ALBERTI ON THE FAMILY, BOOK III QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION    

Leon Battista Alberti, The Family in Renaissance Florence: Book III (1434)
translated by Renee Neu Watkins, pp. 1-20 (Introduction), 25-47, 50-51,
56-67, 74-99 (on instructing a wife), 108-115. [83 pages total]   

      Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) is best known for his works on
painting and architecture, but also wrote the most famous treatise on the
family in Renaissance Italy (1434).  His wide range of knowledge makes him
the kind of person sometimes described as a “Renaissance man.” 
      The Renaissance was a cultural movement based on the revival of Latin
and Greek literature and art. 15th century Florence became the first place in
western Europe where Greek was taught since antiquity; Alberti clearly draws
on Greek literature, especially Xenophon, in this treatise.
      Like Dante and the Strozzi, the Alberti were wealthy Florentines exiled
as a result of political conflicts.  Ironically, our expert on the family was
himself illegitimate and a cleric who never married.  His view of “the way a
family should be” derives from his own negative experience of rejection,
hostility and denial of financial assistance by his relatives.
      Book III opens with the death in 1421 of Lorenzo, Alberti’s father,  
and the beginning of his own personal difficulties. (See introduction.)

Study questions:

The treatise is in the form of a dialogue among several members of the
Alberti family.  Who are the individual speakers, and what effect is
created by using dialogue? (Note that the dialogue is a classical genre.)

What attitude towards money is expressed by Giannozzo (pp. 26-34)?
     Notes themes of generosity, avarice, thrift, honor.

What do we learn about the social status of the Alberti family? (pp. 38-39)

How has exile affected their position in the world and attitude towards politics
(especially the honor of office holding)? (pp. 43-47, 50-51)

What steps should head of household take to ensure supplies for the family?
(pp. 56-60)  What are the benefits of urban versus rural life? (pp. 59-64)
Note attitude to peasants (p. 59) and section on clothing (pp. 64-65)

What kind of animal analogies does the speaker use to sum up the role of the
head of household (pp. 75- 76)?

How does Lionardo sum up the position of classical writers on roles of men and
women? (pp. 77-78)  Who are his sources?

How does a new husband go about instructing his wife? (pp. 78-99) Should a
husband keep secrets from his wife? (p. 79) Note wife’s role towards
servants (pp. 88-90), friends and enemies of the family (pp. 98-99)