Humanism: An Introduction
The intellectual and social movement which historians
call humanism is what lies at the base of the period we call the Renaissance.
Humanism and its ideals came to pervade the art, literature, learning,
law, and civic life, first in Italy, then in all of Europe. But what
is humanism? Scholars are still debating this issue, but there is
a consensus on a basic definition. Simply put, humanism is a rediscovery
and re-evaluation of the aspects of classical civilization (ancient
Greece and Rome) and the application of these aspects to intellectual
and social culture. It is also in many ways a reaction against scholasticism,
the dominant intellectual school of the Middle Ages. Scholasticism,
while a vital and dynamic method in its early days in the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries, had, in the eyes of its detractors, by the
fourteenth century become little more than organized quibbling over
minor points of philosophy and theology. You may recall the famous
question over how many angels could dance on the head of a pin; such
questions were actually fairly regularly debated by the later scholasticists.
In contrast, the early humanists espoused a return to
study of the original texts, rather than a reliance on the glosses
and commentaries produced by the scholasticists. This break was by
no means clear--many of the later humanists continued to admire and
make use of the works of scholastic scholars, while forging ahead
with their own examination of the sources.
Why Italy? I noted a moment ago that humanism's roots
were in a rediscovery of classical antiquity. For the early pioneers
of humanism, this meant the Latin language. Italy, unlike so much
of Europe, had never completely lost Latin literacy. Latin was still
taught in the schools and universities, most significantly to laymen
in training to become notaries. Thus, Latin literacy was not confined
mainly to churchmen as it was elsewhere in Europe. In the schools,
potential notaries learned the specialized legal language of law,
known as the _ars dictaminis _ . This was indirectly based on the
rhetorical works of Cicero, though it had become rather rigid and
rule-bound over the years. However, it meant that potential notaries
were exposed to certain of Cicero's works. Gradually, people began
to reexamine these works.
Who was the first humanist? Most scholars would say
that Petrarch, an Italian poet and writer of the Trecento (1300's),
would best fit this label. His influence continued to be felt throughout
the entire humanistic movement, and his successors called him their
spiritual father. Petrarch was a great admirer of Cicero, and rediscovered
and translated much of his correspondence. He strove to learn from
Cicero and use his style in his own Latin writing. Petrarch also wrote
in the vernacular-- a style which would finally gain acceptance among
scholars in the Renaissance. We also remember him as the first man
since antiquity to be awarded a laurel crown for his poetry. But Petrarch
himself was a bit of an enigma; a man with one foot in the future
and one in the past. It had always been believed that Cicero had throughout
his career been highly involved in politics; Petrarch's examination
of Cicero's writings had found a different man-- one who increasingly
turned to solitude and retirement in later life. This fit the "medieval"
model of the scholar-- a monkish figure who retired from the world
with his books-- rather than Petrarch's earlier belief in an active
use of scholarship in civic life. Petrarch gradually retired from
life as well, and in fact became more and more "medieval" in
his outlook--though he never abandoned his reliance on classical sources
as a model for writing, he turned more and more to traditional forms
of scholarship, such as biblical commentary, in later life.
It would be this earlier picture, however, which would
provide the model for a new civic spirit in Italy, particularly in
Florence. It is quite significant that Petrarch was a Florentine,
though in actuality he spent most of his life elsewhere. Florence
was one of two Italian republics (Venice was the other) and felt threatened
by neighboring Italian states run by despots with designs on Florentine
territory. Inspired by Petrarch, the intellectuals of Florence carried
on his work and expanded it. Florence's past was to be extolled in
literature, art, and architecture, and the link with the Roman Republic
was to be emphasized in all things. Petrarch's successors were not
only scholars, but leading men of their community who felt it their
duty as Florentine citizens to serve their Republic as the Roman citizens
had served Rome. Unfortunately, Florence, too, fell under despotic
rule, but not before several generations of Florentines had produced
a wide variety of works which extolled the city. Humanism had its
religious aspects as well. Though new appreciation was gained for
the "pagan" classics of antiquity, humanists were quick to
apply their methods to biblical scholarship.
One of the ways in which the spirit of humanism was
expressed was in a rise in appreciation for the artifacts of the past.
Indeed, the early humanists were the ones who invented the terms "Middle
Ages" and "Renaissance." Before this time, history was
seen as a continuum. No distinction was drawn between the civilization
of Greece and Rome and that of the medieval period. The idea of a
"fall of the Roman Empire" had no meaning. To a twelfth century
person, Charlemagne was as much a Roman and a Roman Empire as Augustus
had been, and there was no line drawn between classical and medieval
Latin. The humanists were the first to draw the distinction, seeing
classical antiquity as something which was long past, but to be admired
and revived--hence the term "Renaissance". Artifacts were visible
symbols of this past, and were thus to be cherished and collected.
Not only were coins and artworks unearthed and collected, but attempts
were made to map out and draw many of the Roman ruins one could see
in Italy before they disappeared. (The ruins were a popular source
of building materials; the Papacy was particularly fond of the Colosseum
for this purpose). A few sites were eventually saved from destruction
in this way.
Likewise, we may also note an increased interest in
manuscripts, particularly those recording the works of the writers
of antiquity. Many of the humanists undertook large journeys, wandering
from monastery to monastery and finding works forgotten for centuries.
New editions and translations of these works were produced and disseminated.
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 brought an influx of expatriate
Greek scholars to Italy, and from that point on, studies of ancient
Greek gained tremendous ground. Likewise, the humanists also became
interested in Hebrew as they attempted to produce an accurate translation
of the Bible. What made these editions special was the introduction
of what wee would today call "critical" scholarship. Manuscripts
were compared and words analyzed in an attempt to produce the most
accurate edition possible.
All of this was aided by the invention of the printing
press, which meant that for the first time, men and women of moderate
means could acquire their own books and that both the classics and
new works could circulate widely. Venice by the late fifteenth century
was known as the printing capital of Europe. Publishers there not
only printed the books, but they actively sponsored new editions and
continuing scholarship.
It took longer, however, for the new scholarship to
spread beyond a certain intellectual elite. Even a century after Petrarch,
the universities--even in Italy--were still dominated by thinkers
of the older schools. However, patronage by Italian princes and popes
insured that the new thinking eventually came to dominate the universities.
Humanism eventually spread outwards from Italy. Germany in particular
was greatly affected by the new methods, particularly in the area
of Biblical scholarship. (It was this sort of thinking that led Martin
Luther to question the traditions of the Catholic Church). Eventually,
the printing houses of Germany rivaled those of Italy. England was
perhaps the last to be touched, for it was not until the latter half
of the reign of Henry VIII that Oxford and Cambridge became dominated
by humanist scholarship.
