Baldassarre Bonaiuti, also known as Marchionne di Coppo Stefani (1336, in Florence – 1385, in Florence), was a

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

(historian), statesman, politician, businessman and diplomat from

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

.HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF FLORENCE
/ref>Cronaca fiorentina di Marchionne di Coppo Stefani
edited by

Niccolò Rodolico Niccolò Rodolico (14 March 1873 – 1969) was an Italian historian, a professor in the University of Messina and the University of Florence. Born at Trapani, a fishing port in Sicily, after attending the ''Liceo Ximenes'' in his home town, where h ...

, Citta di Castello, S. Lapi, 1903-1955 ("Rerum italicarum scriptores', t. XXX, p. I)BUONAIUTO, Baldassarre, said Marchionne (Marchionne di Coppo Stefani)
Biographical Dictionary of Italian by Sestan

Biography

Bonaiuti was born in Florence in early 1336 into a wealthy ruling-class family, probably of bankers. His given birth name was Baldassarre, but he preferred to be called Melchioni or Marchionne or Marconne. "Marchionne di Coppo Stefani", the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

under which he is best known, derives from a mistake by the first publisher of his literary work, Father Ildefonso di San Luigi, considering "Stefani" erroneously as a family name. It is not known why he preferred to be called Melchioni or Melchionni or Marconne, perhaps with some allusion to the legendary names of the Magi of the Gospel; however this is pure speculation, as it does not seem appropriate to his social status. Florenze

Bonaiuti was the son of Coppo Stefani de Buonaiuti, a wealthy banker and businessman, and his second wife Gemma di Dante di Rinaldo. Bonaiuti's father was several times elected a captain of the charitable society of Orsanmichele. Bonaiuti lost both his parents when he was fifteen years old. He grew up with his sister and his step-brothers and step-sisters from his father's first marriage, who lived together in a house his father had bought in 1318. Bonaiuti married Costanza di Guido degli Adimari, and if they had children, city archives show none survived to adulthood.Rerum italicarum scriptores; raccolta degli storici italiani dal cinquecento al millecinquecento
ed. L. A. Muratori. New edition, enlarged and corrected under the supervision of

Giosuè Carducci Giosuè Alessandro Giuseppe Carducci (; 27 July 1835 – 16 February 1907) was an Italian poet, writer, literary critic and teacher. He was very noticeably influential, and was regarded as the official national poet of modern Italy. In 1906, h ...

(1900) Local Florentine city documents show he was a moderately wealthy landowner of a house in the city and a farm in the country. Bonaiuti had a political career starting from about 1366, because he was an expert in financial matters. He made an extended business trip through Italy in 1367 and was in Naples that year. There, he made a report to the government of Florence on the relationship of the city with the

House of Valois-Anjou The House of Valois-Anjou (, it, Casa Valois-Angiò) was a noble French family and cadet branch of the House of Valois. Members of the house served as monarchs of Naples, as well as several other territories. History The house was founded in the ...

. From Naples he accompanied

Joan I of Naples Joanna I, also known as Johanna I ( it, Giovanna I; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1382; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381. Joanna was the eldest daug ...

on a visit to Rome for an audience with

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( la, Urbanus V; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the on ...

. He was most politically active in the 1370s. His father was previously associated with the political world. Bonaiuti himself was associated with various Florentine guilds of the popular movement. Because of his political connections, he was chosen to go on various diplomatic missions to represent the Florentine joint executive committee and liaised with the holders of major political offices. In 1376 he was his city's ambassador in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

during the

War of the Eight Saints The War of the Eight Saints (1375–1378) was a war between Pope Gregory XI and a coalition of Italian city-states led by Florence that contributed to the end of the Avignon Papacy The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during whic ...

and was also on various other diplomatic missions in 1379, 1380, and 1381. In 1381 he was sent as ambassador to the German King, Wenceslaus, on what was considered an important diplomatic mission. In 1382 he represented the government of Florence that put an end to the

Revolt of the Ciompi The Ciompi Revolt was a rebellion among unrepresented labourers which occurred in the Republic of Florence, from 1378 to 1382.Cohn, Samuel K., Jr. ''Popular Protest in Late Medieval Europe: Italy, France, and Flanders''. Manchester, Manchester UP, ...

Literary work

Bonaiuti's ''Cronaca fiorentina'' ("''Florentine Chronicle''") is his only known literary work and includes his first-hand account of the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

in and around Florence in the mid-14th century, as well as a history of the city from its earliest times. Bonaiuti did this work as a labor of love during his retirement, in the late 1370s and early 1380s, which proved to be his final years.''Atti del Congresso internazionale di scienze storiche '' (Rome, Tipografia della R. Accademia dei Lincei, 1906), Volumes 3 & 4

References

Sources

* Avery, Catherine B., ''The New Century Italian Renaissance encyclopedia'', Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1972 * Ragone, Franca, ''Giovanni Villani e i suoi continuatori: La scrittura delle cronache a Firenze nel Trecento'' ('Giovanni Villani and those who came after him: the writing of chronicles in fourteenth-century Florence'), Rome, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonaiuti, Baldassarre 1336 births 1385 deaths 14th-century Italian historians 14th-century Italian politicians Ambassadors of the Republic of Florence 14th-century people of the Republic of Florence People from Florence