Virgilio Malvezzi
Encyclopedia
Virgilio Malvezzi was an Italian historian and essayist, soldier and diplomat, born in Bologna
. He became court historian to Philip IV of Spain
. He used the anagram-pseudonym Grivilio Vezzalmi.
.
Olivares
called him to Madrid
, where he arrived in 1636, to become the official chronicler to Philip IV. In 1640 he was one of the ambassadors sent by Philip to England, in an attempt to avert the marriage of Mary Stuart
to William II of Orange.
He became adviser to the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria from 1643.
, in the tradition of Justus Lipsius
, but as a Christian neo-stoic, and anti-Ciceronian. Olivares, who became Malvezzi's patron, was also a Lipsian. His style imitated Tacitus, too, in its dour compression, and was criticized for its opacity by the translator Thomas Powell
; another view is that his prose was "elegantly laconic". John Milton
referred to "Malvezzi, that can cut Tacitus into slivers and steaks".
His political thought was in the tradition of Machiavelli. His Tarquin argues the case for dissimulation in politics.
His biography of Olivares (Ritratto del Privata Politico Christiano) has been called hagiography. It argued that he was right to invoke the reason of state on behalf of the Spanish Empire.
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
. He became court historian to Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...
. He used the anagram-pseudonym Grivilio Vezzalmi.
Life
He fought for the Spanish forces in FlandersFlanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
.
Olivares
Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares
Don Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel Ribera y Velasco de Tovar, Count-Duke of Olivares and Duke of San Lúcar la Mayor , was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip IV and minister. As prime minister from 1621 to 1643, he over-exerted Spain in foreign affairs and unsuccessfully attempted domestic reform...
called him to Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, where he arrived in 1636, to become the official chronicler to Philip IV. In 1640 he was one of the ambassadors sent by Philip to England, in an attempt to avert the marriage of Mary Stuart
Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange
Mary, Princess Royal, Princess of Orange and Countess of Nassau was the eldest daughter of King Charles I of England, Scotland, and Ireland and his queen, Henrietta Maria of France...
to William II of Orange.
He became adviser to the Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria from 1643.
Writing
Initially he wrote on TacitusTacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
, in the tradition of Justus Lipsius
Justus Lipsius
Justus Lipsius was a Southern-Netherlandish philologist and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible with Christianity. The most famous of these is De Constantia...
, but as a Christian neo-stoic, and anti-Ciceronian. Olivares, who became Malvezzi's patron, was also a Lipsian. His style imitated Tacitus, too, in its dour compression, and was criticized for its opacity by the translator Thomas Powell
Thomas Powell (cleric)
Thomas Powell was a Welsh cleric and writer.-Life:Powell was born in about 1608 Cantref, Breconshire, Wales where his father was the rector from 1601 to 1626. He attended Jesus College, Oxford, matriculating in 1628. He was awarded a BA degree in 1629, with further degrees of MA in 1632 and DD...
; another view is that his prose was "elegantly laconic". John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
referred to "Malvezzi, that can cut Tacitus into slivers and steaks".
His political thought was in the tradition of Machiavelli. His Tarquin argues the case for dissimulation in politics.
His biography of Olivares (Ritratto del Privata Politico Christiano) has been called hagiography. It argued that he was right to invoke the reason of state on behalf of the Spanish Empire.
Works
He wrote in Italian and Spanish, and was early translated into Latin, Spanish, German and English, with a Dutch edition of 1679.- Discorsi sopra Cornelio Tacito (1622)
- Il Romulo (1629),
- Il Tarquinio Superbo (1632)
- Davide perseguitato (1634)
- Il ritratto del privato politico christiano (1635)
- Succesi principali della Monarchia di Spagna nell'anno (1639)
- Considerationi con occasione d'alcuni luoghi delle vite d'Alcibiade e di Coriolano (1648)
- Introduttione al racconto De'principali successi accaduti sotto il commando del potentissimo Ré Filippo quarto (1651)
Further reading
- Rodolfo Brandli (1964), Virgilio Malvezzi, politico e moralista