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Giacomo Colorsi, steward to Cardinal Francesco degli Albizzi, thought of himself as a strategist, deploying his equipment as a general his troops. "If, as they say, the man who prepares a banquet has as much to do as he who marshals an army, and is as worthy of praise, then he who serves the tables of the great, and serves them well, may take due pride in his achievements. I have spent my not only my best years but nearly all my life in that employment, with no gain but personal satisfaction in a task well done." It was from this long experience with "the great" that he spoke as an authority on his calling. At Mantua, the dukes always considered the office of the steward as the first office of the court and "filled it with carefully chosen persons of noble birth; such as, sharing the assumptions and values of their class, would on all occasions, and especially before strangers, display their sovereigns' glory to the world for honour's sake." Other courts, seeing the "particular authority" of the Mantuan steward, "issuing his verbal and written orders" were spurred to emulation. The larger, richer and more powerful a court the more numerous and diverse were the employments of its "family", the courtiers and servants. Its size was then a reflection of power, its supreme concern the organization of palace life and the allotment of function. This in turn generated new functions and specialized employments. Callings, assignments and appointments were created, modified, rose and fell in the scale of importance. They could be elevated into occupations for noblemen, and be patterns of excellence; or a new court might bestow them on less experienced people with the sole qualifications of blue blood and poverty. Excerpted from The Courts of the Italian Renaissance, Sergio Bertelli, Facts on File Publications, 1986. |