Coluccio Salutati
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| - | :''[[Greek scholars in the Renaissance]] | + | '''Coluccio Salutati''' ([[February 16]] [[1331]] – [[May 4]] [[1406]]) was an Italian man of letters and one of the most important political and cultural leaders of [[Renaissance]] [[Florence, Italy|Florence]]. |
| - | In stark contrast to the [[High Middle Ages]], when Latin scholars focused almost entirely on studying Greek and Arabic works of natural science, philosophy and mathematics, Renaissance scholars were most interested in recovering and studying Latin and Greek literary, [[historical]], and [[oratorical]] texts. Broadly speaking, this began in the fourteenth century with a Latin phase, when Renaissance scholars such as [[Petrarch]], [[Coluccio Salutati]] (1331 – 1406), [[Niccolò de' Niccoli]] (1364 – 1437) and [[Poggio Bracciolini]] (1380 – 1459 AD) scoured the libraries of Europe in search of works by such Latin authors as [[Cicero]], [[Livy]] and [[Seneca]]. By the early fifteenth century, the bulk of such Latin literature had been recovered; the Greek phase of Renaissance humanism was now under way, as Western European scholars turned to recovering ancient Greek literary, historical, oratorical and theological texts. | + | |
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| - | Unlike the case of Latin texts, which had been preserved and studied in Western Europe since late antiquity, the study of ancient Greek texts was very limited in medieval Western Europe. Ancient Greek works on science, math and philosophy had been studied since the [[High Middle Ages]] in Western Europe and in the medieval Islamic world, but Greek literary, oratorical and historical works, (such as [[Homer]], the [[Greek dramatists]], [[Demosthenes]] and [[Thucydides]] and so forth), were not studied in either the Latin or medieval Islamic worlds; in the Middle Ages these sorts of texts were only studied by [[Byzantine]] scholars. One of the greatest achievements of Renaissance scholars was to bring this entire class of Greek cultural works back into Western Europe for the first time since late antiquity. This movement to reintegrate the regular study of Greek literary, historical, oratorical and theological texts back into the Western European curriculum is usually dated to [[Coluccio Salutati]]'s invitation to the Byzantine diplomat and scholar [[Manuel Chrysoloras]] (c.1355 – 1415) to Florence to teach Greek, his knowledge of the Greek language was of significant importance. Another [[Greeks|Greek]] [[Byzantine]] scholar of importance was [[Demetrius Chalcondyles]] ([[1424]] – [[1511]]) who taught Platonic philosophy and the [[Greek language]] in Italy for a period of over forty years; at [[Padua]], [[Milan]] and [[Florence]]. Among his pupils were [[Johann Reuchlin]], [[Janus Lascaris]], [[Poliziano]], [[Leo X]], [[Castiglione]], [[Giglio Gregorio Giraldi]], Stefano Negri, and [[Cattaneo|Giovanni Maria Cattaneo]]. | + | |
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| - | The fall of the [[Byzantine Empire]] in 1453, accompanied by the closure of its schools of higher learning by the [[Ottoman Turks]], brought many other Greek scholars to Italy and beyond, who brought with them Greek manuscripts, and knowledge of the classical [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] literature, some of which had been lost for centuries in the West. | + | |
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| - | ===Social and political structures in Italy=== | + | |
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| - | The unique political structures of late [[Middle Ages]] [[Italy]] have led some to theorize that its unusual social climate allowed the emergence of a rare cultural efflorescence. Italy did not exist as a [[Nation-state|political entity]] in the early modern period. Instead, it was divided into smaller [[Italian city-states|city states]] and territories: the [[Kingdom of Naples]] controlled the south, the [[Republic of Florence]] and the [[Papal States]] at the center, the [[Genoa|Genoese]] and the [[Milan]]ese to the north and west respectively, and the [[Venice|Venetians]] to the east. Fifteenth-century Italy was one of the most [[urbanization|urbanised]] areas in Europe. Many of its cities stood among the ruins of ancient Roman buildings; it seems likely that the classical nature of the Renaissance was linked to its origin in the Roman Empire's heartland. | + | |
