Renaissance in Italy
In part three of Jacob Burckhardt's book, The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, he writes that the Italian Renaissance was shaped by "..not the revival of antiquity alone, but its union with the spirit of the people..." The spirit of the Italian people refers to the way Italians as a group, shared the enthusiasm for antiquity. Burckhardt formulates that this enthusiasm was because the Italians viewed antiquity as a symbol of past greatness. The Middle Ages had brought about much war and corruption in both the Church and secular society. Therefore, the 'Revival of antiquity,' developed in part to find a way to improve society. Italy lay where an ancient society had prospered and triumphed, and thus, Italians looked to Ancient Rome for answers of how to improve their own society. Italy was full of ancient monuments and documents and thus Italians had easy access to the past. The Latin language of Ancient Rome was also easily learned by Italians, which gave them a unified tool to open the past. So, it was the special circumstances of Italy that provided the Italian people with their great enthusiasm to learn and understand the ancients and their way of life. With their new knowledge of the past, a ne
One man who stands out is Francesco Petrarca (1304-74), who has been termed by many as the father of humanism. Valla took a very critical approach to the classics, in order to understand them better. As mentioned earlier, the humanists played a vital role in the 'revival of antiquity'. He used this critical approach to examine some Church documents as well, and along with proving some of them falsities, he also was very unimpressed with the style in which they were written. He wrote a handbook that included what Christian virtues and practices should be. He eventually established a humanist school in Ferrara, with the help of Niccolo d'Este. His collection of Latin manuscripts was one of the greatest of the time. He would teach to anyone who was willing to listen, in a variety of settings. The most influential non-Italian humanist during the Renaissance was Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536). The German-speaking areas of Europe did not have the same special circumstances that Italy had, and therefore, the Renaissance they experienced focused more on the Church and ecclesiastical studies. Salutati was a distinguished Latin stylist and thought very highly of his Roman ancestors. He held Ancient Rome in the greatest esteem, which is evident in many of his works. As most of Europe adhered to the Church, this was a problem. Thus, although there was a revival of past thought and practice, the people of the day took from it what they could relate to Christianity and the beliefs of their own time.
Common topics in this essay:
Ancient Rome,
Erasmus Rotterdam,
Latin Greek,
Italy Guarino,
Common Life,
Europe Germany,
Francesco Petrarca,
Italian Renaissance,
Lorenzo Valla,
Middle Ages,
'revival antiquity',
ancient rome,
italian people,
italian humanist,
special circumstances italy,
latin classics,
society italy,
circumstances italy,
liberal arts,
critical approach,
role 'revival,
role 'revival antiquity',
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