Luigi Pulci was a renaissance author whose poem, Morgante is a chivalric tale infused with a comic spirit. The work is based on the Matter of France, Luigi Pulci was a renaissance author whose poem, Morgante is a chivalric tale infused with a comic spirit. The work is based on the Matter of France, a literary current related to Charlemagne and his associates, Orlando and Renaud de Montauban. Here the giant Morgante is prevented from attacking the monastery of Chiaromonte by Orlando, then converted, by him, to Christianity. Having become a loyal friend of Orlando, Morgante follows him in several strange and burlesque adventures.
A biography of Saint Francis of Assisi written in Latin on commission from the Order of Friars Minor in 1263 .
The work, which is preceded by a prologuA biography of Saint Francis of Assisi written in Latin on commission from the Order of Friars Minor in 1263 .
The work, which is preceded by a prologue, is structured in fifteen chapters which narrate the life and death of the saint, followed by the narration of post-mortem miracles divided into ten sections.
However, the facts narrated by the author are not entirely original, but derive from a reworking made on the material taken from the Lives of Thomas of Celano, with some additions from the Life of Giuliano di Spira and the Legend of the Three Companions, even if their structure is new and many of the oral and written testimonies have never been used by Thomas....more
His third novel, often acclaimed as his best, Il fu Mattia Pascal (1904; The Late Mattia Pascal). Although the theme is not typically “Pirandellian,” His third novel, often acclaimed as his best, Il fu Mattia Pascal (1904; The Late Mattia Pascal). Although the theme is not typically “Pirandellian,” since the obstacles confronting its hero result from external circumstances, it already shows the acute psychological observation that was later to be directed toward the exploration of his characters’ subconscious....more
Founded by St. Francis according to strict views about poverty, the Franciscan order was at that time undergoing internal discord. One group, the SpirFounded by St. Francis according to strict views about poverty, the Franciscan order was at that time undergoing internal discord. One group, the Spirituals, disrupted the order by a rigorous view of poverty; another, the Relaxati, disturbed it by a laxity of life. Bonaventure used his authority so prudently that, placating the first group and reproving the second, he preserved the unity of the order and reformed it in the spirit of St. Francis. The work of restoration and reconciliation owed its success to Bonaventure’s tireless visits, despite delicate health, to each province of the order and to his own personal realization of the Franciscan ideal. In his travels, he preached the Gospel constantly and so elegantly that he was recognized everywhere as a most eloquent preacher. As a theologian, he based the revival of the order on his conception of the spiritual life, which he expounded in mystical treatises manifesting his Franciscan experience of contemplation as a perfection of the Christian life. His Journey of the Mind to God (1259) was a masterpiece showing the way by which man as a creature ought to love and contemplate God through Christ after the example of St. Francis. ...more
Contains the lives of one hundred and six women in myth and history, ranging from Eve to Boccaccio’s contemporary, Queen Giovanna I of Naples. It is tContains the lives of one hundred and six women in myth and history, ranging from Eve to Boccaccio’s contemporary, Queen Giovanna I of Naples. It is the first collection of women’s biographies ever written. In it Boccaccio decried the practice of sending women without vocation to nunneries. He intended the book to provide female readers with models of female lives fully lived. One of the many Latin works the author produced after his meeting with Petrarch, it was modeled on Petrarch's De Viris Illustribus. ...more
Thomas Aquinas, the foremost medieval Scholastic, developed his own conclusions from Aristotelian premises, notably in the metaphysics of personality,Thomas Aquinas, the foremost medieval Scholastic, developed his own conclusions from Aristotelian premises, notably in the metaphysics of personality, creation, and Providence. As a theologian, he was responsible in his two masterpieces, the Summa theologiae and the Summa contra gentiles, for the classical systematization of Latin theology, and, as a poet, he wrote some of the most gravely beautiful eucharistic hymns in the church’s liturgy. His doctrinal system and the explanations and developments made by his followers are known as Thomism.
