WH2 Intro Lecture 1: The Middle Ages, the Italian
Renaissance,Petrarch, Alberti,Bruni,Medici, etc.
Part 1: Essential Questions:
A. Should the Renaissance be primarily understood as a time of
looking back to periods of classical antiquity (e.g., the Athens of
Pericles during the 5th century BCE and 1st century BCE Rome
during the age of Augustus and Cicero) as ideals of culture?
B. What was it that medieval Christianity found so threatening
about the works of Roman classicists such as Cicero and Vergil?
How did Petrarch bridge this gap?
C. Why is Dante considered to be transitionary figure between the
medieval period and the Renaissance instead of belonging to the
Renaissance itself?
D. Can we establish beginning and ending dates for the
Renaissance?
E. Can the differences in the social ordering of medieval society
relative to Renaissance culture help us to distinguish between
these two eras?
Part II: Primary Source Material and Class Notes
…amidst the errors there shone forth men of genius, no less keen were their eyes,
although they were surrounded by darkness and dense gloom…Each famous author of
antiquity whom I recover places a new offence and another cause of dishonor to the
charge of earlier generations, who, not satisfied with their own disgraceful barrenness,
permitted the fruit of other minds, and the writings that their ancestors had produced
by toil and application, to perish through insufferable neglect. Although they had
nothing of their own to hand down to those who were to come after, they robbed
posterity of its ancestral heritage…My fate is to live among varied and confusing
storms. But for you perhaps, if as I hope and wish you will live long after me, there will
follow a better age. When the darkness has been dispersed, our descendants can come
again in the former pure radiance.
What else, then, is all history, but the praise of Rome?
Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374)
What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?
Tertullian of Carthage, Church father, c. 200 CE
1) It is human nature to attribute certain feelings to certain
eras. As an example, briefly record the feelings/images
that you experience when the following times are
mentioned:
2) (a) the 1990’s
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(b) the 1920’s
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(c) 1861-1865
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(d) September 11, 2001
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(e) Rome during the 1st Century BCE
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(f) Athens during the late 5th century BCE
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3) One transitionary figure between the MIDDLE AGES
and the RENAISSANCE who paid a great deal of
attention to points (e) and (f) above was the Italian
FRANCESCO PETRARCH. For Petrarch, ancient
ROME and, to a somewhat lesser extent, ancient
GREECE, represented the APOTHEOSIS of literature
(e.g., CICERO’S elegant use of Latin), art and
architecture (e.g., AUGUSTUS “I found Rome a city of
bricks and left it a city of marble”), philosophy (e.g.,
GREEK philosophers such as SOCRATES, PLATO, and
ARISTOTLE) and culture in general. Hence, he
constantly grieved his existence during his own modern
time while in his thinking he sought refuge in the
CLASSICAL PAST. For Petrarch, everything started
falling apart following the sack of Rome by ALARIC in
410 CE; especially evident here is his belief that LATIN
(and hence LITERATURE) had become terribly corrupt
as Latin began to evolve into contemporary ROMANCE
LANGUAGES.
4) Accordingly, Petrarch divided history into three
EPOCHS; these are (a) the classical past into which he no
doubt felt he should have been born; (b) his own
DECADENT present, during which art, architecture,
literature and philosophy had DECAYED relative to the
classical period into something which, for him, was
considerably worse than mediocrity and which he labeled
the DARK AGES (the term “Middle Age”—medium
aevum (note the singular!)--- isn’t used in print until 1469,
long after Petrarch’s death and isn’t used in English as
middle ages (note the plural!) until the 17th century); and
(c) an anticipated period of rebirth of those classical
values of art, philosophy, culture and ETHICS which
gave greatness to classical antiquity. Many of his
contemporaries shared his values; DANTE (1265-1321),
for example, wrote his DIVINE COMEDY using
VERGEL, the 1st century BCE Roman author of the
AENEID, as his guide for his tour of the afterlife—
though, as we shall see, the limitation of Vergil to
PURGATORY and HELL arguably makes Dante a preRenaissance figure.
