The Renaissance:

In the Middle Ages, the universities dominated the highest levels of scholarship. While one might study Roman law or medicine at the university, the purpose of scholarship was ultimately religious and the "Queen of the Sciences" was Theology. This was particularly true north of the Alps, where the University of Paris dominated.

In Italy, there emerged a new kind of scholar who explored different kinds of learning. Renaissance humanists and artists worked to recover ancient works of art, philosophy, politics, and science, and to apply what they discovered to contemporary concerns. Their work was accompanied by a new attitude about mankind and its abilities, shaped in large measure by their desire to recreate the literary, political, and artistic greatness of antiquity. What do the readings in the PRR and The Courtier suggest to you about Renaissance attitudes and concerns?

Theories about the origins of the Renaissance abound. Some attribute the Renaissance to the wealth and number of Italy's cities: only in northern Italy was there the concentration of population, talent, and wealth necessary for such an efflorescence of art and scholarship. Some argue that geography determined the course of scholarship and art: where else in western Europe could one find so many examples of ancient architecture, art, and scholarship than in Italy, the birthplace of the Roman Empire?

Some theories point to the special needs of the Italian city republics for a capable and educated citizenry to serve in government. These cities were also important patrons of artists and architects. Works of art and architecture commissioned by cities like Florence spoke to their political vision of themselves. By the fifteenth century, princely courts also used art and scholarship to promote themselves. Other theories about the origins of the Renaissance note its connection to the past. The exploration of ancient scholarship and a growing interest in the individual and in the things of this world had its origins in the Twelfth-century Renaissance.

After reading the selections in the PRR, do you find one of these theories more convincing than the others?