Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447) and the Italian Humanists

328 Pages·2002·35.286 MB·English

by  Susanne Saygin

BRILL'S STUDIES
IN
INTELLECTUAL HISTORY
General Editor
A.J. VANDERJAGT, University of Groningen
Editorial Board
M. COLISH, Oberlin College
J.I. ISRAEL, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
J.D. NORTH, University of Groningen
R.H. POPKIN, Washington University, St. Louis-UCLA
VOLUME 105
HUMPHREY, DUKE OF
GLOUCESTER (1390-1447) AND
THE ITALIAN HUMANISTS
BY
SUSANNE SAYGIN
KtC/
BRILL
LEIDEN · BOSTON · KÖLN
2002
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
On the cover:
Portrait of Humphrey, duke of Gloucester, from a manuscript in the Bibliothèque Munici
pale d'Arras, Palais de Saint Vaast, MS 266, fol. 37r.
Die Deutsche Bibliothek - CIP-Einheitsaufhahme
Saygin, Susanne:
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447) and the Italian Humanists
/ by Susanne Saygin. - Leiden ; Boston ; Köln : Brill, 2002
(Brill's studies in intellectual history ; Vol. 105)
ISBN 90-04-12015-7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is also available
ISSN 0920-8607
ISBN 90 04 12015 7
© Copyright 2002 by Koninklijke Bull NV, Laden, The Netherlands
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PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS
To my Parents

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Abbreviations xv
Introduction 1
PART ONE
AN ACTIVE LIFE. HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER
AS A LITERARY PATRON AND MAN OF POLITICS
Chapter One. Introduction 9
Chapter Two. Henry V's Provisions for the Governance of
England of 1421/22 and the Establishment of Conciliar
Rule in 1422. A Tentative Re-Reading 18
Chapter Three. Gloucester's Hainault Campaign, his First
Confrontation with Henry Beaufort in 1425, Bedford's
Intervention of 1425/6, and Lydgate's Serpent of Division .... 30
Chapter Four. Gloucester's Role in English Politics 1427
to 1432 48
Chapter Five. Educating Henry VI. Gloucester's Political
Objectives in the Aftermath of his Coup and his
Commission of Lydgate's Fall of Pnnces and Brum's
Translation of Aristotle's Politics 57
Chapter Six. Struggling for the King's Confidence.
Gloucester's Role in English Politics 1433 to 1437 and
his Commission of Frulovisi's Vita Henriet Quinti and the
Humfioidos 69
Chapter Seven. The First Donation to Oxford of 1439, da
Monte's De Vitiorum, his Treatment of the Scipio/Caesar
Controversy and Gloucester's Final Confrontation with
Beaufort in 1440 81
vin CONTENTS
Chapter Eight. A Period of Transition. Suffolk's Rise
During the Late 1430s and the Cobham Trial of 1441 .... 98
Chapter Nine. Gloucester's Role in English Politics 1441 to
1445 and his Donation to Oxford of 1444 105
Chapter Ten. Gloucester's Gift to Alfonso of Aragon and
the Crisis of July 1445 120
Chapter Eleven. Conclusion 130
PART TWO
PAWNS OR PLAYERS? ZANONE DA CASTIGLIONE AND
PIERO DA MONTE AS MIDDLEMEN BETWEEN
HUMPHREY, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER AND THE
ITALIAN HUMANIST COMMUNITY
Chapter Twelve. Introduction 139
Chapter Thirteen. A Family Operation. Zanone da
Castiglione, Bishop of Bayeux 1432-1459, and his Role
as Mediator of Contacts between Gloucester and Italian
Humanists 144
Chapter Fourteen. A Study in Failure. Piero da Monte,
Papal Collector and Nuncio in England 1435 to 1440,
and the Background of his Activity as Middleman
between Gloucester and Italian Humanists 172
Chapter Fifteen. Conclusion 194
PART THREE
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS. THE MOTIVES OF
ITALIAN HUMANISTS FOR SEEKING PATRONAGE OR
EMPLOYMENT IN ENGLAND 1428 TO 1444
Chapter Sixteen. Introduction 203
Chapter Seventeen. Preliminary Observations on Humanist
Career Patterns During the First Half of the
Quattrocento 211