Professional Documents
Culture Documents
David Trenholm
December 4th, 2006
HIST 2103 X1
Dr. Gerry Gerrits
Trenholm 2
The era of history known as the Renaissance contributed largely to the evolution
few. One aspect of the Renaissance that had a significant impact on many spheres of
change was the concept and practice of humanism, a movement of intellectual thought
and philosophy that spawned out of the city of Florence in the late fourteenth century.1
Due to stronger literacy in northern Italy, as well as a larger and wealthier bourgeoisie,
Italian humanists were far more widespread and common than their counterparts across
the Alps in the north. Northern humanists were few, and were often isolated. Apart from
size and scale, both types of humanism differed significantly in practice and in theory—
but that is not to say they did not have great similarities; indeed, they both shared a strong
Classical background. Italian humanism was largely secular with a focus on humanity
that tended to exclude the larger religious realities of the era, while northern humanism
movement with strong “religious overtones”2. It is hardly a surprise, then, when many
northern humanists are often dubbed, “Christian humanists”. These Christian humanists
teaching of Christianity they had introduced the study of Greek and Hebrew.3 Christian
Humanists were also interested in church reform, combining classical studies with
patristic studies in an effort to improve and reform the church. It is no wonder, then, that
Martin Luther shook the face of Christendom with the great division of the church that
1
Kenneth R. Bartlett and Margaret McGlynn, Humanism and the Northern Renaissance. (Toronto:
Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc., 2000) xvii.
2
De Lamar Jensen, Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation. (Lexington: DC Heath and
Company, 1992) 366.
3
Jensen, 366.
Trenholm 3
The Italian humanism of the Renaissance in northern Italy was quite different than
the later and less developed northern humanism as seen across the Alps, and indeed it was
even quite different from region to region in the north. Unlike the wealthy and strong
“bourgeoisie” of northern Italy, the strong upper class that fostered and encouraged the
growth of the Renaissance and the ideals of humanism, the northern Renaissance greatly
lacked such a class.4 With a smaller wealthy class, there were fewer patrons to support
northern humanists, unlike those of the Italian Renaissance. Lewis W. Spitz writes in his
Luther and German Humanism that, “Most of the leading Italian humanists were
financially well off, either members of wealthy families or through their positions as
notaries and chancellors…” and goes on to add that, “Their social function was related to
the rise of the bourgeoisie in the city-states, a class from which many leading humanists
came.”5 Renaissance humanists of Germany, though they did receive patronage, were not
as wealthy and could not afford a lifestyle that did not include work, “Most, even those
who accorded themselves the lofty title of ‘poet’, had to work for a living.”6 Many
clergymen.7 Northern European cities were smaller than the great city-states of Italy, such
as Florence, Venice and Milan. This resulted in a smaller, more isolated group of northern
humanism was informal and slow, and when compared to the lively and active humanists
of northern Italy, they had made less of an impact on the international stage. The
4
Roy Porter and Mikuláš Teich, eds., The Renaissance in national context. (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1992) 103.
5
Lewis W. Spitz, Luther and German Humanism. (Aldershot: VARIORUM, 1996) 4.
6
Porter and Teich, 104.
7
Porter and Teich, 104.
8
Dr. Gerry Gerrits. “Northern Humanism.” HIST 2103 X1, Acadia University, November 20th, 2006.
Trenholm 4
humanist culture of northern Italy, as strong as it was, was simply not seen in the north
Florence, were non-existent in northern Europe.9 The spread of humanism also came late
to in the north, and was rather slow to catch on when compared with its Italian
counterpart. There are a few reasons for this, one being the rising and strengthening
middle class. It was not until the late fifteenth century when the middle class of northern
Europe was sufficiently strong and wealthy enough to support their own Renaissance, and
with it the humanist ideals that would accompany it.10 The Black Death, the terrible
plague that had ravaged Europe with a staggering loss of life, had been particularly brutal
on the middle class, making it difficult for humanism to take root. Literacy was also on
the rise in the fifteenth century, something that was required if humanism could hope to
be successful in the north.11 Size, scale and impact, however, were not the only factors
that differentiated northern humanism from its more popular and significant counterpart,
Italian humanism. The northern humanists communicated their philosophy with clear
religious overtones, something that was not widely seen in northern Italy.