Normally, his work is presented as the integration into Christian thought of the recently discovered Aristotelian philosophy, in competition with the integration of Platonic thought effected by the Fathers of the Church during the first 12 centuries of the Christian Era. This view is essentially correct; more radically, however, it should also be asserted that Thomas’s work accomplished an evangelical awakening to the need for a cultural and spiritual renewal not only in the lives of individual men but also throughout the church. Thomas must be understood in his context as a mendicant religious, influenced both by the evangelism of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, and by the devotion to scholarship of St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order.
When Thomas Aquinas arrived at the University of Paris, the influx of Arabian-Aristotelian science was arousing a sharp reaction among believers, and several times the church authorities tried to block the naturalism and rationalism that were emanating from this philosophy and, according to many ecclesiastics, seducing the younger generations. Thomas did not fear these new ideas, but, like his master Albertus Magnus (and Roger Bacon, also lecturing at Paris), he studied the works of Aristotle and eventually lectured publicly on them.
For the first time in history, Christian believers and theologians were confronted with the rigorous demands of scientific rationalism. At the same time, technical progress was requiring men to move from the rudimentary economy of an agrarian society to an urban society with production organized in trade guilds, with a market economy, and with a profound feeling of community. New generations of men and women, including clerics, were reacting against the traditional notion of contempt for the world and were striving for mastery over the forces of nature through the use of their reason. The structure of Aristotle’s philosophy emphasized the primacy of the intelligence. Technology itself became a means of access to truth; mechanical arts were powers for humanizing the cosmos. Thus, the dispute over the reality of universals—i.e., the question about the relation between general words such as “red” and particulars such as “this red object”—which had dominated early Scholastic philosophy, was left behind, and a coherent metaphysics of knowledge and of the world was being developed.
According to Aquinas, reason is able to operate within faith and yet according to its own laws. The mystery of God is expressed and incarnate in human language; it is thus able to become the object of an active, conscious, and organized elaboration in which the rules and structures of rational activity are integrated in the light of faith. In the Aristotelian sense of the word, then (although not in the modern sense), theology is a “science”; it is knowledge that is rationally derived from propositions that are accepted as certain because they are revealed by God. The theologian accepts authority and faith as his starting point and then proceeds to conclusions using reason; the philosopher, on the other hand, relies solely on the natural light of reason. Thomas was the first to view theology expressly in this way or at least to present it systematically, and in doing so he raised a storm of opposition in various quarters.
The literary form of Aquinas’s works must be appreciated in the context of his methodology. He organized his teaching in the form of “questions,” in which critical research is presented by pro and con arguments, according to the pedagogical system then in use in the universities. Forms varied from simple commentaries on official texts to written accounts of the public disputations, which were significant events in medieval university life. Thomas’s works are divided into three categories: (1) commentaries on such works as the Old and New Testaments, the Sentences of Peter Lombard (the official manual of theology in the universities), and the writings of Aristotle, (2) disputed questions, accounts of his teaching as a master in the disputations, and (3) two summae or personal syntheses, the Summa contra gentiles and the Summa theologiae, which were presented as integral introductions for the use of beginners. Numerous opuscula (“little works”), which have great interest because of the particular circumstances that provoked them, must also be noted.
The logic of Aquinas’s position regarding faith and reason required that the fundamental consistency of the realities of nature be recognized. A physis (“nature”) has necessary laws; recognition of this fact permits the construction of a science according to a logos (“rational structure”). Thomas thus avoided the temptation to sacralize the forces of nature through a naïve recourse to the miraculous or the Providence of God. For him, a whole “supernatural” world that cast its shadow over things and men, in Romanesque art as in social customs, had blurred men’s imaginations. Nature, discovered in its profane reality, should assume its proper religious value and lead to God by more rational ways, yet not simply as a shadow of the supernatural. This understanding is exemplified in the way that St. Francis of Assisi admired the birds, the plants, and the Sun.
