ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the reception of Niccolò Machiavelli's Principe in the early decades after its composition, focusing on Reginald Pole and his spirited attack against the book and its writer. Manuscript circulation in the early sixteenth century comes as no surprise, especially in the case of Machiavelli: of all his non-literary works, only L'Arte della Guerra was printed in his lifetime. Interestingly, one of the early codices of the Principe found its way to England: it is the so-called Charlecote manuscript, now in Charlecote Park, Warwickshire. It is true that the greater circulation of Machiavelli's works in Elizabethan England, the diversified reception and the proliferation of translations in various European languages allows for a more systematic discussion. It is also true that what traces remain of Machiavelli's reception in Henrician England may offer an interesting touchstone for the more articulated response of the latter half of the sixteenth century.
