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Tudor Minute May 3, 1469: Happy Birthday Niccolo Machivelli

Hey, this is Heather from the Renaissance English History Podcast, and this is your Tudor Minute for May 3.

Today is the birthday of Niccolo Machivelli in 1469, in Florence, Italy. He’s not a Tudor, but he definitely influenced our Tudor monarchs with his famous book, The Prince, which outlined the way a Renaissance monarch should rule. He didn’t just write political books, but also published comedies, and poetry. But The Prince is what he will always be remembered for, because it had such an impact on political ideas at the time.

He believed that sometimes a Prince had to act immorally, and that the ends justified the means, and that it was better for a prince to be feared than loved. Through the centuries people have debated whether the book is actually a satire, or also was perhaps a tell all book that would give away the secrets of these types of rulers, since the rulers themselves already presumably knew it all already.

That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.