The earliest known document for Pietrobono, dated 5 August 1441, refers to a gift tohim of twenty gold ducats from Leonello d’Este, intended for clothing for his wife
Oh nope, had a wife even when serving under Leonello. (probably not the same woman) But wasn't he super young?
Testament of Pietrobono Burzelli
This is his will- This is so cool!
1456)
Was this the year of his marriage?
His Venetian wife Antonia is cited as the sole heir to his property
Ah, there's his wife. How long had they been married? Also, considering the hellenistic/greek culture which Leonello was emulating, having wives was not neccessarily a proof against queer relationships between men- they co-existed in different spheres, and it seems that classically marriages were secondary to the male-male relationships.
These find-ings demonstrate the important function of musicians in diplomaticrelations.
This isn't something I really considered, but Pietrobono himself is a sort of political tool
Private students sought him out for instruction, as demonstrated bya 1465 teaching contract, in which Pietrobono agrees to teach his studenteach day in the student’s home “the art of music on the cithara as well ashow to play seven songs well and worthily,” all in exchange for six yards ofblack cloth and a gold ducat—but only if the student succeeds in learn-ing the seven songs.7
This tells something of Pietrobono's own character- confident, perhaps a little proud. He has great skill, and really wants to make sure the student grows through his learning. Also, he's willing to do a private one-on-one teaching, which you might not expect when someone is at the level of serving princes and kings. Also, all he asked in exchange was black cloth and a single gold ducat- what does this really mean? It seems strange
2018
This is so far one of the newest/ most recent articles on Pietrobono
In the absence of musical notation of works by, or even performed by, Pietrobono, save references to the regional or national repertories he performed, and the titles of a handful of works taught by Pietrobono to his students during the last two decades of his life, with what are we le
We are missing a lot of musical info about Pietrobono because of the tradition of non-notarized playing of music and singing.
At least now Ferrara should more confidently claim Pietrobono as her own
So by the end the author does believe that Pietrobono is Ferrarese. Something I've noticed so far is no mention of a marriage between Pietrobono and anyone else.
oments in Pietrobono's well-traveled life across the Italian peninsula, with journeys to Milan, Naples, Mantua, Rome, while regu larly returning to Fe
Ferrara was always his "home base" which makes sense since he was Ferrarese. However, this article doesn't seem convinced of that
e - bearing the inscription 'Orphe
"Surpassing Orpheus"
(2015)
This article is much newer!
semblage of musicians. Pietrobono remained on the scene, and in Augus
Pietrobono
In the early 1480's the aging lutenist retreated to shelter at Mantua from the war that had broken out between Ferrara and Venice, and he had not yet returned in the early months of 1484, when Caleffini mentions the report of his supposed death. By 1486 he had certainly returned, however, when another diplomatie assign ment forced him to départ a
Wasn't the Villa Belfiore burned down around this time?
by Sforza Maria Sforza, then a visitor at Ferrara, writing from Belfior
Should see about translating this
Letter from Pietrobon
His return to Ferrara did not simply coincide with that of Beatrice, in 1500, after the death of Matthias Corvino. We find him once again in the Ferrarese salary rolls in 1493 and 1494, and in 1497 his death is recorded on the date Se
Pietrobono was connected greatly with Ferrara long after Leonello's passing
A portrait medal of Pietrobono had been struck in 1
In the same year as Leonello? Was it also done by Pisanello? I should investigate.
o had built
Leonello's chapel
2 Twenty gold ducats was the sum paid by Marchese Niccolò III d'Esté to Dufay in 1437 when Dufay visited
20 gold ducats also to another musician, but by Niccolo III.
e gift of twenty gold ducats given to Pietrobono at this time is substantial and impressive evidence of his status, at a time when he was - if the frequently repeated birth date of 1417 can be substan tiated - not more than 24 ye
Why was his "gift" payment so high? How high is it in comparison to what it should have been?
o, shows us that by August of 1441 he was already in Leonello's personal service, just prior to Leonello's rise to the rank of Marchese in December of that y
Pietrobono in service to Leo specifically even before he became marquis.
