Lorenzo Magalotti At The Court Of Charles Ii: His Relazione D'inghilterra Of 1668
by W.E.K. Middleton /
1980 / English / PDF
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In 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.
In 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.
W.E. Knowles Middleton has provided a clear and elegant
translation of this document, along with an informative
introduction and supplementary notes.
