1. THE INTELLECTUAL RENAISSANCE IN ITALY
The Italian Renaissance
1. individualism
2. secularism
Italy in the 14th and 15 centuries is the cultural leader of Europe
Renaissance Italy was a product of
1. wealthy society
2. urban society
3. lay society

2. ITALIAN RENAISSANCE HUMANISM
Intellectual/literary movement
Based on the study of classical literary works of ancient Greece and Rome
Humanists studies the LIBERAL ARTS
grammar
rhetoric
poetry
moral philosophy/ethics
history

3. THE EMERGENCE OF HUMANISM
Petrarch = the father of humanism
Consider the middle ages a dark age
Interest in classical antiquity
Search for forgotten or lost latin manuscripts and works of antiquity

4. HUMANISM IN 15TH CENTURY ITALY
“civic humanism”
Cicero as a model
Growing interest in classical Greek civilization
LORENZO VALLA

5. HUMANISM AND PHILOSOPHY
Interest in the works of Plato
Christianity + Platonism = NEOPLATONISM
Hermeticism
PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA –
1. one of the great humanists
2. author of – Oration on the Dignity of Man
3. unlimited human potential

6. EDUCATION IN THE RENAISSANCE
Humanist idea – education can change people
“liberal studies” = the liberal arts
Humanist schools geared to elites
Practical preparation for life -> produce complete citizens -> participate in civic life
Humanist schools = classics + Christianity = model for elite schooling up to the 20th century

7. HUMANISM AND HISTORY Humanist began to see history as divided into
1. ancient world = classical world = antiquity
2. the Middle Ages = the dark ages
3. their time = a time of rebirth
Secularizing the writing of history -> relying on documents and evidence, removing religious explanations and miracles
Causation in history -> not God, human forces

8. THE IMPACT OF PRINTING
Printing was invented in the time of the Renaissance
Transformed the intellectual life and thought
JOHANNES GUTENBERG = the movable type printing press
Gutenberg bibles
Printing spread rapidly across Europe
1. by 1500 – 1000 printers
2. 40,000 titles
3. half were religious, half secular
4. big business
5. encouraged spread of knowledge
6. created a lay reading public