this movement was now opposed in its turn ; thus, 
 in France, Henri Estienne ridiculed such imitation 
 in his celebrated Dialogues du Fraiigoys Italianize. 
 
 The feeling was undoubtedly growing that every 
 nation should take pride in developing its lan- 
 guage, without borrowing from classical or Italian 
 sources. This movement, which was intended as a 
 reaction against Italy, was really the counterpart of 
 a similar one begun by Bembo^ and the Purists. In 
 England, however, the problem was somewhat different. 
 Not only was the English language burdened by "ink- 
 horn " terms as they were then known, but the dif- 
 ferent continental languages, especially the Italian, 
 contributed to form its vocabulary. This tendency 
 had begun already with Wyatt, who borrowed words 
 here and there.^ Thomas Wilson had complained 
 of those who, returning from foreign travel, " powder 
 their talk with oversea language; . . . some seek 
 so far for outlandish English, that they forget alto- 
 gether their mother's language ; . . . another chops 
 in with Enghsh Italianated and applieth the Italian 
 phrase to our English speaking." ^ E. K. likewise, in 
 his defence of the Shepheard^ s Calendar, spoke of the 
 English language as a " hodge-podge of all other 
 speeches," and alluded to those who desired to patch 
 
 1 Harvey was familiar with the works of Bembo. The first 
 lectures he gave at Cambridge were based on his ideas. Vide 
 Morley, English Writers, 1892, IX, 17 et seq. 
 
 2 Cf. Sonnet XV, " Avising the bright beams," from the 
 Italian avvisare. 
 
 3 Art of Rhetoric t f. 82 b. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 36 1 
 
 up its holes " with pieces and rags of other languages." 
 There were Englishmen who proclaimed their tongue 
 to be "barren" and "barbarous."^ On the other 
 hand, John Kepers spoke of the necessity of making 
 new words, and thought this could best be effected 
 by those " conversant in foreign writers." ^ Greene's 
 language was interlarded with Italian words and ex- 
 pressions. Nash, however, was the great example 
 of this tendency. He wrote of those who objected 
 to " the multitude of my boisterous compound words, 
 and the often coining of Italianate verbs, which end 
 all in ize, as mummianize, tympanize, tyrannize." 
 He had made use of such words because, more than 
 any other language, English swarmed with monosyl- 
 lables, which he likened to small currency in a shop- 
 keeper's box. His task had been to exchange these 
 small coins " four into one and others into more, ac- 
 cording to the Greek, French, Spanish, and Italian."^ 
 Harvey, however, accused Nash of quite renouncing his 
 natural English accent in his affectation of Tuscanism. 
 Others likewise wrote against the foreign danger in 
 the language. Sir John Cheke argued for English to 
 be written " clean and pure," and without borrowing 
 from other tongues.* Mulcaster and Ascham both ad- 
 vocated its use without foreign expressions. Even Gas- 
 coigne, who had taken much from the Italian, prided 
 himself on retaining old English words rather " than in 
 
 1 Guazzo, preface. 
 
 2 Tke Courtier'' s Academy^ introduction. 
 
 3 Nash, IV, 6 ct seq. * Castiglione, op. cit., p. 12. 
 
362 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 borrowing of other languages, such epithets and ad- 
 jectives as smell of the inkhorn."^ 
 
 VII 
 
 The Italian influence in English fiction in the six- 
 teenth century was on the one hand that of Boccaccio, 
 on the other that of Sannazaro. The first was to show it- 
 self especially in the tales of love, intrigue and adventure 
 of Robert Greene, who had himself travelled in Italy. 
 The scenes of many of his novels were laid there, while 
 his stories were drawn largely from Italian sources ; 
 Perimides and Philomela^ for instance, was so closely 
 imitated from Boccaccio that it amounted almost to 
 a translation.^ Greene proved himself thoroughly 
 familiar with the literature and ideas of the Peninsula. 
 He described the Italianate Englishmen returning 
 home with vices acquired abroad ; he himself con- 
 fessed to have done this.^ Although the origin of 
 the style he made use of still remains a disputed 
 point, the names of his love tales, Mamillia, Arbasto, 
 Alcida and Pandosto give a clew to the Itahan sources 
 of his inspiration. 
 
 Greene, as a novelist, found his successors in Nicho- 
 las Breton and Emanuel Ford, who was also an imitator 
 of Boccaccio. If Boccaccio offered the model for all 
 stories of intrigue, the pastoral novel of Sannazaro, 
 which revived in Renaissance Italy the Arcadian tales 
 
 ^ Works, preface. 
 
 2 M. A. Scott, Proc. Mod. Lang. Assoc, 1898, p. 250. 
 
 3 R. Greene, VI, 24; X, 6, 73; XI, 217, etc. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 363 
 
 of late Greek literature, was to prove no less popular in 
 England. Sannazaro's romance of the ideal love of shep- 
 herds and shepherdesses amid the scenes of an imagi- 
 nary poetic landscape possessed little human interest 
 and but slight action. These elements were later sup- 
 plied by his Portuguese imitator, Jorge de Monte- 
 mayor, who added to the conventional Arcadianism in- 
 cidents from real life. Sidney, in his Ajradia, united 
 the two models, combining certain elements of ro- 
 mantic adventure which he added to the pastoral sim- 
 pHcity. The lyrics he introduced likewise imitated the 
 example of Sannazaro, who interspersed poetry with 
 prose. Sidney's descriptions called up other Itahan 
 reminiscences ; the one of the beautiful Philoclea, for 
 instance, may well have been suggested by the paint- 
 ings of Titian and Veronese he had seen in Venice.^ 
 
 Robert Greene's Menaphoji and Pandosto, both of 
 which were Arcadian in style, breathed the spirit of the 
 Italian pastoral novel ; Thomas Lodge, also, who had 
 imitated the Italian lyric poets in his Margaret of 
 America^ copied Sannazaro in Rosalind, from which, 
 later, Shakespeare drew the plot of his own semi- 
 pastoral drama. 
 
 Before the vogue of the pastoral novel had set in, 
 however, numerous translations of Italian novelle and 
 romances had been made. The tale of Titus and 
 GisippuSy translated by Sir Thomas Elyot, was prob- 
 ably the earliest EngHsh rendering of Boccaccio in 
 
 1 Jusserand, English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare, 
 p. 244. 
 
364 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 the sixteenth century. It only began the long list 
 of such translations. Painter's Palace of Pleasure 
 appearing in 1566, Fenton's Tragical Discourses a 
 year later, and the collections which followed by For- 
 tescue/ Pettie/ Smythe/ Turbervile/ and others, fa- 
 miliarized Englishmen with an entirely different class 
 of literature. They could now read the tales of Ser 
 Giovanni, Straparola, Bandello and the followers of 
 Boccaccio.^ Some stories were directly translated 
 from the Italian, others from their French versions as 
 in the case of Bandello. So great was the popularity 
 of these tales that an English novel of the time in 
 order to secure a larger sale, was falsely stated to be 
 a translation from the Italian, foreign words being 
 even introduced to mislead the reader,^ George Gas- 
 coigne, likewise, in his English imitation of a novella, 
 the adventures of Don Ferdinando Geronimi, pre- 
 tended to be translating a story by " Bartello." 
 
 Ladies were said to " entertain Bandel or Ariosto in 
 their closets," '^ and Ascham spoke of such books 
 being " sold in every shop in London." Their popu- 
 
 ^ T. Fortescue, Forest or Collection of Histories, 1571. 
 
 2 George Pettie, Pettie''s Palace of Pettie his Pleasure, 1576. 
 
 3 Robert Smythe, Strange and Tragical Histories, 1 5 77. 
 * Tragical Tales translated by Turbervile, 1587. 
 
 ^ Vide L. Fraenkel, Zeitschrift fiir Vergleichende Litteratur, 
 III, IV. 
 
 ® The pitiful History of two loving Italians, Gaulfrido and 
 Bernardo. . . . Translated out of Italian into English metre by 
 John Drout, 1570. 
 
 7 Paulus Jovius, preface by N. W. to Daniel's translation. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 365 
 
 larity and licentiousness resulted in the inevitable re- 
 action. Stephen Gosson wrote of the devil sending 
 over " many wanton Italian books which, being trans- 
 lated into Enghsh, have poisoned the old manners of 
 our country with foreign delights." ^ Ascham's objec- 
 tions are too well known to need further repetition. 
 In 1599 many of these books were ordered to be 
 burned, and, to use Warton's own words, the Stationer's 
 Hall " underwent as great purgation as was carried on 
 in Don Quixote's library." 
 
 The translations of the Italian novelle were to 
 awaken further interest in Italy among the people at 
 large. Italy gave the subject-matter and incidents to 
 such a tale of adventure as Jack Wilton, although its 
 literary form was Spanish. Italy offered, so to speak, 
 the stage setting and scenery for the Elizabethan 
 dramatists. Its richer life, with its promise of adven- 
 ture and bloodshed, gave free rein to their thoughts. 
 The crimes of Italy were destined to furnish the sub- 
 ject-matter for nearly half the tragedies written in 
 the reigns of Elizabeth and James.^ The dramatists, 
 in addition, could borrow plots ready made from 
 Italian novelle at a time when plagiarism was thought 
 legitimate. The Italian drama in itself had but little 
 direct influence in England. A morahty play called 
 Free Wyl had been translated both by Hoby and 
 Cheke, and Ochino's Tragedy was likewise rendered 
 into English by Bishop Ponet. Still another famous 
 
 ^ Plays confuted in Five Actions. 
 2 Vernon Lee, Euphorion, p. 70. 
 
366 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 morality, the Conflict of Conscience^ had for its hero 
 one Francis Spira, an Italian lawyer, who, for purely 
 worldly reasons, abandoned his Protestant convictions. 
 The popularity of such plays in England was due 
 rather to their religious lessons than to intrinsic lit- 
 erary merit. The Italian influence on the English 
 drama came chiefly through the translation of novelk, 
 although the dumb show and the play within the play 
 were both of Itahan origin. Italian examples, how- 
 ever, aided greatly the transition from morality to 
 comedy in England.^ George Gascoigne's Supposes, 
 a translation of Ariosto's Sicppositi, which appeared 
 in 1566, was the first Enghsh prose comedy, and with 
 it began the refinement of dialogue. 
 
