Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
Political exile punished an offending individual through public humiliation, deprivation of political rights, separation from family and friends, from business and property. This situation was difficult but manageable for an individual since he and his dependents could turn to members of the extended family for aid and comfort. However, if all the family's men were banished, the situation was potentially catastrophic. The Alberti, a prominent Florentine merchant-banking family, found itself in just such a situation. In January 1401, all Alberti men were exiled from the city of Florence for conspiracy against the state; they were not allowed to return until 1428. This paper will explore the consequences of their long and unusual banishment from Florence.
Earlier versions of this paper were presented in 1986 in Sarasota at the New College Conference on Medieval-Renaissance Studies and at the 1988 annual meeting of the Renaissance Society of America in New York. The final version was prepared while the author was on the faculty of the University of Florida. The author is grateful to Daniel Bornstein and to the two anonymous Renaissance Quarterly readers for their comments.