Writing to the prince. The Sforza internal correspondence and the documentary history of institutions

Abstract

In this study, we are concerned with the “carteggio interno” of the Fondo Sforzesco, preserved in the State Archive of Milan. This huge documentary deposit can provide the historian both with an unprecedented amount of data and sources of outstanding heuristical potential and with some possible deception, like the lack of information or the complete silence about important events. Starting from a dossier of documents (parts of them enclosed in a digital appendix), we will analize the centrality of the letter. The flexible format of the letter is suitable to express personal feelings, emotions, and also a certain degree of informality and confidence. Writing to the prince, the correspondent is normally inclined to go beyond the rules and to use confidential terms or remember personal acquaintance, in a characteristic mixture between the political sphere and the private and personal dimension. As narrative texts, letters require a careful exegesis and interpretation. Finally, the huge dimensions and the narrative appeal of the “carteggio” may give the wrong impression of a pervasive and powerful State, where the relationship with the prince dominates the political life.