 It is interesting to note that an Italian company, 
 under a certain Drusiano, acted in London in 1577,^ 
 their improvised dialogue being commented on by 
 Hieronimo in Kyd's Spanish Tragedy : — 
 
 The Italian tragedians were so sharp of wit, 
 
 That in one hour's meditation 
 
 They would perform anything in action. 
 
 Italian words and expressions were by no means 
 unusual on the Elizabethan stage. Gascoigne intro- 
 duced them in a masque.^ Even Shakespeare made 
 occasional use of them, while Marston and Ford both 
 brought in Italian sentences.* 
 
 ^ Ward, English Dramatic Literature, I, 145. 
 2 J. P. Collier, History of English Dramatic Poetry, III, 398. 
 ^ Gascoigne, edit. W. C. Hazlitt, I, 86 et seq. 
 ^ Vide I Antoyiio and Mellida, II, i, 212, III, i, 275. ^Tis 
 Pity She's a Whore, IV, iii, passim. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 367 
 
 In addition to what they were able to learn from 
 the novelle, Elizabethan dramatists obtained furtlier 
 insight into Italian manners and customs from the 
 many manuals of courtesy which were translated into 
 English. They found depicted in them a society far 
 more cultivated and refined than anything which 
 existed in England in that age. Such books taught 
 them the existence of a new world and a new Hfe. 
 At the same time, the dialogue form, so popular 
 among Italians, and in which these books were written, 
 gave English dramatists the models for their prose 
 conversations. 
 
 Tancred afid Gistnimda, produced in 1568, was the 
 first English drama, the plot of which is known to have 
 been based on an Italian tale. Not long afterward 
 every Elizabethan playwright was borrowing from the 
 novelle. In parallel movement the more learned poets, 
 such as Sackville and Gascoigne, from reading Seneca 
 and his Italian imitators, began themselves to write 
 Enghsh plays.^ The Italian influence in the English 
 drama was thus twofold. On the one side it con- 
 tributed to bring to life the ancient forms of tragedy, 
 and teach the canons of Aristode as interpreted in 
 Italy. This conscious classical influence, first brought 
 in through translations, imposed the unities on the 
 later Elizabethan drama. Nevertheless, it was with 
 few exceptions destined to barrenness, for Fulke 
 Greville's plays are hardly more than literary curios- 
 ities. On the other hand, the Italian romantic side 
 
 1 Ward, I, 117, 144. 
 
368 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 influenced the spirit of the EHzabethan drama, by in- 
 fusing it with its own ideals of virtii. The unconscious 
 influence of Italy proved a living breath to English 
 playwrights, who found their subject-matter in its tales 
 of passions and crimes. 
 
 Many signs of Italian influence are apparent in 
 the dramas of the period. Gosson alluded to the | 
 " bawdy comedies " in Italian furnishing the playhouses 
 in London.^ One play by the name of the Orlando 
 Furioso was presented on the stage, another called 
 Machiavelli was acted at the Rose Theatre. It must 
 be acknowledged, however, that many of the so-called 
 Machiavellian sayings of the dramatists were so only 
 in the popular Elizabethan sense of the name, and 
 appear to have been inspired rather by Gentillet's 
 polemic.^ Nevertheless, it can scarcely be doubted 
 that Machiavelli's doctrine of virtu fitted in with the 
 ideas of the age. It animated Marlowe's heroes, who 
 first brought his spirit into the English drama. All 
 of them are governed by the craving for the infinite, 
 either in wealth, knowledge, or power, attainable through 
 force of will, regardless of the means employed. In 
 Tamburlaine he represented energy and strength, in 
 contrast to the weakness of Mycetes. So Faustus, to 
 obtain forbidden knowledge, was ready to sacrifice his 
 soul. Barabas likewise typified hatred and revenge, 
 while Mortimer represented personal ambition car- 
 ried to extreme. All his plays were thus inspired by 
 
 ^ Plays confuted in fine actions. 
 2 Meyer, op. cit., p. 43 et seq. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 369 
 
 the same desire — to bring to a dramatic climax the 
 consequences produced by the determination of will 
 power in its pursuit of selfish objects.^ Machiavelli 
 himself was brought on the stage as the impersona- 
 tion of all villany.^ 
 
 Shakespeare's knowledge of Italy, like his own life, 
 remains a paradox. On the one hand, the remarkable 
 amount of information he possessed about Italian 
 cities does not seem as if it could have been acquired 
 except from personal observation. On the other, cer- 
 tain of the errors he made were of such a nature as 
 almost to preclude the possibility of his having been 
 there. Thus, for instance, Valentine is supposed to 
 travel by sea from Verona to Milan, while Prospero 
 embarks on board a ship at the gates of Milan.^ 
 
 His plays treating of Italian subjects were of three 
 kinds. In such as Othello and the Merchant of Venice 
 he showed undeniable knowledge of Italy. In a sec- 
 ond class, comprising Rojneo and Juliet and the Ta7n- 
 ing of the Shrew, a certain knowledge of Italy is seen, 
 though not more than could be gathered from hearsay 
 and books. Last of all were such dramas as The 
 Tempest and the Wiiiter's Tale, where the locality and 
 names were alone Italian.'* Thus only the first kind 
 remains not easily exphcable ; even granting that he 
 obtained information from the tales of travellers, and 
 
 1 Courthope, IT, 405. 2 jg^ of Malta, prologue. 
 
 ^ Two Gentlemen of Verona, I, I, 71; The Tempest, I, II, 
 129-144. 
 
 4 Vide Elze, Shak. Jahrhuch, XIII, XIV, XV. 
 
 2B 
 
370 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 from such books as Thomas's History of Italy, there 
 seems no sufficient reason for his preferring Venice 
 and Padua. Neither Florence nor Rome attracted 
 him in the same way. His interest in the North can 
 be accounted for in part by his fondness for Bandello 
 and certain of the novellieri ; but this does not tell 
 all. Nor for that matter does his ridicule ^ of Enghsh- 
 men returning home from foreign travel dissatisfied 
 with their surroundings, prove, as some have thought, 
 that he had not been abroad. He himself in after 
 years made fun of the sonnet he had once been so 
 fond of. 
 
 If Shakespeare was ever in Italy, it was not as an 
 ordinary traveller. His exact knowledge was confined 
 almost to Venice and Padua; other places he knew 
 of only by hearsay. Nor does he mention the long 
 journey across the Alps. He went there, if at all, on 
 board ship, perhaps as a sailor or as an accountant or 
 clerk in the employ of some commercial house in 
 London, for direct trade between the two places was 
 then of common occurrence. It is barely possible 
 that his name may still be found among the papers of 
 some London merchant ; his visit in such a capacity 
 would alone account for his partial knowledge of Italy, 
 coupled with its gigantic blunders. It would explain 
 both his fondness for Venetia as well as much of the 
 mystery surrounding his early life. 
 
 In spite of the uncertainty and lack of direct proof 
 which attends Shakespeare's travels, more certain ground 
 
 1 Vide p. 164. 
 
ITALIAN INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH POETRY 371 
 
 is reached in approaching the books he read. The 
 sources of fourteen of his dramas are found in ItaUan fic- 
 tion. Not only was he familiar with the ItaHan novelle, 
 even such as the story of The Merchant of Venice, which 
 was then inaccessible in English, but, as might be ex- 
 pected, he had read many of the books relating to Italian 
 subjects then published in England. Touchstone's de- 
 scription of the various forms of a He and Orlando's 
 wrestling bout with Charles was probably suggested by 
 Saviolo's Practise. Likewise the lines 
 
 Veneiia, Venetia, 
 
 Chi non ti vede, non ii pretia,^ 
 
 if not taken from Florio's Second Frtntes, which he 
 might well have seen in manuscript, could be found in 
 James Sanford's collection of Italian proverbs. Shake- 
 speare, however, undoubtedly knew Florio when he 
 was a proteg^ of Southampton.^ 
 
 In spite of the books he read and his acquaintance 
 with Italy and Italians, perhaps even his knowledge of 
 Bruno's philosophy^ and his allusions to Machiavellian 
 ideas,^ Shakespeare's individual genius was far too 
 great to be deeply touched by outward influences. 
 His spirit, like Spenser's, remained English, unaffected 
 by foreign imitation. At the same time the Italian 
 
 1 Love's Labour'^s Lost, IV, II, lOO. 
 
 2 S. Lee, op. cit., p, 85. 
 
 3 Vide R. Konig, Shak. Jahrbuck, XI; R. Beyersdorff, Shak. 
 Jahrbuch, XXVI. 
 
 4 /// Henry VL, III, ii, 182; Titus Andronicus, V, i, 125; 
 Merry Wives of Windsor, III, i, 102, etc. 
 
3/2 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 atmosphere with which he invested his dramas aided 
 to bring out their beauty, while the novelle on which | 
 he based his plots set free his imagination. 
 
 The Italian influence in English literature was thus 
 twofold. On the one hand, it taught the value and 
 beauty of artistic form in poetry, and introduced new 
 poetic models ; on the other, it gave, so to speak, the 
 raw material from which the Ehzabethan dramatists 
 drew the subject-matter of their inspiration. At the 
 same time it offered a model for the novel and the 
 epic, and the critical criteria for the judgment of 
 literature. The first two influences were romantic ; 
 the influence of the Italian humanists, on the other 
 hand, was classical. While this influence was para- 
 mount in criticism, it yet failed to attain any results 
 in poetry and the drama, the desultory attempts made 
 to introduce it in England proving sterile. The 
 romantic influences, however, did not fetter the origi- 
 nality of English poetry; the models of Petrarch and 
 Ariosto breathed new life into it, while the tales of 
 Boccaccio and his followers stirred the imagination 
 of Ehzabethan dramatists. 
 
