an elaborate tribute to her; it is also a complicated alle-
gory, functioning on both moral and political levels, with
each book narrating the adventures of a particular knight,
representing one of the 12 moral virtues. Thus the first
book concerns the Red Cross Knight, or holiness, who has
to liberate himself from the wiles of Duessa (the Roman
Catholic Church and, on one level, Mary, Queen of Scots)
in order to win Una, or truth.
Further reading: Elizabeth Heale, The Faerie Queene:
A Reader’s Guide (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University
Press, rev. ed. 2002).
Falconetto, Giovanni Maria (1468–1535) Italian
architect
Working chiefly around Padua, Falconetto designed a
number of edifices based on classical forms, notably the
loggia and odeon in Padua (1524), which later became
part of the Palazzo Giustiniani. He was also responsible
for the much admired town gates in Padua, the Porta San
Giovanni (1528) and the Porta Savonarola (1530). Fal-
conetto was also a painter; a fresco of the Annunciation
(1514; San Pietro Martire) and architectural frescoes
(1503; Duomo) survive in his native Verona.
Falier, Marino (1274–1355) Venetian nobleman
He was elected doge (1354) after many years as ambas-
sador and naval commander. Turning against his fellow
patricians, he plotted with commoners to overthrow the
oligarchy, but the plot was discovered and Falier was exe-
cuted. His story inspired Byron’s Marino Faliero (1821).
Falloppio, Gabriele (1523–1562) Italian anatomist
A pupil of VESALIUSat Padua, Falloppio first served as pro-
fessor of anatomy at Pisa before returning in 1551 to
Padua to occupy the chair once held by his teacher. In his
only published work Observationes anatomicae (1561), he
threw considerable light on the female reproductive or-
gans. The terms “vagina” and “clitoris” were coined and
the eponymous Fallopian tubes were fully described. De-
spite this, he failed to identify the role of the ovaries in re-
production. Falloppio also worked on the anatomy of the
head and succeeded in revealing several new structures in
the ear. Before he could pursue his investigations further
he died of pleurisy at the age of 40.
families Details on family life during the Renaissance are
generally sparse, with the striking exception of Tuscany,
where surviving tax records have enabled researchers to
build an informative picture. Whereas in northern Europe
marriage meant the formation of a new household, in Italy
it did not. There the typical structure was that of the peas-
ant family centered on the father (capo), in which sons re-
mained in the house even after marriage and daughters
left, either to go into service or to join their husband’s
households. The governing factor was economic—more
sons, more hands to work. Once the father died, the eldest
son took over his role, but inheritance was shared between
all sons. That a household might contain several brothers,
each with his own family, led to a close kinship between
cousins—fratelli cugini, “brother-cousins.”
This structure was also found among the wealthier
city families, but among the artisans and the poor the nu-
clear family was the norm; such households were smaller
and shorter-lived than those of the peasants and the
wealthy. Though the family unit was generally small, the
sense of kinship was extensive. In times of plague and
famine, it was the duty of the capo to take in distressed rel-
atives; and, of course, any offense to the honor of the ex-
tended family was felt by all its members and could lead
to factions and vendetta. When two members of the Pazzi
family murdered the brother of Lorenzo de’ Medici, six
members of the family were executed, the rest of the males
imprisoned or exiled, the females sent to convents, and all
the family property put up for auction by the state (see
PAZZI CONSPIRACY). A man’s actions had consequences for
all his relations.
Sons customarily inherited an equal share of the pa-
ternal estate, but daughters were excluded from inheri-
tance. Instead they were dowered—invested with property
and/or money to a value that reflected the family’s wealth
and status. Among the merchant and wealthier classes, it
was almost impossible for a girl without a dowry to marry,
and the “dowerless” girl became an object of charity. The
dowry always remained the woman’s property and when
she was widowed she was expected either to marry again
immediately or to return to her own family with her
dowry. Even among the peasants and poor, a girl would be
expected to take something to the husband’s household,
even if it was only bed linen and the products of her own
needlework—a custom that has survived into modern
times. The fabrics, linens, and embroideries that a girl
took to her husband’s house were carried and stored in
marriage chests called CASSONE, often painted with lively
scenes from the Bible or mythology by the painters of the
day.
In Italy marriage was a civic affair and was always
contracted for political or economic reasons. It was ex-
pected (and as personal accounts and letters show, often
the case) that love between the partners would follow
marriage, but the function of marriage was the formation
of an economic unit and the production of children for the
continuance of the family. The Church had some say in
the proceedings, and marriage was considered a sacra-
ment, but the ceremonies took place in the households of
the bride and the groom.
After the respective parties had come to an agreement
through a marriage broker, a betrothal would take place
and the groom would visit the betrothed in her house,
often taking sight of her for the first time. A contract
would be drawn up by a notary. The age of the girl couldffaammiilliieess 1 17733