The Act of Sodomy in Florence during the Italian Renaissance

The Florentine Chronicle is an interestingly organized piece of work, in which Stefani mixes a chronicling of the presentation of the bubonic plague and its effects with the wider effects on Florentine society. Written in the late 1370s and 1380s, Stefani begins by describing some of the effects of the disease, and how it would alienate families from each other. He goes on to explain how the sick were abandoned in droves,

Giovanni and Lusanna by Gene Brucker is an organized depiction of the two Florentine lovers, Giovanni della Casa and his lover Lusanna. The story of these two lovers begin on their secret 12 year affair, but ends in calamity when Lusanna’s brother Benedetto Girolamo files a lawsuit against Giovanni claiming he had broken his marriage vows by marrying an aristocratic woman Marietta. The book goes into full detail with notaries, archbishops, deceiving witnesses, and slut shaming. A scandal that breaks social norms in 15th century Florence, this book was written with expressiveness, intellect and interest that is surely able to keep the reader intrigued.

Through the study of the records of courts, both secular and ecclesiastical, which exists in thousands of European and American archives and libraries, a patient and careful researcher can reconstruct particular images of “the world we have lost” and of the people who inhabited that world. From this vast, largely untapped repository of judicial records, Gene Brucker uses the notarial protocols of Ser Filippo Mazzei, which contains the transcripts of the litigation in the archiepiscopal court and the catasto records, which provides information about Florentine households, to piece together the dossier of Giovanni and Lusanna. The story of Giovanni and Lusanna explores the love and marriage in renaissance Florence and uncovers the gradation of the city’s social hierarchy and the role of women in society.

The Courtier, originally written as a “courtesy book”, can now be considered to provide significant insight into the norms and practices associated with courtship and gender during the Renaissance era. The book’s third volume is a particularly insightful window into 16th century romantic ideals. Throughout Book Three, Baldassare Castiglione builds an elaborate perspective on what makes the perfect court lady, what sexual and social behavior is acceptable, and how an ideal couple (both courtier and court lady) should function.

During the Renaissance period, sexuality impacted how people, both men and women, were treated and how they behaved. The lives of women were completely defined by the ideals of sexuality that were enforced during that time. Every area of a woman’s life from birth was influenced by outside influences rather than by they themselves. It took a particular type of woman to break past the clearly defined description of what a “Renaissance woman” should be.

The Italian Renaissance was one of the most colorful, vital, and exciting times in history. Renaissance eventually comes from the French word "Renaistre," meaning "to be born again." The Renaissance was a revival or a rebirth of cultural awareness and learning among art, law, language, literature, philosophy, science, and mathematics. This period took place between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Renaissance in Italy flourished in the 15th century and spread throughout most of Europe in the 16th century.

Giovanni and Lusanna: Love and Marriage in Renaissance Florence by Gene Brucker provides a unique look into the life of commoners in the 15th century. This book follows the 1455 court case surrounding the alleged marriage between Giovanni della Casa and Lusanna, the daughter of Maestro Benedetto di Girolamo. Throughout this trial testimonies, from witnesses with a vast array of socioeconomic backgrounds are presented. These were people whose voices would likely have never been heard if not for this case. This particular cross-section of people creates a very clear picture of the hierarchical system in place during the renaissance. Throughout this book, it becomes clear that each person had his or her place within society.

A critical point in European history was the Renaissance period, which took place between 1300-1700. The term Renaissance stands for ‘rebirth’, and in this context refers to the increased interest that was taken in learning from Greek and Roman classical writing. Recent exploration by historians into the Renaissance period has seen a fixation on the discussion of the role of gender during the Renaissance. A variety of historians, such as Joan Kelly and Merry E. Weisner, believe that women didn’t experience any form of a Renaissance during this period. It can be widely acknowledged that during this period society did experience a ‘rebirth’, especially in terms of the role of the men in Europe. Women, on the other hand, weren’t as fortunate.

Laura J. McGough’s Gender, Sexuality, and Syphilis in Early Modern Venice opens immediately in the dawn of the 16th century, when France invaded Italy. This invasion brought diseases previously foreign to the area that immediately became linked to the French and the destruction of Italian institutions. McGough quickly defines the illness she will examine, which is not necessarily Syphilis as indicated in title. The disease is a more broadly encompassing ‘French disease’ and while frequently considered to be, it is too broad to claim that all cases were syphilis. This book endeavours to describe the social and cultural history of the French disease, and its’ endemic history. Inability to look at the entire situation means the French disease

The medieval church taught that women were inferior to men and that they should be compliant and obedient to their fathers and husbands. Men look down to women as their respect for their ladies are limited as in Canterbury Tales were these women start out as beneath men. These same men who feel the need to arrogate women of their dignity find their fate is later put into the women’s hands. Although a women is taciturn and does not speak out to the men and talk of their animadversion toward the men’s behavior, these same ladies have the power to then decide how these men should serve their punishment for their sacrileges and unruly decisions as in the “Wife of Bath’s Tale”, were after his life was saved by an old lady, in return this old women requested to him to “take me as your wife” (p.138). A women’s love and passion should be approached with appreciation and admiration otherwise being inconsiderate and impassionate will turn a women against a man.

During the Renaissance time period, each man and woman needed to strive to meet the “ideal” image that was expected by society. If this image was not met, the person would be judged by society. Both males and females had different goals that they needed to meet in education, as well as in their lives. While there was an “ideal” image, some people disagreed with them. There was always a distinct role for both women and men, but within those roles, there could be controversy. The most controversy could occur over the education that the males and females were getting, there were clear roles and ideals for men and women in the beginning of the Renaissance time period, but as time went on, people became more skeptical of the

In Marchionne di Coppo di Stefano Buonaiuti’s, “Florentine Chronicle of Marchionne di Coppo di Stefano Buonaiuti, he provides first-hand documentation of the effect of the Black Plague in Florence, Italy. The muse for his inspiration to record this testimony on the matter, just three decades later, was an attempt to sway the Italian delegations when his political career ran into a predicament the time. In which, he enlightened upon how much the Black Plague shook the morals of the people and the effects. In his testimony, he describes how the act of abandonment became standard for kindred of the infected as shown in one quote from his document, “Sons abandoning fathers, husbands wives, wives husbands, one brother the other, one sister the other.”(Usher,

This investigation strives to compare and contrast of the role of women during the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. The inquiry is significant because in order to understand the culture and ethics of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages it is crucial to understand the importance of women. The issues that will be addressed include: the role of women in the Roman Empire, the role of women in the Middle Ages, and the similarities as well as the differences of the two major time periods. This investigation will focus on the time period of 27 BC to 1485 BC and the places investigated will include Europe, more specifically Rome. This will be accomplished through a detailed examination of the role of women in the

Through scholarly research of Florentine politics and daily life during the rule of the Medici, it is affirmed that Giralamo Savonarola used religion and fear to inhibit the progression of the Renaissance in Florence.

As many may think, women weren’t as important during the renaissance period. Some seem to believe that women had it easier than they do today. Some even believe that they had much more power and independence. If only that were true. Women who showed too much independence, sexual or otherwise, were punished and sometimes even killed (Wiesner 59). Women were made to be seen as saints and remained loyal to one man. During the renaissance period, women went through many hardships and many things were expected of her by her family, as well as her husband. You might ask, what was marriage, education, and employment like for women during the renaissance period?