As mentioned above, the northern and Italian humanisms shared other differences
than merely size, scale and significance. The northern humanists, the “Christian
humanists”, were very concerned about corruption, and specifically the state of the
church. Humanists of the north had a keen interest in the classical studies, and were
combining this discipline with traditional patristics in an effort to bring about church
reform.12 Northern humanists were largely preoccupied with bringing about a renewal of
9
Dr. Gerry Gerrits. “Northern Humanism.” HIST 2103 X1, Acadia University, November 20th, 2006.
10
Gerrits, “Northern Humanism”.
11
Gerrits, “Northern Humanism”.
12
Dr. Gerry Gerrits. “Northern Humanism.” HIST 2103 X1, Acadia University, November 20th, 2006.
Trenholm 5
traditional Christian morals, and believed that this could be achieved with not only
church reform, but also with the introduction of classical learning in schools,
Northern humanists were simply not as interested in the areas of theology and
metaphysics like the Italian humanists, and instead focused more intently on ethics,
morals and proper scholastic pursuits.14 Jan Hus, using the suggestion of John Wyclif for
a “simpler faith” modelled on, “…an apostolic church in which a vernacular bible,
clerical poverty and upright behaviour would be celebrated”15, had created a program for
extensive church and social reform. Unfortunately, Hus had met with serious opposition
from the church hierarchy, and at the Council of Constance he was tried and subsequently
burned at the stake.16 Church reform and division would prove to be a delicate subject, as
evidenced by the coming Reformation. The reformation of the church was not the only
change the northern humanists were interested in, though. The evolution of education and
the expansion of classical studies in universities were also a goal they pursued seriously.
In the early sixteenth century grammar schools of significant importance were established
in the Low Countries and Germany, wherein young students were schooled in, “Latin
grammar, classical studies, as well as practical Bible training, by some of the best
13
De Lamar Jensen, Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation. (Lexington: DC Heath and
Company, 1992) 365.
14
Jensen, 365.
15
Kenneth R. Bartlett and Margaret McGlynn, Humanism and the Northern Renaissance. (Toronto:
Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc., 2000) xi.
16
Bartlett, xi.
17
De Lamar Jensen, Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation. (Lexington: DC Heath and
Company, 1992) 366.
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introduced students to grammar and classical literature.18 Greek was being introduced at
an early level and the Bible was used as both, “a literary and theological text” at the
institutions, were important centres in the north that established a strong presence of
humanism. German humanists were working to combine the classical studies with
biblical and church texts and introduce them in schools and universities, encouraging the
schooling of both Greek and Hebrew.20 The humanists of the northern Renaissance had
hoped to foster such social, educational and church reform by following closely the
techniques used in the Italian Renaissance, and as such incorporated the study of the
classics with their study of the patristics. By fostering and encouraging the study of
classical literature, Latin and other Renaissance themes, they had hoped to bring about a
social and church reform that would herald a return to traditional Christian morals.
The largest, and indeed, the most obvious difference between the Italian
Humanists and the northern Humanists was the concept and inclusion of religion along
with their philosophy of humanism. The Italian Renaissance was largely secular, and the
humanists of northern Italy echoed this sentiment, and indeed, were fairly critical of the
church, “Much Italian humanism was severe in its attacks upon church conditions and the
scholastic philosophy.”21 The northern, Christian humanists contrasted greatly with the
“pagan”, or secular humanists of Italy.22 As stated before, northern humanists are also
18
Jensen, 366.
19
Jensen, 366.
20
Roy Porter and Mikuláš Teich, eds., The Renaissance in national context. (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1992) 102.
21
Lewis W. Spitz, “The Conflict of Ideals in Mutianus Rufus: A Study in the Religious Philosophy of
Northern Humanism. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 16, no. 1/2. (1953): 125.
