Petrarch Humanism

Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) was an Italian scholar, poet, and early humanist during the reformation of the Renaissance period. He was one of the greatest poets of the 14th-16th century, and is regarded as the father of the humanist movement. Petrarch was a prolific writer. Not only was he known for poetry in Italian and Latin, but also hundreds of letters, essays and histories. Like Dante, a generation before Petrarch wrote in a vernacular style to bring Italian a literary language.

Thus, it was unsurprising to find that Pope Sixtus IV built a library that still remains as one of the richest repositories holding ancient, medieval documents. This movement of humanism was largely praise because the viewed humanity through a Christian lens as Renaissance humanists strongly believed that men and woman were made in the image and likeness of God. For example, Pico Mirandola represented man as one in possession of great dignity in his essay, ‘On the Dignity of Man’. Further, Renaissance humanism caused individuals to become increasingly self-conscious about their current lifestyles and their realization of human potential. Humanism heavily influenced much of the Renaissance culture, causing people to depend upon intellect its role in humanity breakthroughs.

When historians use the term “Renaissance humanism” they are talking about the revival of the “worldly spirit of the ancient Greeks and Romans, which [the humanists] believed had been lost in the Middle Ages.” Humanists liked ancient writings and looked for “guidelines for living life well in this world,” as well as models and styles to follow for their own books and other written works. The humanists thought that the ancient Greeks and Romans had written beautifully and were extremely intelligent, so they wanted to copy their ancient styles and learn about them. Some humanists also began focusing on things that were happening in the world, and ways to enjoy life more on this planet. They stopped looking at religion so much and started focusing

Arguably the greatest and longest impacting movement brought about by the forward thinkers of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized the human potential to attain excellence through direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of the classical Greek and Roman societies (Merriam-Webster). The scholars and believers in humanism sought to change the course of society away from the narrow pedantry of medieval scholasticism and utilitarianism. Humanism was a basic desire for every citizen to be able to speak with eloquence and read and write with clarity, so that common citizens were capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities (Gray). The movement also emphasized the value of a human being as well as the importance of rational thought rather than blind faith in spiritualism or superstition. It also pushed people to explore human desires and pleasures while also enriching their minds. The influential nature of humanism was far reaching and most notable for its effects on Renaissance art, literature, and philosophy.

Humanism also encouraged people to help their society by combining the talents. An example of that can be found in Florence where three humanists served as chancellors of the city. Coluccio Salutati, Leonardo Bruni, and Poggio Bracciolini used rhetorical skills to encourage Florentines to revolt against the aggression of Naples and Milan. Both Bruni and Poggio wrote flattering histories of the city. Leon Battista Alberti, another accomplished humanist scholar, was a noted Florentine architect and builder. They were encouraged to combine their skills in history, art, and literature in their every day lives. This made them see the world with a different perspective, which made them into the individuals they aspired to be.

It would make sense that the “Father of Humanism” would be from Florence, the epicenter of the Italian Renaissance. Much of his work had a modern element because he probed his own feelings in his writings. This would go with the Renaissance theme of the rediscovery of human glory due to the fact that Petrarch often looked within himself. Petrarch was also a devote Christian and believed that they meshed well. Petrarch being a Christian humanist agrees with the first article and with the belief of humanists of returning to the sources. I found it surprising how centralized Petrarch’s beliefs were in Christianity considering he was a humanist during the Italian Renaissance. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wrote during the Northern European Renaissance because they were more faith oriented and were known as Christina humanists. Petrarch criticizes his contemporaries and dialecticians on being ignorant of antiquity. He condemns them for mocking ancient philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and Pythagoras whose works are later glorified during the Renaissance. The fact that these philosophers were later admired and emulated during the Renaissance shows how quickly humanist’s beliefs caught on due to society’s need for culture after the dark Middle

The Renaissance was the entrance to a change in the overall worldview of man. Humanistic thought began to grow more and more prevalent, and showed itself through art, architecture, and manuscripts. Humanists believe that man is autonomous, that humans are powerful enough to survive, thrive, and conquer without any spiritual help. It is a very self-centered way of thinking, destined to fail. One example of an artist who portrayed this through his work, was Michelangelo. His sculptures “men tearing themselves out of rock” give a bold humanistic statement. Man, as man, with no help is tearing himself out of rock. Man will free himself. Man is great. Leonardo da Vinci, the brilliant chemist, mathematician, musician, architect, anatomist, botanist, mechanical engineer, and artist, understood the end to which humanistic thought would lead.

