The Renaissance in Italy
• A transition
from the medieval to the modern world.
• Characterized by growing
national consciousness and capitalism
• Greater lay and
secular control of thought and culture, including religion.
• Renaissance first took shape within the cities of late medieval Italy. Advantage b/c of geography—trade with the
Middle
East
• 13th/14th c., trade-rich cities became powerful city-states.
• Merchant
oligarchies became independent states.
• Five major
states of Italy:
• Milan (Duchy)
• Florence (Republic)
•Venice (Republic)
• Papal States (area around Rome
and the NE Italian peninsula, Romagna)
• Kingdom of Two
Sicilies (Naples & Sicily (combined by Aragon (Sp) in 1442))
• Social strife
& competition for political power so intense w/in cities, many evolved into
despotism by the 15th c.
• Exception:
• Venice: ruled by a successful
merchant oligarchy with power located in a patrician senate of 300
members and a ruthless judicial body, the Council of Ten, which
suppressed rival groups.
• Florence
– 4
distinguishable social groups w/in the city
1. Grandi
(old rich)
2. Popolo
grosso (fat people): the newly emerged rich merchant class, capitalists, or
bankers; challenge grandi in
13/14th c.
3. Middle-burgher
ranks: guild masters, shop owners, professionals
4. Popolo
minuto (little people)
• These social divisions produced
conflict.
• 1378 – Ciompi Revolt
Ciompi Revolt – 1378
• Revolt of the
poor
• Resulted from
combination of:
–Feuding btw new and old rich
–Social anarchy resulted from the Black
Death
–Collapse of the banking houses of Bardi
and Peruzzi (which left the poor more vulnerable than ever)
• SUCCESFUL – It
est a 4-yr reign of power by the lower Florentine classes
• Wealthiest
Florentine, secretly gained control of the city
• He exercised
his power behind the scenes, spending $ on poets, scholars, painters,
and sculptors.
• Cosimo’s son;
ruled Florence as a totalitarian ruler. He, like his father, sought to
legitimize that rule by putting
resources into arts, literature, and
scholarship.
• His son, Piero, did not have his father’s strength and was overturned by a puritanical monk at the establishment
of the Florentine Republic.
• (1469-1527)
Most important political writer.
• The
Prince – rejects the traditional Christian view that the state is
subject to divine law. He adopts a secular
and amoral view of politics.
• The state exists
for its own sake. Ruler should worry only about preservation of authority; may
use any means
to do so.
• Purpose of
writing The Prince was to get a job with the Medici’s.
•1st to
discuss politics and social phenomena in their own terms w/o recourse to
ethics.
• To him,
politics is only about one thing: getting and keeping power or authority
• Everything
else associated with politics--religion, morality, etc.--has nothing to do with it. Only
skill that
counts is calculation.
The Northern Renaissance
• The influence of the Italian Renaissance spread to the rest of West. Europe. It differed from the Ital. Ren.
somewhat.
• The growing
secular spirit was powerful, but a greater effort to reconcile secular and
Christian values and
attitudes.
• Infused w/a more powerful Christian
spirit than in Italy, where an almost open revolt against Christian ideals.
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HUMANISM THE IDEOLOGY OF THE RENAISSANCE
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Humanism
•Dignity of
mankind, champion of individualism and secular values (followers of Jacob Burkhardt)
•Form of
scholarship to promote sense of civic responsibility and political liberty.
•Uses the
study of Latin/Greek classics and the Ancient Church Fathers. Advocated a
liberal arts program: grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, ethics, and moral philosophy.
1. The Revival and Study of Antiquity?
“Humanism was the scholarly study of the Latin and Greek classics
and the ancient Church fathers both for their own sake and in the hope of a rebirth
of ancient norms and values.”
-
Western
Heritage (p. 360)
2. A
Celebration of the Individual?
3. The
Elevation of Secular Values?
4. An
Educational Reform Movement?
5. A Call to
Public Involvement & Action?
Civic Humanists believed
that citizens should participate
in public
affairs and use their wisdom for the benefit of all.
6. A Campaign
for Religious Reforms?
Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
• “Prince of
Humanists”…Outstanding!
• Believed that
Christian religion offered humanity guidelines for its moral conduct and that
religion and learning
were bound together.
• Had faith
that abusive institutions could be reformed from within.
• Opposed Martin
Luther’s Reformation
• Saw
Christianity as an ethical religion
• A philosophy
of selfless love & piety
• Saw the
dogmas, rituals, and business practices of the Catholic church were dangerous
departures from the
philosophy of Christ.
• Intended to
reform the Catholic church from inside, but some writings became foundation
texts for
Protestantism.
• Praise of Folly (1512)
– Ridiculed
many attitudes such as ignorance, superstition, and greed
–
Erasmus speaks in the voice of Folly, a silly creature who leads
men astray to behave foolishly and
without reason. Thus the references to “me” in the text are not to
Erasmus himself, but to Folly.
– Erasmus attacks Scholastic, a group of
medieval theologians and professors who favored logic, rational,
empirical deduction rather than a mystical, intro- verted approach to
God. They constructed elaborate
proofs of the existence of God, and spent time exploring questions that
were obscure or irrelevant.
• They used a corrupt form of
Classical Latin, one that is closer to modern vernaculars but far away from ‘
the elegant prose of Cicero or Virgil.
Impacts of the Italian Renaissance
• The renewed
emphasis on classical languages and literature influenced the development of
European education over the next several centuries
• The revival
of classical ideals in painting, sculpture, and architecture had a far-reaching
impact on Western art.
• The Printing
Press & J. Gutenberg
• Set up the
first practical printing press using moveable type. About 1456, he produced his
printed version of the
Bible.
• Won rapid
acceptance throughout Europe
• By 1500,
more than 1000 in use, with over 25,000 books printed
• It allowed
the rapid spread of new knowledge and ideas among the educated class,
quickening the spread of
Renaissance ideas and ideals.
Humanism in the Northern Renaissance
• Frequently
referred to as Christian humanism b/c of their efforts to unite classical
learning with the Christian
faith.
• Rejected
medieval Christianity’s emphasis on otherworldliness
• Sought to
balance otherworldly and secular concerns
• See classics
as guides in their quest
Important Northern Renaissance Humanists
• Erasmus
• Thomas More
– best known English humanist. Wrote Utopia, a conservative criticism of
contemporary society.
Depicts an imaginary society based on
reason & tolerance; overcomes social & political injustice by
holding
property/goods in common, requiring own
work to earn their bread.