Lorenzo Magalotti at the Court of Charles II: His Relazione D’Inghilterra of 1668In the late 1660s the English court received a visitor from Florence--Lorenzo Magalotti, an intelligent, sensitive writer and diplomat with a passion for observation and description. Magalotti had come from a state governed by an absolute grand duke to a kingdom engaged in a fierce struggle for political liberty, and from a society in which the sexual behaviour of women was closely controlled by law and custom, to one of unexampled licentiousness among the upper classes. This cultural shock produced fascinating portraits by Magalotti of Charles II and his court, accounts of their amorous intrigues, and percipient if sometimes biased observations on politics. There is also substantially accurate account of the armed forces of the kingdom, and a good deal about its intellectual and artistic life. W.E. Knowles Middleton has provided a clear and elegant translation of this document, along with an informative introduction and supplementary notes. |
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Page 7
... Henry Oldenburg , 34 the minutes of the Royal Society , 35 and of course Magalotti's own letters . Much of this information was presented forty years ago by R. D. Waller , 36 although his work can now be extended somewhat . Magalotti ...
... Henry Oldenburg , 34 the minutes of the Royal Society , 35 and of course Magalotti's own letters . Much of this information was presented forty years ago by R. D. Waller , 36 although his work can now be extended somewhat . Magalotti ...
Page 12
... Henry Howard , who later became sixth Duke of Norfolk ; they had several meetings with him , and went to see his ... Henry Howard . It might be supposed that the very miscellaneous list of books set down near the end of the Relazione ...
... Henry Howard , who later became sixth Duke of Norfolk ; they had several meetings with him , and went to see his ... Henry Howard . It might be supposed that the very miscellaneous list of books set down near the end of the Relazione ...
Page 18
... Henry VII , who without illu- sions recognized the weakness of his right to the crown , 2 that in order to secure it for himself he was obliged to disunite the nobles and destroy them . As I have said , he succeeded in doing this with ...
... Henry VII , who without illu- sions recognized the weakness of his right to the crown , 2 that in order to secure it for himself he was obliged to disunite the nobles and destroy them . As I have said , he succeeded in doing this with ...
Page 19
... infallible , that this time the King will not have religion in his favour as Henry VII had , and that the party that he has to overcome is not one to be defeated , like the earlier An Account of England in the Year 1667–68 19.
... infallible , that this time the King will not have religion in his favour as Henry VII had , and that the party that he has to overcome is not one to be defeated , like the earlier An Account of England in the Year 1667–68 19.
Page 23
... Henry VII , the Catholic religion driven out under Queen Elizabeth , the Episcopalian reli- gion discredited and mocked by great and small , the kingdom overturned and in confusion with the liberty of forming whatever new religions ...
... Henry VII , the Catholic religion driven out under Queen Elizabeth , the Episcopalian reli- gion discredited and mocked by great and small , the kingdom overturned and in confusion with the liberty of forming whatever new religions ...
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