Patronage and Humanist Literature in the Age of the Jagiellons : Court and Career in the Writings of Rudolf Agricola Junior, Valentin Eck, and Leonard Cox

__Patronage and Humanist Literature in the Age of the Jagiellons__ is an insightful historic account that is accessible to anyone interested in patronage at the time of the European Renaissance.

Every epoch has its artists, thinkers, and creators, and behind many of these people, there is a patron waiting in the wings. Patronage and Humanist Literature in the Age of the Jagiellons looks at the relationship between humanist scholars and their patrons in east central Europe during the early sixteenth century. It is the first study in English specifically to address literary patronage as it existed in this particular time and place.

Drawing on the writings of three itinerant scholar-poets associated with the courts of Cracow, Buda, and Vienna, Jacqueline Glomski argues that, even while they supported the imperial pretensions of the Jagiellonian monarchs, the humanist scholars of east central Europe also created effective propaganda for themselves by representing their own role in the conferring of fame upon their patrons. Using a wide array of source material, from dedicatory letters to panegyric and political literature, Glomski describes how important patronage was to the scholar-poets, and analyzes the process by which conventions of Renaissance humanism spread across Europe.

Patronage and Humanist Literature in the Age of the Jagiellons is an insightful historic account that is accessible to anyone interested in patronage at the time of the European Renaissance.

"The literature of early modern Europe arose as a part of the patronage system. Patronage and Humanist Literature in the Age of the Jagiellons looks at the relationship between humanist scholars and their patrons in east central Europe during the early sixteenth century, and analyses the neo-Latin literature printed at Cracow in 1510-30 as a product of that relationship. It is the first study in English of this literature in the context of the social and political phenomenon of patronage." "Focusing on the writings of three itinerant scholar-poets associated with the courts of Cracow, Buda, and Vienna, Jacqueline Glomski argues that, even while these writings supported the imperial pretensions of the Jagiellonian rulers, they served as effective propaganda for the humanists and their cause. Drawing on a wide array of source material, from dedicatory letters to panegyric and political literature, Glomski describes how, by forming an identity for their patrons and conferring fame on them according to humanist ideals, the scholar-poets advanced themselves and furthered the spread of humanism throughout east central Europe."--Jacket. Contents 5 Acknowledgments 7 Illustrations 9 Introduction 15 1. Patronage and Humanist Literature at Cracow, 1510–1530: The Careers of Rudolf Agricola Junior, Valentin Eck, and Leonard Cox 25 2. Careerism at Cracow: Issues of Identity and Self-Promotion 61 3. Hero-Making: The Image of the Great Man 101 4. The Need for the Immediate Production of Poetry: Political Propaganda and Occasional Verse 131 Conclusion 199 Appendix 1: The Works of Rudolf Agricola Junior, Valentin Eck, and Leonard Cox: Short-Title Bibliographies 213 Appendix 2: Variants of Personal and Place Names 223 Notes 227 Bibliography 301 Index 331