DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42861#0310
270
CASTIGLIONE AND
man, Baldassarre Castiglione, entered the Duke’s
service and settled at Urbino, much to the displeasure
of his own liege lord. The Marquis Francesco’s
consent had indeed been formally asked, but he was
naturally reluctant to lose so brilliant and accom-
plished a figure from his court. When, a year
afterwards, Guidobaldo sent him as envoy to Ferrara,
he was forbidden to cross the Mantuan frontier ; and
when, in 1506, he went to England to receive the
Order of the Garter, which Henry VII. conferred on
the Duke of Urbino, Francesco refused to allow him
to visit Mantua and embrace his mother before he
started on this long journey. Neither Elisabetta’s
intervention nor a humble request which Castiglione
himself addressed to the Marquis could induce him
to relent, and it was not till his return from England,
in the spring of 1507, that he was allowed to set foot
on his native soil. Isabella, however, proved a good
friend to Castiglione, and earned his undying grati-
tude by her constant efforts to appease her husband’s
resentment.
Another Mantuan subject and kinsman of Fran-
cesco, Cesare Gonzaga, also settled at Urbino in
these days, but always remained on friendly terms
with the Marchesa, and was one of her constant cor-
respondents. A devoted friend and companion of
Castiglione, he assisted him in the composition of
the pastoral play, “ Tirsi,” which the two authors
recited at the carnival of 1506, and is one of the chief
speakers who figure in the “ Cortigiano.” Cesare
was the brother of Luigi Gonzaga, who lives in
Ariosto’s verse, and whose splendid palace of Borgo-
forte, near Mantua, was often honoured by Isabella’s
presence, and his gay letters were much appreciated
CASTIGLIONE AND
man, Baldassarre Castiglione, entered the Duke’s
service and settled at Urbino, much to the displeasure
of his own liege lord. The Marquis Francesco’s
consent had indeed been formally asked, but he was
naturally reluctant to lose so brilliant and accom-
plished a figure from his court. When, a year
afterwards, Guidobaldo sent him as envoy to Ferrara,
he was forbidden to cross the Mantuan frontier ; and
when, in 1506, he went to England to receive the
Order of the Garter, which Henry VII. conferred on
the Duke of Urbino, Francesco refused to allow him
to visit Mantua and embrace his mother before he
started on this long journey. Neither Elisabetta’s
intervention nor a humble request which Castiglione
himself addressed to the Marquis could induce him
to relent, and it was not till his return from England,
in the spring of 1507, that he was allowed to set foot
on his native soil. Isabella, however, proved a good
friend to Castiglione, and earned his undying grati-
tude by her constant efforts to appease her husband’s
resentment.
Another Mantuan subject and kinsman of Fran-
cesco, Cesare Gonzaga, also settled at Urbino in
these days, but always remained on friendly terms
with the Marchesa, and was one of her constant cor-
respondents. A devoted friend and companion of
Castiglione, he assisted him in the composition of
the pastoral play, “ Tirsi,” which the two authors
recited at the carnival of 1506, and is one of the chief
speakers who figure in the “ Cortigiano.” Cesare
was the brother of Luigi Gonzaga, who lives in
Ariosto’s verse, and whose splendid palace of Borgo-
forte, near Mantua, was often honoured by Isabella’s
presence, and his gay letters were much appreciated