Renaissance Man

One of our weekly readings was a document supposedly traced back to the famous 14th century scholar and poet Francis Petrarch. In the document you get a unique perspective from one of history’s ‘Renaissance Men’. One thing that struck me was that Petrarch first and foremost did not think of himself as an ‘enlightened’ person who was a master in the realms of literature, philosophy etc. Instead he repeatedly says that the amount of respect he got from the nobility he was undeserving of.

The greatest kings of this age have loved and courted me. They may know why; I certainly do not.

Regardless of what Petrarch thought of himself, you get a pretty good snapshot of the type of man he was and the type of life that he lived. He was certainly an ambitious man and had a desire to expand his knowledge of the world, and also was very fond of travel. Being an intelligent and well liked person he was taken in and befriended some of the more powerful nobility in northern Italy at the time. Due to this his name carried with it a lot of clout and people listened to him.

This is the type of person I believe people are referring to when they speak of the renaissance. However, as we discussed in class, the vast majority of people at this time were not actively participating in a social and cultural revolution, they were merely common folk or peasants. So, if there was an actual ‘Renaissance’ it most certainty involved people of status, or people who were able to befriend and acquaint themselves with the nobility, and through this were given license to travel throughout Europe. Petrarch is the perfect example of this. He was well off, intelligent, well-schooled, and liked. Such people were most likely responsible for the spreading of ideas and culture throughout Italy, sparking the ‘Renaissance’.