Interpretations of Renaissance Humanism

Description

Authored by some of the most preeminent Renaissance scholars active today, the essays of this volume give fresh and illuminating analyses of important aspects of Renaissance humanism, such as the time and causes of its origin, its connection to the papal court and medieval traditions, its classical learning, its religious and literary dimensions, and its 'dramatis personae'. Their interpretations are varied to the point of being contradictory. The essays bear the imprint of the work of the eminent scholars of the second half of the twentieth century, especially Kristeller's, and demonstrate an awareness of the various modes of critical inquiry that have prevailed in recent years. As such they are an important exemplar of current scholarship on Renaissance humanism and are, therefore, indispensable to the scholar who wishes to explore this pivotal cultural movement. Preface ix Contributors xi Introduction / Angelo Mazzocco 1 PART ONE Kristeller’s Humanists as Heirs of the Medieval 'Dictatores' / Ronald G. Witt 21 The Origins of Humanism / Robert Black 37 Humanism: Ancient Learning, Criticism, Schools and Universities / Paul F. Grendler 73 Curial Humanism Seen Through the Prism of the Papal Library / Massimo Miglio 97 Humanism and the Medieval Encyclopedic Tradition / Giuseppe Mazzotta 113 PART TWO Humanism and Scholasticism: Toward an Historical Definition / Riccardo Fubini 127 Religion and the Modernity of Renaissance Humanism / James Hankins 137 Rethinking “Christian Humanism” / Charles G. Nauert 155 Renaissance Humanism: the Rhetorical Turn / Eckhard Kessler 181 Literary Humanism in the Renaissance / Arthur F. Kinney 199 PART THREE Petrarch: Founder of Renaissance Humanism? / Angelo Mazzocco 215 Angelo Poliziano, Aldo Manuzio, Theodore Gaza, George of Trebizond, and Chapter 90 of the 'Miscellaneorum Centuria Prima' (With an Edition and Translation) / John Monfasani 243 Reinterpreting Renaissance Humanism: Marcello Adriani and the Recovery of Lucretius / Alison Brown 267 Bibliography 293 Index 315