APPENDIX A 
 
 ENGLISH CATHOLICS IN ROME 
 
 Perhaps the most permanent and binding chain, 
 which from the earliest times famiharized Italy with 
 England, was the constant stream of pilgrims journey- 
 ing to and from Rome. These pilgrimages had already 
 begun long before the Conquest and had continued 
 through the Middle Ages. In the fourteenth century 
 one John Shepherd, a London merchant, established 
 a hospital in Rome for English pilgrims and travel- 
 lers. So early as 727, King Ina had founded a hos- 
 pice for Saxon pilgrims beyond the Tiber. The English 
 records of these early days are either lacking or scanty. 
 Some information can be obtained, however, from 
 a partial register of the pilgrims written in the first 
 years of the sixteenth century.^ The guests then 
 received were of two kinds, — noblemen {iiobiles) 
 so called, who paid for their board, and poor people 
 {pavperes) who were lodged free. The names and 
 occupations of the guests were in each case given ; 
 thus John Vaughan, priest, John Williams, knight, 
 Thomas Halsey, student at Bologna, shows the general 
 nature of the lodgers. Most of them were designated 
 either as scholars or priests ; but others lodged there 
 as well, even the ambassadors sent by Henry the Seventh 
 
 ^ Liber Primus Instrumeniorum, English College, Rome. 
 
 373 
 
374 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 to the Vatican, Edward Scot and John Alen, the first 
 of whom died of fever in the hospital. In one year, 
 1505, fifty-five persons were registered as "nobles." 
 Among the poor were the names of an occasional 
 Oxford student, of sailors, and again of a dozen Welsh- 
 men, together with a pilgrimage of priests from Nor- 1 
 folk and Suffolk. In all over two hundred pilgrims 
 went there in a single year. Women, also, were among 
 the pilgrims, such names occurring as Juliana Lutt of 
 London, and Elizabeth Welles, a widow, of Norwich. 
 This constant intercourse with Rome which had always 
 existed must have spread a knowledge of Italy among 
 Englishmen ; the first English accounts of travel in 
 Italy were certainly written by just such pilgrims. 
 
 Although it would be outside the province of this 
 study to sketch even hastily the development of the 
 English Reformation, at the same time certain of its 
 effects must be alluded to among the connecting links 
 between England and Italy, with the growth of Prot- 
 estantism pious English Catholics began more and 
 more to take refuge in the latter country. While this 
 was not so much the case in the first half of the six- 
 teenth century, when strong hopes were entertained 
 that there might be a return to Rome, after these had 
 vanished with the death of Mary, the movement be- 
 came an important one, and numbers of Englishmen 
 found new homes on the banks of the Tiber and else- 
 where in Italy. At the same time the beginnings of 
 the movement may be found in the period now treated. 
 It will only be necessary to mention very briefly cer- 
 
ENGLISH CATHOLICS IN ROME 375 
 
 tain of the English Cathohcs of this time who resided 
 in Italy, chiefly on account of their religious convic- 
 tions. They form, as it were, the nucleus around 
 which the Italian influences surrounding them could 
 take action. Without ever ceasing to be Englishmen, 
 many of them yet show to a marked degree the effect 
 of their environment. John Gierke was an example 
 of this ; after graduating at Oxford, he travelled in 
 Italy and lived there for many years, writing books on 
 theology, several of which were in Italian ; he openly 
 professed his preference for its literature to the Greek 
 and Roman. George Lily, the son of the grammarian, 
 was another one who lived in Rome, where he became 
 noted for his erudition, and was protected by Gardinal 
 Pole. Still a third was Ellis Heywood, brother of the 
 poet, who, after graduating at All Souls, travelled in 
 Italy, where he was received in the household of 
 Reginald Pole, and was appointed by him one of his 
 secretaries ; later in life he became a Jesuit. He also 
 wrote in very good Italian two dialogues ^ purporting to 
 be Sir Thomas More's conversations with certain learned 
 men of his time on virtue and love, the great Renais- 
 sance topics of discussion. The locality selected was 
 the garden of More's country-house near London, in 
 accordance with the Itahan fashion of laying the 
 scenes of conversation in the open air. Apart from 
 this, however, there was little truly English about the 
 book which might as well have been written by some 
 Itahan. 
 
 ^ II Moro d^ Helisco Hevodo Inglese, Florence, 1556. 
 
376 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 Both Lily and Heywood centre around the greater 
 commanding figure o/ Cardinal Reginald Pole. It was 
 he who, during the period when England was drifting 
 away from Rome, stood for the highest type of Eng- 
 lish Catholic churchman, and, more than any one else, 
 maintained in Italy the dignity of England. \ In him- 
 self he formed one of the great links between the two 
 countries. A connection of the royal family, he had 
 first studied at Oxford under Linacre and Latimer, and 
 had graduated at Magdalen. In 152 1 he was sent by 
 the king to Padua, then known as Helladis Bellas, to 
 continue his studies ; while there he made friends with 
 some of the great scholars of the time, Leonicus and 
 Longolius, through whom he became acquainted with 
 Bembo. He met there, as well, Thomas Lupset, who 
 had gone to study in Italy by the advice of Vives, the 
 Spanish humanist, and two men who were to be his Hfe- 
 long friends, Ludovico Priuh, a young Venetian noble- 
 man, and Caspar Contarini, who later became cardinal. 
 At Padua, Pole entertained considerably, and on ac- 
 count of his royal kinship much attention was paid 
 him by the authorities. His interest in learning he 
 maintained through life ; the scholar Longolius, who 
 died in his house, left him his hbrary. When Pole re- 
 turned to Padua ten years later, he took into his house- 
 hold Lazzaro Buonamici, a well-known classical scholar, 
 to study once more Greek and Latin. But Pole, 
 in spite of his interest in humanism and learning, 
 unlike his Italian friends, cared nothing for literary 
 fame. His one aim and object in Hfe, to which he 
 
ENGLISH CATHOLICS IN ROME 377 
 
 devoted himself with unswerving purpose, was to re- 
 store in England the supremacy of Rome ; and though 
 he failed in this, he yet stands out in bold relief as 
 one of the commanding figures of the age, and as 
 the highest type of learned churchman. He gave 
 a personal example (for the alleged scandals of his 
 private life have been proved untrue) that it was 
 possible to live in Italy and be unaffected by its 
 vices. He himself had refused from Henry the 
 Eighth the highest inducements to approve of his 
 divorce ; he had been steadfast through thick and thin 
 to what he believed to be right, and though he saw 
 gleams of triumph when Mary came to the throne, his 
 own death fortunately prevented him from realizing 
 that his life's work had been in vain. As one of the 
 great links between Italy and England, his influence, 
 however, was considerable. To each country he held 
 up the mirror of the other's virtues. And while 
 Englishmen saw in his presence the authority and 
 grandeur of Rome, to Itahans he reflected the piety 
 and austerity of England. 
 
 There is little use in going through the catalogue of 
 churchmen who contributed to familiarizing the one 
 land with the other. Italians, just as before, came to 
 England ; Giberti, Bishop of Verona, who posed as 
 the special protector of England ; Ghinucci, Bishop of 
 Worcester and of Salisbury ; and Cardinal Campeggio, 
 who had first been sent to England to urge Henry 
 the Eighth to unite with the other princes of Chris- 
 tendom in a campaign against the Turk, and returned 
 
378 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 as judge to listen to the divorce suit of Henry against 
 Catherine of Aragon. In Italy, on the other hand, 
 lived such men as Sir Edward Carne, sent to Rome as 
 excusator of Henry the Eightli, who had been cited 
 to appear there in person. Carne remained there 
 until his death, the Pope ostensibly keeping him as 
 hostage and refusing to allow him to depart, although 
 he gave him the government of the English hospital 
 at Rome. The detention, it is now known, was en- 
 tirely voluntary on his part, and the Pope's seeming 
 refusal was merely that Carne's property in England 
 should not be confiscated. 
 
 It will be seen, from the few facts mentioned, how 
 great were the possibilities of an interchange of ideas 
 between the two countries. Interchange, however, is 
 a misnomer. It cannot be said that the ideas and 
 culture of England had the slightest influence in 
 Italy. ;The Italians were only shocked at the au- 
 dacity of the monarch who dared break loose from 
 that most national of institutions, the Papacy. How 
 deep was their interest in England was apparent 
 when the news arrived of Mary's accession to the 
 throne, and it was supposed that England would 
 again become Catholic. There were rejoicings all 
 over Italy, and in Florence alone a solemn mass 
 was held, followed by a procession and display 
 of fireworks, to celebrate England's return to papal 
 obedience.^ 
 
 ^ Settimanni, Diario Fiorentino, II, Pt. I, 737, Archives 
 Florence. 
 
ENGLISH CATHOLICS IN ROME 379 
 
 In England, during the reign of Elizabeth, the 
 Papacy was looked upon by Protestants as the arch 
 enemy. It was true that every influence, every ac- 
 tion, every attempt, to win back what had been lost 
 to the Catholic Church, radiated from Rome. It was 
 there that English Catholics found a new home and 
 sanctuary where they could be safe and secure from 
 insults and injury. Between Catholics in England 
 and English Catholics in Italy there was a constant 
 intercourse, a going and coming, a series of move- 
 ments and ties, all the closer for being below the 
 surface ; and when gradually the hope for the recon- 
 version of England disappeared, numbers of English- 
 men forsook their native land and passed the remainder 
 of their lives in the country of their adoption. 
 
 The most prominent among English Catholics of this 
 later time was Cardinal Allen, who, in 1575, had been 
 summoned to Rome by Gregory the Thirteenth, to give 
 advice regarding a college for Englishmen which the 
 Pope proposed to found. A few years later the old 
 Enghsh hospital, with all its revenues, was annexed 
 to it. The seminary, as a result of internal dissen- 
 sions and the jealousy between the English and Welsh 
 students, was placed, in 1579, in charge of the English 
 province of the Society of Jesus,^ and under the pro- 
 tection of a cardinal. It was presided over by a 
 
 1 H. Foley, Records of the English Province of the Society of 
 yesus, VI, 541. Vide Cardinal Sega, Relazione del Collegia hi- 
 glese, 1596, Fondo Ottoboni, 2473 ff., 185-226, Vatican Library, 
 Rome (cited also by Foley op. cit.). 
 
