Glossary
This is a style guide as well as a glossary to Italian terms used without contextual translation in the novel.
Usually, I prefer using an English equivalent rather than the Italian — I think this makes the action more readable. However, there are words that are either untranslatable or are so common to an English reader that the original seems appropriate. For those Italian terms, I have notes here to explain whatever denotation or connotation I hope to preserve by keeping them in their original language.
abbaco: A school for teaching the basics of reading, writing, and number to children. The goal was to prepare people for the merchant economy of the time. It was a popular education, compared to the elite ‘humanist’ education that would prepare people for academic, clerical, or government careers.
Arrabbiati: Literally, ‘the rabid.’ A political faction in Florence, aligned roughly with the interests of the oligarchs against the Medici. Albizzi, Strozzi families who the Medici tried to keep out of the Signoria. See also their other rivals, the piagnoni.
borsa: The leather bag in which were placed the names of those eligible for government offices. Officeholders were chosen by lot from the bag, a method that seemed fair and equal, at least among those who qualified for offices, but was manipulable by those in power, like the Medici under Lorenzo.
brigata: A team of bodyguards, but also a euphemism for a street gang or a group of violent gangsters.
calcio: European football/American soccer. A version of the modern game has been popular in Florence for centuries.
cavaliere/i: Cavalryman/men. Armed soldiers on horseback.
chirurgo: Barber or surgeon.
ciarlatano/i: Street vendor. The suspect nature, efficacy, or provenance of their goods gives us the modern term ‘charlatan.’
come ti pare: Equivalent of saying ‘whatever’ with an eye roll.
compare caro: Literally, ‘dear friend.’ A common salutation. Often used by Francesco Vettori in his letters to Machiavelli.
condottiero/i: Literally, ‘contractor.’ They were leaders of mercenary troops whose ‘battles’ were more performative than earnest, as was the tradition among the Italian city-states in the 15th century.
denaro/i: A coin worth about 1/10th of a soldo. See also: soldo, ducat, florin.
exemplar: A manuscript whose textual integrity is so high, a copyist can trust it as the source for his or her copy.
fanciullo/i: The group of boys and young men, organized by Savonarola, who supported and publicized his message.
figone: Slang for an especially attractive person: ‘a hottie.’
florin: A gold coin minted in Florence of considerable worth, the florin was the standard unit of currency in Tuscany and much of Italy. There are 20 soldi in a florin. The ducat, the equivalent coin minted by the Venetians, became the preferred standard currency for international commerce by 1500, but the florin was still widely used.
frottola: A form for popular songs in 15th century Italy. Compositions from writers like Marchetto Cara and Bartolomeo Tromboncino still survive.
Gonfaloniere: Literally, the ‘standard bearer.’ In the Signoria, the city’s executive council, one of the Priors would be chosen as the chairman and leader.
gotiche: Gothic. Or anything done, from an Italian’s perspective, by a northern European. The Goths were a Germanic people who contributed to the fall of Rome’s empire.
‘In bocca al lupo!’: Literally, ‘In the wolf’s mouth!’ It means ‘good luck!’ in the way that ‘break a leg!’ means ‘good luck’ in English.
kafve: Coffee.
kohl: Black eyeliner.
maiolica: A type of tin-glazed earthenware decorated with vibrant colors developed in Italy in the 1400s. It became a luxury item because of the costly materials and careful craftsmanship and sophisticated design that went into their production.
magnifico: Literally, “Magnificent one.” A common salutation. Often used with a hint of irony by Machiavelli in his letters to Francesco Vettori.
Miserere mei, Deum! Literally, ‘Lord, have mercy on me!’ It is part of the Catholic liturgy.
palla/e: Literally, ball/balls. Slang for testicles. Also, a symbol of the Medici family, whose emblem was five red balls and one blue ball on a gold shield.
Piagnoni: Literally, ‘the weepers.’ Also: ‘The Crybabies.’ A political faction in Florence, aligned roughly with the Frate and his conviction that the French are sent by God to punish and/or cleanse the city. See also their rivals, the arrabbiati.
piazza: A town square, usually at the intersection of two or more streets, where there are shops and offices and a church. A place where people would gather to pray or do business or socialize.
podestà/podestà: A term for an office with different roles and responsibilities, depending on the time and place in the late Middle Ages. I am using it here as the office was used in Tuscany during the late 15th c. to be an equivalent of our contemporary idea of a Chief of Police.
Popolo: Literally, ‘the people.’ A term for the negative political category in Florence of those who were not Medici, not of the noble or patrician class, not members of the guilds, and not members of the Church. They are the commoners and the majority of people living in Florence, whose support the other factions must have to keep the civil order.
practica: The Signoria’s equivalent to a congressional hearing, where government leaders are formally briefed on an urgent matter.
Ricordi: Literally, ‘records’ or ‘memories.’ The highly-literate Florentines kept what we would call diaries in these notebooks.
Ringhiera: The raised platform at the entrance to the Palazzo della Signoria (now, the Palazzo Vecchio).
Skene: a barrier between the audience and the actors in Greek drama. The “off stage” or “dressing room” area.
soldo: A unit of currency.
tedoforo: Torch-bearer.
tifosi: Fanatic supporters of a sports team.
troppo: ‘Too much’
zaino: A backpack. An invention attributed to Petrarch for carrying writing tools and favorite books, it became an identifier for a travelling intellectual.