Renaissance humanism
In the final years of the thirteenth century, a cultural shift began in Tuscany and the Veneto region. Manuscripts and inscriptions were in high demand as scholars sought to recover forgotten authors. Lovato Lovati and Albertino Mussato worked in Padua during this period of pre-humanism. They imitated graphic models from antiquity while searching for linguistic and stylistic renewal. This movement developed particularly at the papal court of Avignon under figures like Landolfo Colonna. The rediscovery of classical texts inspired a return to ancient literary models that had been lost for centuries. Petrarch emerged as the central figure who encouraged the study of pagan civilizations. He was dubbed the Father of Humanism by later generations. His library contained many manuscripts that did not survive the passage of time. Petrarch taught classical virtues as a means of preserving Christianity rather than replacing it.
Around 1370, Tuscan humanist Coluccio Salutati popularized the phrase studia humanitatis. He used the term to refer to culture and learning as a guide to moral life. Rhetoric and oration formed the core focus of his early definitions. Pier Paolo Vergerio stressed the importance of history and moral philosophy in his work De ingenuis moribus. Tommaso Parentucelli wrote to Cosimo de' Medici about studies consisting of grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and ethics. By the middle of the fifteenth century, university courses in Bologna and Padua taught these disciplines alongside Latin poetry. Logic was excluded from this curriculum while poetry became the most important member of the group. Paul Oskar Kristeller argued that their classical learning was incidental to being professional rhetoricians. The movement increased its actual scope and content within school curricula across Italy. Students learned to speak with eloquence and clarity for civic engagement.
Humanism spread northward to France, Germany, and England after large-scale printing began around 1500. Guillaume Budé applied philological methods to antique coinage and legal history in sixteenth-century France. He served as a diplomat for Francis I and helped found the Collège des Lecteurs Royaux. Marguerite de Navarre gathered poets like Clément Marot and François Rabelais under her protection. Francisco de Vitoria became the first great exponent of humanism in Spain. His work on Spanish subjects in America earned him recognition as father of modern international law. Charles V appointed Mercurino di Gattinara as his chancellor among other noted humanists. Baldassare Castiglione codified a militant conception known as las armas y las letras. This approach combined weapons and letters during conflicts like the Italian Wars. The movement became associated with the Reformation as it moved through Northern Europe.
Many humanists were churchmen including Pope Pius II, Sixtus IV, and Leo X. They sought to purify and renew Christianity rather than abandon it. In 1417, Poggio Bracciolini discovered the manuscript of Lucretius which had been lost for centuries. Denys Lambin announced in 1564 that he regarded Epicurean ideas as fanciful and opposed to Christianity. Lorenzo Valla put a defense of epicureanism in dialogue form though Charles Trinkhaus called it a ploy. Marsilio Ficino translated Plato's works into Latin while attempting to reconcile Platonism with Christianity. Pico della Mirandola constructed syncretism of religions but church authorities rejected his views on magic. Erasmus wrote The Epicurean taking up Valla's adaptation of ancient philosophy. Non-Italian figures like Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples influenced biblical translations before and after the Reformation. Swedish Catholic Archbishop Olaus Magnus contributed to efforts improving understanding of early Christian texts.
Hans Baron coined the term civic humanism in the 1920s based on studies of Leonardo Bruni. He proposed that this strain originated around 1402 following struggles between Florence and Visconti-led Milan. Baron viewed Petrarch's humanism as rhetorical and superficial compared to this new republican project. Philip Jones and Peter Herde found Baron's praise of republican humanists naive in the 1960s. They argued republics were far less liberty-driven than Baron had believed. James Hankins added that political values among humanists serving oligarchies differed little from those serving princes. A political reform program was central to the movement founded by Petrarch. It was not an ideological product associated with a particular regime type according to modern historians. The debate continues regarding whether humanism promoted freedom or served existing power structures.
Eugenio Garin and Paul Oskar Kristeller fundamentally disagreed on Renaissance humanism despite working together for decades. Kristeller asserted their classical learning was incidental to being professional rhetoricians. He viewed grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and ethics as main concerns rather than philosophy itself. Garin considered philosophy ever-evolving and inextricable from practices of thinkers of its period. He wanted humanist-philosophers to be organic intellectuals breaking with medieval traditions. Jean-Paul Sartre published Existentialism Is a Humanism in 1946 while Martin Heidegger responded with his letter on humanism. Kristeller studied under Heidegger before discounting Renaissance humanism as philosophy. Garin conceived humanists occupying characteristic angst attributed to existentialists conscious of radical freedom. Iosif Grigulevich described late Renaissance traits as revolt against abstract Aristotelian thought. His work also noted concern with war poverty and social injustice among these scholars.
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Common questions
When did Renaissance humanism begin in Tuscany and the Veneto region?
Renaissance humanism began in the final years of the thirteenth century. Manuscripts and inscriptions were in high demand as scholars sought to recover forgotten authors during this period.
Who is considered the Father of Humanism for encouraging the study of pagan civilizations?
Petrarch emerged as the central figure who encouraged the study of pagan civilizations. He was dubbed the Father of Humanism by later generations.
What phrase did Coluccio Salutati popularize around 1370 to describe culture and learning?
Coluccio Salutati popularized the phrase studia humanitatis around 1370. He used the term to refer to culture and learning as a guide to moral life.
How did Renaissance humanism spread northward after large-scale printing began around 1500?
Humanism spread northward to France, Germany, and England after large-scale printing began around 1500. Guillaume Budé applied philological methods to antique coinage and legal history in sixteenth-century France.
When did Poggio Bracciolini discover the manuscript of Lucretius which had been lost for centuries?
In 1417, Poggio Bracciolini discovered the manuscript of Lucretius which had been lost for centuries. This discovery contributed to the recovery of forgotten authors during the movement.