Each group should come up with a list of the following people and describe them briefly so that each person has a knowledge of the characters in the book:
o Ser Filippo Mazzei
o Archbishop Antonius
o Lusanna
o Benedetto di Girolamo
o Andrea di Antonio Nucci
o Giovanni della Casa
o Ser Lodovico della Casa
o Stefano di Francesco
o Friar Fra Felice Asini
o Marietta Rucellai
o Piero Migliorrelli
o Giovanni della Porta of Novara
Each group should answer one of the following questions (assigned by Halvorson) as a group and report back to the class. However, during the "sharing time", you should jot down the answers others come up with.
1. What sources does historian Gene Brucker use for this book?
2. What is a notary? What is a procurer? What did they do in 15th century Florence?
3. When (or at least where) did Giovanni first see Lusanna? How did their affair begin?
4. What caused Lusanna to bring suit against Giovanni? Where was this case tried?
5. Why and how did the archbishop and Podesta fight over legal jurisdiction for this case?
6. What different social classes and guilds did these two lovers belong to?
Summary questions for general class discussion and final exam preparation (write down the answers to each as we discuss this generally, or in detail after class.
o What was the trial outcome?
o What did the archbishop base his decision on?
o What eventually happened to the case? What happened to Lusanna?
o What does this episode tell us, then, about the position of women in Florentine society?