Humanism and Education in Medieval and Renaissance Italy : Tradition and Innovation in Latin Schools From the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Century

Based on the study of over 500 surviving manuscript school books, this comprehensive 2001 study of the curriculum of school education in medieval and Renaissance Italy contains some surprising conclusions. Robert Black's analysis finds that continuity and conservatism, not innovation, characterize medieval and Renaissance teaching. The study of classical texts in medieval Italian schools reached its height in the twelfth century; this was followed by a collapse in the thirteenth century, an effect on school teaching of the growth of university education. This collapse was only gradually reversed in the two centuries that followed: it was not until the later 1400s that humanists began to have a significant impact on education. Scholars of European history, of Renaissance studies, and of the history of education will find that this deeply researched and broad-ranging book challenges much inherited wisdom about education, humanism and the history of ideas. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 9 List of abbreviations......Page 11 Editorial note regarding citations from manuscripts and publications......Page 14 A note on chronological terminology......Page 16 Introduction......Page 18 1 Italian Renaissance education: an historiographical perspective......Page 29 Doctores puerorum......Page 51 Tabula, carta, salterium......Page 53 IANUA......Page 61 Ianua: its origins and early character......Page 62 Ianua’s early prevalence in Italy......Page 65 Other early manuscripts of Ianua: the character and development of the text before the fifteenth century......Page 67 The later development of Ianua......Page 72 The ancient and medieval background......Page 81 The twelfth century and the invention of secondary grammar......Page 86 The thirteenth century and the emergence of a distinctive Italian approach......Page 99 The fourteenth century and the rise of the vernacular......Page 115 The fifteenth century: an era of failed reform......Page 141 Conclusion......Page 188 Major and minor authors......Page 190 The Dark Ages: decline and renaissance of the classics......Page 191 The tenth and eleventh centuries: the ascendant classics......Page 196 The twelfth century: the classical apogee......Page 202 The thirteenth century: revolution......Page 209 The fourteenth century: counter-revolution......Page 217 The minor authors......Page 242 Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy......Page 253 The Latin classics......Page 255 The late fifteenth century and the triumph of humanism......Page 287 Conclusion......Page 290 The role of the vernacular......Page 292 Word order......Page 298 Interlinear Latin synonyms......Page 300 Grammatical analysis......Page 302 Rhetorical figures......Page 303 Grammar......Page 305 Mnemonic verses......Page 307 History......Page 310 Mythology......Page 313 Paraphrase......Page 315 Authorities......Page 318 Introductory philosophy......Page 321 Introductory rhetorical analysis......Page 325 Introductory and accompanying material......Page 328 Metric analysis......Page 335 Sententiae......Page 337 Allegory......Page 341 School glosses and learned commentaries: tradition and adaptation in reading Boethius’s Consolation......Page 342 The secondary syllabus as an integrated curriculum......Page 348 Grammar and rhetoric......Page 353 Rhetoric and style in the Italian grammar syllabus before the Renaissance: the force of tradition......Page 355 Rhetoric and style in the grammar curriculum during the fifteenth century: innovation triumphant......Page 366 Conclusion......Page 383 Appendix I BL Harley 2653: the earliest known manuscript of Ianua......Page 386 Appendix II A handlist of manuscripts of Ianua......Page 390 Appendix III Manuscripts of Tebaldo’s Regule......Page 396 Appendix IV Handlist of manuscripts of school authors produced in Italy and now found in Florentine libraries......Page 403 Appendix V Theoretical grammar manuscripts in Florentine libraries examined and included or eliminated as Italian school grammars......Page 443 Appendix VI Authorities cited explicitly in manuscripts of major school authors in Florentine libraries......Page 445 Bibliography......Page 452 Index of manuscripts......Page 473 A......Page 483 B......Page 485 C......Page 487 D......Page 489 F......Page 490 G......Page 492 J......Page 494 L......Page 495 M......Page 496 N......Page 497 P......Page 498 R......Page 501 S......Page 502 T......Page 504 V......Page 505 Z......Page 506 Machine generated contents note: Introduction I I Italian Renaissance education: an historiographical perspective I2 2 The elementary school curriculum in medieval and Renaissance Italy: traditional methods and developing texts 34 Doctores puerorum 34 Tabula, carta, salterium 36 lanua 44 lanua: its origins and early character 45 lanua's early prevalence in Italy 48 Other early manuscripts of lanua: the character and development of the text before the fifteenth century 50 The later development of lanua 55 3 The secondary grammar curriculum 64 The ancient and medieval background 64 The twelfth century and the invention of secondary grammar 69 The thirteenth century and the emergence of a distinctive Italian approach 82 The fourteenth century and the rise of the vernacular 98 The fifteenth century: an era of failed reform 124 Conclusion '17 4 Latin authors in medieval and Renaissance Italian schools: the story of a canon I73 Major and minor authors 173 The Dark Ages: decline and renaissance of the classics 174 The tenth and