Abstract
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book begins with a discussion of the etymological and literary tradition of bird texts that provides a fascinating history of avian allusions that range from nesting to hunting to pecking at figs. The book then focuses away from cultural products and material culture to look more closely at social practice and ritualized interaction at various levels of the Italian Renaissance world. It turns the reader's attention to the revealing erotic world of Renaissance letters and male sociability. Music and its erotic potential were also an important aspect of the cultural world of the celebrated Italian courtesan. The book returns the reader to perhaps the best known of all the social contexts of Renaissance erotic culture.