5) Traditionally, the era that is viewed as realizing
Petrarch’s vision of the 3rd Epoch—i.e., a return
particularly to the ETHICAL values of the classical
world--is known as the RENAISSANCE. Here’s the key
concept: During Petrarch’s time, many Christian scholars
DISSUADED people from reading the great classical
authors (e.g., Cicero’s On The Good Life) not because
these authors were non-Christian but instead because
their writing was so beautiful and PRAGMATIC that it
might cause people to focus on this world, and NOT the
world to come. Here’s an illustrative quote from Cicero’s
On the Good Life: If we are trying to achieve mental
enjoyment, for example, or relief from trouble, the findings
of philosophy are of incomparable value because the people
who practice this study are perpetually searching for the
things that produce a good and happy life. Or suppose what
we are after is strength and excellence of character; if any
means of acquiring such qualities exist, philosophy surely
must be that means. To say, when one is thinking about
supremely important objectives like these, that there is no
special method for attaining them, although methods and
systems exist for getting hold of other requirements even of
the most trivial nature, would show that the man who would
utter such a remark does not think before he speaks, and
must not, therefore, be employed as a guide in any matter of
importance whatever. For it is necessary to assume that s
method for learning how to behave well does exist, and that
the place to find it is in philosophy and nowhere else. By
emphasizing the UTILITY of the philosophical wisdom of
such pre-Christian Greek and Roman authors for daily
life on earth while maintaining his own very strong
Christian faith, Petrarch was the first known thinker to
bridge these two eras, and thus created the essence of the
Renaissance perspective. Athens, therefore, was a strong
complement to Jerusalem, thus rebutting Tertullian’s
claim held by medieval thinkers that the wisdom of the
philosophers had nothing to do with the Christianity!
6) In 1469, since the Renaissance Humanists were searching
for a term that would set themselves in CONTRAST to
the previous era, they coined the the term medium aevum.
The Renaissance begins in FLORENCE in the
QUATTROCENTO (i.e., the 1400’s); as the its origins are
most closely associated with a rise of URBAN life and
planning as FEUDALISM—and indeed what they
themselves have defined as the MIDDLE AGE—pass into
history.
7) Recall that the BLACK DEATH (i.e., Bubonic Plague)
was to a large extent responsible for this transition. A
trade ship, coming from Crimea in 1347, arrived at
MESSINA in SICILY with a crew of seriously ill sailors.
They departed the ship—as did the RATS carrying the
FLEAS that were the hosts of the bacteria responsible for
the plague. Approximately ½ of the population of Europe
died as a result, leading to severe ECONOMIC
DEPRESSION, peasant rebellions against traditional
feudal arrangements (their labor was now a negotiable
COMMODITY since their numbers had been so seriously
depleted), and WARS among Europe’s nobility (e.g., the
100 Years War fought between England and France from
1337-1450). With the PAPAL SCHISM offering further
proof that medieval thinking was unable to solve their
problems, an exhausted medieval society looked back to
classical Greece and Rome as its inspiration for a fresh
start, with CITY LIFE as opposed to AGRARIANISM
serving as the strategy for centralizing the resources
necessary for revitalizing society.
8) Urban planning and the development of a new
ARCHITECTURAL principle based on the HARMONY
of a building’s features became priorities; this illustrates
what became an interesting moral concept of the city, i.e.,
that the city is the teacher of the man—architectural
principles will help to facilitate this purpose. In his De
Architectura (called the Bible of Renaissance architecture),
Leon Batista Alberti (1404-1472) illustrates this new
concept nicely: The design of buildings must be based on
main lines and strict proportions and regularity lest the
pleasing harmony of the whole should be lost in the
attraction of the individual parts (contrast this with the
Gothic style!). His works are hallmarks of early
Renaissance literature, as he cites classical authors such
as HORACE and PLINY in his works, as though he was
transporting the SOCIAL and ARCHITECTURAL
ideals represented in their writings into HIS reborn
classical era, based though it was on an IDEALIZED
vision of ancient Rome (e.g., in his Rome one need have
“no fear of treachery!”).
