Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life (Voices of an Era)

The documents in this collection trace the course of the Renaissance in Italy and northern Europe, describing the emergence of a vibrant and varied intellectual and artistic culture in various states, cities, and kingdoms. Voices of the Renaissance: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life contains excerpts from 52 different documents relating to the period of European history known as the Renaissance. In the 14th century, the rise of humanism, a philosophy based on the study of the languages, literature, and material culture of ancient Greece and Rome, led to a sense of revitalization and renewal among the city-states of northern Italy. The political development and economic expansion of those cities provided the ideal conditions for humanist scholarship to flourish. This period of literary, artistic, architectural, and cultural flowering is today known as the Renaissance, a term taken from the French and meaning "rebirth." The Italian Renaissance reached its height in the 15th and early 16th centuries. In the 1490s, the ideals of the Italian Renaissance spread north of the Alps and gave rise to a series of national cultural rebirths in various states. In many places, this Northern Renaissance extended into the 17th century, when war and religious discord put an end to the Renaissance era. Provides a broad selection of document excerpts that engage reader interest Includes sidebars with interesting related topics that often connect to modern events or issues Suggests possible projects, activities, or topics of study Provides current bibliographies of related information resources Includes a Chronology of the Renaissance to give an overall sense of history Asks specific questions that focus the reader's attention on the section topics Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Preface 12 Acknowledgments 16 Introduction 18 Evaluating and Interpreting Primary Documents 24 Chronology of the Renaissance 26 Documents of the Renaissance 8 Art and Literature 42 1. “These Men Vilify the Italian Tongue”: Excerpts From Dante Alighieri’s Il Convivio (ca. 1307) and Divine Comedy (1320) 44 2. “The Courteous Fashion in Which a Lady Imposed Silence Upon a Gentleman”: Excerpt From the Decameron (ca. 1353) by Giovanni Boccaccio 52 3. “The Utterances of Men Concerning Me Will Differ Widely”: Excerpts From Petrarch’s “Letter to Posterity” (ca. 1372) 58 4. “You Sing My Book, But Not as I Have Made It”: Excerpt From Franco Sacchetti’s Novelle (Late 14th Century) 64 5. “They Both Imagined That They Loved in Vain”: Excerpt From The Tale of Two Lovers (1444) by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini 68 6. “A House Is a Little City”: A Description of a Gentleman’s Country House From Leon Battista Alberti’s De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) (1452) 74 7. “I Can Carry Out Sculpture in Marble, Bronze or Clay”: Leonardo da Vinci’s Letter to Ludovico Sforza (ca. 1482) and Excerpts From Leonardo’s Notebooks 80 8. “He Fell to Crying ‘Wine! Wine! Wine!’ ”: Excerpts From the Novelle or Tales (1554–1573) of Matteo Bandello 86 Economics and Society 92 9. “Thinking Less about Women than about Robbers”: Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini’s Description of His Mission to Scotland (1435) 94 10. “Once the Wine Has Been Slept Away”: Excerpts From the Facetiae (1470) of Poggio Bracciolini 100 11. “To Sail to the Regions of the East by Those of the West”: Letters on Trade and Western Voyaging From Paolo Toscanelli to Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Martins (1474) 106 12. “This Creature of Indeterminate Image”: Excerpts From Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man (1486) 112 13. “You Should Be the Link to Bind This City Closer to the Church”: Lorenzo de’ Medici’s Letter of Advice to His Son, Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici (ca. 1491) 118 14. “The Sleeves Were Made to Look Like Two Wings”: Two Letters of Beatrice d’Este, Duchess of Milan (1493) 124 15. “She Gave Back Her Spirit to God”: Two Letters Describing the Death in Childbirth of Beatrice, Duchess of Milan (1497) 130 16. “The Principal and True Profession of a Courtier Ought to Be in Feats of Arms”: