Beyond the courtier: music and lifestyle literature in Italy, 1480–⁠1530

Baldassare Castiglione’s Il libro del Cortegiano (The Book of the Courtier) is undoubtedly the most frequently quoted source in studies of music and lifestyle in the Renaissance. However, it was but one of many printed conduct texts forming part of a wider body of ‘lifestyle literature’ in circulation during Castiglione’s lifetime. This thesis seeks to survey what these texts say about music, and how they might add to our understanding of musical engagement in Italy at the turn of the sixteenth century.
What might be considered ‘lifestyle literature’ during this period is indistinct; given the belief that a reader’s choice of material had an impact on their morality and behaviour, all literature was arguably lifestyle literature. As such, I have surveyed a broad range of texts, the contents of which might have influenced the way people engaged with music or might reflect contemporary views on music. This includes grammatical texts and educational treatises, treatises on pastimes, poetry, conduct literature, literature on health and wellbeing, on astrology, and on music itself. Perhaps owing to the broad nature of this field, and the seemingly tangential relationship of much of it with music, many of these texts have yet to be considered in a musical context. To organise this body of literature into a coherent study, I have decided to follow the scheme of the ages of man, tying the musical contents of these texts to an activity or attribute which has traditionally defined each age.
Throughout, I have aimed to use these texts to present evidence of musical thought and engagement across the boundaries of class and gender, namely, beyond the courtier, and thence to give a more comprehensive overview of music in the lifestyle literature in circulation during this period than has been attempted thus far.