The Merchant of Prato - A Case Study in 15th-Century Communication
The PhD researcher, Thomas Godfrey, promotes the studies of Medieval Italy on his Instagram - recently he recommended Iris Origo's 'The Merchant of Prato'. It was back in my European and World history classes that our tutor first introduced us to Origo's work. Viewed as an invaluable insight into the medieval world of daily life, this book follows the Merchant (Francesco Datini) and his interactions as a businessman, family man, and citizen of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. I recently revisited it to explore the role of letter writing in the domestic context. Throughout history, the home has been viewed as a distinct place for both individuals and ideas, like the idea of 'separate spheres', in Family Fortunes by Davidoff and Hall. While their study focuses on the 18th and 19th centuries, aspects of their framework remain useful when considering how medieval upper-middle-class houses distinguished between the public and the domestic. This blog pos...