380 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 rector, not necessarily an Englishman. A year later it 
 received its first stable endowment and was chartered 
 by an apostolic brief.^ 
 
 On entering the college an oath was administered 
 to the student. He was obhged to swear always to be 
 ready at the order of the Pope or other lawful supe- 
 rior, to take Holy Orders, and to proceed to England 
 for the aid {i.e. conversion) of souls. The form of 
 interrogation used is an interesting one.^ The novice 
 was questioned, among other things, regarding his rela- 
 tives, and especially of their rehgious beHefs ; of his own 
 studies, and also of the health of his body and mind. 
 He was asked whether he had been a heretic or schis- 
 matic ; how, and by what means he had become a 
 Catholic j what things had happened to him on ac- 
 count of this, and if he had suffered anything ; last of 
 all, what were the reasons which prompted him to 
 follow an ecclesiastical life. 
 
 Between 1579, the year in which the college was 
 founded, and 1603, that of the death of EHzabeth, over 
 three hundred and fifty EngUshmen studied there and 
 were admitted to the priesthood. Each year the col- 
 lege sent out its missionaries to England " for the help 
 of perishing souls." Before leaving, they went to kiss 
 the feet of the Pope, who supplied them with funds 
 for their journey. In the records which have been 
 preserved, after each one's name there followed a 
 
 1 Foley, VI, 70. 
 
 2 Vide Stevenson, Roman Transcripts^ English College 
 Series, Vol. 9, Record Office, London. 
 
ENGLISH CATHOLICS IN ROME 38 1 
 
 brief account of his fate ; sometimes it was only im- 
 prisonment ; but often the f actus est ttiat'ty}- and the 
 accounts of those hanged, quartered, and disembow- 
 elled showed the perils and dangers which awaited 
 such missionaries in the task they had taken on them- 
 selves.^ To the stanch English Protestant, however, 
 the college of Rome seemed a centre of popish 
 abominations and conspiracies, and Anthony Mun- 
 day, in his English Roman Life, described what he 
 called the treasonable practices and plans concocted 
 there. 
 
 Any account of the graduates of the college, who, 
 sent back to England, did their best to make converts 
 and stir up disaffection against Elizabeth, would par- 
 take too much of both political and religious history 
 to have any place in the present study. The lives and 
 martyrdoms of such enthusiasts as Parsons, Campion 
 and Southwell prove interesting reading, however." 
 Robert Parsons was perhaps the ablest of them all. 
 At one time a fellow at Balliol, he had studied medi- 
 cine at Padua and then became a Jesuit. With Cam- 
 pion, he led the first Jesuit mission to England, which 
 brought many back to the old faith. When his com- 
 panion was executed after prolonged tortures, he him- 
 self escaped discovery and fled to the Continent to 
 plot with Philip of Spain to attack England. His life 
 was spent in one single devotion to restore Catholicism 
 in England, even at the cost of foreign subjugation, 
 
 1 Vide Cardinal Sega, Ms. cit. 
 
 2 Vide E. L. Taunton, Jesuits in England. London, 1901. 
 
382 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 and he hoped finally to attain it through the conversion 
 of James the Sixth of Scotland, who he recognized 
 would succeed to the English throne. " I would give 
 up my very Hfe blood," he wrote,^ " to see him 
 converted and king of England." 
 
 England through the long reign of EHzabeth be- 
 came the seat of many Cathohc conspiracies which 
 were hatched for the most part in Italy. In the fore- 
 most rank among the conspirators in England was 
 Ruberto Ridolfi, against whom nothing could ever be 
 proved, in spite of the fact that he was implicated in 
 nearly all. His career was a remarkable one ; he had 
 been brought up as a banker, and, going to London, 
 acquired an influential position in social and mercan- 
 tile circles. In addition he aided the different Catho- 
 lic conspiracies, but escaped all punishment. The 
 role he played can best be seen from a letter to the 
 Pope.^ He had been the secret agent of Pius the 
 Fifth, at a time when the Vatican was unable to send 
 its nuncios to England, and had been in touch with 
 all the Catholic noblemen who were anxious to serve 
 the Church. In order to prevent EHzabeth from as- 
 sisting the Protestants in France and Flanders, the 
 Duke of Northumberland with other noblemen had 
 begun an insurrection in the border counties intended 
 to keep the queen in check ; but the conspiracy fell 
 through and its leaders were imprisoned or executed. 
 
 1 Letter written in December, 1602 (indexed wrongly, as 
 being by Possevino), Arch. Med., 4185, Florence. 
 
 2 Arch. Med., 4185. 
 
ENGLISH CATHOLICS IN ROME 383 
 
 Ridolfi, however, escaped, and begged the Pope to 
 reimburse him for his outlays and property, all of 
 which had been confiscated. 
 
 The annals of this period were full of accounts of 
 Catholic conspiracies. But the intrigues of Italian 
 churchmen and English Jesuits came to an untimely 
 end with the destruction of the Armada, and, though 
 their efforts did not cease, the issue was never there- 
 after in doubt. 
 
 In addition to the students of the English College 
 at Rome, many other Englishmen lived in Italy toward 
 the end of the sixteenth century. In a report made 
 to the Pope in 1596 by Cardinal Sega, on the condi- 
 tion of the English College, he ascribed its disturb- 
 ances to the Englishmen residing outside the college, 
 and recommended in consequence that all communi- 
 cations between students and outsiders should come 
 to an end. Italy was then full of English Catholics. 
 Anthony Munday spoke of Cardinal Borromeo's con- 
 fessor in Milan as one Robert Griffin, a Welshman, who 
 sent him to the house of an English priest there, named 
 Harris. Another EngHsh Catholic of prominence was 
 Thomas Goldwell Bishop of St. Asaph, who studied at 
 Padua in his youth and had been a friend of Cardinal 
 Pole. Many of these Catholics proved themselves 
 stanch Englishmen, however, and Sir Richard Shelley, 
 known in Italy as Signor Conchilio, sent valuable in- 
 formation from Venice about the Spanish Armada. 
 It is scarcely necessary to mention more names ; 
 enough has already been said here and elsewhere to 
 
384 ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IN ENGLAND 
 
 indicate the extent and permanence of one of the 
 great chains which Hnked Italy to England. 
 
 Occasionally the roles were reversed and an ardent 
 EngUsh Protestant would penetrate Italy filled with 
 desire for proselytizing. Such a one was Richard 
 Atkins, fanatic and martyr, who went to Rome with 
 the intention of converting the Pope. After he had 
 committed several excesses against the Roman Church, 
 and had insulted the host, he was denounced, tortured, 
 and finally executed. Chamberlain spoke in his let- 
 ters ^ of EngHshmen " clapt up in the Inquisition at 
 Rome." Oftener it was Italy that had for its effect 
 the Catholic conversion of Protestants. So it turned 
 out with Sir Tobie Matthew, who was to be known 
 as " the most Itahanate Englishman of his day." 
 His parents, who had puritanical leanings, refused 
 their consent when he first expressed a wish to see 
 the antiquities and sights of the country of which he 
 had heard so much ; but he went in spite of them. In 
 Florence he met some of the English Catholics who 
 lived there, among others Sir George Petre, Robert 
 Canfield and one Partridge, a nephew of Sir Henry 
 Western. He then moved on to Siena, that he might 
 be " with Italians only in order to learn their language." 
 In Rome he met Robert Parsons, was received by 
 Cardinal Pinelli, and while there became converted to 
 CathoKcism. In after years he was ordained a priest ; 
 he also translated Bacon into Italian. Sir Tobie Mat- 
 thew is interesting as showing one of the reasons 
 
 ^ Chamberlain's Letters, March 5, 1600. 
 
ENGLISH CATHOLICS IN ROME 385 
 
 for the distrust with which EngUsh Protestants re- 
 garded Italy. Its influence had made him become 
 a Cathohc, even a priest ; his tastes, his habits all 
 became Italian : he had lost in their opinion his 
 English manhood. 
 
 20 
 
APPENDIX B 
 
 ENGLISH ACCOUNTS OF ITALY IN THE SIX- 
 TEENTH CENTURY 1 
 
 -^ 1506. The Pilgrimage of Richard Guylforde to the 
 
 Holy Land. 
 ■^ 1517- Sir Richard Torkington's Diary of his Pilgrim- 
 age. 
 
 1 54 7-1 549. The Travaile and Life of Sir Thomas 
 Hoby (Eg. Ms., 2148, Brit. Mus.). 
 
 1549. The History of Italy, by William Thomas. 
 
 1563. Unton's Journey to Italy, written by Richard 
 Smith (Sloan Ms., 18 13, Brit. Mus.). 
 
 1573. Sidney's letters to Hubert Languet. 
 
 1575. Jerome Turler — The Traveller : Description of 
 Naples. 
 
 1582. Anthony Munday — English Roman Life. 
 
 1584-1600. Description of Italy — (Harleian Miscel- 
 lany, XII). 
 
 1585. J[ohn] F[lorio], translator — A Letter written 
 from Rome, by an Itahan gentleman. 
 
 1588. Edward Webbe's Travels — Account of Rome. 
 
 1592. Description of Italy — (Lansdowne Ms., Brit. 
 Mus., 775). 
 
 1 Such incidental descriptions as are given by Nash in Jack 
 Wilton, etc., Greene and the dramatists have not been included 
 in this list. 
 
 386 
 
APPENDIX B 387 
 
 1593. Fynes Moryson — Account of his Visit to 
 Italy. 
 
 1596. Robert Dallington — Survey of Tuscany (pub- 
 lished 1605). 
 
 1599. G. Contarini — Government of Venice — trans- 
 lated by L. Levvkenor. 
 
 1599. Edwin Sandys — Europse Speculum (published 
 
 1605). 
 
