This unit will examine in detail a range of texts written during the late medieval and renaissance periods in Italy. Some may be canonical, for instance Dante's 'Divine Comedy' and Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. Others will represent literary genres popular at the time: vernacular letters, diaries and sermons etc. In particular, this unit will draw on the resources of the Archivio di Stato of Prato, and the 'Archivio Datini Online' making maximal use of the digitised documents available through this portal. Texts will be read from a variety of historiographical perspectives, and considered within the appropriate historical contexts. -- Course Website
Instructor: Associate Professor Peter Howard
