THE
CIVILISATION OF THE
RENAISSANCE
IN ITALY

By
JACOB BURCKHARDT
AUTHORISED TRANSLATION BY
S. G. C. MIDDLEMORE

LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD.
NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

PREFACE.

DR. Burckhardt’s work on the Renaissance in Italy is too well known, not only to students of the period, but now to a wider circle of readers, for any introduction to be necessary. The increased interest which has of late years, in England, been taken in this and kindred subjects, and the welcome which has been given to the works of other writers upon them, encourage me to hope that in publishing this translation I am meeting a want felt by some who are either unable to read German at all, or to whom an English version will save a good deal of time and trouble.

The translation is made from the third edition of the original, recently published in Germany, with slight additions to the text, and large additions to the notes, by Dr. Ludwig Geiger, of Berlin. It also contains some fresh matter communicated by Dr. Burckhardt to Professor Diego Valbusa of Mantua, the Italian translator of the book. To all three gentlemen my thanks are due for courtesy shown, or help given to me in the course of my work.

In a few cases, where Dr. Geiger’s view differs from that taken by Dr. Burckhardt, I have called attention to the fact by bracketing Dr. Geiger’s opinion and adding his initials.

THE TRANSLATOR.

CONTENTS.

PART I. THE STATE AS A WORK OF ART
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.
	PAGE
Political condition of Italy in the thirteenth century	4
The Norman State under Frederick II.	5
Ezzelino da Romano	7
CHAPTER II. THE TYRANNY OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
Finance and its relation to culture	8
The ideal of the absolute ruler	9
Inward and outward dangers	10
Florentine estimate of the tyrants	11
The Visconti	12
CHAPTER III. THE TYRANNY OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
Intervention and visits of the emperors	18
Want of a fixed law of succession. Illegitimacy	20
Founding of States by Condottieri	22
Relations of Condottieri to their employers	23
The family of Sforza	24
Giacomo Piccinino	25
Later attempts of the Condottieri	26
CHAPTER IV. THE PETTY TYRANNIES.
The Baglioni of Perugia	28
Massacre in the year 1500	31
Malatesta, Pico, and Petrucci	33
CHAPTER V. THE GREATER DYNASTIES.
The Aragonese at Naples	35
The last Visconti at Milan	38
Francesco Sforza and his luck	39
Galeazzo Maria and Ludovic Moro	40
The Gonzaga at Mantua	43
Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino	44
The Este at Ferrara	46
CHAPTER VI. THE OPPONENTS OF TYRANNY.
The later Guelphs and Ghibellines	55
The conspirators	56
Murders in church	57
Influence of ancient tyrannicide	57
Catiline as an ideal	59
Florentine view of tyrannicide	59
The people and tyrannicide	60
CHAPTER VII. THE REPUBLICS: VENICE AND FLORENCE.
Venice in the fifteenth century	62
The inhabitants	63
Dangers from the poor nobility	64
Causes of the stability of Venice	65
The Council of Ten and political trials	66
Relations with the Condottieri	67
Optimism of Venetian foreign policy	68
Venice as the home of statistics	69
Retardation of the Renaissance	71
Mediæval devotion to reliques	72
Florence from the fourteenth century	73
Objectivity of political intelligence	74
Dante as a politician	75
Florence as the home of statistics: the two Villanis	76
Higher form of statistics	77
Florentine constitutions and the historians	82
Fundamental vice of the State	82
Political theorists	83
Macchiavelli and his views	84
Siena and Genoa	86
CHAPTER VIII. FOREIGN POLICY OF THE ITALIAN STATES.
Envy felt towards Venice	88
Relations to other countries: sympathy with France	89
Plan for a balance of power	90
