Italian Renaissance and Humanism

Italian Renaissance Overview

• Fourteenth-century Italy became the cultural leader of Europe.
• New culture emerged from a wealthy, urban lay society.
• Intellectual movement characterized by individualism, secularism, and humanism.

Renaissance Humanism

• An intellectual movement focusing on classical literature from Greece and Rome.
• Emphasis on studies of humanity: grammar, rhetoric, poetry, ethics, history.
• Major subjects are known as the humanities.

Key Figures

• Petrarch (1304-1374): Father of Italian Renaissance humanism.
  • Promoted the study of classical texts and sought forgotten Latin manuscripts.
  • Doubted his focus on spirituality due to his interest in classics.
  • Advocated for the use of pure classical Latin and modeled prose on Cicero and poetry on Virgil.
  • Famous quote: "Christ is my God; Cicero is the prince of the language."

Evolution of the Movement

• In Florence, the humanist movement evolved in the early fifteenth century.