| Summary: | This letter dated 24 November 1520 was penned from Mainz in Germany by Raffaello di Averardo di Bernadetto de’Medici (1477-1522), a papal diplomat in the service of Pope Leo X (1475-1521). De’ Medici, a resident of Bruges, earlier in the year had served as a diplomat at Mechelen, attending the court of Margaret of Austria (1480-1530) during negotiations to forge an alliance beween Pope Leo X (1475-1521), Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-1558) and King Henry VIII (1491-1547). Here he writes to Amerigo di Giovanni Benci (1498-1560) in Antwerp, mentioning in particular Leonardo Frescobaldi (1476-1529), a wealthy merchant and banker with English mercantile connections, licenced by Henry VIII to trade in silks, damasks, velvet and saltpeter. He notes his readiness to undertake an embassy for the Pope in approximately fifteen days time. During this period the Lutheran crisis was unfolding in Germany – four days after this letter was penned, on 28 November 1520, Luther’s works were publicly burnt in Mainz under the orders of Cardinal Albert of Brandenberg (1490-1545). [From dealer description]
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