Thomas held that human liberty could be defended as a rational thesis while admitting that determinations are found in nature. In his theology of Providence, he taught a continuous creation, in which the dependence of the created on the creative wisdom guarantees the reality of the order of nature. God moves sovereignly all that he creates; but the supreme government that he exercises over the universe is conformed to the laws of a creative Providence that wills each being to act according to its proper nature. This autonomy finds its highest realization in the rational creature: man is literally self-moving in his intellectual, volitional, and physical existence. Man’s freedom, far from being destroyed by his relationship to God, finds its foundation in this very relationship. “To take something away from the perfection of the creature is to abstract from the perfection of the creative power itself.” This metaphysical axiom, which is also a mystical principle, is the key to St. Thomas’s spirituality....more
Il libro dell’arte (1437; The Craftsman’s Handbook), is the most informative source on the methods, techniques, and attitudes of medieval artists. PaiIl libro dell’arte (1437; The Craftsman’s Handbook), is the most informative source on the methods, techniques, and attitudes of medieval artists. Painting, according to Cennini, holds a high place among human occupations because it combines theory or imagination with the skill of the hand....more
The 11th century witnessed a dramatic change in European history, the impact of which has been compared to that of the Protestant Reformation or the iThe 11th century witnessed a dramatic change in European history, the impact of which has been compared to that of the Protestant Reformation or the industrial revolution. Extraordinary economic expansion was accompanied by growth in political institutions and cultural life, especially in Italy and northern France. Anselm spent most of his life in these two countries, and he was involved in many of the cultural changes that took place.
Anselm was born at Aosta in the Italian Alps. His family was noble and seems to have been related to the house of Savoy, the leading territorial magnates of the region. But Anselm's parents no longer possessed political or social prominence, and the family's economic resources were declining.
After the death of his mother about 1056, Anselm argued with his father and left Aosta forever. He traveled across the Alps and contacted his mother's relatives in the kingdom of Burgundy. After a period of study in Burgundy and northern France, he went to the monastery of Bec in Normandy to study under its prior, Lanfranc, a leading teacher in northern Europe.
In 1060 Anselm entered the monastic life at Bec. His proficiency in learning was such that 3 years later, on the occasion of Lanfranc's departure from Bec in order to become abbot of St. Stephen's in Caen, Anselm was appointed prior of Bec and head of the monastic school.
The office of prior did not initially alter Anselm's love for solitude and meditation. In spite of his teaching activity, little is known of Anselm during his first 10 years at Bec. After 1070, however, he became more active, and the demand from his students to write down some of his teachings resulted in the writing of several works of major import.
The first of these works was the Monologion (ca. 1077), a treatise which examines the existence and nature of God. In particular, two arguments are used. In order to make a comparative judgment (that one thing is better than another), it is necessary to have a superlative (the best against which everything else can be judged). For Anselm, God is that highest good. Anselm also used the argument of contingency—that is, everything must come into existence through the agency of something prior. It is thus necessary to posit a first cause or being on which everything else depends, for if there were nothing on which it depended, it could not exist. That first cause, for Anselm, is God.
The arguments used in the Monologion can be found in previous writers, especially in St. Augustine, on whose work Anselm based most of his thought. The structure and method, however, are new, and Anselm seemed motivated to construct an argument that was rational and could convince the non-Christian.
More revolutionary in nature was the work which Anselm entitled Proslogion (ca. 1078). It was the result of a "discovery" of a definition of God, and the ontological argument based upon the definition seemed to Anselm (and to many later philosophers) to be convincing by its very logical simplicity. Anselm's biographer, Eadmer, later described the discovery: "Behold, one night during Matins, the grace of God shone in his heart and the matter became clear to his understanding, filling his whole being with immense joy and jubilation."