 1600. J. B. Marlianus — Topography of Rome. 
 1600. Samuel Levvkenor — Description of Italian 
 
 Universities. 
 
APPENDIX C 
 
 ITALIAN ACCOUNTS OF ENGLAND IN THE 
 SIXTEENTH CENTURY i 
 
 % 
 
 1500 (area). A Relation of the Islands of England. 
 1516. Travels of a Milanese in England — (Brit. 
 
 Mus. Add. Mss., 24180). 
 15 15-15 19. Sebastiano Giustiniani — Four Years at 
 
 the Court of Henry the Eighth. 
 1 53 1. Relazione di Lodovico Falier. 
 
 1 55 1. Relazione di Daniele Barbaro. 
 
 1552. Relazione d' Inghilterra, Petruccio Ubaldini 
 
 (Add. Ms., 10169, Brit. Mus.). 
 
 1554. Relazione del Giacomo Soranzo. 
 
 15 54-1 5 5 8. Relazione di Anonimo del tempo della 
 Regina Maria. 
 
 1555. Ritratti d' Inghilterra di Giulio Raviglio. 
 
 (Lib. Com. Siena, K. X. 29.) 
 1557. Relazione di Giovanni Michele. 
 1580 {circa). Relazione del Giovanni Sovico Milanees 
 
 (Arch. Med. Flor., 4185). 
 
 ^ Only the more important descriptions have here been men- 
 tioned. Accounts will also be found in looking through the 
 Calendars of State Papers, Venetian, the Cena dei Ceneri of 
 Giordano Bruno, Cardan's Diary, the Description of Paulo Gio- 
 vio, and Botero's Geography, etc. 
 
 388 
 
APPENDIX C 389 
 
 15 73-1588. Relazione di Inghilterra, attributed to 
 Nicolo Millino (Molino?), (cited by Sneyd, 
 as being in the Earl of Leicester's Library 
 at Holkham, Rel. of Eng., Camden Soc, 
 1847). 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY^ 
 
 I. MANUSCRIPT SOURCES 
 
 Florence. Archivio di Firenze. 
 
 Atti Publici, 1498. Miscellaneous letters from Henry the 
 
 Seventh, etc. 
 Atti Publici, 1502. Miscellaneous letters. 
 Carteggio Mediceo Avanti il Principato, filza 94. 
 Carteggio Mediceo Avanti il Principato, filza 99. 
 Carteggio Universale Mediceo, 371,372- 
 Carteggio Mediceo, N. 5. 
 Guardaroba Medicea, T. 34. Miscellaneous. 
 Guardaroba Medicea, 293. Miscellaneous. 
 Archivio Mediceo. Firenze, No. 4183. 
 
 Lettere della Regina d' Inghilterra e del Re dall' anno 
 1524 fino 1621. 
 Archivio Mediceo, No. 4185. 
 
 Varie Scritture, contenuti, notizie el Awisi d' Inghilterra 
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 Archivio di Firenze. 
 
 Minute del 1545* fi^^a N. 6. . ., . 
 
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 air Inghilterra del 1488 al 1588. 
 Filza Strozziana, 294. 
 Settimanni. 
 
 Diario Fiorentino. Archivio Mediceo, Firenze. 
 
 1 This bibliography is intended merely as a convenient enumer- 
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 on the literary relations between England and Italy may be found in 
 Betz's La Utterature Compare.. Further bibliographies can likewise 
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392 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
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 Brit. Mus. Cot. Mss. 
 Nero, B. VI, f. i ; Nero, B. VII, passim ; Titus, B. II, f. 210; 
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 Nev^r Year's gifts of Queen Elizabeth. 
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 Fragment of some noblemen's letters from Italy, 1603. 
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 Brit. Mus. Mss., 2481. 
 
 Household Book of Henry VIIL 
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 Hoby, Sir Thomas. The Travails and Life of Sir Thomas 
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 Ubaldini, Petruccio. Relazione d' Inghilterra, circa 1555. 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 393 
 
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INDEX 
 
 Abell, J., 2IO. 
 
 Accorambono, 307. 
 
 d' Accorso, F., 180. 
 
 Acontio, igi, 212, 309, 313. 
 
 Adelmare, P, M., 189. 
 
 Adrian de Castello, 90, 183 et 
 
 •f^^M 319- 3-16. 
 Adrian the Fourth, 51. 
 ^neas Sylvius, Piccolomini, 4, 
 
 8 et seq., 14, 20, 25, 150, 180, 
 
 214. 347. 
 Alamanni, 351, 353. 
 Albert!, L. B., 83. 
 Albert!, The, 240. 
 Alciati, 307. 
 Aldus, 32, 34 et seq. 
 Alen, J., 373. 
 Alexander, 69 et seq., 92. 
 Alexander the Sixth, 183. 
 Allen, Cardinal, 379. 
 Alunno, 106. 
 Ambrose, 5. 
 
 Ammonio, A., 182, 185, 319, 346. 
 d'Anghiera, P. M., 279. 
 Antonio de Lorenzo, 195. 
 Aonio Paleario, 212. 
 Areopagus, The, 357. 
 Aretino, 105, 267, 344, 351 et seq, 
 Argyropoulos, John, 25. 
 Ariosto, 105,321,338 340 (f/J^"^., 
 
 351. 353. 356, 364. 366, 372. 
 Aristotle, 5 et seq., 32, 35, 294, 
 
 325. 356, 367- 
 
 Arthur, Prince, 36, 182, 
 
 Arundel, Earl of, 190, 206 et seq. 
 
 Arundel, Thomas, 8, 52. 
 
 Ascham R,, 98, 108, 121, 158, 162 
 et passhn, 214, 345, 357. 361 
 364 et seq. I 
 
 41 
 
 Atkins, R., 159, 384. 
 Augustine, 5. 
 
 Bache, A., 236. 
 
 Bacon, F., 113, 295, 384. 
 
 Baldi, P., 197. 
 
 Bandello, 168, 264 «., 364, 370. 
 
 Bandinelli, B., 197. 
 
 Barbaro, D., 223 et seq. 
 
 Barbaro, J., 279. 
 
 Barclay, A., 347. 
 
 Bardi, G. de, 256. 
 
 Bardi.The, 230, 235, 263 «., 265. 
 
 Barker, W., 139. 
 
 Barnes, Robert, 102, 336. 
 
 Barnfield, 339. 
 
 Bassani, The, 350. 
 
 Bassano, 190. 
 
 Beaufort, Cardinal, 12, 52. 
 
 Beccaria, Antonio, 4. 
 
 Beckynton , Thomas, xiet seq., 19. 
 
 Bede, 9, 291. 
 
 Bedford, Countess of, 99, iii et 
 
 seq. 
 Bedford, Duke of. 8. 
 Bedford, Earl of, 90,98, iii, 201. 
 Bedingfield, T., 70, no, 295 et 
 
 seq., 308, 315. 
 Bellay, Cardinal du 47. 
 Bellay, Joachim du 138. 
 Belli, Valerio, 204. 
 Bembo, A., 262 n. 
 Bembo, P., 48, 83 et seq., 330, 
 
 360, 376. 
 Benci, G., 240 et seq. 
 Bernardi, 198. 
 Beroaldo, 293. 
 Bcssarion, 57. 
 Bildstone, Nicholas, 12, 52. 
 I 
 
412 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Bisset, Peter, 48. 
 Bizari, P., 98, ill, 213. 
 Blount, E., 309 n, 
 Blundevile, T., 70, 309 n. 
 Boccaccio, 4, 11, 33 «., 87, 105, 
 108, 161, 317, 348, 362 et seg., 
 
 372. 
 Bodley, L., 353. 
 Boeria, B. de, 37, 45, 188. 
 Boiardo, 356. 
 Bolton, E., 146, 358. 
 Bonamicus, L., 146. 
 Bonner, Edward, 54. 
 Bonvisi, A., 43, 264 et seq., 267, 
 
 276. 
 Borde, Andrew, 79. 
 Borgarucci, G., 189, 212. 
 Borromeo, Cardinal, 383. 
 Boscan, 319, 354. 
 Botero, 215, 281 et seq. 
 Bowkenham, Osbern, 15. 
 Braun, 199. 
 Breton, N., 362. 
 Bruno, G., loi, 104 et seq., 192, 
 
 215. 345 ^i- s^i; 356, 371- 
 Bruno, Leonardo, 5, 7, 15, 20 n. 
 Bryan, Sir Francis, 90, 186, 328. 
 Bryskett, L., 75, 83, 356. 
 Bubwith, 2^jn. 
 J Buchanan, G., 347. 
 "'Buckhurst, Lord, 275. 
 Budaeus, 36. 
 Bulkeley, Master, 15. 
 Buonamici, L., 376. 
 Purke, G,, 332. 
 t^urleigh. Lord {vide also Cecil), 
 
 99, 113, 160, 187. 
 Burnet, 291. 
 Bury, Richard de, 15. 
 Butrigarius, G., 280. 
 Byrd, N., 350. 
 
 Cabots, The, 278, 280, 282. 
 Cassar, 92. 
 Caesar, Sir J., 189. 
 Caius, 49 et seq. 
 Caius Auberinus, 55. 
 
 Caico, J., 212. 
 
 Calepino, 294. 
 
 Caliardi, 190. 
 
 Camden, 200. 
 
 Camoens, 316. 
 
 Campeggio, Cardinal, 187, 377. 
 
 Campion, 78, 381. 
 
 Canfield, R., 384. 
 
 Canigiani, G., 247, 256. 
 
 Capello, F., 262. 
 
 Capgrave, 4. 
 
 Capistrano, Marquis of, 119, 150. 
 
 Caraccioli, 95. 
 
 Carbo, Ludovico, 18, 23. 
 
 Cardan, J,, 188, 215. 
 
 Carew, R., 357 et seq. 
 
 Carmeliano, P., 59, 181 et seg., 
 
 196, 346. 
 Carmellian, A., 196. 
 Carmyan, Ellis, 77. 
 Carne, Sir E., 378. 
 Caro, 105. 
 
