RENAISSANCE
HUMANISM
12
Francesco Petrarca
Epistolae familiares
Venice: Joannes and Gregorius de Gregoriis, 1492
The Epistolae familiares of Petrarch (1304-1374)
reflects the author's emphasis on concrete human experience and his
love of classical antiquity attitudes which became
characteristic of the revival of classical learning which he helped
set in motion. By composing letters to ancient Greek and Roman
personalities as if they were still alive, Petrarch hoped to revive
the individuality, beauty, and purity which he perceived in the
classical works. He felt that the lessons of the ancients could
serve to invigorate the moral life of Christendom and to lighten a
world beset by disease, famine, and other woes. This incunable
edition of the Epistolae familiares includes the first
eight of the twenty-four books comprising the collection.
13
Giovanni Boccaccio
Il Filocolo
Gualdo, Italy, 1456
Much of the genius of the early Renaissance humanists lay in
their ability to reinterpret and embellish a variety of classical
and medieval texts and traditions. Among the earliest writings of
Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), a close friend of Petrarch, was
Il Filocolo, a romance in prose based upon the popular
medieval French tale, Fleur et Blanchefleur. Interweaving
elements of classical mythology and enriching the plot with his own
acute observations on human nature, Boccaccio described the loves
and adventures of the Spanish prince Florio and the Roman girl
Biancofiore. Written at the request of his mistress Fiammetta,
Il Filocolo is notable for its innovative use of Italian
prose and for the ways in which it presages Boccaccio's later
masterpiece, the Decameron.
14
Leone Battista Alberti
De re aedificatoria
Italy, ca. 1485
Leone Battista Alberti (1404-1472) was the prototype of the
Renaissance "universal man," combining the vocations of humanist,
athlete, engineer, architect, courtier, musician, and
mathematician. A clear synthesis of so many skills is to be found
in De re aedificatoria (1452), a work which became the
basic text of Renaissance architecture. Alberti blends insights
gained from long study of classical sources and models, such as
Vitruvius, with an innovative architectural technique based upon
mathematical principles and musical harmonies. Alberti brought his
theories to fruition by designing churches in Rimini and Milan, and
the Rucallai palace in Florence. This manuscript of De re
aedificatoria was probably produced in a Sicilian center or in
a Neapolitan scriptorium.
15
Leonardo Bruni
De primo bello Punico
Italy, ca. 1450-1470
The political history of early fifteenth-century Italy,
especially the attacks of Milan on Florence, fostered a heightened
consciousness of Italy's past among Florentine humanists. In their
discussions over the fate of ancient republics and monarchies, they
found a flexible medium for articulating the problems of
contemporary governments. Thus the original work by Leonardo Bruni
(1369-1444) on the first Punic war, which is found in this
fifteenth-century manuscript, represents a critical moment in the
development of Florentine civic humanism. Through his application
of the skills of a classicist to more immediate problems, Bruni had
a great influence upon the growth of modern historiography.
16
Aristotle
Opera [Greek]
Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1495 98
Five volumes
The invasion of Greece in the fifteenth century by the Turkish
armies caused great alarm amongst nascent humanist circles in
Europe. Fearing the destruction of Greek literature, Aldus Manutius
(1450 1515), a noted scholar, procured from his student
Alberto Pio, prince of Carpi, the funds required to establish a
printing house at Venice and, in 1489, began the editing of
classical texts. Aldus later issued a remarkable five-volume series
containing the works of Aristotle and others, executed in a superb
Greek type which surpassed in quality any previous attempts. Volume
I contains the Organon, while other works by Aristotle, as
well as those of Galen, Philo Judaeus, Theophrastus, and Alexander
Aphrodisaeus, are found in the other four volumes.
17
Scriptores astronomici veteres
Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1499
Edited by Franciscus Niger
Although the great advances in astronomy were not made until the
first half of the sixteenth century, Scriptores astronomici
veteres, a collection of Greek and Roman astronomical texts,
was published with great foresight by Aldus Manutius in 1499. The
volume includes previously unpublished works by Aratus of Soli and
Proclus, whose writings became influential during the Renaissance.
The work of Aratus continued the tradition of the astronomical
writings of Eudoxos of Cnidos, a pupil of Plato. Proclus, known as
the great exponent of later Neoplatonism, was one of the first
writers to discuss the precession of the equinoxes and the annual
eclipses of the sun. Thomas Linacre, the renowned English humanist,
provided a translation of Proclus' De sphaera; other
humanists such as William Grocinus contributed letters and
introductions to this remarkable collection.
