Chancellor of Florence
Encyclopedia
The Chancellor of Florence held the most important position in the bureaucracy of the Florentine Republic
. Though the chancellor was not officially a member of the Republic's elected political government like the gonfaloniere
or the nine members of the signoria
, occupying a role roughly equivalent to the head of the civil service in some countries today, he could nevertheless wield considerable political influence. Holders of the post included some of the most famous scholars, political thinkers and humanists of the Renaissance.
Republic of Florence
The Republic of Florence , or the Florentine Republic, was a city-state that was centered on the city of Florence, located in modern Tuscany, Italy. The republic was founded in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon Margravine Matilda's death. The...
. Though the chancellor was not officially a member of the Republic's elected political government like the gonfaloniere
Gonfaloniere
The Gonfaloniere was a highly prestigious communal post in medieval and Renaissance Italy, notably in Florence and the Papal States. The name derives from gonfalone, the term used for the banners of such communes....
or the nine members of the signoria
Signoria
A Signoria was an abstract noun meaning 'government; governing authority; de facto sovereignty; lordship in many of the Italian city states during the medieval and renaissance periods....
, occupying a role roughly equivalent to the head of the civil service in some countries today, he could nevertheless wield considerable political influence. Holders of the post included some of the most famous scholars, political thinkers and humanists of the Renaissance.
Partial list
- Coluccio SalutatiColuccio SalutatiColuccio Salutati was an Italian Humanist and man of letters, and one of the most important political and cultural leaders of Renaissance Florence.-Birth and Early Career:...
(appointed 1375) - Leonardo BruniLeonardo BruniLeonardo Bruni was an Italian humanist, historian and statesman. He has been called the first modern historian.-Biography:...
(appointed 1410) - Carlo MarsuppiniCarlo MarsuppiniCarlo Marsuppini , also known as Carlo Aretino and Carolus Arretinus, was an Italian Renaissance humanist and chancellor of the Florentine Republic....
, known as Carlo Aretino, (1444 - 1453) - Poggio BraccioliniGian Francesco Poggio BraccioliniPoggio Bracciolini was an Italian scholar, writer and humanist. He recovered a great number of classical Latin texts, mostly lying forgotten in German and French monastic libraries, and disseminated manuscript copies among the educated world.- Biography :Poggio di Duccio was...
(1453-1459) - Benedetto Accolti (appointed 1459)
- Bartolomeo ScalaBartolomeo ScalaBartolomeo Scala was an Italian politician, author and historian.Born in Colle Val d'Elsa, he become a protegé of Cosimo and Piero de' Medici, being appointed at the highest positions in the Florentine Republic .He wrote an unfinished History of Florence...
(1465-1497) - Niccolò MachiavelliNiccolò MachiavelliNiccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
(appointed 1498)