Wars and Peace

Girolamo faces a revolt by the citizens of Ceneda while serving as procurator for his brother, and Venice is forced to intervene. But the decades-long blood feud in the Friuli finally comes to an end. After a pamphlet war and a duel, a Venetian procurator negotiates the Peace of 1568 between the heads of the warring families. Bishop Michele serves as papal nuncio to the French court. Gian Matteo is honoured with portraits in the Palazzo Ducale and several book dedications, but he reluctantly declines two prestigious posts because of ill health and dies in June 1570 at the age of seventy-nine. His will, omitting one son, leads to prolonged litigation. The Turks take Cyprus in 1571 and Michele fortifies the castle in Ceneda. As the threat recedes, he enjoys country life. Venice stages the triumphal entry of the new French king Henri III, but suffers two devastating fires in the Palazzo Ducale, and the worst plague in Venetian history.

On the Function of Dedications in Early Modern Scientific Books

Historians of science have studied book dedications mostly as an expression of patronage relationships, but this was not their only reason of existence. In the first part of the article, the general functions of book dedications are analyzed. As a starting-point, the article uses one specific, fairly homogenous genre, the academic disputation. Dedicatees fall into three broad categories: parents and relatives, regents and nobles, and professors. The corresponding functions can be defined as: maintaining an existing relationship, asking for specific favors, and enhancing the author’s credibility. The same functions can be recognized in other genres, although with many exceptions and deviations. In the second part of the article, two concrete examples are analyzed in detail, Rheticus’ Narratio prima and Galileo’s Sidereus Nuncius. As it appears, rather than follow a consistent strategy, their authors had to navigate between conflicting demands and considerations.

Perceptions of sister queens: A comparison of printed book dedications to Mary and Elizabeth Tudor

Comparisons of Mary and Elizabeth Tudor, sister queens of England, have become popular in the last decade as scholars have realized the impact of Mary on Elizabeth’s queenship. To further that comparison, this essay likens printed book dedications to Mary and Elizabeth before each woman became queen and during their first five (or only five) years as queens. This essay argues that dedications to the Tudor sister queens show that these two women were perceived more commonly than has previously been recognized. By exploring these book dedications, it becomes evident that dedications were central to contemporary perceptions of what authors and translators thought Mary and Elizabeth would be interested in reading and passing along to their subjects along with what dedications thought the sister queens should be reading so as to be persuaded in different directions.