Background notes for papers on Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence

For background on aristocrats & merchants in Florence , see links to

1) David Herlihy, “The Family in Renaissance Italy ,”

2) Martines, Power and Imagination, Chap. 6, “The Course of Urban Values,”
including a useful section entitled “Florins are the best of kin.”

Primary documents are historians’ basic sources for understanding the past. All documents contain elements
of strangeness that call for historical explanation; remember that this is a different time and place, with different values
and expectations for life. As you read these documents, you will inevitably compare what you find to your own experience,
and will ask modern questions (such as: did they have any idea about birth control? what roles were open to women?)
But at the same time, it is the historian’s task to try to understand the past on its own terms, and to reconstruct the world in
which these people lived, without judging them by our standards. Be sure to ask yourself: what were their standards, and
how did they judge themselves? There are competing values in any society, so look for religious, moral, social, political,
financial, family values, keeping in mind that each of these may or may not be compatible with each other -- for instance,
how do money and religion fit together in Dati’s case?

Genre: what kind of historical documents are these?
See Brucker introduction on Florentine family memoirs, or libri di ricordi, with origins in secret account books maintained by
merchants as family records. How does this origin influence the way in which these “books of memories” are written? Clearly
Dati’s is closer to an account book than Pitti’s; what kinds of events does Pitti include that Dati does not? (and vice versa?)
Don’t expect a narrative as coherent as a modern “life story” – these accounts are aimed at a specific audience of future
members of the family. What kinds of information do Pitti and Dati see as important for their descendants to know?

Themes to consider:

1) public versus private spheres: how do the two Memoirs differ in their depiction of public versus private life?
what constitutes the public sphere in this society? who participates in public life?

2) politics: local Florentine political setting versus broader European world of royalty, courts, etc.
For Dati, note the role played by Cosimo di Medici in making possible Dati’s office holding.

For further reading on merchants (not required):

Iris Origo, The Merchant of Prato: Francesco di Marco Datini 1335-1410
This is a very interesting biography of Datini, international merchant from Prato, town outside and subject to Florence, with
business based in Avignon. Book is based on the surviving correspondence between Datini in Avignon and his wife in Prato,
as well as with his business partners. The result is an excellent portrait of a real life merchant and his wife, who never had children,
but raised an illegitimate child of her husband. This book is a good source both on women and on merchants. Because he was not
a Florentine citizen, Datini couldn’t aspire to office, but his good friend Lapo Mazzei was a Florentine notary who helped him keep
down his Florentine taxes – their correspondence also survived. Datini (not Dati) wrote at the top of every page of his account
books, his motto, “For God and for profit.” He ended up leaving his wealth to charity in order to atone for his money lending.