HUMANISM:

• intellectual and social movement

• at the base of the Renaissance

• improvement of the art, literature, learning, law, and civic life

• it developed firstly in Italy, later in Europe

• basic definition: humanism is a rediscovery and re-evaluation of classical world (ancient Greece and Rome) and the application of these aspects to intellectual and social culture

• a reaction against scholasticism--> the dominant intellectual school of the Middle Ages

• the early humanists espoused a return to study of the original texts, in contrast the scholasticists produced commentaries. The later humanists continued to admire and make use of the works of scholastic scholars

Why Italy?

• Italy, unlike so much of Europe, had never lost Latin literacy--> Latin was still taught in the schools and universities

• Latin was the language of notaries, lawyers, the Church (aristocracy)

• Latin: based on the rhetorical works of Cicero. Re-examination of classical works

Who was the first humanist?

• Petrarch, an Italian poet and writer of the Trecento

• He influenced the humanistic movement--> called spiritual father by humanists

• He was a great admirer of Cicero--> rediscovered and translated much of his literary works

• Petrarch wrote using Cicero’s style in his own Latin writing, and he used the vernacular-- a style which would finally acquire acceptance among scholars in the Renaissance

• the first man since antiquity to be awarded a laurel crown for his poetry

• Petrarch's examination of Cicero's writings had found a man who turned to solitude and retirement in later life. This fit the "medieval" model of the scholar, that is a monkish figure who retired from the world with his books

Italy:

• new civic spirit, particularly in Florence

• inspired by Petrarch, the intellectuals of Florence carried on his work and expanded it

• several generations of Florentines had produced several works which extolled the city

• humanists applied their methods to biblical scholarship

• appreciation for the artifacts--> they were visible symbols of the past, and were to be collected

• Venice by the late fifteenth century was known as the printing capital of Europe

• the early humanists were the ones who invented the terms "Middle Ages" and "Renaissance”

• before this time, history was seen as a continuum. There was no distinction between the civilization of Greece and Rome and that of the medieval period

• interest in manuscripts, particularly those recording the works of the writers of antiquity

• many humanists undertook journeys, from monastery to monastery to find ancient works. Therefore they produced new editions and translations of these works

• interest in Hebrew--> accurate translation of the Bible

• Invention of the printing press: for the first time, people could acquire their own books

A century after Petrarch:

• the universities were still dominated by thinkers of the older schools

• Humanism spread outwards from Italy. Germany in particular was greatly affected by the new methods. The printing houses of Germany rivaled those of Italy

• finally humanism touches England too

Francis Petrarch (1304-1374)

• was born in Arezzo

• Italian scholar, poet, and humanist

• spent much of his early life at Avignon (where he composed numerous sonnets which acquired popularity) He studied at Montpellier and at Bologna

• famous for his poems addressed to Laura--> Petrarch met Laura in Avignon in 1327. UNRETURNED LOVE

• April 6, 1327: he saw Laura in the church of Sainte-Claire d'Avignon. She became the protagonist of his poetry

• maybe Laura was a fictional character. However, she was one of the most realistically presented female character

• interested in writing and Latin literature, sharing this passion with his friend Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the writer of Decameron

• he looked for old Latin classics and manuscripts--> he travelled through France, Germany, Italy, and Spain

• devoted student of antiquity

• the majority of his works are in Latin

• his critical spirit made him a founder of Renaissance humanism

• 1341: he was crowned as a poet laureate in Rome

• died in Arquà on July 18, 1374