, and played not only the organ but the chitarino
Leonello learned music not just as a mathematic/ theoretical practice but also a practical practice.
y: it is known that Pietrobono's surname was « de Burzeris » or « de Burzellis »; that he was a native of Ferrara, the son of a certain Baptista and his wife Marga
Pietrobono de Burzeris/ Burzellis
Et in dicto zorno venero pure lettere al dicto Signore corno messer Pie trobono dal chitarino cavaliero meiore maestro de sonare leuto de Chri stiani, vz de soprano, in la citade de Mantua, ove per la guerra & per la peste de Ferrara se era reducto era morto de febre & li sepolt
I could translate this, it looks like Latin
: Why does a god take on this task at this
Guarino compares Leonello with a god
Leonello holds in his hands a small hammer; so far it has been impossible to discover the precise meaning of this, which is doubtless another of the symbolic imprese in which Leonello, like many of the patrons of his day, took such naive delig
If this is Leonello, the hammer may be alluding to Pythagoras, since he was so interested in music. But what does the ring symbolize?
t he died in October, 1450,as the result of a fever following an abscess in the head, but there is nothing in the face as seen in this portrait to suggest failing heal
I didn't know some of this before. The fact that he doesn't seem sick might usually be a good proof that this is not an image of him, however other accounts also seem to show surprise at his sudden death.
Jan., 1911
It's worth noting that this was written in 1911. Technology since then might have proven it to not be Leonello. I should look into it.
Leonello, a prince of a sober disposition, had a reputation as a peace-maker and a scholar.
This is yet another article characterizing Leonello as "sober", "peace-maker"; if nothing else, this only proves my point that Leonello curated a perfect princely image.
mong them that cyclesof technological development and obsolescence are such that many works produced using“cutting-edge” technologies or experimental methods are fragile from a preservationstandpoint.
Nothing lasts very long in terms of "new" technology
0 Was this expansion of the court assisted by such noted features of later medieval government as greater princely spending and increasing dependence of the aristocracy on the rewards of government service
Since first reading this article, I have come across another source that discusses the "decorum of space" and utility of space in a socio-political context regarding the Este family. Tim Shephard, in his book Echoing Helicon, of the italian "studiolo", or "little study", which served multiple courtly functions. Shephard explains that these little studies were usually marked as "private" spaces of princes, often adjoining a prince's bedroom. Leonello is credited as having one of the earliest of these in Ferrara. These rooms were given the status of a "private space", a physical representation of the prince as well as his values, interests, and wealth; in essence, it was a carefully constructed and material representation of the identity of the prince who owned it. Although this space was deemed "private", it was a political tool; an invitation into a prince's studiolo was a manipulation of visiting guests, and a subtle way to show one's wealth, influence, intelligence, and worth. Especially since these studiolo were being constructed at the turn between the medieval and Renaissance age in Italy, the showcasing of classical texts, arts, and artifacts does seem to play a significant role in representing a prince as forward-thinking and, by extension, worthy of befriending.
he outbreak of plague in Ferrara in 1417, during which one chronicler records that a
Why was mortality so high?
, the Este were slowly dismantling the communal institutions that they had inherited. Widows and orphans were also, however, highly con ventional objects of cha
It's not a long shot to connect this focus of charity on orphans in particular because of Niccolo III's reputation.
widows' and orphans' ca
Might be prudent considering Niccolo III had so many mistresses and illegitimate children in Ferrara (not to mention elsewhere)
Young noblemen might be placed at court to be brought up as companions of the prin
Such as Angelo Decembrio. He came to Ferrara from outside Ferrara's territories and was brought in under Leonello and Guarino's wing. Because of this we now have his (albeit badly written) accounts of the conversations held in private with Leonello and his "Circle." Why would this young man write their conversations in such detail? Why was no one else annotating the conversation?
9 This coincided with an expansion of the court's loc
Connection between function of spaces with titles/status of those who frequent those spaces. How much does "prestige" of a location depend on the location itself versus the character of people who frequent it?
If some contemporary observers are to be believed, the court provided leadership only in vi
I have done some personal research into certain members of the Este family and can see where this sort of ideology might stem from; it reminds me of a Ferrarese saying/ children's rhyme (scholars have said both) that was popular in Ferrara during the rule of Niccolo III d' Este. Roughly translated, the rhyme goes "On both sides of the River Po are the sons of Niccolo."
ut ever having a fix
"corporate" is not a term I expected in an article about medieval Ferrara. I usually question the use of modern language (particularly language that is specific to a modern mindset) in scholarship discussing medieval topics- does the term "corporate" translate well into this context? How does it compare to a depotism-run society?