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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 25
Page 6
... fact you will certainly have acknowledged that our part of the world produces people of colder blood than many others . " As far as Paris was concerned , he was sure that Magalotti would enjoy it when he got there , even if he did miss ...
... fact you will certainly have acknowledged that our part of the world produces people of colder blood than many others . " As far as Paris was concerned , he was sure that Magalotti would enjoy it when he got there , even if he did miss ...
Page 8
... fact they came very late , after his departure , as Oldenburg noted in a letter to Boyle . 41 Nevertheless Magalotti described one or two things of which Oldenburg's minutes make no mention . 42 We have no letter to Leopold refer- ring ...
... fact they came very late , after his departure , as Oldenburg noted in a letter to Boyle . 41 Nevertheless Magalotti described one or two things of which Oldenburg's minutes make no mention . 42 We have no letter to Leopold refer- ring ...
Page 11
... fact , and that you will not cease to favour me sometimes with your commands . 59 The Italians that Magalotti actually mentions in the Relazione are far from an impressive group . The self - styled Count Carlo Ubaldini , a soldier of ...
... fact , and that you will not cease to favour me sometimes with your commands . 59 The Italians that Magalotti actually mentions in the Relazione are far from an impressive group . The self - styled Count Carlo Ubaldini , a soldier of ...
Page 13
... fact — though clear and graphic — manner which , incidentally , I found very much easier to translate . It is possible that by the time he had got that far he realized that much of his material was of a sort that it would not be wise ...
... fact — though clear and graphic — manner which , incidentally , I found very much easier to translate . It is possible that by the time he had got that far he realized that much of his material was of a sort that it would not be wise ...
Page 15
... fact and interpretation , some of which I have pointed out in the notes . It is more appropriate to wonder at the very large amount of fairly accurate information about people and offices , troops , and ships that he garnered in the ...
... fact and interpretation , some of which I have pointed out in the notes . It is more appropriate to wonder at the very large amount of fairly accurate information about people and offices , troops , and ships that he garnered in the ...
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Admiral affairs ambassador Baron battle beautiful Bernard Gascoigne Biblioteca Riccardiana bishops BNCF Boyle brother called captain Castlemaine Catholic Chancellor Charles Colonel command considered court Cromwell daughter Duchess Duke of Buckingham Duke of York Duke's Dutch enemies English esteem Falconieri father favour fireships fleet Florence France Francis Glisson French gentleman George Grand Duke guards Henry Henry Oldenburg History honour Howard Ireland Italian James John Graunt John Wallis King's kingdom knighted ladies later letter lieutenant lives London Lord Arlington Lorenzo Magalotti Magalotti Magalotti's visit Marquis married Miss Crinò nobility noble Oldenburg Oxford Parliament Pepys philosopher Portugal pounds sterling Presbyterian present Prince Cosimo Queen realm regiment Relazione religion reputation Robert Robert Boyle Royal Society Samuel Morland Secretary shillings a day ships Sir John Sir Samuel Sir William soldiers things Thomas thousand pounds tion vessels Vice-Admiral Viscount wife women young
Popular passages
Page 148 - The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates PROVING THAT IT IS LAWFUL, AND HATH BEEN HELD SO THROUGH ALL AGES, FOR ANY WHO HAVE THE POWER TO CALL TO ACCOUNT A TYRANT, OR WICKED KING, AND AFTER DUE CONVICTION TO DEPOSE AND PUT HIM TO DEATH, IF THE ORDINARY MAGISTRATE HAVE NEGLECTED OR DENIED TO DO IT.
Page 135 - He speaks French and Italian very well, but has some impediment in his speech, which is often interrupted by a sort of stammering, which seems as if he were constrained by an internal force to swallow his words again and with the words also his breath, so that he seems so near to bursting that it excites compassion in the...
Page 138 - EGR TAYLOR, The Mathematical Practitioners of Tudor and Stuart England (Cambridge, 1954), pp.
Page 135 - New Experiments physico-mechanicall touching the Spring of the Air and its Effects. Oxford 1662.
Page 47 - Visiting London in 1668, Lorenzo Magalotti likewise found that one of the Society's chief figures, Sir Robert Moray, was hardly neutral on the subject of foreigners' beliefs: "His whole weakness consists of a hatred, too apparent and of a completely unnecessary intensity, of Rome and the Pope. He always carries with him a catalogue of all the scriptural texts that can be stretched to consider Rome as Babylon, and the pope Anti-Christ".
Page 1 - Middleton, The Experimenters. A Study of the Accademia del Cimento, Baltimore 1971.
Page 147 - MOLINES (William). Myotomia: or The Anatomical Administration of all the Muscles of an Humane Body, as they arise in Dissection. As also an Analitical Table, reducing each Muscle to his Use and Part. Newly Revived with Additions, by William Molins. Whereunto 1s added Sir Charles Scarborough's Syllabus Musculorum.
Page 146 - The Country-Man's Recreation; or, The Art of Planting, Grafting and Gardening, in three books.
Page 87 - The History of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard, by COLONEL SIR REGINALD HENNELL, DSO With about 70 coloured plates, photogravures, collotypes, etc.