18
Diogenes Laertius
De vita et moribus philosophorum
Italy? fifteenth century?
The fifteenth-century interest in Diogenes Laërtius (fl.
222 235) represents a significant chapter in the transmission
of classical Greek learning to the Latin West. De vita et
moribus philosophorum was not generally available in Latin
until Ambrosius Traversarius made a complete translation for Cosimo
de Medici in 1435. Laërtius, with his lively, anecdotal style,
provided an entertaining alternative to standard literary
biographies such as St. Jerome's De viris illustribus (ca.
390). This manuscript is one of many which were eagerly passed from
hand to hand before printing made another form of distribution
possible with the first Latin incunable edition at Rome
ca. 1472.
19
Domizio Calderini
Commentaria in Martialem
Italy? fifteenth century
The compactness and variety of the epigrams of Martial
(40-ca.104) made him one of the most popular authors during his own
and later times. A skilled observer, he used his wit and
penetrating insight to render all aspects of Roman society into
sharply condensed statements. His critical view of a cosmopolitan
society proved most attractive to humanists such as Domizio
Calderini (ca. 1444 1478), who produced his
Commentaria in Martialem at Venice in 1474. By the age of
twenty-four, Calderini had received great praise for his study of
letters and was summoned to a professorship in Rome by Pope Paul
II. He was later designated Apostolic Secretary by Pope Sixtus IV.
Calderini, best known for his commentaries on classical authors,
was also versed in mathematics, jurisprudence, and philosophy. In
this contemporary manuscript, written in a Neapolitan hand, the
quoted words from the epigrams appear in red. The text is adorned
with over 700 decorated initials.
20
Plato
Opera
Basel: Johann Froben, 1532
Translated by Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio Ficino (1433 1499) was the most influential
representative of Renaissance Platonism. Together with Alberti,
Pico della Mirandola, Cosimo de Medici, Politian, and Landino, he
founded the Platonic Academy in Florence. Although several works of
Plato had been available in Latin translations prior to the
fifteenth century, Ficino made the first complete translation of
the Platonic corpus into a Western language (1484). This
publication marks a major point in the intellectual history of
Europe. The work was of such high quality that it remained in
general use until the eighteenth century. The sixth edition,
emended by Simon Grynaeus (1493-1541), was issued by Johann Froben
(1460 1527), one of the greatest printers and publishers of
the period, who employed the renowned Erasmus as literary advisor
and proofreader.
21
Lupold von Bebenburg
Germanorum veterum principium zelus et
fervor in Christianam religionem deique ministros
Basel: Johann Bergmann, 1497
Edited by Sebastian Brant
A great deal of the early success of the German humanists was
due to their articulation of a national spirit. Their convictions
about Germany's ancient culture and role as successor to the Roman
Empire helped secure for them badly needed patronage. Thus they
revived not only ancient authors on Germany such as Tacitus, but
also medieval writers who had exalted the Holy Roman Empire and had
discussed the relationship between German kingship and imperial
dignity. Sebastian Brant 1457-1521), the Strassburg humanist and
author of Das Narrenschiff (1494, edited a treatise by the
canon lawyer and political theorist Lupold von Bebenburg (ca.
1297 1363) which emphasizes the prominence of Germany
and the Empire in Christendom and their venerable and close
connection with the Christian faith. In delineating the roles of
the spiritual and secular powers in Christian society, Lupold had
sought to provide a modus vivendi between the papacy and
the Empire.
22
Konrad Celtes
Panegyris ad duces Bavariae
[Augsburg: Erhard Ratdolt, 1492]
While less scholarly than Brant's edition of Lupold,
Panegyris ad duces Bavariae, composed by Konrad Celtes
(1459-1508), represents those acts of homage to rulers which often
won humanists the patronage they sought in vain from universities.
Celtes, a student of Rudolph Agricola (1443-1485), led the
wandering life of a Renaissance scholar and was instrumental in the
diffusion of the new learning north of the Alps. The dukes of
Bavaria acknowledged Celtes and his program of humanistic study by
adding a humanist faculty to their university at Ingolstadt, just
as the Habsburg emperor Maximilian had done at the University of
Vienna. Celtes' poetic achievements also won him the honor of being
the first poet laureate of Germany, a distinction conferred upon
him by the emperor Frederick III in imitation of ancient Roman
practice.
