Gregorio Dati (1362-1435) and the limits of individual agency

This article focuses on the diary of the Florentine Gregorio Dati (13621435) and its significance for the study of agency in pre-modern Europe. In particular this article analyses Dati's 'abeyance of individual agency' in the context of his family affairs, business ventures, and participation in politics, as well as in relation to Dati's views on his personal development. The diary data, and in particular the private memoranda of 1404 and 1412, are corroborated with Dati's other writings and placed in the context of late-medieval and Renaissance culture. As such, this article draws attention to the role of cultural factors in the construction of agency, and aims to participate in a broader, interdisciplinary debate.