Dynasty and diplomacy in the court of Savoy
Subtitle: political culture and the Thirty Years' War
By: Toby Osborne.
Series: Cambridge studies in Italian history and culture
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2002
Place of publication: Cambridge, UK; New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 304
Subjects: Scaglia, Alessandro, -- 1592-1641.; Savoy, House of.; Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648.; Savoy (France and Italy) -- History.; Savoy (France and Italy) -- Foreign relations.
Description: This book is the first major study in English of the duchy of Savoy during the period of the Thirty Year' War. Rather than examining Savoy purely in terms of its military or geo-strategic role, Dynasty and Diplomacy in the Court of Savoy comprises three interwoven strands: the dynastic ambitions of the ruling House of Savoy, the family interests of an elite clan in ducal service, and the unique role played by one member of that clan, Abate Alessandro Scaglia (1592-1641), who emerged as one of Europe's most widely-known diplomats. Scaglia, the focus of the book, affords insights not only into Savoyard court politics and diplomacy, but more generally into a diplomatic culture of seventeenth-century Europe. With his image fixed by a remarkable series of Van Dyck portraits, Scaglia is emblematic of an international network of princes, diplomats, courtiers, and artists, at the point of contact between dynasticism, high politics and the arts.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 282-297) and index.