22
Paul Oskar Kristeller, “Erasmus from an Italian Perspective Renaissance Quarterly 23, no. 1. (Spring,
1970): 7.
Trenholm 7
underlying religious tone accompany that intellectual movement. This is not surprising,
as the church had significantly more control over institutions of education in the north,
such as universities and grammar schools, the former being responsible for the education
and training of many clergymen.23 As northern Europe had little in the way of a classical
past, the literary culture of the northern renaissance took after religious and medieval
writings.24 This undoubtedly set the tone for the northern humanist movement, a far more
religious movement. Humanists of the north utilized the classical studying techniques of
the Italian Renaissance and applied it to patristic and biblical study, altering the very
theme of humanism to their own uses, “The model of ethical behaviour shifted from the
justified pagan exemplified by Cicero and Seneca to early doctors of the church such as
Jerome or Augustine, and ultimately, the example of Christ himself.”25 Still echoing the
same sentiment originally heralded in northern Italy, northern humanism had evolved
quite differently and was an entirely different entity altogether. While it is worth noting
that some northern humanists had avoided religious talk and maintained a secular or
“pagan” doctrine26, the humanists of northern Europe were largely religious and certainly
Although it took well over a century for the concept of humanism to truly take
root over the Alps in northern Europe, it most certainly did—but the northern scholars of
the north did not adopt the secular, pagan theme of humanism that Italian humanists
largely identified with. Combining the study of the classics with that of the patristics,
23
Kenneth R. Bartlett and Margaret McGlynn, Humanism and the Northern Renaissance. (Toronto:
Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc., 2000) xx.
24
De Lamar Jensen, Renaissance Europe: Age of Recovery and Reconciliation. (Lexington: DC Heath and
Company, 1992) 365.
25
Bartlett, xx.
26
Paul Oskar Kristeller, “Erasmus from an Italian Perspective Renaissance Quarterly 23, no. 1. (Spring,
1970): 7.
Trenholm 8
northern humanists instead fostered social and church reform, and a rebirth of traditional
Christian ethics and morals that were thought lost. The reformation of educational
institutions was due in a large part to the actions of the Christian humanists and their
encouragement of the study of classical literature, Latin, Greek and even Hebrew. With
these tools and method of study, they turned to Biblical texts and patristic sources,
applying the techniques of the Italian Renaissance for their own use. Humanism in
general, however, was slow to catch on in the north, and it was over a century before it
had reached its peak. Variables such as a lower literacy rate, struggling middle class and
the Black Death had inhibited the expansion and adoption of humanism. Likewise, the
relatively small and isolated “bourgeoisie” of the north meant that patronage of northern
humanists was limited and not as widespread as in the Italian Renaissance. As such, the
northern Renaissance and the work of the northern humanists did not make as large of an
impact as the works of the Italian humanists in Italy. The Renaissance remains an
incredible era in the history of mankind, an era that contributed largely to philosophy,
literature and art—but its effect on the world was quite different in various regions. Even
in the north it was different from region to region. The French, English and German
humanists were all quite different than their Italian counterpart, and their study of the
Bible and patristic texts had in part changed the history of Europe. It is a wonder if these
Christian humanists had any idea that their work would contribute to the Reformation,
and that a German monk named Martin Luther would provoke such an alarming division
David Trenholm
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Trenholm 10
Bibliography
Bartlett, Kenneth R. and McGlynn, Margaret, Humanism and the Northern Renaissance.
Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc., 2000
Gerrits, Dr. Gerry. “Northern Humanism.” HIST 2103 X1, Acadia University, November
20th, 2006.
Kristeller, Paul Oskar, “Erasmus from an Italian Perspective Renaissance Quarterly 23,
no. 1. (Spring, 1970): 1-14.
Porter, Roy and Teich, Mikuláš, eds. The Renaissance in national context. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1992
Spitz, Lewis W., Luther and German Humanism. Aldershot: VARIORUM, 1996.
Spitz, Lewis W., “The Conflict of Ideals in Mutianus Rufus: A Study in the Religious
Philosophy of Northern Humanism. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld
Institutes 16, no. 1/2. (1953): 121-143.