Foreign intervention and conquests	91
Alliances with the Turks	92
Counter-influence of Spain	94
Objective treatment of politics	95
Art of diplomacy	96
CHAPTER IX. WAR AS A WORK OF ART.
Firearms	98
Professional warriors and dilettanti	99
Horrors of war	101
CHAPTER X. THE PAPACY AND ITS DANGERS.
Relation of the Papacy to Italy and foreign countries	103
Disturbances in Rome from the time of Nicholas V.	104
Sixtus IV. master of Rome	105
States of the Nipoti in Romagna	107
Cardinals belonging to princely houses	107
Innocent VIII. and his son	108
Alexander VI. as a Spaniard	109
Relations with foreign countries	110
Simony	111
Cæsar Borgia and his relations to his father	111
Cæsar’s plans and acts	112
Julius II. as Saviour of the Papacy	117
Leo X. His relations with other States	120
Adrian VI.	121
Clement VII. and the sack of Rome	122
Reaction consequent on the latter	123
The Papacy of the Counter-Reformation	124
Conclusion. The Italian patriots	125
PART II. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL.
CHAPTER I. THE ITALIAN STATE AND THE INDIVIDUAL.
The mediæval man	129
The awakening of personality	129
The despot and his subjects	130
Individualism in the Republics	131
Exile and cosmopolitanism	132
CHAPTER II. THE PERFECTING OF THE INDIVIDUAL.
The many-sided men	134
The universal men	136
CHAPTER III. THE MODERN IDEA OF FAME.
Dante’s feeling about fame	139
The celebrity of the Humanists: Petrarch	141
Cultus of birthplace and graves	142
Cultus of the famous men of antiquity	143
Literature of local fame: Padua	143
Literature of universal fame	146
Fame given or refused by the writers	150
Morbid passion for fame	152
CHAPTER IV. MODERN WIT AND SATIRE.
Its connection with individualism	154
Florentine wit: the novel	155
Jesters and buffoons	156
Leo X. and his witticisms	157
Poetical parodies	158
Theory of wit	159
Railing and reviling	161
Adrian VI. as scapegoat	162
Pietro Aretino	164
PART III. THE REVIVAL OF ANTIQUITY.
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
Widened application of the word ‘Renaissance’	171
Antiquity in the Middle Ages	172
Latin poetry of the twelfth century in Italy	173
The spirit of the fourteenth century	175
CHAPTER II. ROME, THE CITY OF RUINS.
Dante, Petrarch, Uberti	177
Rome at the time of Poggio	179
Nicholas V., and Pius II. as an antiquarian	180
Antiquity outside Rome	181
Affiliation of families and cities on Rome	182
The Roman corpse	183
Excavations and architectural plans	184
Rome under Leo X.	184
Sentimental effect of ruins	185
CHAPTER III. THE OLD AUTHORS.
Their diffusion in the fourteenth century	187
Discoveries in the fifteenth century	188
The libraries	189
Copyists and ‘Scrittori’	192
Printing	194
Greek scholarship	195
Oriental scholarship	197
Pico’s view of antiquity	202
CHAPTER IV. HUMANISM IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
Its inevitable victory	203
Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio	205
Coronation of the poets	207
CHAPTER V. THE UNIVERSITIES AND SCHOOLS.
Position of the Humanists at the Universities	211
Latin schools	213
Freer education: Vittorino da Feltre	213
Guarino of Verona	215
The education of princes	216
CHAPTER VI. THE FURTHERERS OF HUMANISM.
Florentine citizens: Niccoli and Manetti	217
The earlier Medici	220
Humanism at the Courts	222
The Popes from Nicholas V. onwards	223
Alfonso of Naples	225
Frederick of Urbino	227
The Houses of Sforza and Este	227
Sigismodo Malatesta	228
CHAPTER VII. THE REPRODUCTION OF ANTIQUITY. LATIN CORRESPONDENCE AND ORATIONS.
The Papal Chancery	230
Letter-writing	232
The orators	233
Political, diplomatic, and funeral orations	236
Academic and military speeches	237
Latin sermons	238
Form and matter of the speeches	239
Passion for quotation	240
Imaginary speeches	241
Decline of eloquence	242