 Casale, Sir Gregory de, 90, 186. 
 Casale, John da, 90, 186. 
 Cassiodorus, 137. 
 Castagniolo, A., 246. 
 Castelvetro, J., 105, 191. 
 Castelvetro, L., 359. 
 Castiglione, 61, 63, 68 et seq., 74, 
 
 76, 81, 83 et seq., 87 et passim, 
 
 128, 187, 319. 
 Castiglione, Battista, 98, 191. 
 Cataneo, 96. 
 
 Catherine de' Medici, 171. 
 Catherine of Aragon, 378. 
 Cavalcanti G., 263. 
 Cavalcanti, The, 270, 272. 
 Cavallari, 196. 
 Caxton, 26, 288, 
 Cecil {vide also Burleigh), 90, 
 
 213, 273 et seq. 
 Cecil, R., 99, 160. 
 Cellini, Benvenuto, 192, 195. 
 Chalcondylas, 29. 
 Chamber, J., 37, 188. 
 Chamberlain, 384. 
 Chandler, Thomas, 12 et seq. 
 
INDEX 
 
 413 
 
 Chapman, G,, 353. 
 
 Charles the First, 198, 314. 
 
 Charles the Fifth, 293. 
 
 Charles the Eighth, 196. 
 
 " Charowchon," 265. 
 
 Chaucer, 240, 317. 
 
 Cheke, H., 365. 
 
 Cheke, Sir J., 48, 188, 345, 361. 
 
 Chichely, Henry, 52. 
 
 Chicheley, Reynold, 15. 
 
 Chrysoloras, Manuel, 5, 7. 
 
 Churchyard, 330, 336. 
 
 Ciabo, A., 188. 
 
 Cicero, 9, 25, 139. 
 
 Cinthio, Giraldi, 75, 83, 356. 
 
 Cittolini, A., 212. 
 
 Clarke, W., 340. 
 
 Claudius, 137. 
 
 Clement, Vincent, 12 et seq. 
 
 Clerk, T.. 191, 375- 
 
 Colet, 36, 42 et seq., 188, 208, 214, 
 
 345- 
 Columbus, 278, 280, 282. 
 Conestaggio, 309 n. 
 Conflict of Coiiscie?ice, 365. 
 Constable, H., 149, 205, 336, 339. 
 Constance, Council of, 23, 52, 
 
 217. 
 Contarini, G., 129, 302, 306, 376. 
 Contarini, P., 262. 
 Converso, 349. 
 Cooke, Anne, 112 et seq., 209 et 
 
 seq. 
 Cooper, Bishop, 106, 350. 
 Corbo, T., 263. 
 Corsi, A., 263. 
 Corsi, The, 265. 
 Cosimo, Duke, 269 et seq. 
 Courtenay, E., 212. 
 Courtenay, P., 53. 
 Courtenay. W., 233. 
 Cranmer, 49, 208, 210 et seq., 
 
 213. 
 Crashaw, 353. 
 Crichton, 112. 
 Croce, G., 349. 
 Croke, Richard, 49, 55. 
 
 Cromwell, Thomas, 47, 90, 113, 
 186 et seq., 197, 264, 266 et seq., 
 269, 276, 291 et seq., 314. 
 
 Dallington, Sir R., 70 et seq., 121, 
 125, 131, 135, 141 et passim, y3f). 
 
 Dandolo, G., 238, 262 «. 
 
 Danett, T., 309 ti. 
 
 Daniel, S., 339 et seq., 356, 359. 
 
 Daniello, 358. 
 
 Dante, 11, 180, 317 «., 320 et seq. 
 
 Danvers, Lord, 207. 
 
 Davies, Sir J., 340. 
 
 Davison, F., 126 et seq., 131 et seq. 
 
 Decembrio, Pier Candido, 5, 7. 
 
 Delia Casa, 61, 81 et seq., 87, 
 107. 
 
 Demosthenes, 161. 
 
 Derby, Lord, 235, 
 
 Desainliens, vide Hollyband. 
 
 Dionysius the Areopagite, 34, 45. 
 
 Dolce, 339 n., 358 et seq. 
 
 Donatello, 193. 
 
 Doni, 105. 
 
 Donne, 353. 
 
 Dowland, },, 122, 349 et seq. 
 
 Dragout, Rais, 134. 
 
 Drant, 357. 
 
 Drayton, M., 97, 328, 339, 348, 
 356. 
 
 Drummond, W., 175. 
 
 Drusiano, 366. 
 
 Duns Scotus, 43. 
 
 Durham, Bishop of, 102. 
 
 Dyer, 357. 
 
 E. K., 360. 
 
 Eden, R., 280. 
 
 Edmund, 231. 
 
 Edward the First, iSo, 2^3 et seq. 
 
 Edward the Second, 236 et seq. 
 
 Edward the Third, 235, 238 et 
 
 seq., 258, 263 n. 
 Edward the Fourth, 288 et seq., 
 
 314- 
 Edward the Sixth, 48 et seq., 69, 
 95, 188, 210, 215, 269. 
 
414 
 
 INDEX 
 
 ^Elizabeth, Queen, 67, 96, 98, 112, 
 115, 164, 169, 189, 192, 204, 220 
 et seq., 272 et seq., 302 et seq., 
 319. 365. 379 et seq. 
 
 Elizabeth of York, 181. 
 
 Elyot, Sir T., 64, 105, 108, 293, 
 
 363. 
 Erasmus, 33 et seq., 36 ei seq., 
 
 44 et seq., 49, 54 et seq., 157, 
 
 182 et seq., 216. 
 "Essex, Earl of, 71, 73, 99, iii. 
 Estensi, The, 181, 289. 
 Estienne, H., 169, 360. 
 Estiennes, The, 106. 
 Eugene the Fourth, 5. 
 Evelyn, J., 200. 
 
 Fairfax, E., 357. 
 
 Falier, 219 et seq. 
 
 Federici, C, 281. 
 
 Fenton, G., 168, 309, 364. 
 
 Fernando de Vittoria, 37. 
 
 Ferrabosco, 78, 350 et seq. 
 
 Ferrice, G. A,, 98. 
 
 Ficino, 33 n., 45, 82, 345. 
 
 Field, T., 276. 
 
 Filelfo, 33 n. 
 
 Firenzuola, 333. 
 
 Fisher, Bishop, 39, 49, 55. 
 
 Flavio Biondo of Forli, 12. 
 
 Flemming, Richard, 23. 
 
 Flemming, Robert, 17 et seq., 23 
 
 et seq., 27, 30, 52, 318. 
 Fletcher, G., 336, 339, 348, 
 Florio, ]., 70 et seq., 98 et seq., 
 
 102 et seq., iii, 156, 189, 356, 
 
 371- 
 Florio, M. A., 100, 213. 
 Fluto, N., 134. 
 Ford, E., 362. 
 Ford, J., 366. 
 Fortescue, 293. 
 Fortes cue, T., 364. 
 Fortini, B., 272. 
 Foxe, Richard, 54 et seq., 291. 
 Fracastoro, 346. 
 Francesco d' Arezzo, 25. 
 
 Francis the First, 92, 192. 
 Fraunce, A., 348, 357. 
 Free, John, 17 et seq., 20 et seq,, 
 28, 33. 35. 49. 150. 259, 261, 318. 
 Frescobaldi, L., 264. 
 Frescobaldi, The, 235 et seq. 
 Frontinus, 137. 
 Fulwood, W., 82. 
 
 Galen, 32, 37. 
 Garcilaso de la Vega, 348. 
 Gardiner, Stephen, 54. 
 Gascoigne, G., 110, 160, 230 et seq., 
 
 351. 359. 361, 364. 366 etseq. 
 Gattola, Angelo, 12. 
 Gelli, J. B., 345 n. 
 Gentile, Alberico, 303 et seq. 
 Gentillet, I., 169, 305 et seq. 
 Geoffrey of Monmouth, 290. 
 George the Third, 198. 
 Ghinucci, 56, 90, 186, 377. 
 Ghirlandajo, 196. 
 Giberti, 377. 
 Gigli, G., 90, 181, 346. 
 Gigli, S., 59, 90, 183 et seq., 187, 
 
 319. 
 Gildas, 291. 
 
 Giovanni Luigi da Verona, 195. 
 Giovanni, Ser, 364. 
 Giraldi, 270, 272. 
 Gloucester, Duke of, 290. 
 
 Vide also Humphrey, Duke of 
 
 Gloucester. 
 Golding, A., 212. 
 Goldwell, T., 383. 
 Googe, B., 331, 346, 348. 
 Gosson, S., 167, 365, 368. 
 Gower, 317. 
 Granthan, H., loi, 
 Grassi, Giacomo di, 73. 
 Greene, R., 167, 306, 349, 352, 361 
 
 et seq. , 
 
 Gregory the Eleventh, 233. 
 Gregory the Thirteenth, 379. 
 Greville, Fulke, 192, 345, 357, 359, 
 
 367. 
 Grevin, J., 169. 
 
INDEX 
 
 415 
 
 Grey de Wilton, Lord, 95. 
 
 Grey, Lady Jane, 112. 
 
 Grey, William, 12, 17, 19 et seq., 33, 
 
 52, ISO- 
 Griffin, 339. 
 Griffin, R., 383. 
 Grifonio, 70. 
 Grimaldi, A., 267. 
 Grimaldi, G., 264. 
 Grimald, N., 264, 331. 
 Grimani, 57. 
 Grisone, 70. 
 Grocyn, William, "^oetseg., 42,44, 
 
 46, 49 et seq., 207, 321. 
 Grosseteste, Bishop, 179. 
 Grotius, 304. 
 Gualli, Cardinal, 179. 
 Guarini, 181, 191, 340, 348. 
 Guarino, B., 19, 24, 105, 
 Guarino Veronese, 7, 18 etseq., 23. 
 Guazzo, 63 et seq., 66 et seq., 69, 86 
 
 et seq., 92 et seq., 104 et seq. 
 Guicciardini, 307, 309, 313. 
 Guidobaldo, Duke, 289. 
 Guidotti, Dorothy, 272. 
 Guidotti, Sir A., 269 et seq. 
 Guiipin, 108, 353. 
 Gunthorpe, John, 17, 23, 27, 52, 
 
 54. 
 Guylforde, Sir R., 115 et seq., 135. 
 
 Hadley, William, 29. 
 
