In Timothy McCall’s Brilliant Bodies (a source I use for my research project), he looks at courtly fashion during the Renaissance: “This essay explores and interprets the ways in which lords achieved the brilliant clothing and bodily adornment that confirmed signorial status in the eyes of their peers and subjects. Fifteenth-century courtly values of expenditure and display such as splendore (splendor)—the Latin verb splendere means to ‘shine, be bright; to gleam, glitter, glisten’—betray the contemporary significance of radiance.” (McCall 446) The essay isn’t particularly arguing one thing or another — it simply accepts that radiance was an essential part of Renaissance fashion and then provides multiple examples to prove its point. McCall
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While McCall’s essay doesn’t strictly have a thesis, it is attempting to show the reader the importance of brilliance in Renaissance fashion. Leydi’s article, on the other hand, is all about constructing a historical record of the Negroli family. Using newly discovered documents, Leydi goes through an exhaustive effort, translating and deciphering endless scraps of letters, transitions, and writings. It’s described right in the opening: “This research has unearthed hundreds of documents, but there are certainly many more documents to be discovered. The results of the research reported here must be considered a point of departure rather than a definitive work, and we will therefore examine only those documents that are directly relevant to the fabrication of and trade in arms and that are useful in clarifying significant events in the lives of individual family members.” (Leydi 37) As such, Leydi breaks down his essay into different sections, determined by each new generation of the Negroli family. From there, he further breaks it down based on specific well-known members of the family. He freely admits when there is missing information (specifically surrounding the 1543 burgonet) but he consistently attempts to make an educated guess based on the available information. But as he says in the opening, this is by no means definitive. Leydi’s purpose
While McCall’s essay doesn’t strictly have a thesis, it is attempting to show the reader the importance of brilliance in Renaissance fashion. Leydi’s article, on the other hand, is all about constructing a historical record of the Negroli family. Using newly discovered documents, Leydi goes through an exhaustive effort, translating and deciphering endless scraps of letters, transitions, and writings. It’s described right in the opening: “This research has unearthed hundreds of documents, but there are certainly many more documents to be discovered. The results of the research reported here must be considered a point of departure rather than a definitive work, and we will therefore examine only those documents that are directly relevant to the fabrication of and trade in arms and that are useful in clarifying significant events in the lives of individual family members.” (Leydi 37) As such, Leydi breaks down his essay into different sections, determined by each new generation of the Negroli family. From there, he further breaks it down based on specific well-known members of the family. He freely admits when there is missing information (specifically surrounding the 1543 burgonet) but he consistently attempts to make an educated guess based on the available information. But as he says in the opening, this is by no means definitive. Leydi’s purpose