The Cardinal's Hat: Money, Ambition, and Everyday Life in the Court of a Borgia Prince | 
 enlarge | Author: Mary Hollingsworth
Publisher: Overlook Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 359296
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 308
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.3
Dewey Decimal Number: 282.092
ASIN: B0012QGZN2
Publication Date: June 2, 2005
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Product Description
The Cardinal's Hat is the fascinating story of how Ippolito d'Este, the second son of Lucretia Borgia, acquired the coveted cardinal's hat and became the Archbishop of Milan. Working with Ippolito's letters and ledgers, recently uncovered in an archive in Modena, Italy, Mary Hollingsworth has pieced together a fascinating and undeniably titillating tale of this Renaissance cardinal and his road to power and wealth in sixteenth century Europe.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 The Cardinal's Hat July 8, 2008
David H. Strong
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is about as interesting as reading about the travels and costs associated with the sending of a carton by Fedex. Ms. Hollinsworth found and translated a lot of information and tried, unsuccessfully, to wrap a story around a bunch of boring facts. In Ippolito's travels, we discover how many people traveled with him, how much merchandise he had to carry, how much he tipped everyone, how much he paid for rent and meals along the way, etc. I mean "Enough is Enough." Some idea of what he spent would have been fine, but Hollinsworth seems determined to include every scrap of information she translated, regardless of its value or interest. In fact, we learn very little about what the title suggests the book is about. The story of how Ippolito got his cardinal's hat could have been explained in one chapter. All the rest of the information that was included could have been drastically shortened, eliminated, or cited in the biography. br /The book was extremely boring and disappointing. br / br /David Strong PhD
 A unique portrait of a Renaissance prince February 20, 2008
A reader (United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a most remarkable piece of archival research that recreates the everyday life of a 16th-century Italian aristocrat as he and his family pursue his goal of attaining for him the rank of cardinal in the wholly worldly and corrupt Catholic Church of that era. Using an enormous trove of documents she stumbled upon in the archives of Modena, Hollingsworth brings to vivid and detailed life the world of Ippolito d' Este, one of the sons of the notorious Lucrezia Borgia and her last husband, Duke Alfonso d'Este of Ferrara. br / br /In the hands of the wrong writer, this kind of research could be deadly dull--little more than an endless 16th-century shopping list. But in Hollingsworth's hands these "dry" documents come to life, and take the reader into the day-to-day, material world of Ippolito d'Este as no other form of research could do. This is history that takes us from politics and power-seeking all the way to the level of perfumed gloves and crystal urinals, a world of mind-boggling aristocratic affluence and luxury. br / br /The author's writing style, which some might consider a bit dull, is appropriate for her subject, in the sense that Ippolito needs no editorializing-- his documents themselves speak louder than anything the author could say about them. In any case, the writing is always competent, and often enlivened with flashes of dry British humor. Her ability to make sense of endless pages of accounts-- and to make the contents of those account books of interest to a modern reader-- is nothing short of masterful. br / br /My only criticism is that, among all the illustrations, there doesn't seem to be a single one of Ippolito himself. br /
brilliant yet, occasionally, tedious August 6, 2006
bearded academic (East Lansing, MI USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
The beauty of this book is that it uses account books and letters to put together a br /very detailed account of the life of an Italian noble churchman who aspired to be br /(and near the end of the book becomes) a cardinal. And he's no ordinary cardinal -- br /he's a favorite of Francois I of France, a patron of Cellini, and the like. br / br /The downside of the book is that every so often you feel as if you're reading an br /annotated Visa bill. Long discussions of how much money was paid for different br /items, where the best items came from, etc. Not everything is likely to be interesting. br /In my case I enjoyed details of how clothing was made (and discovering that furs br /were often recycled from one piece to another) but was bored by long discussion of br /fees to bargemen and carters for hauling produce.
An Important Dusting of the D'Este Archives January 11, 2006
Jane Brodsky
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
One of the most admirable tasks of an art historian is to endure long hours, days, and weeks in cold, often musty, archives to produce an incomparable image based on documents. Since the two previous reviews elaborate on the central figures of the D'Este family, their history, roots, and struggle for power, let me guide the reader to the fine details of Mary Hollingsworth's transcriptions of the family ledgers. br / br /We learn about all levels of the "famiglia," the group of servants around the young Cardinal Ippolito, from men who clothed and fed him, to those who emptied his chamber pots and cleaned his bedchambers, made his candles, embroidered his shirts, and looked after his ledger books. Fascinating is the author's account of crossing the Alps in wintertime, the management of Ippolito's large entourage, transport of huge travel chests and the Cardinal's four-poster bed, worries about miniscule details like the cold feet of his favorite dogs. We learn about the life of a prince who spared no money to buy his cardinal's hat and to promote the image of his noble family. br / br /Try a good glass of Italian wine, fresh semolina bread, and the oil from the former D'Este lands while paging through the book. Great reading for scholars and general readers alike.
AN INCOMPARABLE VIEW OF DAILY LIFE IN RENAISSANCE ITALY July 5, 2005
Gail Cooke (TX, USA)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
br / Few historical periods are as intriguing as the Renaissance; few families fascinate as much as the Borgias. However, we've not been privy to many firsthand accounts of daily life among the powerful in 16th century Italy. Now, thanks to a bit of luck and assiduous research, art historian Mary Hollingsworth presents a detailed picture of Ippolito d'Este, the second son of Lucretia Borgia who later became Archbishop of Milan. br / br / In Modena, Italy, Hollingsworth came upon a treasure - over 2,00 letters and 200 account books pertaining to the days of Ippolito. The ledgers contain such minute details as the items in his wardrobe, what he ate. He wasn't timid about keeping a log of his women right along with his horses, dogs, falcons, peacocks, and a plethora of servants. Nor, was he embarrassed to note how much was spent on bribes and to whom he paid them. Thus, readers have the unparalleled experience of seeing courtly life on a daily basis, even to Ippolito's visit to the mistress of the King of France while she was in her bath. br / br / Ippolito reached the ripe old age of 29 before he received the cardinal's red hat, which at that time was a guarantee of wealth and power. He was a man who enjoyed women thoroughly and often, gambled frequently, and spent time hunting rather than in prayer. Thus, his elevation to such a lofty position had naught to do with religiosity, much to do with politics. br / br / Mary Hollingsworth has created an amazing view of everyday life among the rich and powerful in Renaissance Italy. Highly recommended. br / br / - Gail Cooke br /
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