 Hake, E., 351. 
 
 Hall, Bishop, 76, 173, 276, 291, 351 
 
 et seq.,sS9' 
 Hallam, 317 n. 
 Harington, Sir J„ 356, 359. 
 Harrison, 161, 163, 173. 
 Hartwell, A., 309 n. 
 Harvey, G., 80, 165, 167,307,336, 
 
 341, 352, 357, 360 n. et seq. 
 Hatton, Sir C, 76, 
 Haydocke, R., 205 et seq. 
 Hawes, S,, 318, 320. 
 Hawkwood, 16. 
 Henry the Second, 230. 
 Henry the Third, 231, 233 et seq. 
 
 Henry the Fourth, 3, 262 n. 
 
 Henry the Fifth, 290. 
 
 Henry the Sixth, 12, 19, 248, 261. 
 
 Henry the Seventh, 30, 41, 59, 78, 
 181 et seq., 193 et seq., 196 et 
 seq., 205, 258, 261 et seq., 278, 
 286 et passim, 314, 373. 
 
 Henry the Eighth, 'jj, g^ et seq., 
 119, 182 et passim, 194 et seq., 
 208, 219 et seq., 263, 265, 269 
 et passim, 318, 352, 377 et seq. 
 
 Henry of Navarre, 274. 
 
 Henry, Prince, 230. 
 
 Hermolaus Barbarus, 32. 
 
 Hey wood, E., 375 et seq. 
 
 Hilliard, N., 205 et seq. 
 
 Hitchcock, R., 82, no. 
 
 Hoby, Sir P., 90, 205. 
 
 Hoby, Sir T., 117 et seq., 130, 
 134 et seq., 139, 143 et passim, 
 
 355. 365- 
 Holbein, 77, 316, 
 Hollyband, C., loi et seq., 170. 
 Homer, 124. 
 Horace, 162. 
 Howell, J., 173. 
 Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, 
 
 3, 4 et seq., 17 et seq., 19, 26, 33, 
 
 180 et seq. 
 Humphrey, L., 62 et seq., 66, 108. 
 
 Ina, King, 373. 
 Innocent the Eighth, 183. 
 Institution of a Gentleman, 64 et 
 seq., 80, 108. 
 
 James the First, 102, 121, 304, 
 365. Vide also James the Sixth. 
 James the Fourth, 290 et seq. 
 James the Sixth, 382. 
 Jenkinson, A., 280. 
 Jerome, 5. 
 
 Jerome of Treviso, 96, 199. 
 John Bologna, 206. 
 John, King, 230. 
 John of Padua, 199, 201. 
 Johnson, Dr., 108. 
 
4i6 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Jones, Inigo, ^^ et seq., 122, 175, 
 
 203, 206. 
 Jonson, Ben, 78, 108, 175. 
 Jovius, P., 215. 
 Juvenal, 353. 
 
 Lupton, T., 108. 
 Luther, 162, 172. 
 Lydgate, 4, 317. 
 Lyiy, 349. 
 
 Katharine, Queen, 186, 194. 
 Kepers, J., 84, 361. 
 Kyd, T., 366. 
 
 Langton, Thomas, 53. 
 Languet, H., 99, 140, 143, 154, 
 
 159, 169. 
 Lapo da Castiglionchio, 4. 
 Lascaris, 36. 
 Latimer, Thomas, 30, 38 et seq., 
 
 44. 376. 
 Lawes, H,, 350. 
 Lawes, W., 350. 
 ! Leicester, Earl of, 99, m, 189, 
 309 n. 
 Leland, J„ 21, 23 et seq., ^B,^20 
 
 et seq., ^^j et seq. 
 Lentulo, 100. 
 
 Leonardo da Vinci, 95, 192. 
 Leonicenus, 32. 
 Leonicus, 376. 
 Leopardi, The, 235. 
 Leo the Tenth, 32. 
 Leslie, J., 295 et seq., 315. 
 Lewkenor, L., 121 et seq., 127, 
 
 129. 143. 
 Lily, G., 33, 43, 375 et seq. 
 Lily, William, 46. 
 Linacre, Thomas, 30 et seq., 42, 
 44. 46, 49 et seq., 55, 185, 188, 
 321, 376. 
 Litolfi, 219 et seq, 
 Livy, 13s, 137. 
 
 Lodge. P., 336, 339, 348, 352, 363. 
 Lomazzo, 149, 205. 
 Longolius, 376. 
 Lope de Vega, 316. 
 Loraine, Cardinal of, 47. 
 Lucar, Cyprian, 97. 
 Lupo, 190, 350. 
 Lupset, F., 376. 
 
 Machiavelli, 95 et seq., 145, 147, 
 152, 169, 291 et passim, 308, 
 313, ^/ seq. 344, 368 et seq, 
 Majano, G. da, 197 et seq. 
 Manetti, Giannozzo, 16. 
 Manners, R,, 203. 
 Mantegna, yj. 
 Mantuanus, B., 347 et seq, 
 Marenzio, L., 349. 
 Margaret, Lady, 193. 
 Mari, J. de', 240. 
 Marini, 353. 
 Marlianus, 121. 
 
 Marlowe, 78, 164, 306, 354, 368. 
 Marston, J., 108, 166 et seq., 351, 
 
 353. 366. 
 Martelli, 339 n. 
 Martin, A., 211. 
 Martyr, Peter, 209 et seq. 
 Mary, Queen, 98, 189, 204, 206, 
 
 210, 272, 374. 377 et seq. 
 Mary Queen of Scots, 204. 
 Matthew, Sir T., 384 et seq. 
 Mazzoni, Guido, 196. 
 Medici, Alberto de', 236. 
 Medici, Ippolito de', 329. 
 Medici, Cosimo de', 240 et seq. 
 Medici, Lorenzo de', 16, 31, 82. 
 Medici, Piero de', 31, 256. ' 
 Mellin de Saint-Gelays, 327 «. 
 Mendoza, 303. 
 Mendoza, Hurtado de, 119. 
 Merbury, C, 106, 295 et seq., 315. 
 Meres, F., 161, 205 n., 340. 
 Michelangelo, 96, 149, 205. 
 Michele, 217 et seq. 
 Milan, The Archbishop of, 5. 
 Milanese Traveller, 250. 
 Mildmay, Sir W., 100. 
 Milton, 358, 
 Minadoi, J,, 309 n. 
 Minturno, 358. 
 
INDEX 
 
 417 
 
 Molza, 329. 
 
 Montaigne, 102, 316. 
 
 Montemayor, J. de, 363. 
 
 Montorsoli, G. A., 148. 
 
 Mora, 94. 
 
 More, Sir Thomas, 36, 42 et seq., 
 48, 55 et seq., 186, 264 et seq., 
 293, 319^/ j^^., 347.375- 
 
 Morley, Lord, 97, iii, 328. 
 
 Morley, T,, 349 et seq. 
 
 Morone, Cardinal, 308. 
 
 Morton, Archbishop, 42. 
 
 Mulcaster, R., 163, 361. 
 
 Mulin, Adam, 9, 12 et seq. 
 
 Munday, A., 381, 383. 
 
 Musaeus, 354. 
 
 Muzio, 94. 
 
 Nannini, 307. 
 
 Nannio, 349. 
 
 Nash, T., 97, 160, 164 et seq., 167, 
 
 328, 352, 361. 
 Navagero, 91,319. 
 Nelson, 198. 
 Nennio, 62 n. 
 Nicholas the Fifth, 20, 
 Nicholas of Modena, 199. 
 ""Korfolk, Duke of, 48, 139, 262 w. 
 Nori, S., 246 et seq. 
 Northumberland, Duke of, 203, 
 
 382. 
 Norton, Master, 15. 
 
 Ochino, B., 113, 208 et seq., 294, 
 
 365. 
 Oliver, Isaac, 205. 
 Ols, Andrew, 15 et seq. 
 Opicius, J., 182, 346. 
 Orio, 56. 
 
 Orsini, Virginio, 99. 
 Otto degli Gherardini, 230. 
 Ovid, 138. 
 Oxford, Earl of, 74, 79, iii, 165. 
 
 Pace, 44, 53 (?/ seq. 
 Painter, W., 364. 
 Palingenius, M., 346. 
 
 Palladio, 203. 
 
 Pallavicino, Sir H., 95, 269, 273 
 
 et seq. 
 Palmer, T., 125, 131, 173. 
 Palmieri, Matteo, 16. 
 Parma, Duke of, 95. 
 Parr, Catharine, 98. 
 Parsons, 381, 384. 
 Partridge, 384. 
 Pascale, 339 n. 
 Patrizi, F., 108, 293, 301 et seq.^ 
 
 309, 313. 
 Paul the Third, 151, 208. 
 Paulus Jovius, 215. 
 Peele, 349. 
 Pecock, 4. 
 
 Pembroke, Countess of, 112, 340. 
 Pembroke, Lord, 207, 222. 
 Penketh, Thomas, 39. 
 Penni, B., 196 et seq. 
 Perera, G., 280. 
 Perotto, N., 19, 33«., 36, 294. 
 
 Peruzzi, The, 238. 
 
 Pessagno, A., 236. 
 
 Peter of Blois, 9. 
 
 Petrarch, 11, 15, 20«., 22, 33 «., 
 54, 82 et seq., 86, 97, 317 et pas- 
 sim, 372. 
 
 Petre, Sir G., 384. 
 
