Humanism in Modern Literature: Renaissance to Enlightenment
Humanism’s Influence on Modern Literature
Renaissance, Baroque, and Enlightenment
Modern literature encompasses three significant periods: the Renaissance, the Baroque, and the Enlightenment. When adhering to compositional rules, literature conforms to rhetorical patterns.
The central theme throughout this entire period is Humanism. It is a crucial element in modern consciousness, both personal and social, that solidified from the early 15th to the early 19th century. This term defines the Modern Age, emphasizing the human mind’s intellectual activity. It highlights two key aspects:
- The role of reason and feeling in understanding and appreciating reality, including human beings.
- The hierarchical position of human beings concerning reason and feelings about the universe.
This can be interpreted through the lens of reason/faith and individual/power. Humanism, in a narrow sense, is associated with the Renaissance. Starting in the 14th century, while still within the Medieval period, a new set of attitudes began to emerge.
Even during the Baroque period, when a retreat from these ideas occurred, Humanism remained a vital cultural foundation.
The Rise of the Humanist Scholar
A humanist was a professor in specific disciplines outside medieval academia, a profession that first emerged in Italy. These disciplines were connected to the rediscovery of Greek and Latin, forming part of the Litterae Humanitatis. They emphasized grammar, rhetoric (literary style and the study of major literary genres), history, and moral philosophy. Initially unrelated, these disciplines were gradually assimilated, particularly in newly established universities, and significantly impacted theology.
This educational approach was based on the study program conceived by Francesco Petrarca for his circle. It was later reformulated as a formal study in 15th-century Florence. Figures like Leonardo Bruni played a pivotal role in supporting this character education system. It aimed to educate the children of the elite, training them to understand the human being as a historical, social, and individual subject. It also aimed to use human knowledge to serve the community. This concept was intertwined with national identity, as seen in the praise of Florence as a place that best followed the Roman world and could recover lost Romanization. These local nationalisms can be seen as a vindication of the Italian identity during a period marked by the contradictory situation of a major peak in absolute rulers and a fragmentation of power. Consequently, during the 15th and early 16th centuries, the idea of rebuilding Italy to revive the Roman world emerged.
The Recovery of Classical Languages and Texts
The training involved the recovery of ancient Latin, abandoning medieval Latin, which was considered a degeneration of classical Latin. The solution was to restore the classics to their original versions, including authors like Cicero and Virgil. To this group of Latin authors, Greek authors were added, albeit with a difference in valuation (direct roots were seen in Rome, not Greece). Elsewhere in Europe, Hebrew and Aramaic were also incorporated.
This linguistic diversity presents us with a context of pagan humanists, Christian humanists, and the significant value of the Church Fathers. The term “humanist” became synonymous with scholar and wise person.
The recovery of languages and authors was intrinsically linked to the retrieval and search for original texts. Medieval texts often arrived through Arabic translations and commentaries, undergoing changes in universities. The search for these texts took place in institutions like abbeys and monasteries, which preserved these texts or fragments thereof.