eleventh centuries: the ascendant classics 179 The twelfth century: the classical apogee 185 The thirteenth century: revolution The fourteenth century: counter-revolution The fifteenth century: tenacious traditions and new fashions The minor authors Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy The Latin classics Lucan, Claudian, Seneca the Tragedian Valerius Maximus, Statius and Horace Ovid, Persius,Juvenal, Terence, Vergil and Sallust Cicero The late fifteenth century and the triumph of humanism Conclusion 5 Reading Latin authors in medieval and Renaissance Italian schools Glossing between the lines: the struggling pupil The role of the vernacular Word order Interlinear Latin synonyms Grammatical analysis Glossing in the margins: the triumph of philology over morality Rhetorical figures Grammar Mnemonic verses Geography History Mythology Paraphrase Authorities Introductory philosophy Introductory rhetorical analysis Introductory and accompanying material Probationespennae, drawings and colophons Accessus Metric analysis Sententiae Allegory School glosses and learned commentaries: tradition and adaptation in reading Boethius's Consolation 6 Rhetoric and style in the school grammar syllabus The secondary syllabus as an integrated curriculum Grammar and rhetoric Rhetoric and style in the Italian grammar syllabus before the Renaissance: the force of tradition Rhetoric and style in the grammar curriculum during the fifteenth century: innovation triumphant Conclusion Appendix I BL Harley 2653: the earliest known manuscript of Ianua Appendix II - A handlist of manuscripts of Ianua Appendix III Manuscripts of Tebaldo's Regule Appendix IV Handlist of manuscripts of school authors produced in Italy and now found in Florentine libraries Appendix V Theoretical grammar manuscripts in Florentine libraries examined and included or eliminated as Italian school grammars Appendix VI Authorities cited explicitly in manuscripts of major school authors in Florentine libraries Bibliography Index of manuscripts General index. "This is the first study of the educational curriculum in medieval and Renaissance Italy. Robert Black's analysis finds that the real innovators in the history of Latin education in Italy were the thirteenth-century schoolmasters who introduced a new method of teaching grammar based on logic, and their early fourteenth-century successors, who first began to rely on the vernacular as a tool to teach Latin grammar. Thereafter, in the later fourteenth and for most of the fifteenth century, conservatism, not innovation, characterised the earlier stages of education. The study of classical texts in medieval Italian schools reached its height in the twelfth century but then collapsed as universities rose in importance during the thirteenth century, a sharp decline only gradually reversed in the two centuries that followed. Dr. Black demonstrates that the famous humanist educators did not introduce the revolution in the classroom that is usually assumed, and that humanism did not make a significant impact on school teaching until the later fifteenth century." "Humanism and Education is a major contribution to Renaissance studies, to Italian history, and to the history of European education, the fruit of sustained manuscript research over many years."--Jacket Based on the study of over 500 surviving manuscript school books, this original and comprehensive study of the curriculum of school education in medieval and Renaissance Italy contains some surprising conclusions. Robert Black's analysis finds that continuity and conservatism, not innovation, characterise medieval and Renaissance teaching. The study of classical texts in medieval Italian schools reached its height in the twelfth century; this was followed by a collapse in the thirteenth century, an effect on school teaching of the growth of university education. This collapse was only gradually reversed in the two centuries that followed: it was not until the later 1400s that humanists began to have a significant impact on education. Scholars of European history, of Renaissance studies, and of the history of education will find that this deeply-researched and broad-ranging book challenges much inherited wisdom about education, humanism and the history of ideas. The claim, central to many interpretations of the Renaissance, that humanists introduced a revolution in the classroom is refuted in Robert Black's masterly survey, based on over 500 manuscript school books. He shows that the study of classical texts in schools reached a high point in the twelfth century, followed by a collapse in the thirteenth as universities rose in influence. It was not until the later 1400s that humanism had a significant impact in the schoolroom, as Italian teaching, particularly at elementary levels, remained strongly traditional throughout the fifteenth century. One minute I was in New York...walking down Sixth Avenue, a private eye on a two-bit job... Next minute I was in New York...a crazy town I almost recognised - but Goebbels was speaking in Union square, Hitler invited me to a cocktail party, and aliens from outer space were running the whole show. Fun City it wasn't... Plucked from his own "time", a pawn in a Galactic power play, Ron Archer fights his way through a deadly maze of intrigue and conspiracy to an incredible destiny at the end of the star lanes! The history of education is particularly susceptible to influence from wider intellectual, philosophical and political movements; scholars have been tempted to justify their own intellectual formation by applauding or condemning the educational attitudes and assumptions of previous epochs.