“Man has no greater enemy than himself” according to Petrarch, a poet who lived from 1304-1374, and the inventor of the sonnet. The Renaissance was a time period from 14th to the 17th century, and was the bridge from the Middle Ages to modern history. An Italian scholar, poet, and the father of humanism, Petrarch helped develop a style of poetry known as the sonnet. In addition, Petrarch was relevant to the Renaissance because he inspired Shakespeare and other Renaissance poets as well as modern philosophy and thought.

All humanists made an alliance with power by acting as spokespeople for the patrician class. Their writings were effusive towards the everyone and everything inside of the cities they lived in. All of their works were written to favor the aristocrats. Leonardo Bruni was an Italian Humanist during the Renaissance. In his Panegyric to the City of Florence, Bruni illustrates his version of what Florence was like for the purpose of inspiring his and future generations of what an ideal city-state should embody.

The ancient ideas about beuty- of mind, body and spirit, led on to a new philosophy, known as humanism, which challenged the teachings of the medieval Church. Renaissance thinkers made human beings, and human achivements, their main concern. They cared more about life in this world, than about eternity. Most humanists did not reject altogether. But now they believed that, in some ways, humans could be perfect, and almost equal to God.

Two humanist ideas that defined the age of the Renaissance were the idea that man could achieve and leaning away from the Christian world view. The enforcement of the idea that man could achieve led people to valuing their strengths more than they did before. Leaning away from the Christian world view let people experience a different type of lifestyle. Upholding the humanistic concept of “man could achieve” enabled the citizens of Europe to hold their abilities to higher standards, leading to achievement. In “The Ascent of Mount Ventoux, Petrarch wrote about his ascent of the highest mountain in his region.

Giovanni Gabrieli was an Italian composer born in 1554 and wrote many works in the ‘in between’ stage of Renaissance and Baroque. He was a composer and

The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy around the 1500’s to about the 1700’s. Florence, Italy was the mecca of this rebirth because at the time Florence was extremely wealthy and the people of the city had political freedom and those new ideals of the Renaissance were not being condemned in Florence as they were other cities. This was a time where the arts and the logic of one’s own mind was valued rather than criticized, the antiquated medieval ideals no longer matched the needs of those who were living during the early Renaissance. Eventually, a term for this way of thinking arose and was called Humanism, and what humanism is, is an ideology where humans can lead themselves to create a prosperous life and instead of leaning on supernatural forces for answers. Humanists believe that humans have enough logic to create conclusions themselves. This brand-new way of thinking caused a lot of controversy because it did question God’s ability and the church’s power, but the ideas behind it are still heavily used today, even in the 21st century. Humanism in the early Renaissance is important because it called for thinking with reason, it allowed an appreciation for human body and mind, inspired authors and caused a shift in power.

At the core of the humanist agenda was the idea of virtue, or behavior with a great moral standard. A man named Francesco Petrarch helped to found these beliefs, by studying classic Roman sources such as the scholar Cicero. Petrarch believed that these classics works could teach someone to be wise and virtuous (class notes). He helped to make Humanism a popular movement among intellectuals of the time and cement the idea that the classical works could help guide humans to live a virtuous and wise

Encarta Dictionary says that Humanism is a system of thought that centers on human beings and their values, capacities and worth. Encarta also goes on the say that, in philosophy, humanism is an attitude that emphasizes the dignity and worth of an individual. A basic premise of humanism is that people are rational beings who possess within themselves the capacity for truth and goodness. I see myself as a being a humanist through everyday life. I always try to see the good in a person when he/she makes me angry or sad, and say I to myself that maybe that person has had a bad day and living life is difficult at the moment. Socrates was even an early humanist of sorts. He can be quoted as saying, "to know the good is to do the