9) Two events were especially crucial for ushering the full
flowering of the Renaissance; these were (a) the PAPACY
of NICHOLAS V (1447-1455) and (b) the fall of
CONSTANTINOPLE to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 (i.e.,
the fall of the Byzantine Empire). Pope Nicholas V was
devoted to learning, and his court consisted of the most
outstanding SCHOLARS of his era, including (in addition
to Alberti) LORENZO VALLO, the scholar who proved
used literary and textual analysis that the DONATION
OF CONSTANTINE was a forgery. Artistically, he
commissioned FRA ANGELICO to execute FRESCOES
such as The Annunciation (circa 1450).
10)
From the perspective of conservative
CATHOLOCISM, Nicholas’ approach to scholarship was
UNORTHODOX; his scriptorium was full of scholars
translating the works of PAGAN authors such as
HOMER; hence numerous GREEK scholars arrived at
his court containing many unique and precious
manuscripts. Such an approach was not without its
detractors; there was an unsuccessful attempt to unseat
him as POPE in 1452. In 1453 the MUSLIM Turks
invaded CONSTANTINOPLE; many of the remaining
Greek scholars from the former BYZANTINE CAPITAL
thus fled WESTWARD to cities such as Rome, London,
Pisa, Florence, etc., thereby adding great momentum to
the development of the WESTERN Renaissance.
11)
An interesting difference between the MIDDLE
AGES and the RENAISSANCE relates to the SOCIAL
STRUCTURE of society. Medieval social theorists
divided society along three ORDERS depending on what
one DOES, not like our current concept of SOCIAL
CLASS which is based on what one POSSESESS (i.e.,
WEALTH); these ORDERS were (a) the ORATORES
(i.e., those who PRAYED); (b) the BELLATORES (i.e.,
those who FOUGHT); and (c) the LABORATORES (i.e.,
those who LABORED). These orders were
INTERDEPENDENT; that is, they each provided a
service that benefited the other. The prayer of the
oratores facilitated the salvation of those who fought and
worked; the bellatores protected those who prayed and
worked; the laboratores raised the food that nourished
those who prayed and those who fought. In the
IDEALIZED version of this social order, each group
HELPS the other, which is likewise ANTITHETICAL to
more modern conceptualizations that the natural
relationship between classes is STRUGGLE (i.e.,
WARFARE). For an individual, there was very little
possibility of MOVEMENT between these orders.
12)
In contrast, the Renaissance strongly incorporated
the notion of individual PROGRESS based on the
opportunities made available within the CITY; even those
of low birth could aspire to greatness through MERIT in
whatever career they chose. There were no geographical
boundaries or limitations; one could move just as easily to
Rome, Paris, or London; they were no longer tied to
FEUDAL Estates by hereditary obligations to a FEUDAL
lord. Recall that, as per ALBERTI, it is to a large extent
the ARCHITECTURE of the city that facilitates this
progress.
13)
An example of such a life is to be found in the
person of LEONARDO BRUNI (1369-1444). His pedigree
and birth were UNDISTINGUIHED, yet he was a
confidant of POPES and served as Chancellor of
FLORENCE. Bruni wrote such an APPEALING (though
perhaps somewhat REVISIONISTIC) history of Florence
that Florentine citizenship was conferred upon both him
and his DESCENDENTS. His great contribution to the
RENAISSANCE was to be the LEADER of the group
that revived GREEK classical works (e.g., Plutarch,
Aristotle, Demosthenes, etc.) through LATIN
translations. He also wrote BIOGRAPHIES of such great
figures as Cicero, Dante, Petrarch, and Aristotle. The
important point is how he EPITOMIZES the Renaissance
Spirit; from a HUMBLE birth, he became a hugely
successful and influential SELF-MADE MAN. He is a
prototypical example of the term UMANISTI, which
translates approximately into the concept of Renaissance
Humanist.
