Diplomatie und Pergament

From Venice to Basel, Florence to Budapest, Mainz, Nürnberg and Bourges - the diplomatic career of the fifteenth century Paduan law professor Giovan Francesco Capodilista spanned not only nearly twenty years, but also covered a wide range of territory. Writing the history of his own family during his stay at the Council of Basel from 1434, Capodilista turned his eye to the past to produce the Capodilista codex, an illuminated manuscript. Kristina Odenweller shows that this both proves his interest in historiographic writing and reveals his strategies to use and manipulate the past to explain, legitimise and shape the present for himself and his family.