-2.

Humanism
Although one form of humanism or another can be found in different periods of
history, the humanism of the Renaissance is considered to be humanism in the
strictest sence of the term. By Renaissance humanism we mean merely the general
merely tendency of the age to attach the greatest importance to classical studies,
and to consider classical antiquity as the common standard and model by which to
guide all cultural actiities.!
"2
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-Renaissance
&usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de
-ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2 #"2113' 45-"6", 423
7oremost among these actiities was the collecting of manuscripts from earlier times.
8etrarch had already written' 9 i libri ci offrono un godimento molto profondo!
#boo0s gie us a ery deep pleasure3.
":
7our of the finest libraries in present-day ;taly
trace their origin to the "5th century, namely the Biblioteche Laurenziana in 7lorence,
Marciana in -enice, Malatestiana in Rimini, and the Vaticana in Rome.
"<
#$lders,
%illem. Humanism and $arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic
by )iconia and *ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse
&u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2 #"2113' 45-"6", 423
)lassical humanism was 9 certainly the most characteristic and perasie
intellectual current! in "5th-century ;taly. %ith its merits and with its limitations,
humanism peraded more or less all achieements and e=pressions! of that time.
"5
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the
)eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor
.ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2 #"2113' 45-"6", 423
7or the humanist, ideal education consists in the studia humanitatis. +his term was
deried from ancient Roman authors such as )icero. By the first half of the fifteenth
century, the studia humanitatis came to stand for a clearly defined cycle of scholarly
disciplines, namely grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy.!
"4
+he
significance of this educational idea lies, howeer, not so much in the general
deelopment and unfolding of the abilities of indiidual men, as in the perfection,
dignity and enhancement of being man, based upon a harmonious equilibrium.
"1
;n a
general sense, the humanist ideal is to educate men with una morale del iere
armonioso, una morale di modera/ione e di temperan/a.!
">
+owards the end of the
"5th century, this ideal found its perfect formulation in )astiglione?s ;l cortegiano #+he
)ourtier3. #$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the
)eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor
.ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2 #"2113' 45-"6", 423
7rom 8etrarch to )astiglione, practically all ;talian humanists confirm that the basic
concept of humanitas is the equialent of virtus.
"2
+hey regarded classical Roman
virtus as a national heritage. ;n "5th-century humanistic literature, the term virtus is,
howeer, a complicated one. +o illustrate this, ; shall refer to four humanistic authors.
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the
)eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor
.ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2 #"2113' 45-"6", 423
)oluccio (alutati, who was chancellor of the Signoria in 7lorence in the last quarter
of the "<th century, and who had a great influence through his @atin letters, describes
humanitas in a letter to )arlo &alatesta
26
as a synthesis of virtus benignitatis, peritia,
and doctrina' .am non solum illa irtus, que etiam benignitas dici solet, hoc nomine
significatur, sed etiam peritia et doctrina.!
2"
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-
Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.!
+i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2
#"2113' 45-"6", 42-163
7rom a letter of @eonardo Bruni, the leader of the 7lorentine humanists at the
beginning of the "5th century, we can gather that the new ideal of the education of
man leads to moderateness and resere' &orales irtutes mediocritates quaedam
sunt inter e=cessum et defectum.!
22
%e find the same coniction also in 8oggio the
7lorentine. +he latter urges the aboe-mentioned rules of conduct upon someone
who is called to a new dignity, ut gaudeant hominess et plurimum humanitati
additum propter hanc dignitatem.!
2:
$en 8oggio?s boo0 Facetiae shows the e=tent to
which intellectual life was permeated by the moral obligation of irtuous conduct.
Here is one of his anecdotes on virtus and doctrina'
;n the Roman )uria @ady 7ortune rules and apportions' there is scarcely eer room for abilities
#ingenio3 or irtue #virtuti3A all positions are obtained through intrigue and chance, not to spea0 of
&oney, which seems to be lord and master throughout the world. A certain friend, who only with
difficulty could stomach the fact that preference was gien to many whose erudition and uprightness
was considerably less than his own, complained to Angelotto, )ardinal of (t. &ar0?s, that no account
whateer was ta0en of his irtue and that he was passed oer in faour of people who could not equal
him in any respect. He mentioned his education from start to finish, and the efforts which he had
e=pended on scholarship. +he cardinal, always ready to ridicule the ices of the )uria, said on hearing
this' Here one can gain nothing by learning #scientia3 and erudition #doctrina3. But persist and, if you
really wish the 8ope to accept you, try to unlearn what you hae already learned as quic0ly as
possible, and to acquire the ices which you do not possess.!
2<
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and
$arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.!