14)
It would be incorrect to equate the term Renaissance
Humanist with HUMANITARIANISM. Instead, by
umanisti is meant those studies which relate to human
creative achievement, such as art, architecture, poetry,
etc.—an interesting example concerns an attempt by
Florence to institute a system of taxation for the benefit of
the poor. The reaction to this proposal almost elevated to
the level of RIOTS in the street, in part for a reason
arguably consistent with the Renaissance “self-made
man” value: why should people who are successful be
specially taxed because of their success in order to support
those who lack sufficient industry and motivation to care
for themselves?
15)
And so, is the Renaissance most correctly
conceptualized as focusing FORWARD towards a grand
and glorious FUTURE, or BACKWARDS to the
grandeur of the CLASSICAL AGE? Consider the
following example: The great COSIMO DE’ MEDICI
(1389-1464) served as a patron to his physician’s son, the
LINGUIST Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) who translated
the works of Plato (Greek) into LATIN. Cosimo also
founded an institution of learning in FLORENCE known
(after Plato) as the ACADEMY.
16)
In 1460, Cosimo acquired a GREEK language
edition of a body of scientific knowledge that was inspired
by the God HERMES (the Corpus Hermeticum, thought
to contain a body of wisdom dating back long before
recorded history). FICINO provides a LATIN translation
of this work in 1463, entitled the PYMANDER (taken to
mean Hermes, the Shepherd of Men). It was published for
general consumption in 1471, and went through nearly 20
editions before the end of the 16th century. Many
Florentines accepted this text as pure scientific
WISDOM, despite its absolute non-scientific view of the
world. Consider, for example, the following analysis of
creation from the Third Book of the Pymander, The Holy
Sermon:
For there were in the Chaos an infinite darkness in the Abyss
or bottomless Depth, and Water, and a subtle in Spirit intelligible
in Power; and there went out the Holy Light, and the Elements
were coagulated from the Sand out of the moist substance. And
all the Gods distinguished the Nature full of Seeds. And when all
things were interminated and unmade up, the light things were
divided on high. And the heavy things were founded upon the
moist Sand, all things being Terminated or Divided by Fire, and
being sustained or hung up by the Spirit, they were so carried,
and the Heaven was seen in Seven Circles. And the Gods were
seen in their Ideas of the Stars, with all their signs, and the Stars
were numbered with the Gods in them. And the Sphere was all
lined with Air, carried about in a circular motion by the Spirit of
God. And every God, by his internal power, did that which was
commanded him; and there were made four-footed things, and
creeping things, and such as live in the water, and such as fly,
and every fruitful seed, and Grass, and the Flowers of all Greens,
all which had sowed in themselves the Seeds of Regeneration. As
also the Generations of Men, to the Knowledge of the Divine
Works, and a lively or working Testimony of Nature, and a
multitude of men, and the dominion of all things under Heaven,
and the Knowledge of good things, and to be increased in
increasing, and multiplied in multitude. And every Soul in Flesh,
by the wonderful working of the Gods in the Circles, to the
beholding of Heaven, the Gods Divine Works, and the operations
of Nature; and for signs of good things, and the Knowledge of
the Divine Power, and to find out every cunning Workmanship of
good things. So it beginneth to live in them, and to be wise
according to the operation of the course of the circular Gods;
and to be resolved into that which shall be great Monuments and
Rememberances of the cunning Works done upon earth, leaving
them to be read by the darkness of times.
Perhaps, then, the Renaissance doesn’t herald the beginning
of the MODERN WORLD, but rather a TRANSITIONARY
PERIOD between the old FEUDAL society of medieval
Europe and the ENLIGHTENMENT along with the
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION that would truly begin our
modern age.
Part III: Textbook Supplement pages 44 through 53
through section 2: KUD exercise
1. Read the text individually and the separate into groups of
three
2. From the section 1 review on page 53, choose one of the
identified Renaissance Humanists and speculate based on
your collective research and discussion of this character
what credibility they would have ascribed to the
Pymander. For example, would Machiavelli or DaVinci
have considered the Pymander an intellectual step
forward or backward in terms of how they understood
the time during which they were living—why or why not?
3. Prepare a brief (i.e., 5-10 minute presentation) for the
class regarding your conclusions.