The Humanist World of Renaissance Florence
1st Edition
Published on 17. December 2013
978-1-107-59726-6 (ISBN)
Description
This book offers a major contribution for understanding the spread of the humanist movement in Renaissance Florence. Investigating the connections between individuals who were part of the humanist movement, Maxson reconstructs the networks that bound them together. Overturning the problematic categorization of humanists as either professional or amateurs, a distinction based on economics and the production of original works in Latin, he offers a new way of understanding how the humanist movement could incorporate so many who were illiterate in Latin, but who nonetheless were responsible for an intellectual and cultural paradigm shift. The book demonstrates the massive appeal of the humanist movement across socio-economic and political groups, and argues that the movement became so successful and widespread because by the 1420s-30s the demands of common rituals began requiring humanist speeches. Over time, humanist learning became more valuable as social capital, which raised the status of the most learned humanists and helped disseminate humanist ideas beyond Florence.
Reviews / Votes
'A compelling and challenging synthesis of intellectual, social and quantitative history.' History Today 'In recent years, a number of scholars have belittled or denied the importance of Italian Renaissance humanism. This excellent book sets the record straight. Using an array of archival, manuscript, printed, and secondary sources, Maxson demonstrates that the humanist movement in Florence had an early impact (1420s), included many more individuals than previously thought, and played a major role in Florentine government and society in the fifteenth century. Summing up: highly recommended.' P. Grendler, ChoiceMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
File size
2,92 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-107-59726-6 (9781107597266)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Brian Jeffrey Maxson
The Humanist World of Renaissance Florence
Book
12/2013
Cambridge University Press
€129.70
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Brian Jeffrey Maxson is an Assistant Professor of History at East Tennessee State University. His research focuses on the cultural and political history of late medieval and Renaissance Europe. His articles have appeared in Renaissance Studies and I Tatti Studies, among other journals. He has held fellowships from the Fulbright and Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Foundations, and has given invited lectures at the University of Oxford and the Ludwig Maximilians Universitaet, Munich.
Content
Introduction. A social conception of the humanist movement; 1. Learned connections and the humanist movement; 2. Literary and social humanists; 3. The social origins of the Florentine humanists; 4. The humanist demands of ritual; 5. Civic failure of the literary humanists or literary failure of the civic humanists?; 6. The rise of the social humanists, 1400-55; 7. Humanism as a means to social status, 1456-85.
