Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life
The documents in this collection trace the course of the Renaissance in Italy and northern Europe, describing the emergence of a vibrant and varied intellectual and artistic culture in various states, cities, and kingdoms.

Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life contains excerpts from 52 different documents relating to the period of European history known as the Renaissance. In the 14th century, the rise of humanism, a philosophy based on the study of the languages, literature, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome, led to a sense of revitalization and renewal among the city-states of northern Italy. The political development and economic expansion of those cities provided the ideal conditions for humanist scholarship to flourish. This period of literary, artistic, architectural, and cultural flowering is today known as the Renaissance, a term taken from the French and meaning "rebirth."

The Italian Renaissance reached its height in the 15th and early 16th centuries. In the 1490s, the ideals of the Italian Renaissance spread north of the Alps and gave rise to a series of national cultural rebirths in various states. In many places, this Northern Renaissance extended into the 17th century, when war and religious discord put an end to the Renaissance era.

1140408141
Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life
The documents in this collection trace the course of the Renaissance in Italy and northern Europe, describing the emergence of a vibrant and varied intellectual and artistic culture in various states, cities, and kingdoms.

Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life contains excerpts from 52 different documents relating to the period of European history known as the Renaissance. In the 14th century, the rise of humanism, a philosophy based on the study of the languages, literature, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome, led to a sense of revitalization and renewal among the city-states of northern Italy. The political development and economic expansion of those cities provided the ideal conditions for humanist scholarship to flourish. This period of literary, artistic, architectural, and cultural flowering is today known as the Renaissance, a term taken from the French and meaning "rebirth."

The Italian Renaissance reached its height in the 15th and early 16th centuries. In the 1490s, the ideals of the Italian Renaissance spread north of the Alps and gave rise to a series of national cultural rebirths in various states. In many places, this Northern Renaissance extended into the 17th century, when war and religious discord put an end to the Renaissance era.

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Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life

Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life

Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life

Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life

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Overview

The documents in this collection trace the course of the Renaissance in Italy and northern Europe, describing the emergence of a vibrant and varied intellectual and artistic culture in various states, cities, and kingdoms.

Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life contains excerpts from 52 different documents relating to the period of European history known as the Renaissance. In the 14th century, the rise of humanism, a philosophy based on the study of the languages, literature, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome, led to a sense of revitalization and renewal among the city-states of northern Italy. The political development and economic expansion of those cities provided the ideal conditions for humanist scholarship to flourish. This period of literary, artistic, architectural, and cultural flowering is today known as the Renaissance, a term taken from the French and meaning "rebirth."

The Italian Renaissance reached its height in the 15th and early 16th centuries. In the 1490s, the ideals of the Italian Renaissance spread north of the Alps and gave rise to a series of national cultural rebirths in various states. In many places, this Northern Renaissance extended into the 17th century, when war and religious discord put an end to the Renaissance era.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781440876042
Publisher: ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date: 02/04/2022
Series: Voices of an Era
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 316
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

John A. Wagner, PhD, has taught British and U.S. history at Phoenix College and at Arizona State University.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xvii

Evaluating and Interpreting Primary Documents xxiii

Chronology of the Renaissance xxv

Documents of the Renaissance

Art and Literature 1

1 "These Men Vilify the Italian Tongue": Excerpts From Dante Alighieri's Il Convivio (ca. 1307) and Divine Comedy (1320) 3

2 "The Courteous Fashion in Which a Lady Imposed Silence Upon a Gentleman": Excerpt From the Decameron (ca. 1353) by Giovanni Boccaccio 11

3 "The Utterances of Men Concerning Me Will Differ Widely": Excerpts From Petrarch's "Letter to Posterity" (ca. 1372) 17

4 "You Sing My Book, But Not as I Have Made It": Excerpt From Franco Sacchetti's Novelle (Late 14th Century) 23

5 "They Both Imagined That They Loved in Vain": Excerpt From The Tale of Two Lovers (1444) by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini 27

6 "A House Is a Little City": A Description of a Gentleman's Country House From Leon Battista Alberti's De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) (1452) 33

7 "I Can Carry Out Sculpture in Marble, Bronze or Clay": Leonardo da Vinci's Letter to Ludovico Sforza (ca. 1482) and Excerpts From Leonardo's Notebooks 39

8 "He Fell to Crying 'Wine! Wine! Wine!'": Excerpts From the Novelle or Tales (1554-1573) of Matteo Bandello 45

Economics and Society 51

9 "Thinking Less about Women than about Robbers": Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini's Description of His Mission to Scotland (1435) 53

10 "Once the Wine Has Been Slept Away": Excerpts From the Facetiae (1470) of Poggio Bracciolini 59

11 "To Sail to the Regions of the East by Those of the West": Letters on Trade and Western Voyaging From Paolo Toscanelli to Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Martins (1474) 65

12 "This Creature of Indeterminate Image": Excerpts From Giovanni Pico della Mirandola's Oration on the Dignity of Man (1486) 71

