The niccolo series by Dorothy Dunnett. (populist, best sellers but perhaps dated and less known by more recent readers) Meticulously researched bodice ripper romance adventure set in the rennaisance against a backdrop of trade in dye, fabric and knowledge. Dunnett was a first class medieval scholar and after a core of fictional characters were established almost everyone she writes about exists in the literature of the time. Plus, bodice ripping!