CHAPTER VIII. LATIN TREATISES AND HISTORY.
Value of Latin	243
Researches on the Middle Ages: Blondus	245
Histories in Italian; their antique spirit	246
CHAPTER IX. GENERAL LATINISATION OF CULTURE.
Ancient names	250
Latinised social relations	251
Claims of Latin to supremacy	252
Cicero and the Ciceronians	253
Latin conversation	254
CHAPTER X. MODERN LATIN POETRY.
Epic poems on ancient history: The ‘Africa’	258
Mythic poetry	259
Christian epics: Sannazaro	260
Poetry on contemporary subjects	261
Introduction of mythology	262
Didactic poetry: Palingenius	263
Lyric poetry and its limits	264
Odes on the saints	265
Elegies and the like	266
The epigram	267
CHAPTER XI. FALL OF THE HUMANISTS IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
The accusations and the amount of truth they contained	272
Misery of the scholars	277
Type of the happy scholar	278
Pomponius Laetus	279
The Academies	280
PART IV. THE DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD AND OF MAN.
CHAPTER I. JOURNEYS OF THE ITALIANS.
Columbus	286
Cosmographical purpose in travel	287
CHAPTER II. NATURAL SCIENCE IN ITALY.
Empirical tendency of the nation	289
Dante and astronomy	290
Attitude of the Church towards natural science	290
Influence of Humanism	291
Botany and gardens	292
Zoology and collections of foreign animals	293
Human menagerie of Ippolito Medici	296
CHAPTER III. THE DISCOVERY OF NATURAL BEAUTY.
Landscapes in the Middle Ages	299
Petrarch and his ascents of mountains	301
Uberti’s ‘Dittamondo’	302
The Flemish school of painting	302
Æneas Sylvius and his descriptions	303
Nature in the poets and novelists	305
CHAPTER IV. THE DISCOVERY OF MAN.—SPIRITUAL DESCRIPTION IN POETRY.
Popular psychological ground-work. The temperaments	309
Value of unrhymed poetry	310
Value of the Sonnet	310
Dante and the ‘Vita Nuova’	312
The ‘Divine Comedy’	312
Petrarch as a painter of the soul	314
Boccaccio and the Fiammetta	315
Feeble development of tragedy	315
Scenic splendour, the enemy of the drama	316
The intermezzo and the ballet	317
Comedies and masques	320
Compensation afforded by music	321
Epic romances	321
Necessary subordination of the descriptions of character	323
Pulci and Bojardo	323
Inner law of their compositions	324
Ariosto and his style	325
Folengo and parody	326
Contrast offered by Tasso	327
CHAPTER V. BIOGRAPHY.
Advance of Italy on the Middle Ages	328
Tuscan biographers	330
Biography in other parts of Italy	332
Autobiography; Æneas Sylvius	333
Benvenuto Cellini	333
Girolamo Cardano	334
Luigi Cornaro	335
CHAPTER VI. THE DESCRIPTION OF NATIONS AND CITIES.
The ‘Dittamondo’	339
Descriptions in the sixteenth century	339
CHAPTER VII. DESCRIPTION OF THE OUTWARD MAN.
Boccaccio on Beauty	344
Ideal of Firenzuola	345
His general definitions	345
CHAPTER VIII. DESCRIPTIONS OF LIFE IN MOVEMENT.
Æneas Sylvius and others	349
Conventional bucolic poetry from the time of Petrarch	350
Genuine poetic treatment of country life	351
Battista Mantovano, Lorenzo Magnifico, Pulci	352
Angelo Poliziano	353
Man, and the conception of humanity	354
Pico della Mirandola on the dignity of man	354
PART V. SOCIETY AND FESTIVALS.
CHAPTER I. THE EQUALISATION OF CLASSES.
Contrast to the Middle Ages	359
Common life of nobles and burghers in the cities	359
Theoretical criticism of noble birth	360
The nobles in different parts of Italy	362
The nobility and culture	363
Bad influence of Spain	363
Knighthood since the Middle Ages	364
The tournaments and the caricature of them	365
Noble birth as a requisite of the courtier	367
CHAPTER II. OUTWARD REFINEMENT OF LIFE.
Costume and fashions	369
The toilette of women	371
Cleanliness	374
The ‘Galateo’ and good manners	375
Comfort and elegance	376
CHAPTER III. LANGUAGE AS THE BASIS OF SOCIAL INTERCOURSE.
Development of an ideal language	378
