Leonardo Bruni, the Medici, and the Florentine Histories

This article offers a new reading of Leonardo Bruni's History of the Florentine People. It focuses on books VII-XII of this famous work, i.e. those produced and/or published after the Medici came to power in 1434. Careful study of key passages suggests that Bruni—often portrayed by modern historians as a republican firebrand—actually made a relatively smooth transition to the post-1434 climate of authoritarian rule. Indeed the evidence presented here reveals that Bruni deliberately (if subtly) manipulated his historical data in order to extol the Medici, who had meanwhile become the virtual patrons of his enterprise.