The discovery of Anselm was a definition of God that was anticipated in part by Augustine and Seneca; namely, God was that being a greater than which could not be conceived. Using that definition as the basic content of anyone's idea of God, Anselm went on to argue that such a being necessarily existed not only as an idea in the mind but also in external reality. The Proslogion was widely circulated and brought Anselm immediate fame among his contemporaries and succeeding generations. Although attacked in his own time and in later centuries, Anselm's ontological argument greatly influenced the course of philosophical and theological thought.
In 1078 Anselm was elected abbot of Bec, a position he held until 1093. In spite of the demands of the office, Anselm found time to complete several works on philosophy and theology. Among them were his philosophical works on grammar and truth and his theological treatises on free will and the devil. While these works are significant in the thought and development of Anselm, they did not make as great an impression on his contemporaries or later generations as did his earlier works.
From 1090 to 1093 Anselm was drawn into two controversies that changed his career. One was over the understanding of the Incarnation of Christ and the doctrine of the Atonement. Beginning in 1092, Anselm wrote two letters on this subject, and the ideas contained therein eventually bore fruit in a lengthy study entitled Cur Deus Homo. Although anticipated in part by earlier theologians, such as Tertullian, Anselm wrote the first work to deal so extensively with the Incarnation, and his method of presentation, as well as the precision of his ideas, makes this work one of the most influential in the history of theology.
The other conflict that influenced Anselm in this period was the political and ecclesiastical situation in England. Lanfranc had become archbishop of Canterbury in 1070. After his death in 1089, King William Rufus allowed the position to remain vacant to avoid creating a strong ecclesiastical opponent and to appropriate Church revenues. The King wished to avoid accepting an archbishop who would oppose royal control of the English Church. Illness and fear of eternal retribution, however, finally caused him to appoint a successor to Lanfranc, and to that post he called Anselm. In spite of Anselm's initial reluctance, he was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury on Dec. 4, 1093....more
This epic poem had great influence on later culture. The oldest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its full form until 1This epic poem had great influence on later culture. The oldest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its full form until 1532. Orlando Furioso is a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's unfinished novel, Orlando Innamorato (Orlando in love, published posthumously in 1495). In his setting and historical characters, he shares some characteristics with the former French Chanson de Roland of the 11th century, which tells the death of Roland. The story is also a cavalry novel that originated from a tradition that began in the late Middle Ages and continued in popularity from the 16th to the 17th century.
Orlando is a Christian knight known in French (and later in English) as Roland. The story takes place in the context of the war between Charlemagne's Christian champions and the Saracen army that invaded Europe and is trying to overthrow the Christian empire. The poem is about war, love and the romantic ideal of chivalry. It mixes realism and fantasy, humor and tragedy. The large cast of characters features Christians and Saracens, soldiers and sorcerers and fantastic creatures, including a gigantic sea monster called the Orc and a flying horse called the hippogriff. Many themes are intertwined in its complicated episodic structure, but the most important are paladin Orlando's unrequited love for the pagan princess Angelica, which drives him crazy and the love between the Christian warrior Bradamante and the Saracen Ruggiero, who are supposed to be the ancestors of the patrons of Ariosto, the d'Este de Ferrara family....more
A splendid description of 18th-century society in the capitals of Europe.
The son of an actor, Casanova was expelled as a young man from the seminary oA splendid description of 18th-century society in the capitals of Europe.
The son of an actor, Casanova was expelled as a young man from the seminary of St. Cyprian for scandalous conduct and launched on a colourful, dissolute career. After a time in the service of a Roman Catholic cardinal, he was a violinist in Venice, joined the Masonic Order (1750) in Lyon, then traveled to Paris, Dresden, Prague, and Vienna. Back in Venice in 1755, Casanova was denounced as a magician and sentenced to five years in the Piombi, prisons under the roof of the Doges’ Palace. On October 31, 1756, he achieved a spectacular escape and made his way to Paris, where he introduced the lottery in 1757 and made a financial reputation and a name for himself among the aristocracy. Wherever he went, Casanova relied on personal charm to win influence and on gambling and intrigue to support himself....more
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