Courts and Elites (History)

Il saggio affronta il tema degli indirizzi educativi e di istruzione sviluppati presso le élites intellettuali al servizio del principe nel tardo Quattrocento, valutando in particolare l’apertura, espressa dagli uomini di cultura che operarono nel sistema di governo e nella corte dei duchi di Savoia, verso aspetti pedagogici di orientamento umanistico da adottare nella formazione dei propri figli, destinati a seguire le carriere paterne come consiglieri ducali, officiales e talvolta docenti universitari. Il tema è principalmente approfondito attraverso la strategia educativa messa in atto per Scipione Cara dal padre Pietro, letterato e consigliere ducale di primissimo piano, il quale affidò l’educazione del figlio al maestro di retorica e umanista Ubertino Clerico, autore di una lunga epistola Exortatio ad virtutem indirizzata all’allievo Scipione.
This essay focuses on the reception of humanistic pedagogy in the education of intellectual élites in the late fifteenth century. The complex theme is investigated through a case study, i.e. the education of Scipione, son of Pietro Cara, an important jurist who was active at the Studium of Turin and at the court of the Savoy. Scipione Cara studied in the school of the humanist Ubertino Clerico, who dedicated the paraenetic epistle Exhortatio ad virtutem to him.

Resumen: Este artículo presenta la selección de artículos que tiene por objetivo
cerrar el monográfico iniciado en el número anterior de la revista
acerca de la complejidad que exhiben los discursos políticos en la
sociedad europea –y más particularmente en el caso de la sociedad
política castellana– de la Baja Edad Media y la Temprana
Modernidad. Inscritos al interior de una visión corporativa,
profundamente jerarquizada y orgánica, estos sistemas
estructurados de definición, identificación y comunicación que
otorgan sentido organizan y legitiman el conjunto agregativo del
entramado de actores que definen los distintos cuerpos y
corporaciones. Su análisis nos permite componer los distintos
marcadores sociales que los constituyen y le otorgan inteligibilidad.
Los trabajos aquí presentados dialogan con aquellos publicados en
la primera parte del monográfico, atendiendo a actores como la
monarquía, las elites aristocráticas y urbanas o los sectores
populares rururbanos y escenarios de interacción político-social
como la corte, las Cortes o las instituciones concejiles.
Palabras clave: Discurso Político, Cuerpos, Monarquía,
Actores, Análisis Situacional.

Abstract: This papers presents the selection of articles which aims to conclude the
monographic dossier bout the complexity exhibited by political
discourses in European society –most specifically in the case of
Castilian political society– during Late Middle Ages and Early
Modern Ages. Registered within a corporate vision, deeply
hierarchical and organic, these structured systems of definition,
identification, and communication that give meaning organize and
legitimize the aggregate set of the network of actors that define the
different bodies and corporations. Its analysis allows us to compose
the different social markers that constitute it and grant it
intelligibility. The papers that we are pleased to present here are
undertaken in dialogue with those included in the first part of the
dossier, dealing with players such as the monarchy, aristocratic and
urban elites or urban and urban-rural commoners as well as with
different settings for socio-political interaction such as the Court,
the ‘Cortes’ – deliberative assemblies of the kingdom– or the
communal self-government institutions.
Keywords: Political Discourse, Bodies, Monarchy, Actors, Situational Analysis.

Para poder llegar a entender la influencia de las élites en la creación de opinión pública durante 1871 y 1873, se pueden analizar las teorías sobre la esfera pública de Jürgen Habermas. Dentro de los centros de sociabilidad, se incluyen los salones o las casas de café. Para estudiar la figura de la nobleza, hay que hacer un fuerte hincapié en los salones como centro de poder en los que se reúnen las élites nobiliarias del momento y comprender la forma en la que esta clase social crea opinión pública entorno a un poder incluso más alto: el propio rey Amadeo I. De esta forma se puede estudiar que las élites se encuentran dentro de la esfera pública y son una clase de líderes de opinión.

Aymon de Montfalcon servit la Maison de Savoie lors de nombreuses ambassades entre 1471 et 1509 environ. Il fut envoyé de manière récurrente auprès des évêques de Sion au sujet des contestations pour les lieux et châteaux du Bas-Valais occupés par les Valaisans et revendiqués par la Savoie, ainsi que vers les Confédérés pour le renouvellement
des ligues. Son rapport privilégié avec les Suisses fut également exploité par le roi Louis XII, afin de les engager à accepter l’alliance avec la France. L’évêque de Lausanne peut ainsi être considéré comme un véritable spécialiste des affaires diplomatiques, bénéficiant d’un double ancrage qui fut utilisé avec profit par les ducs savoyards.

Political life and aristocratic sociability in Vienna at the time of Emperor Charles VI.
Experiences and strategies of the Protestant diplomat Konrad Detlev von Dehn and of the Catholic prince Giovanni Federico d’Este (1726).
The paper presents two interesting groups of unpublished letters from the second half of the year 1726. The first of these contains letters by the Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel ambassador Konrad Detlev von Dehn from Vienna to the duchess of Blankenburg, Christine Luise of Oettingen-Oettingen, the mother of Empress Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, while the other consists of letters also sent from Vienna by prince Giovanni Federico d'Este, a nephew (on his mother's side) of Empress dowager Wilhelmine Amalie of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, to his father, Duke Rinaldo of Modena. A comparative analysis of these documents facilitates a better view of several important aspects of political life in Vienna at the time of Emperor Charles VI, e. g. the political and dynastic interaction between the regnant and the widowed Empress; the variety of opinions in the fields of politics and diplomacy produced by the Pietas Austriaca; the function of (high-ranking) aristocratic sociability as an addition to and extension of the political and institutional system of the imperial court; and additionally, the cultural and political importance of the recently endowed monastery of Salesian nuns in the framework of relations between the capital of the Habsburg monarchy and the Italian regions.

This paper examines the relationship between intellectuals and the rulers in reference to securing human resources. Intellectuals made use of their specialised disciplines and skills to serve the caliphs and warlords, but they also often served outside their own areas of specialisation. Thus, the act of gathering intellectuals, providing allowances, protecting them and supporting their work meant that the rulers, when they encountered political, diplomatic or administrative needs, were able to use the abilities of specialists both within and outside their fields of specialisation and their personal connections to address the issues they were facing. And this paper indicates that the majlis were used to secure such human resources. It was a place or an opportunity where monarchs, high officials, academics with various specialisations and other influential people gathered, discussed specific topics, indulged in table-talk and exchanged information. In this way, talented people were found and recruited. The results of this paper were obtained by deciphering historical materials such as chronicles, biographies, and anecdotes. Much of the information on the relationship between intellectuals and rulers preserved in various historical materials may not yet be available. This paper provides a starting point for collecting such information.