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| - | Historian and political philosopher [[Quentin Skinner]] points out that [[Otto of Freising]] (c. 1114 - 1158) , a German bishop visiting north Italy during the 12th century, noticed a widespread new form of political and social organisation, observing that Italy appeared to have exited from Feudalism so that its society was based on merchants and commerce. Linked to this was anti-monarchical thinking, represented in the famous early Renaissance fresco cycle Allegory of Good and Bad Government in Siena by [[Ambrogio Lorenzetti]] (painted 1338–1340) whose strong message is about the virtues of fairness, justice, republicanism and good administration. Holding both Church and Empire at bay, these city republics were devoted to notions of liberty. Skinner reports that there were many defences of liberty such as [[Matteo Palmieri]]’s (1406–1475) celebration of Florentine genius not only in art, sculpture and architecture, but “the remarkable efflorescence of moral, social and political philosophy that occurred in Florence at the same time”. | + | |
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| - | Even cities and states beyond central Italy, such as the [[Republic of Florence]] at this time, were also notable for their merchant [[Republics]], especially the [[Republic of Venice]]. Although in practice these were [[oligarchy|oligarchical]], and bore little resemblance to a modern [[democracy]], they did have democratic features and were responsive states, with forms of participation in governance and belief in liberty. The relative political freedom they afforded was conducive to academic and artistic advancement. Likewise, the position of Italian cities such as Venice as great trading centres made them intellectual crossroads. [[Merchants]] brought with them ideas from far corners of the globe, particularly [[the Levant]]. Venice was Europe's gateway to trade with the East, and a producer of fine [[Venetian glass|glass]], while Florence was a capital of silk. The wealth such business brought to Italy meant large public and private artistic projects could be commissioned and individuals had more leisure time for study. | + | |
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| - | ===Black Death=== | + | |
| - | One theory that has been advanced is that the devastation caused by the [[Black Death]] in [[Florence]], which hit [[Europe]] between 1348 and 1350, resulted in a shift in the world view of people in 14th-century Italy. Italy was particularly badly hit by the plague, and it has been speculated that the familiarity with death that this brought caused thinkers to dwell more on their lives on Earth, rather than on [[spirituality]] and the [[afterlife]]. It has also been argued that the Black Death prompted a new wave of piety, manifested in the [[Patron#The arts|sponsorship]] of religious works of art. However, this does not fully explain why the Renaissance occurred specifically in Italy in the 14th century. The Black Death was a pandemic that affected all of Europe in the ways described, not only Italy. The Renaissance's emergence in Italy was most likely the result of the complex interaction of the above factors. | + | |
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| - | In the wake of the black death, reduced population left work-forces depleted: this tended, throughout Europe, to give workers more bargaining power, particularly skilled workers. This led to a shift of power away from rulers and towards workers and merchants, particularly in smaller states (such as composed Italy at the time). Thus, regardless of its spiritual and psychic impact, the plague's economic (and consequent political) legacy may have helped set the scene for the Renaissance. | + | |
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| - | ===Cultural conditions in Florence=== | + | |
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| - | It has long been a matter of debate why the Renaissance began in [[Florence]], and not elsewhere in Italy. Scholars have noted several features unique to Florentine cultural life which may have caused such a cultural movement. Many have emphasized the role played by the [[Medici]], a [[banking|banking family]] and later [[royal house|ducal house]]family, in patronizing and stimulating the arts. [[Lorenzo de' Medici]] (1449 – 1492) was the catalyst for an enormous amount of arts patronage, encouraging his countryman to commission works from Florence's leading artists, including [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Sandro Botticelli]], and [[Michelangelo Buonarroti]]. | + | |
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| - | The Renaissance was certainly underway before Lorenzo came to power; indeed, before the Medici family itself achieved hegemony in Florentine society. Some historians have postulated that Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance as a result of luck, i.e. because "[[Great man theory|Great Men]]" were born there by chance. | + | |
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Coluccio Salutati (February 16 1331 – May 4 1406) was an Italian man of letters and one of the most important political and cultural leaders of Renaissance Florence.
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