Bernice said:
A very interesting post Huck. Informative, and paints a flavour of those times.
So are you implying that the 'straw hat' theory (which fits known circumstances - Rosanne) may not be valid? If so, do you have a theory?
Bee
I think, that "straw hat" is currently the best explanation for the otherwise not identified object at the Magician table. It somehow was confirmed, when the second hat at a magician table was found - though, this might have been not a straw hat, but simply a hat.
Well, imitations not always give the internal meaning of the original or older context. The German-Flemish engraver not necessarily wanted to advertise "Milanese or Fermo straw hats", for his painting he simply needed a hat.
So there's still the question, if the Milanese straw-hat had a special intention. If the anecdote of Fermo tells the truth, what does it really tell ... ???
We have comparable stories from other cities, for instance Ferrara, that, if the Signore or reigning master of a city had a specific festivity (especially marriages), extra taxes were paid by old traditional rules ... so somehow Sforza had to collect "with straw hat" money from the citizens of Fermo for his wedding.
Now the bride didn't come in 1438 and Sforza had lots of expenses for the wedding preparations. But the bride didn't come and now Sforza had to pay back ... "no marriage, no money" from the citizens. Well, damn, a stupid situation, Sforza wouldn't like to lose his face. But Sforza wasn't naturally rich, what he earned, that he invested in his soldiers and these had their costs each month, in war and in peace. And peace was expensive.
Well, "straw hat" as a sign for "begging for money".
When Sforza took Milan in 1450, he not naturally became a "rich man". Actually it's known, that he took credits from Cosimo di Medici, to make Milan running and get it out of the "red numbers".
I've read today the biography of Giovanni Sforza, a brother of Francesco, who had accompanied him through good and bad times...
http://www.condottieridiventura.it/condottieri/s/1839 GIOVANNI SFORZA Di Pisa.htm
... and still was with him in the last hours, when Sforza took Milan in February 1450.
Ott. 1451
Vive a Pavia e vi conduce una vita triste, sia per la malferma salute che per le strettezze economiche. Chiede al fratello che gli sia donata la casa ove abita e del panno, per potere offrire un vestito ai suoi servitori. Francesco ordina al capitano del parco di permettere ai servitori di Giovanni di recarvisi per tagliare legna da ardere.
Dic. 1451
Muore a Pavia. E’ sepolto di notte nella chiesa di San Francesco con il saio di frate minore. L’eredità è costituita solamente da un mantello e da un vecchio vestito scarlatto, che vanno a due suoi servitori. Tutti gli altri suoi beni sono in pegno presso usurai ebrei di Novara.
He had a "vita triste" in October, Francesco could help him a little bit. He died in very poor condition in December 1451, with nothing in his pockets. Well, the brother of a duke.
Surely Francesco had a lot of old soldiers to care for a little ... and all together this were a lot of people, which were not born for the current peace and had trouble to keep money together, if the next battle had been far.