13 "You Should Be the Link to Bind This City Closer to the Church": Lorenzo de' Medici's Letter of Advice to His Son, Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici (ca. 1491) 77

14 "The Sleeves Were Made to Look Like Two Wings": Two Letters of Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Milan (1493) 83

15 "She Gave Back Her Spirit to God": Two Letters Describing the Death in Childbirth of Beatrice, Duchess of Milan (1497) 89

16 "The Principal and True Profession of a Courtier Ought to Be in Feats of Arms": Excerpts from The Book of the Courtier (1528) by Baldassare Castiglione 95

Politics and War 101

17 "The Child Drew a Bali for Each and the Councilors Broke Them": A Description of the Procedures Followed for Election of the Doge of Venice (1268) 103

18 "I Will Proceed … to Destroy the Argument": Excerpts From De Monarchia (1313) by Dante Alighieri 109

19 "May He Never Return Here": Documents Relating to the Life in Italy of the English Condottiere Sir John Hawkwood (1377, 1391) 115

20 "I Had Already Preached Four Hours Before the Break of Day": Excerpts From a Sermon of Fra Bernardino of Siena on the Dangers of Political Factions (ca. 1427) 121

21 "Is Giuliano Safe?": Three Accounts of the Pazzi Conspiracy in Florence (1478, ca. 1525) 127

22 "The Enemy Is in Full Retreat": Letter of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, to Isabella d'Este, His Sister-in-Law, Describing the Expulsion of the French From Milan (1500) 133

23 "Men More Quickly Forget the Death of Their Father Than the Loss of Their Patrimony": Excerpts From The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli (1532) 139

24 "No Nobleman Could Exercise any Magistracy": Excerpts From Benedetto Varchi's Story of Florence (1565) 145

Religion and the Papacy 151

25 "There Can Be Only One Supreme Ruling Power in a State": Excerpts From Defensor Pads (1324) by Marsilius of Padua 153

26 "The Pope Both Thirsts for the Goods of Others and Drinks Up His Own": Excerpts From the Donation of Constantine (Eighth Century) and From Lorenzo Valla's Treatise on the Authenticity of the Donation (ca. 1440) 159

27 "To Invade, Search Out, Capture, Vanquish, and Subdue all Saracens and Pagans": Excerpts From Romanus Pontifex (1455), a Bull Issued by Pope Nicholas V 165

28 "Many Cardinals Met in the Privies": A Description of the Papal Election of 1458 by the Winner of the Election, Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II) 171

29 "I Entreated for Wax Candles": Excerpts From an Account of the Death and Funeral of Pope Sixtus IV by Johann Burchard, Papal Master of Ceremonies (1484) 177

30 "His Majestic Stature Gave Him an Advantage": Descriptions of Two Renaissance Popes-Innocent VIII (ca. 1484) and Alexander VI (ca. 1460, 1492, 1493) 183

31 "Causing Great Perturbance Amongst the People": Luca Landucci's Diary Account of the Fall and Execution of Fra Girolamo Savonarola (1498) 189

32 "You Are Dressed in the Bloody Armor of a Warrior": Excerpts From Julius Excluded From Heaven (1514), a Satirical Dialogue on Pope Julius II by Desiderius Erasmus 195

Northern Renaissance 201

33 "It Removes All Obscurity": Excerpts From a Letter of the Dutch Humanist Rudolphus Agricola to Jacobus Barbirianus, Choirmaster of Antwerp (1484) 203

34 "He May Not Become an Awkward, Lazy, Stupid, Foppish, Wanton Fellow": Excerpt From Jacob Wimpheling's Adolescentia (1500), a Treatise on Education 209

35 "They Cheat Both Man and Beast": Letters of Albrecht Dürer Describing His Visit to Venice (1506) 215

36 "Why Did You Marry Such an Old Woman?": Excerpts From Letters of Obscure Men (1515-1519) by Ulrich von Hutten and Other Humanists 221

37 "This Office of Ambassador Never Pleased Me": Thomas Mores Letter to Erasmus Describing an English Embassy to Prince Charles of Spain (1516) 227

38 "Boys Are Naturally Apes; They Imitate Everything": Excerpts From the De Tradendis Disciplinis (1531), a Treatise on Education by Juan Luis Vives 233

39 "Eleven Hundred Hides of Brown Cows": Excerpts From Francois Rabelais's Novel Gargantua (1534) 239

40 "I Do Not Grapple with Them": Excerpts From Michel de Montaigne's "Essay on Education" (1580) 245

Appendix 1 Biographical Sketches of Important Individuals Mentioned in Text 251

Appendix 2 Glossary of Terms Mentioned in Text 275

Appendix 3 Popes, 1294-1585 281

Appendix 4 Rulers of Italian City-States During the Renaissance Period 283

Appendix 5 European Monarchs, 1300-1600 287

Bibliography 291

Index 305

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