The Renaissance and Humanism
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The Renaissance as a Historical Period
c. 1400-1600
Renaissance as a state of mind: Humanism
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Fortuna (chance) gradually replaced Providence as the universal frame of reference
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The historical period the Renaissance overlaps with the end of the medieval world
Its first few generations were in a sense the culmination of the medieval
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Middle Ages truly end with 3 things:
- Printing Press 1450
- New World 1492
- Reformation 1517
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Today we’re looking at the shift in mentality that would come to characterize many of the developments later
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In Italy 15th c.
New period of skepticism
Somewhat exciting
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Humanism a new outlook on life
Not organized initially
It began as a kind of youthful rebellion
All its initial adherents were younger than 40
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Humanism reacting against:
Medieval synthesism
Valued:
the specific, individual, solitary, unique.
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Individual persons, things, ideas had autonomous value
No need to fit things into a grander cosmic schema
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Dedication to the liberal arts
grammar, history, literature, philology, rhetoric
Studia humanitatis
These best suited for appreciating the human experience
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Belief that the ancients had most nearly perfected the philosophy of loving life for its own sake
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hallmark of early humanism: embracing teh study of classical literature and philosophy
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Recovered large bodies of near-lost classical writing
wrote extensive commenatries
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Tried to “purify” Latin
No word or grammatical construction that had not been used by Cicero
They killed Latin
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Humanism's Founder Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) (1304-1374)
Born near Florence
Grew up in Avignon near the papal palace
Fell in love with Cicero while still young
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Petrarch
Studied law. Unhappy years as a lawyer
Parents died, left him a comfortable inheritance
Devoted himself to poetry and literary study
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Can see the difference in humanism from medieval worldviews by looking at Laura vs Beatrice
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Humanism born in the disasters of 14th and 15th c.
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These young authors emhasized a worldview that focused on the immediate, the particular
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World may not make sense, but that doesn’t mean we should despair
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This celebration can be seen in how classics embraced
Classics had been bedrock of medieval education
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Medievals tended to embrace classical authors for their value in helping make one a better Christian.
For humanists, embraced for their own sake
No larger purpose necessary
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Classical texts as practical guides for living
Most written for small urban republics
Like what northern Italy looks like
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By end of 16th c., virtually the entire classical literary canon as we know it recovered
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Renaissance humanism rejected Middle Ages
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Petrarch on scholastcism vs humanism
Schol can define a virtue like goodness, but can’t make you want to be good.
Humanism inflames the heart
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Humanists all too eager to distance themselves from the medieval world
Church as corrupt, full of scholastic hairsplitting
Medieval Latin brutish and mangled
Architecture a nightmare of spires
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Philosophy full of mind-numbing abstractions
Politics barbarism by another name, tribalism in robes
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Criticisms were genuine and they had a point
But it takes a long time for these protestations to actually become changes
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Christian Humanism in the North
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Let’s begin with an overview of Medieval Christianity at the end of the Middle Ages
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A. Scholasticism (define again)
- a method of theology - logical analysis of Biblical texts
- a means by which to understand God, to properly interpret Bible
- leads to worry about heresy (incorrect teaching)
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B. Internationalism (one Church the same throughout the West)
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C. Ritualistic
- Use of Latin
- actions to help save your soul
- community cohesiveness through liturgical ritual
- emphasis on outward manifestations of faith
- well-fitted to an active peasant cohort
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E. Pope as a secular/spiritual leader
- has worldly concerns
- Role as political leader disturbing to many
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F. Growing dissatisfaction with these traits in Catholocism
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Northern Renaissance has its roots in printing
- First printed Bible in 1445-50 (Gutenburg)
- Interest in recovering ancient texts (as in Italy)
- Moveable type–this was the real invention
a. quickly able to reproduce texts
b. do so without errors from copyists
c. books much cheaper to produce than manuscripts - importance today of such books–incanabulae
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Gutenburg bible
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Mixing Renaissance Humanism with Christianity
- civic (Italian Renaissance): “what you need to live well”
- Christian (Northern): “what you need to be saved”
- focus is still, however, on the person, on the “you”
- creates the beginning of a religious reformation
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How is it Humanistic?
- the “ancients” are the early Church, the Bible
- Romans, Greeks hold less sway than Bible, Epistles
- interest in the liberal arts (poetry, art, nature)
- harmony, moderation
- creates the model for Christian Liberal Arts education
- Above all, emphasis on the duty of individual to understand salvation, Bible, God
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Ethics instead of Scholasticism
- again, focus on the individual
- what can the person do in society to be saved?
- salvation, therefore in worldly work
- Reason for the Christian human condition
a. less interest in heresy
b. use of reason to create piety, not philosophy
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Action vs. Contemplation
- Goal: Reform Xtianity thru morals
- Goal: Reform Church through ancient simplicity
- Goal: Prune the Church to make it bear better fruit
- Highly Optimistic
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A new world, new Europe
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Piety intsead of ritual
- Act out your faith instead of acting out rituals
- individualist ideas need less communitarian rituals
- rituals had become too much, needed pruning
- would result in pure simplicity of ancient church
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In-class wtiting
Identify three themes that, to you, characterize the Middle Ages
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