The Historical Context of Gregory Maguire’s Snow White Tale
With as few spoilers as possible, here are some of the key places and figures Maguire uses. Do note that, as Maguire explicitly acknowledges in a note at the end of the book, he has “taken certain liberties with the life stories of historical figures.” An interesting, albeit very involved, way to approach Mirror, Mirror is to take note of what details Maguire alters or embellishes in his depictions of these historical figures and places, and consider why it is that he has elected to make the changes that he does for this book.
Montefiore
Montefiore, a name which means ‘flower mountain,’ is an actual place—both historically and currently. Montefiore dell’Aso is a comune in Province Ascoli Piceno, and there is a castle called Montefiore Conca which is very likely the villa estate referred to as the residence for Mirror, Mirror’s Snow White.
From the arable river lands to the south, the approach to Montefiore appears a sequence of relaxed hills. In the late spring, when the puckers of red poppy blossom are scattered against the green of the season, it can look like so much washing, like mounds of Persian silk and Florentine brocade lightly tossed in heaps. Each successive rise takes on a new color, indefinably more fervent, an aspect of distance and time stained by the shadows of clouds, or bleached when the sun takes a certain position.
But the traveler on foot or in a hobble-wheeled peasant cart, or even on horseback, learns he truth of the terrain. The ascent is steeper than it looks from below. And the rutted track traverses in long switchbacks to accommodate for the severity of the grade and the crosscutting ravines. So the trip takes many more hours than the view suggests. The red-tiled roofs of Montefiore come into sight, promisingly, and then disappear again as hills loom up and forests close in.
– opening lines to “The roofs of Montefiore”, Mirror, Mirror
Basilica of San Francesco, Arezzo
The History of the True Cross
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To the north of Montefiore is the city of Arezzo, where Vicente de Nevada is described as visiting the San Francesco monastery and contemplating a series of frescos upon its walls, painted by Piero della Francesca (“The vision in San Francesco”). This fresco sequence, known as The History of the True Cross or The Legend of the True Cross, is considered to be a masterwork of the Italian Early Renaissance period. You can find an interactive 3D model of the frescoes here. As you read Maguire’s description of the images depicted upon the walls of San Francesco, you can browse those images for yourself.
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The House of Borgia
Cesare Borgia, the Duc de Valentinois, lived from 1475-1507. He was an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, and has been described as bloodthirsty and power-hungry. He is well-documented to have been the major inspiration for Machiavelli’s The Prince. He was an Italian politician and mercenary leader who fought for power both on and off the battlefield.
Lucrezia Borgia was Cesare’s younger sister. She lived from 1480-1519. Lucrezia was described to be one of the most beautiful women of her time. She was first married at the age of 13, and went on to marry two more times. She reigned as Governor of Spoleto in her own right, although that position was usually filled by a cardinal. Lucrezia was also a prominent patron of the arts.
Cesare and Lucrezia had a brother (a third child of Pope Alexander VI), but Maguire omitted him from his depiction of these figures in Mirror, Mirror.