The contributions in this volume deal with the figure of the ambassador and the art of negotiation, from the rise of new forms of political organization at the end of the Middle Ages to the emergence of the diplomatic profession in the late 18th to the 19th century. These articles examine a variety of texts, including theoretical or pedagogical texts, literary works, legal instruments, or practical accounts that reflect--sometimes incidentally--on diplomatic envoys and negotiation. Through these texts, scholars are able to show how, from medieval doctors to 19th-century professors, from humanists to negotiators of the 17th century, the figure of the ambassador and the rules of diplomacy have been constantly constructed and reconstructed.