Renaissance Humanism & The Italian Renaissance Flashcards
Different Humanisms
modern: rational & scientific as opposed to spiritual & mysterious; atheistic tendencies & general rejection of validity of religion
– medieval/Renaissance: pursuing rational & scientific investigation following the model of the Greeks & Romans while also acknowledging the importance & validity of religious faith
– NB: Both of the above definitions are Dr. M’s
definitions, not standard definitions. Others might disagree with them.
Italian Renaissance
– Some scholars refer to
the “Northern
Renassiance” and the
“Italian Renaissance.”
– Dr. M. likes this
dichotomy although it
has its critics.
– The geography &
politics of Italy made it fertile ground for the
“rebirth” of Classical
Civilization.
Venice, Italy
wealth came maritime
trade in Byzantine & Muslim lands in Med. &
Black Sea
– republican gov’t called “commune” in which the
leader, the doge, was elected & checked by councils of social peers
– as close as it got to a real republic in Europe at the time
– collapse of Byzantine Empire (1453) marked end of Venetian dominance
Florence, Italy
wool & banking were the basis of Florentine wealth
– 1293: Ordinances of Justice
created constitutional gov’t. in which nobility & laborers could not serve = only middle class ruled
– de Medici banking family became powerful in 1400s & invested in scholarship & art
– inspired Machiavelli’s The
Prince, a work of early poli sci
– right: terra cotta bust of Cosimo de Medici (d. 1464)
Milan, Italy
wool, silk, & armament
industries were central
– trade guilds were
powerful
– government: popular
dictators/despots called
dukes
– despotism led by Sforza family from 1450s
– Sforza were major patrons of scholarship &
art
Renaissance Italy: Money,
Politics, & Power
– commerce, trade, banking, & finance surpassed land as sources of wealth
– merchant classes became wealthy & demanded greater say in government & law
– power of landed nobility weakened (but not
destroyed)
– money spent on public works to keep the
commoners complacent
– money spent on public works (e.g. churches &
monasteries) also covered a lot of sins
– money spent on art & lit spread fame
Medieval Scholasticism
refers to the subjects and methodologies of medieval European scholarship
– tried to reconcile faith with
reason, with faith being the priority
– focus was on Christian notions of
God, religion, & theology
– focus was on preserving knowledge (rather than expanding it)
– tendency to reject pre-Christian
pagan past as irrelevant
– by 1400s had lost inquisitive spirit & vitality & had degenerated into preservation of Church dogma
The Black Death 1347-1352
– 3 diseases: bubonic plague, septicemic plague, & pneumonic plague
– widely variable but roughly 60% mortality rate
– bubonic plague caused black sores all over body = Black Death
– killed 25-30 million in
Europe = ~ ¼ the total
– worst was 1348-1352 but
outbreaks continued into 1500s
– caused great social upheaval that helped bring an end to the medieval Euro order
Boccaccio (d. 1375)
celebrated & popularized Italian lit.
– The Decameron: semi-fictional
stories that provide us w/ view of daily life in 14th century; written in vernacular rather than Latin; used poetic forms then considered “low class”
– was banned by Church until the 1600s because it was deemed too
vulgar (& too honest in its critiques) but was an instant hit nevertheless
– now considered masterpiece of medieval lit.
– B. also studied Greek & wrote
Ancestry of the Pagan Gods as well
as Concerning Famous Women
Petrarch (d. 1374)
believed that religious faith & secular learning were compatible
– searched for classical Latin (& Greek) works that had been forgotten in libraries & archives
– heavily influenced by St. Augustine (d. 430) whom he took as spiritual guide
– searched for classical Latin (& Greek) works that had been forgotten in libraries & archives
– studied pagan Roman lit. & translated Livy
– best known works are his
sonnets to unknown woman
named “Laura”
– considered by many the Father of Renaissance Humanism
The Fall of Constantinople
1453
end of Greek Byzantine Empire
– Greek scholars fled to
Italy & brought libraries with them
– led to increased study of Classical Greek in Europe
– led to “re-discovery” of pagan Latin & Greek works in Europe
– more Europeans learned Greek & could
read New Testament in
original language(s)
Philology & Text Criticism
philology: the study of the history of language incl. changes in language over time
textual criticism: academic
techniques of restoring texts to their original form
Both began as efforts to edit the many variant manuscript copies of classical works that were
stored in libraries across
Europe.
Lorenzo Valla (d. 1457)
controversial scholar who was charged with “offenses to the dignity of history” (e.g. today “divisive concepts”)
– developed a book of Latin grammar that became the standard
– claimed that Livy was wrong about some things in Roman history (!!!)
– defended some pagan philosophy e.g. Epicurus
– refused to accept that some then-common prayers (e.g. The Apostles Creed) were actually composed by the Apostles of Jesus
– Declamatio: used philology to discredit the authenticity of the “Donation of Constantine” & thus Papal claims to land in Italy
– composed new critical edition of Bible that showed flaws in St. Jerome’s (d. 420) Latin translation, The Vulgate