Its wide diffusion	379
The Purists	379
Their want of success	382
Conversation	383
CHAPTER IV. THE HIGHER FORMS OF SOCIETY.
Rules and statutes	384
The novelists and their society	384
The great lady and the drawing-room	385
Florentine society	386
Lorenzo’s descriptions of his own circle	387
CHAPTER V. THE PERFECT MAN OF SOCIETY.
His love-making	388
His outward and spiritual accomplishments	389
Bodily exercises	389
Music	390
The instruments and the Virtuosi	392
Musical dilettantism in society	393
CHAPTER VI. THE POSITION OF WOMEN.
Their masculine education and poetry	396
Completion of their personality	397
The Virago	398
Women in society	399
The culture of the prostitutes	399
CHAPTER VII. DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
Contrast to the Middle Ages	402
Agnolo Pandolfini (L. B. Alberti)	402
The villa and country life	404
CHAPTER VIII. THE FESTIVALS.
Their origin in the mystery and the procession	406
Advantages over foreign countries	408
Historical representatives of abstractions	409
The Mysteries	411
Corpus Christi at Viterbo	414
Secular representations	415
Pantomimes and princely receptions	417
Processions and religious Trionfi	419
Secular Trionfi	420
Regattas and processions on water	424
The Carnival at Rome and Florence	426
PART VI. MORALITY AND RELIGION.
CHAPTER I. MORALITY.
Limits of criticism	431
Italian consciousness of demoralization	432
The modern sense of honour	433
Power of the imagination	435
The passion for gambling and for vengeance	436
Breach of the marriage tie	441
Position of the married woman	442
Spiritualization of love	445
General emancipation from moral restraints	446
Brigandage	448
Paid assassination: poisoning	450
Absolute wickedness	453
Morality and individualism	454
CHAPTER II. RELIGION IN DAILY LIFE.
Lack of a reformation	457
Relations of the Italian to the Church	457
Hatred of the hierarchy and the monks	458
The mendicant orders	462
The Dominican Inquisition	462
The higher monastic orders	463
Sense of dependence on the Church	465
The preachers of repentance	466
Girolamo Savonarola	473
Pagan elements in popular belief	479
Faith in reliques	481
Mariolatry	483
Oscillations in public opinion	485
Epidemic religious revivals	485
Their regulation by the police at Ferrara	487
CHAPTER III. RELIGION AND THE SPIRIT OF THE RENAISSANCE.
Inevitable subjectivity	490
Worldliness	492
Tolerance of Mohammedanism	492
Equivalence of all religions	494
Influence of antiquity	495
The so-called Epicureans	496
The doctrine of free will	497
The pious Humanists	499
The less pronounced Humanists	499
Codrus Urceus	500
The beginnings of religious criticism	501
Fatalism of the Humanists	503
Their pagan exterior	504
CHAPTER IV. MIXTURE OF ANCIENT AND MODERN SUPERSTITIONS.
Astrology	507
Its extension and influence	508
Its opponents in Italy	515
Pico’s opposition and influence	516
Various superstitions	518
Superstition of the Humanists	519
Ghosts of the departed	522
Belief in dæmons	523
The Italian witch	524
Witches’ nest at Norcia	526
Influence and limits of Northern witchcraft	528
Witchcraft of the prostitutes	529
The magicians and enchanters	530
The dæmons on the way to Rome	531
Special forms of magic: the Telesmata	533
Magic at the laying of foundation-stones	534
The necromancer in poetry	535
Benvenuto Cellini’s tale	536
Decline of magic	537
Special branches of the superstition	538
CHAPTER V. GENERAL DISINTEGRATION OF BELIEF.
Last confession of Boscoli	543
Religious disorder and general scepticism	543
Controversy as to immortality	545
The pagan heaven	545
The Homeric life to come	546
Evaporation of Christian doctrine	547
Italian Thei	548

The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy

THE CIVILISATION OF THE RENAISSANCE IN ITALY

PREFACE.

CONTENTS.

THE
CIVILISATION OF THE
RENAISSANCE
IN ITALY