Excerpts from The Book of the Courtier (1528) by Baldassare Castiglione 136 Politics and War 142 17. “The Child Drew a Ball for Each and the Councilors Broke Them”: A Description of the Procedures Followed for Election of the Doge of Venice (1268) 144 18. “I Will Proceed . . . to Destroy the Argument”: Excerpts From De Monarchia (1313) by Dante Alighieri 150 19. “May He Never Return Here”: Documents Relating to the Life in Italy of the English Condottiere Sir John Hawkwood (1377, 1391) 156 20. “I Had Already Preached Four Hours Before the Break of Day”: Excerpts From a Sermon of Fra Bernardino of Siena on the Dangers of Political Factions (ca. 1427) 162 21. “Is Giuliano Safe?”: Three Accounts of the Pazzi Conspiracy in Florence (1478, ca. 1525) 168 22. “The Enemy Is in Full Retreat”: Letter of Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, to Isabella d’Este, His Sister-in-Law, Describing the Expulsion of the French From Milan (1500) 174 23. “Men More Quickly Forget the Death of Their Father Than the Loss of Their Patrimony”: Excerpts From The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli (1532) 180 24. “No Nobleman Could Exercise any Magistracy”: Excerpts From Benedetto Varchi’s Story of Florence (1565) 186 Religion and the Papacy 192 25. “There Can Be Only One Supreme Ruling Power in a State”: Excerpts From Defensor Pacis (1324) by Marsilius of Padua 194 26. “The Pope Both Thirsts for the Goods of Others and Drinks Up His Own”: Excerpts From the Donation of Constantine (Eighth Century) and From Lorenzo Valla’s Treatise on the Authenticity of the Donation (ca. 1440) 200 27. “To Invade, Search Out, Capture, Vanquish, and Subdue all Saracens and Pagans”: Excerpts From Romanus Pontifex (1455), a Bull Issued by Pope Nicholas V 206 28. “Many Cardinals Met in the Privies”: A Description of the Papal Election of 1458 by the Winner of the Election, Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II) 212 29. “I Entreated for Wax Candles”: Excerpts From an Account of the Death and Funeral of Pope Sixtus IV by Johann Burchard, Papal Master of Ceremonies (1484) 218 30. “His Majestic Stature Gave Him an Advantage”: Descriptions of Two Renaissance Popes—Innocent VIII (ca. 1484) and Alexander VI (ca. 1460, 1492, 1493) 224 31. “Causing Great Perturbance Amongst the People”: Luca Landucci’s Diary Account of the Fall and Execution of Fra Girolamo Savonarola (1498) 230 32. “You Are Dressed in the Bloody Armor of a Warrior”: Excerpts From Julius Excluded From Heaven (1514), a Satirical Dialogue on Pope Julius II by Desiderius Erasmus 236 Northern Renaissance 242 33. “It Removes All Obscurity”: Excerpts From a Letter of the Dutch Humanist Rudolphus Agricola to Jacobus Barbirianus, Choirmaster of Antwerp (1484) 244 34. “He May Not Become an Awkward, Lazy, Stupid, Foppish, Wanton Fellow”: Excerpt From Jacob Wimpheling’s Adolescentia (1500), a Treatise on Education 250 35. “They Cheat Both Man and Beast”: Letters of Albrecht Dürer Describing His Visit to Venice (1506) 256 36. “Why Did You Marry Such an Old Woman?”: Excerpts From Letters of Obscure Men (1515–1519) by Ulrich von Hutten and Other Humanists 262 37. “This Office of Ambassador Never Pleased Me”: Thomas More’s Letter to Erasmus Describing an English Embassy to Prince Charles of Spain (1516) 268 38. “Boys Are Naturally Apes; They Imitate Everything”: Excerpts From the De Tradendis Disciplinis (1531), a Treatise on Education by Juan Luis Vives 274 39. “Eleven Hundred Hides of Brown Cows”: Excerpts From François Rabelais’s Novel Gargantua (1534) 280 40. “I Do Not Grapple with Them”: Excerpts From Michel de Montaigne’s “Essay on Education” (1580) 286 Appendix 1: Biographical Sketches of Important Individuals Mentioned in Text 292 Appendix 2: Glossary of Terms Mentioned in Text 316 Appendix 3: Popes, 1294–1585 322 Appendix 4: Rulers of Italian City-States During the Renaissance Period 324 Appendix 5: European Monarchs, 1300–1600 328 Bibliography 332 Index 346 "The documents and the attendant commentary offered in this collection trace the beginning and course of the Renaissance in Italy and its extension into northern Europe, telling the story of the emergence of a vibrant and varied intellectual and artistic culture in various states, cities, and kingdoms"-- Provided by publisher