Margherita d'Austria: musica e identità di una principessa del Rinascimento

In this essay I concentrate on Margaret of Austria’s chansonnier, BrusBR 228, reflecting on the role of this manuscript in the construction and performance of Margaret’s identity as a princely reader and as a ruler. Following the path opened by recent studies on this manuscript, I propose an analysis of the chansonnier as a music book, that is, as an object constructed through the interaction of different communicative codes, pondering some elements particularly interesting for my perspective, such as the initial pages. On the basis of this analysis, I advance new hypotheses on the uses and meanings of BrusBR 228, as well as, more in general, on Margaret’s reading habits and their potential cultural meanings and ideological ends.