+i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2
#"2113' 45-"6", 163
@eon Battista Alberti, author and architect, in his writings in ;talian repeatedly treats in
detail the terms umanit and virt' delle irtB quail noi molto rendono amate,
troerete, fiqliuole mie dolcissime, niuna tanto alere a beneolen/ia, quanto la 9
umanitC, 9 modestia, 9 e cortesia.!
25
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-
Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.!
+i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2
#"2113' 45-"6", 163
(ummari/ing we can say that in humanistic literature, virtus stands for irtue,
correctness, honesty, boldness, and modesty.
24
;n the ma,ority of humanistic writings,
there is a strong morali/ing tendency.
21
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-
Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.!
+i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2
#"2113' 45-"6", 163
7ollowing this e=planation of the general meaning of the terms humanitas and virtus,
it will be appropriate to ma0e some obserations on the practical aspects of the study
of the humanities!. &ost of the early humanists were actie as teachers of the
humanities in secondary schools or uniersities, and practically eery scholar
receied a humanistic training in secondary school before he acquired a professional
training in any of the other disciplines at the uniersity.!
2>
#$lders, %illem. Humanism
and $arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and
*ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2
#"2113' 45-"6", 163
;mplied in, and connected with the program of the studia humanitatis was the idea of
an emphasis on man, on his dignity and his priileged place in the unierse,
22
+he
biblical dictum man is a unique creature because Dod created him in His own
image!, was in the "5th century connected with 8lato?s statement that man should
become similar to god. ;n a sense the humanists felt that if man is a deity, he is an
earthbound mortal god.!
:6
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-Renaissance
&usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de
-ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2 #"2113' 45-"6", 16-1"3
Another characteristic feature Eof humanismF is the tendency to e=press 9 the
concrete uniqueness of one?s feelings, opinions, e=periences, and surroundings!,
:"
the feeling of being an indiidual!.
:2
+his tendency appears in the biographical 9
literature of the time as well as in portrait painting.!
::
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and
$arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.!
+i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2
#"2113' 45-"6", 1"3
;nfluenced by )icero, @eonardo Bruni ma0es it man?s duty to be first of all a citi/en of
the city or state. Human glory lies in particular in the wor0 a man does for the state to
which he belongs. 8ride in the wealth and beauty of one?s own city #nationalism3 here
goes together with humanistic ethics.
:<
#$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-
Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.!
+i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2
#"2113' 45-"6", 1"3
Gne can say that the criteria of rhetoric hold for the composition and performance of
music in general. @i0e the grammatical structure of language, a composition has
punctuations, syntactical terms, sentences, periods, which hae to be pronounced!
with prosodical accuracy and clearness of declamation. +hey hae to be He=ecuted?
with improised ornaments, oratorical urgency and dynamics. @i0e the creation of a
speech, composition consists of the inention #inventio3, disposition #dispositio3,
elaboration and decoration #elaboratio, decoratio3 of musical moement. @i0e an
oratio, a composition must, in arrangement and style, ta0e account not only of its
sub,ect, but also of the actual circumstances of the audience, the place and the time.
@i0e a speech, it has a beginning, a middle and an end #exordium, medium and finis,
or more detailed perhaps' exordium, narration, propositio, confirmatio, confutatio,
perotatio3. @i0e a wor0 of eloquentia, it must hae elegantia, exornatio, decorum. @i0e
an ingenious oration, it will be ornamented by figurations which, at the same time,
increase the e=pressionA for e=ample, repetitions can hae an emphatic effect,
antitheses a contrasting, and pauses a surprising one, ,ust as in a speech. And li0e
an orator, the composer can ary his thoughts and can reflect upon means to gie
ariety and diersification #varietas3 to his composition. #$lders, %illem. Humanism
and $arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and
*ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor .ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2
#"2113' 45-"6", 123
+he regulations of rhetoric apply aboe all, howeer, for the combining of music with
te=t. &usic is as it were something rhetorical that is added to the e=isting te=t. ;t
should be an orator of the te=t, ma0ing clear its grammatical structure, declaiming it
in an appropriate way. ;t has to treat the te=t, ,ust as an orator elaborates the theme
and the thoughts of his speech, in accordance with the rules of rhetoric' it has to
ornament the te=tA to e=press its affectionsA it has to illustrate the te=t, to represent its
figuratie content in an audible wayA it has to sei/e upon and e=pound its
meaning.!
4>
! #$lders, %illem. Humanism and $arly-Renaissance &usic' A (tudy of
the )eremonial &usic by )iconia and *ufay.! +i,dsschrift an de -ereniging oor
.ederlandse &u/ie0geschiedenis 21, no.2 #"2113' 45-"6", 123