Nobiltà onore virtù nella Sicilia spagnola (secc. XVI-XVII)

Abstract

The essay presents an outline of Sicilian treatises on Nobility, showing how alternative reference models were developed within the rapidly changing social context of the 16th and 17th centuries. Undermining the traditional focus on bloodlines, in the 17th century the theme of Honour came to be conveyed principally by reference to the exercise of Virtù, both in the military and civil spheres. Indeed, Virtue was increasingly relied upon to determine roles and rank regardless of a given lineage’s antiquity.