This book is the first English translation of Felice di Michele Brancacci’s diary of his 1422 mission to the court of Sultan Al-Ashraf Seyf-ad-Din Barsbay of Egypt. Following the purchase of Port of Pisa in 1421, and the building of a galley system, Florence went on to assume a more active role in Levant trade, and this rich text recounts the maiden voyage of the Florentine galleys to Egypt. The text portrays the transnational experiences of Brancacci including those between the East and West, Christians and Muslims, and the ancient and modern worlds. The accompanying critical introduction discusses the unexpected motifs in Brancacci’s voyage, as well as tracing the aftershocks of what was a traumatic Egyptian experience for him. It shows that this aftershock was then measured, captured, and memorialized in the iconic image of Tribute Money, the fresco he commissioned from Masaccio, on his return to his own world in Florence.

Cet ouvrage présente l’édition, la traduction en français et l’analyse de tous les documents de chancellerie (en arabe, latin et italien) concernant les relations établies entre Florence et le sultanat mamelouk entre 1422 et 1510. Prenant en compte les recherches accomplies au cours des dernières décennies dans le domaine des études diplomatiques, ce travail corrige plusieurs erreurs et inexactitudes contenues dans les précédentes éditions de ces sources et contient quelques documents inédits. Une introduction aborde le cadre historique des relations diplomatiques et examine les caractéristiques des sources. Un riche ensemble de notes explicatives et un glossaire analysent leur contenu. Les sources publiées dans ce volume constituent le témoignage historique disponible pour tracer le cadre des échanges diplomatiques entretenus par la Ville du Lys et Le Caire mamelouk. This book offers the edition, translation into French and analysis of all the chancery documents (in Arabic, Latin and Italian) concerning the relations established between Florence and the Mamluk sultanate between 1422 and 1510. Taking into consideration the achievements made in recent decades in the field of Mamluk diplomatics, this work corrects several errors and inaccuracies contained in previous editions as well as presents some unpublished documents. An introduction addresses the historical framework of diplomatic relations and examines the characteristics of the sources. A rich body of explanatory notes and a glossary analyze their content. The sources published in this volume constitute the historical testimony available for outlining the framework of the diplomatic exchanges maintained by the City of the Lily and Mamluk Cairo.

The innovative city culture of Florence was the crucible within which Renaissance ideas first caught fire. With its soaring cathedral dome and its classically-inspired palaces and piazzas, it is perhaps the finest single expression of a society that is still at its heart an urban one. For, as Brian Jeffrey Maxson reveals, it is above all the city-state – the walled commune which became the chief driver of European commerce, culture, banking and art – that is medieval Italy's enduring legacy to the present. Charting the transition of Florence from an obscure Guelph republic to a regional superpower in which the glittering court of Lorenzo the Magnificent became the pride and envy of the continent, the author authoritatively discusses a city that looked to the past for ideas even as it articulated a novel creativity. Uncovering passionate dispute and intrigue, Maxson sheds fresh light too on seminal events like the fiery end of oratorical firebrand Savonarola and Giuliano de' Medici's brutal murder by the rival Pazzi family. This book shows why Florence, harbinger and heartland of the Renaissance, is and has always been unique.

In this book, Doris Behrens-Abouseif responds to the Mamluk chroniclers whose loquacity regarding clothing matters demands our attention. Using a multiplicity of sources including chronicles, European and Muslim travel narratives, popular storytelling, legal treatises, literature, and poetry, Behrens-Abouseif delves into the details of Mamluk dress. Whether as a vehicle for the sultanate’s self-representation both internationally and domestically or as an expression of religious and social identities, status and wealth, female assertion, urban culture, and artistic creativity, clothing personified the broad Mamluk social spectrum. Replete with colorful anecdotes and copious illustrations, Dress and Dress Code in Medieval Cairo offers a lively and comprehensive study of this fascinating topic.

Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent is a two-part biography on the life and achievements of Lorenzo de' Medici (1449-1492), an Italian administrator, leader of the Florentine Republic and one of the most influential benefactors of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo the Magnificent, he is recognized for his patronage of artists such as Botticelli and Michelangelo. His life spanned concurrently with the stable part of the Italian Renaissance and the Golden Age of Florence.