Book exchange and Anglo-Italian relations in the Padua circle of Reginald Pole and Niccolò Leonico Tomeo

Abstract

This article considers the correspondence network centring around a young Reginald Pole and his tutor Niccolò Leonico Tomeo in Padua during the first half of the 1520s, when, as a student at the beginning of his career, Pole first resided in the Veneto region. Here, this article discusses a specific aspect highlighted in the exchanges between Pole, Leonico, and their circle of mostly English and Italian friends, i.e., the circulation of books and knowledge. Within this framework, this article investigates the relationship between textual exchange, social bonds, and political and professional advancement within a prominent humanist circle.