23
Priamus Capotius
Oratio metrica in alma Lipsiensi universitate habita
[Leipzig: Martin Landsberg, 1487-88]
Following the establishment of humanist faculties at German
universities by Celtes and others, a number of Italian humanists
came to aid in the instruction of the new fields of learning. When
Celtes left the University of Leipzig, his associate Priamus
Capotius (d. 1517) was invited to fill the vacant chair of
literature, thus becoming one of the earliest exponents of
classical studies in the north. Prior to his appointment, Capotius
had composed Oratio metrica, a dithyramb in which he
extolled the virtues of the founder of the University of Leipzig,
Frederick of Saxony. Using a range of heroic verse, classical
allusions, and Christian sentiments, the Oratio predicts
future glory for Frederick and his lineage. Best known for his work
on Lucretius, Cicero, Virgil, and Horace, Capotius promoted the
systematic study of both sacred and secular texts at a critical
moment in the diffusion of Renaissance learning.
24
Johann Reuchlin
De rudimentis hebraicis
Pforzheim: Thomas Anshelm, 1506
The growth of Renaissance learning in the universities and
schools of Germany met with the opposition of the obscurantists,
those Schoolmen who were opposed to the humanistic methods and
ideas. Johann Reuchlin (1455 1522) had been central Europe's
leading scholar of Greek and Latin classics but later in his life
turned to the study of Hebrew and to biblical criticism. After
research on medieval rabbinic grammatical and exegetical
traditions, Reuchlin issued in 1506 his De rudimentis
hebraicis, a Hebrew grammar and lexicon. Reuchlin's work soon
became a major issue in a controversy which erupted between German
humanists and obscurantists on the eve of the Reformation. Whereas
Reuchlin hoped that De rudimentis would promote
investigation into the texts of the Judeo-Christian tradition,
especially the Vulgate, many of his contemporaries feared that it
would hinder their attempts to convert the Jews. In response, the
obscurantists launched a campaign to confiscate all Jewish books,
particularly the Talmud. The obscurantists harassed Reuchlin for
years, eventually losing the debate both in the courts and in the
eye of a public now absorbed with Luther's challenges.
25
[Ulrich von Hutten et al. ]
Epistolae obscurorum virorum
[Mainz? ca. 1516 17]
Reuchlin was by no means without resourceful friends during his
confrontation with the obscurantists. A number of young admirers
composed letters purporting to come from the casuistic philosophers
and monks who opposed Reuchlin. The first volume of Epistolae
obscurorum virorum, composed by Crotus Rubeanus and others,
appeared in 1514-1515; the second volume, issued in 1516
1517, is attributed largely to Ulrich von Hutten (1488-1523). The
Epistolae, an enduring classic of literary satire, dealt
Reuchlin's foes a crushing blow from which they could not recover.
As outrageous parodies of the unsophisticated Latinity and medieval
attitudes of the obscurantists, they were highly successful.
Inventing names for the correspondents, von Hutten and his
colleagues used latinized forms such as Franciscus Genselinus
(Franz Gosling) and Lupoldus Federfusius (Lupold Featherstuffer) to
belittle the stature of their opponents.
26
Hans Sachs
Nachred das grewlich laster,
sampt seinen Zwelff eygenschafften
Nuremberg: Wolfgang Formschneider, ca. 1535
Image
This early edition of "Rumors Concerning Evil Slander and Her
Twelve Qualities" was composed by Hans Sachs (1494 -1576), the most
popular German poet of the sixteenth century. Using rhymed
couplets, Sachs spun an allegory depicting the woes that proceed
from Evil Slander, here personified as a woman. The woodcut,
probably derived from the central figure in Dürer's "Nemesis,"
portrays a blindfolded woman with tresses made of snakes, wings of
peacock feathers, and trailing a fiery ball which symbolizes the
devastation spread by slander. She offers a lidded cup with her
right hand, but in her left hand she conceals a knife. Sachs was a
colorful personality. After studying the Classics until the age of
fifteen, he became an apprentice cobbler, taking to the roads
throughout southern Germany and the Rhine country. A prolific
author, he claimed to have written several thousand works including
Meisterlieder, tales and fables in verse, and Shrovetide
plays.
