Distributed for Iter Press
The Chronicle of Le Murate
The Chronicle of Le Murate, completed by Sister Giustina Niccolini in 1598, is one of a small number of surviving documents that presents a nun’s own interpretation and synthesis of historical events. It recounts the roughly two hundred-year history of Florence’s largest convent, which attracted boarders, nuns and patrons from Italy’s elite families. The manuscript provides a rare view of life behind the enclosure walls and of nuns interaction with the world outside. The messy vitality of this account is an important pendant to the more formal and predictable convent chronicles that dominate the genre.
Reviews
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
The Other Voice 1
Historical Contexts 3
The Role of Convents in Women’s Experiences in Renaissance Florence 3
Political Alliances and Patronage Ties 12
Religious Reform 16
The Author: Sister Giustina Niccolini 20
The Chronicle 22
Characteristic Features 22
Chronological Framework 24
Renaissance Art in the Chronicle 30
Afterlife of the Chronicle 33
Note on the Text and Translation 38
List of Abbreviations 39
The Chronicle of Santissima Annunziata delle Murate 41
[Introductory Letter] 42
[Preface] 44
[Early Years on the Rubaconte Bridge, 1390–1424] 48
[Early Years on Via Ghibellina, 1424–1439] 56
[The Abbacy of Sister Scolastica Rondinelli, 1439–1475] 73
[A Period of Instability, 1475–1530] 123
[New Patterns of Patronage, 1530–1567] 186
[The Council of Trent’s Decrees and Beyond, 1567–1598] 213
Bibliography 337
Index 345
Introduction 1
The Other Voice 1
Historical Contexts 3
The Role of Convents in Women’s Experiences in Renaissance Florence 3
Political Alliances and Patronage Ties 12
Religious Reform 16
The Author: Sister Giustina Niccolini 20
The Chronicle 22
Characteristic Features 22
Chronological Framework 24
Renaissance Art in the Chronicle 30
Afterlife of the Chronicle 33
Note on the Text and Translation 38
List of Abbreviations 39
The Chronicle of Santissima Annunziata delle Murate 41
[Introductory Letter] 42
[Preface] 44
[Early Years on the Rubaconte Bridge, 1390–1424] 48
[Early Years on Via Ghibellina, 1424–1439] 56
[The Abbacy of Sister Scolastica Rondinelli, 1439–1475] 73
[A Period of Instability, 1475–1530] 123
[New Patterns of Patronage, 1530–1567] 186
[The Council of Trent’s Decrees and Beyond, 1567–1598] 213
Bibliography 337
Index 345