The Power of Words in the Letters of some Women of Power (Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Era)

The paper intends to consider the letters of some famous noble women (such as Elisabetta and Eleonora Gonzaga or Caterina Cibo) who ruled in place of their husbands or their sons. Examining the language used by the ladies themselves, or by their secretaries, we can understand that they used letters as instruments to maintain an important position within their families and to support political strategies as well as their choice of political alliance.