2-1-Q for The Swerve by Greenblatt Chpt. 5

2 interesting:

1. “Florence was an independent state in control of a substantial swath of territory in central Italy and engaged in a constant, high-stakes chess game with the other powerful states of the Italian peninsula, especially Venice and Milan in the north, Naples in the south, and the papacy in Rome, weakened by internal divisions but still rich, dangerous, and meddlesome.” (pg. 122) Something that people often forget about is the fact that most countries of old were in fact just swaths of land owned by governments that were sections of modern day countries. In the medieval era, there was a lot of meddling in nearby regents by other governments and states in order to gain influence and grow their own empire. The idea of building an empire was probably a left over remnant of the Roman Empire, the high of the civilization that had birthed the technological golden age that the Medieval age lived on the tail end of. The states themselves would also fight for control of their regions in more ways than just through war. Diplomacy became a frequent and tiresome event for most governments as they try to trick the others to gain power or land. While some would believe this was just for the state’s own greed, the needs of a people often dictated the actions of the state towards other states in the region.
2. “To prove its worth, Petrarch and Salutati both insisted, the whole enterprise of humanism had not merely to generate passable imitations of the classical style but to serve a larger ethical end.” (pg. 124) Many scholars at the time were focused on feverishly copying the arts of the literary past, with no concern for their own time. However, Petrarch and Salutati argued that researching and understanding these works of old should instead be used to create works of literary art comparable to their own time. To be able to use their studies to understand the world they lived in presently is the greatest goal of the humanists. The erotic search for books described by Greenblatt on page 119 is matched only by the idea of being able to not just imitate but understand and use ancient texts.

1 connection:

“The key that opened the first door through which he slipped was something that has come to mean next to nothing in the modern world: beautiful handwriting.” (pg. 115) Greenblatt states that beautiful handwriting is simply a thing of the past, and considering the use of technology today and the unimportance in the elegance of your handwriting, it is very evident. I myself can attest to this, as I stopped learning how to do cursive after only 1 year of poor training, and as such my writing is indeed very messy. It goes to show that speed and efficiency have all but destroyed the art of writing.

Question?

What other movements of literary excitement were taking place around Europe that shaped the world as we know it? Did Poggio perhaps know or learn about them and do they effect him and his studies?