Humanism
Italian
Humanism
Northern (Christian) Humanism
Definition of Humanism
Both a program and a
philosophy
 Shifts intellectual emphasis off
of theology to human
achievement
 Rediscovery of classical
knowledge of Greece and Rome
 Critical of the RCC – anticlerical, not anti-God
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Migration of Humanism
Starts in Italian city states
 Migrates to northern Europe
where it becomes a bit lesssecular
 In north- called Northern or
Christian Humanism
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Humanism and Education
 Focused
on human’s ability
 Understand the universe and
how it worked
 Logic, grammar, astronomy,
music, poetry, rhetoric,
literature
Petrarch-Father of Renaissance
Poetry (Laura)
 Use of vernacular
 Collected Greek texts influenced
by Cicero and Augustine
 Believed only true study for
humans was to study oneself.
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Ficino
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Founder of the Academy- religions
could be related to each other– with
Christianity the greatest
Defines a “Platonic relationship”–
the highest form of friendship
Mirandola
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Manifesto for Renaissance
Oration on the Dignity of Man
Centered on man’s capacity and
human perspective
“human relation to the divine”
Valla
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Linguistic studies
Found “Donation of Constantine” to
be a forgery
Used Latin as evidence
Humans always act in their own self
interests
Compared Latin Vulgate to Greek
Bible ( was published by Erasmus)
Alberti
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Civic humanism-humanistic
education was to train leaders and
promote the common good
Studied ancient architecture
Castaglione****
The Courtier
 defined the perfect man and
woman
 4 sections-Music, classic
languages, horsemanship/
hunting, goodness
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Dante
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Man is a rational animal and the
world can be understood by human
reason.
The Divine Comedy
Critical of the church
The church was not serving the
spiritual needs of the people
Erasmus- Father of Humanism
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Dutch Humanist
Praise of Folly
Italians humanists– spoke to upper
class– Northern humanists spoke
out against the civil, social and
religious evils
New and accurate version o the
Bible
Rabelias
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French Humanist
Gargantua and Pantagruel
Satirizes society
Abuses of the church
Against hypocrisy
Sir Thomas More
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English humanist
“Utopia”
Wants a planned and orderly
economic climate
Felt governments were a conspiracy
of the rich
Montaigne
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Skeptic of humanism- condemned
the formalism that humanism
became in the 16 century
When reason fails– we resort to
experience (forcasts the coming rise
of science)