27
Desiderius Erasmus
De ratione studii
Leipzig: Valentin Schumann, 1521
One of the great issues confronting humanists of the sixteenth
century was the nature of education. Private schools of the period
followed outmoded medieval models and were often staffed by
ignorant and cruel teachers. When humanists such as John Colet
(ca. 1466 1519) sought to establish public schools
for children, they discovered that the available textbooks for
educating the young were inadequate for beginners because of their
length and complexity. At the request of Colet, Erasmus (who was
then teaching Latin and Greek to Cambridge students) composed an
essay, first published in 1511, in which he set forth his views
concerning the ideal schoolmaster and method of education. The
teacher, notes Erasmus, "should not merely be a master of one
particular branch of study," but must have "travelled through the
whole circle of knowledge." Such an instructor "might give boys a
fair proficiency in both Latin and Greek in a shorter time and with
less labor than the common run of pedagogues take to teach their
babble." Erasmus' own textbooks would soon replace many of the
antiquated medieval manuals.
| 28 Lorenzo Valla De elegantiis latinae linguae Paris: Simon Colinaeus, 1533 |
29 Theodore Gaza Introductionis grammaticae libri quatuor, Graece Basel: Valentin Curio, 1529 |
The educational needs of the new humanistic curricula were
admirably met by two standard textbooks of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries: Theodore Gaza's Introductionis
grammaticae and Lorenzo Valla's De elegantis latinae
linguae. Both of these works were highly praised by Erasmus
who, in his De ratione studii, remarked that "amongst
Greek Grammars that of Theodore Gaza stands admittedly first," and,
as for Latin, there was "no better guide than Lorenzo Valla." Valla
(1407-1457) applied an innovative critical examination to the forms
of Latin grammar and the rules of Latin style and rhetoric
thus providing a sound basis for the analysis of language,
historical documents, and ethical opinions. The Greek grammar by
Theodore Gaza (ca. 1400-1475) was the first modern manual
to include syntax, and was used by Erasmus at Cambridge and
Guillaume Budé (1467-1540) at Paris. Both works were
frequently reprinted, Valla's seeing fifty-nine editions between
1471 and 1536. The 1529 edition of Gaza, edited by Valentin Curio,
includes Latin translations by Erasmus, Conrad Heresbach, Jacob
Tusanus, and Richard Croke.
30
Dirk Schrevel
Palaemon, sive diatribe scholasticae
Leiden: Bonaventura and Abraham Elzevir, 1626
One important aspect of the development of the institutions of
higher learning is its close relationship with the history of
printers and booksellers. Diatribe scholasticae, a
well-organized discourse on the goals and methods of higher
education, was composed by Dirk Schrevel, rector of the University
of Leiden, and published by the renowned firm of Bonaventura and
Abraham Elzevir in 1626. Schrevel, a Dutch humanist born at Haarlem
in 1572, served as rector from 1625 to 1642, a period during which
the University underwent its greatest expansion, attracting
illustrious scholars from all of Europe. The Elzevir family acted
as official printers to the University for most of the seventeenth
century, and many faculty members edited or wrote books for the
firm during this time.
31
Jacopo Filippo Tomasini
Gymnasium Patavinum
Udine: Nicolas Schiratt, 1654
Image
Gymnasium Patavinum, compiled in 1654 by Jacopo Filippo
Tomasini (1597 - 1654), describes the history and customs, the
degree programs, library, faculty, and alumni of the University of
Padua. Founded in 1222 as a result of the migration of students
from Bologna, the institution soon developed into one of the
foremost schools in Italy and a renowned center of scientific
studies, with a long and illustrious list of professors and
students. Under the Venetian Republic, of which Padua was a part,
the University enjoyed its greatest prosperity: buildings were
erected and the program expanded with a school of medicine (1543),
a botanical garden (1545), and an anatomical theater (1594).
32
Friedrich Lucae
Europäischer Helicon
Frankfurt a. M.: Samuel Tobias Hocker, 1711
Friedrich Lucae (1644 1708), historian and theologian, wrote extensively on the development of royal and aristocratic institutions in Europe. Of noble Silesian background, Lucae travelled throughout the Continent, visiting dukes and barons, yet often supporting himself as pastor to various congregations. After his death in 1708, a manuscript of his was found and subsequently published as Europäischer Helicon. A comprehensive and systematic treatise on education, it outlines the foundation, charter, degree programs, faculty, physical environment, growth, and decline of numerous European colleges and universities some of which no longer exist. Lucae's work thus represents a valuable source for research on the history of education in Europe prior to the eighteenth century.
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