In "The Book of the Courtier" (1528), Baldesar Castiglione, a Diplomat and Papal Nuncio to Rome, Sets Out to Define the Essential Virtues for Those at Court. in a Lively Series of Imaginary Conversations Between the Real-Life Courtiers to the Duke of Urbino, His Speakers Discuss Qualities of Noble Behaviour - Chiefly Discretion, Decorum, Nonchalance and Gracefulness - As Well As Wider Questions Such As the Duties of a Good Government and the True Nature of Love. Castiglione's Narrative Power and Psychological Perception Make This Guide Both an Entertaining Comedy of Manners and a Revealing Window Onto the Ideals and Preoccupations of the Italian Renaissance at the Moment of Its Greatest Splendour.