 Pettie, G., 109 et seq., 166, 355, 
 
 364- 
 Pettworth, Richard, 12, 52. 
 Phidias, 148. 
 Philip of Spain, 381. 
 Phreas, John. Vide Free, John. 
 Pico della Mirandola, 43, 45, 82, 
 
 293. 345- 
 Piero del Monte, 5, 12, 181. 
 Pigli, Gierozo de, 240 et seq., 251. 
 Pinelli, Cardinal, 384, 
 Pius the Second. Vide ^neas 
 
 Sylvius Piccolomini. 
 Pius the Fifth, 382. 
 Platina, 24. 
 
 Plato, 5, 32, 83 et seq., 345. 356. 
 Pliny, 138. 
 
4i8 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Plutarch, 54. 
 
 Pole, R., 292. 
 
 Pole, Cardinal, 264, 375 et seq. 
 
 Poggio, 14, 20 n., 52, 180, 214, 221, 
 
 225. 
 Ponet, Bishop, 208, 294 et seq., 365. 
 Politian, 29 et seq., 56, 82, 318. 
 Pomponius Laetus, 46. 
 Pontanus, 13, 293. 
 Porcia, Count G., 96. 
 Portinari, Sir J., 246, 256. 
 Portugal, King of. 271. 
 Praxiteles, 148. 
 Primaticcio, 192. 
 Primavera, J., 204. 
 Priuli, L., 376. 
 Pronan, J., 240. 
 Pucci, F., 212. 
 Pugliano, Pietro, 70. 
 Puttenham, 321, 325, 358. 
 
 Rafael, M., 96. 
 
 Raleigh, Sir W., no, 112, 359 n. 
 
 Rambouillet, Marquise de, 82. 
 
 Raphael, 149, 199, 205 et seq. 
 
 Raviglio, 218 et seq. 
 
 Relation of England, 218 et 
 
 seq., 250. 
 R6n6 of Provence, 248. 
 Ricasoli, Rinaldo de, 194. 
 Richard the Third, 53, 182, 258. 
 Richard, Duke of Cornwall, 233. 
 Ridge, R., 200 «. 
 Ridolfi, R., 269, 273, 277, 382 et 
 
 seq. 
 Rizzio, 76. 
 Robinson, R., 301. 
 Rochford, Lord, 97, in, 328. 
 Romei, A., 62 et seq., 83 et seq. 
 Rovezzano, B. da, 197 et seq. 
 Rowland, D,, loi. 
 Rubeo, 307. 
 Rutland, Earl of, 11, 99, 203. 
 
 Sackville, in, 367. 
 Sackville, Sir R., 162. 
 Sadolet, 47. 
 
 St. John Chrysostom, 29. 
 
 St. Paul, 45, 
 
 Salisbury, Earl of, 180. 
 
 Salutati, Coluccio de', 52. 
 
 Sannazaro, 338, 346, 348, 362 etseq, 
 
 Sanders, N., 308. 
 
 Sandys, E., 130, 159, 269. 
 
 Sanford, J,, 371. 
 
 San Severini, 95. 
 
 Sassefti, Captain, 95. 
 
 Saviolo v., 66, 71 et seq., 74 et 
 
 seq., 94, III, 170, 
 Savonarola, 45, 210. 
 Savorgnano, M., 96, 185, 187. 
 Scacco, C, 189. 
 Scaliger, 105, 358 et seq. 
 Scot, E., 373. ' 
 Sega, Cardinal, 383. 
 Segar, W., 64, 67 et seq., 74, 76, 
 
 93, 109, 114. 
 Selhng, William, 29 etseq. 
 Seneca, 367. 
 Serafino, 333. 
 Serravalle, John of, 317 n. 
 Shakespeare, 71, 74, in, 164, 166, 
 
 264, 316, 329, 338, 340, 347,363, 
 
 369 et seq. 
 Shelley, Sir R., 383. 
 Shepherd, J., 373. 
 Sherburne, Bishop, 198. 
 Shute, J., 203. 
 Sidney, Lady M., 168. 
 Sidney, Sir P., 70, 74, 99, no ei 
 
 seq., 122, 127, 140, 146, 149, 154, 
 
 i^g etseq., 169, 192, 336 et seq., 
 
 345 et seq., 356 et seq., 363. 
 Silver, G., 71 etseq. 
 Simon de Taramo, 12. 
 Sixtus the Fourth, 24. 
 Skelton, J., 318, 320. 
 Smith, J., Id. 
 
 Smith, Sir T., 65 et seq., 307. 
 Smyth, E., 132. 
 Smythe, R., 364. 
 Solari, 201. 
 
 Somerset, Duke of, 199, 208. 
 Soranzo, 80, 218 et seq., 309. 
 
INDEX 
 
 419 
 
 Southampton. Earl of, 99. 102, 
 
 III, 371- 
 
 Southwell, 38 1. 
 
 Sovico, G., 217. 
 
 Spenser,iii.i38. I65,336^^^^?•. 
 •340.n^^..348.356^^^^/-37I 
 
 Spinelli.Su-T.,77.90. 186. 
 
 Spinola, A., 263. 
 
 Stafford, John, 52. 
 
 Staggio, Bindo da, 250. 
 
 Stanley, Dean, 195. 
 
 Starkey, T., 265. 
 
 Stella, J. C, 359 «• 
 
 Steno,M., 262 «. 
 
 Stephen, Master, 230. 
 
 Stowe, 79, 264. 
 
 Straparola, 364. 
 
 Strozza, 333. 
 
 Strozzi, F., 251. 
 
 Strype, 291. 
 
 Subtlety of Italians, 169 et seq. 
 
 Sulpitius, 46. 
 
 Surrey. Earl of. 97- "i. 3^9 ^' 
 passim, 353, 358- 
 
 Tofte, R..339. 356 »• 
 Tolomei. 357. 
 
 Torkington. Sir R., 116. 150- 
 
 Torrigiano. P., I93 ^^ ■^^^• 
 
 Tottel's Miscellany, 330 et seq, 
 
 Toto. A., 196 et seq., 200. 
 
 Toto del Nunziata, I95- 
 
 Trevisani, A., 215, 262. 
 
 Trezzo, J., 204. 
 
 Trissino, 358. 
 
 Trivulzi,95. 
 
 Tuke, Sir Bryan, 270, 272. 
 
 Tunstall, 38, 54. 
 
 Turbervile, G., 7°. "O. 331, 304- 
 
 Turler, J., 121, 129, 139 etseg., I59- 
 
 Tuscany, Grand Duke of, 121, 
 
 206. 
 Tyndale. William, 43. 
 
 Ubaldini, P., 95. 97 "•. ^S^. 180, 191, 
 
 205, 217 et passim. 
 Udall, N.. 211. 
 
 Urbino. Duke of. 109, 187, 205. 
 Utrin, G., i97- 
 
 Tahureau, J., 169. 
 
 Taille, J. de la, 169. 
 
 Tancred and Gismunda, 367. 
 
 Tani, A., 247. 
 
 Tartaglia, 97. 
 
 Tasso, B., 354- 
 
 Tasso, T., 105, 191. 338. 3- 
 
 seq., 348. 354. 356. 
 Terence, 44, 55- 
 Terenziano, G., 212. 
 Theocritus, 348. 
 Thomas, W., 99 ^^ •^^!?- ^ . 
 
 ,,^.,135 etseq., x^o et passim 
 
 156. 249. 279. 295 ^t ^^^/- 308. 
 315. 352. 358. 370. 
 Thomas of England, 15. 
 Tiber io. Captain, 95. 
 Tintoretto, 149. 
 
 , Tiptoft, John, Earl of Worcester. 
 17 et seq., 23 et seq., 33. 40, 3i4- 
 Titian, 205, 363. 
 Tito Livio of Forli. 4. 290. 3o8. 
 
 Valatesso. L.. 262. 
 
 Valdes. Juan de. 210. 
 
 Valla. 22. 33«-^^^^V- 36. 46. S^^ 
 
 294- 
 Van der Noodt, 337. 
 Vannes, P., 90.^82, 186. 
 Vasari. 197. 206. 
 Vaux, Lord, 328. 
 Venuto, 106. 
 Vergil, P., 59. 184 et seq., 240, 289 
 
 et seq., 302. 3^8, 3^3- 
 Veronese, 149. 363- 
 Verlomanno, L., 280. 
 Vespasiano da Bisticci, 5. I7. 25. 
 Vespucci, A., 282. 
 Vicario. I79' 
 Vida. 346. 
 Villani, 238. 
 Vinciguena. 352. 
 Virgil. 44. 135. 138. 182, 348. 
 Vitelli. Cornelio, 32 et seq. 
 Vittoria, F. de, 188. 
 
420 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Vittorino da Feltre, 4, ^2. 
 
 Vitruvius, 137, 147. 
 
 Vives, 36, 57, 376. 
 
 Volpe, v., 196, 
 
 Voltaire, 249. 
 
 Volusenus, Florence, 47, 265. 
 
 Vulpe, Vincent, jy. 
 
 Walsingham, Sir T., 99. 
 
 Walter Fitz Otto, 230. 
 
 Warham, Archbishop, 44, 53 ^/ 
 
 Warton, 365. 
 
 Watson, T., 329, 332 ei seq., 339, 
 
 348 et seq. 
 Waynflete, Bishop, 53. 
 Western, Sir H., 384. 
 Whetstone, G., 86. 
 Whitehorne, 96, 110. I 
 
 Willes, R., 114, 280. 
 
 Wilson, T., 360. 
 
 Wiltshire, Earl of, 90, 97. 
 
 Winter, T., 265. 
 
 Wolfe, J., 191, 348. 
 
 Wolsey, Cardinal, 44. 56 et seq., 
 
 113, 183 et seq., 197 et seq., 266, 
 
 291. 314- 
 Worcester, William, 48. 
 Wyclif, 24. 
 Wyatt, Sir T., 90, 98, iii, 319 et 
 
 passim, 349 et passim. 
 
 Yonge, N., 349 etseq. 
 Young, Dr. J., 193. 
 
 Zepheria, 338. 
 Zerlito, J., 214. 
 Zuccaro, F., 204. 
 
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 study, under the authorization of the Department of Comparative 
 Literature, George Edward Woodberry, Professor. 
 
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