Renaissance History

This is the original version of an article now edited and translated into English (updated with additional illustrations) and republished in "Food, Social Politics and the Order of Nature in Renaissance Europe" (2019), a volume of my collected articles.

Ellen Widder: Herzog Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1378-1402). Die Machtentfaltung Mailands gegen die italienischen Signorien, in: Nur eine finstere Krisenzeit? „Das dramatische 14. Jahrhundert“ – Ereignisse und Trends, hg. v. Florian Schuller, München 2016 (Zur Debatte [Zeitschrift der Katholischen Akademie in Bayern] 7, Sonderheft), S. 9-11.

Besides showing a strong interest in ancient Rome and its institutions, 15th century historiography gives a special place to the theme of the Western Roman Empire’s decline. In this light, some sections of the Laudatio Florentinae urbis and the Historiae Florentini populi by Leonardo Bruni as well as of the Decades by Biondo Flavio deserve mention. Unlike Bruni’s works, where the first cause of Rome’s decline was identified in the rejection of the republican model and the exercise of freedom that had embodied its foundations, Biondo’s treatises reveal the inclination to focus from a more structured perspective on the process which led to the end of ancient Rome’s Empire, without looking for a univocal cause. In general, beyond some parallel points of view between the two authors, such as, among others, a positive evaluation of Theodosius’ reign and the idea that, thanks to Rome’s decline, the conditions that allowed other cities in the Italian peninsula to later increase autonomously were created, Biondo’s considerations more particularly show a longue durée historiographical approach and the tendency to perceive Late Antiquity as an important transition phase as well as to remark the meaningfulness of some crucial historical episodes which characterized it.

This is the first of several discourses for all intellectuals about dogma, mental expansion and the liberation of intellect.  “For intellectuals, spiritual progress is always delayed, and the reason is this – that their intellectual body goes on increasing,” according to P. R. Sarkar, “but for want of the apexed mentality, the goal remains far away. But when the intellectual body is highly enlarged, it is sure to become one with the Macrocosm. And when this enlarged ectoplasmic structure becomes one with the Cosmic ectoplasmic structure, certainly a person will feel his oneness with the Supreme.” P. R. Sarkar, (1921-1990), was a spiritual teacher (also known as Shrii Shrii Anandamurti) in the tradition of Shiva and Krishna, who founded Renaissance Universal to promote a new global renaissance, and who founded the socio-spiritual movement Ananda Marga (“the Path of Bliss”).  –  Richard Gauthier, Department of Chemistry and Physics, Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, California, USA, May 6, 2021.

Cardoso A. C., Sequeira J. (2020). Michele da Colle’s account books (1462-63): the first example of double
entry in Portugal?. De Computis - Revista Española de Historia de la Contabilidad, 17 (1), 158-190. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.26784/issn.1886-1881.v17i1.377

The title of this article puts forward the research question: can the books of the merchant Michele Da Colle be considered as the oldest example of the use of the double entry method in Portugal? Michele was a Tuscan merchant and agent to the Pisan Salviati-Da Colle firm, established in Lisbon as of the second half of the fifteenth century. The first years of his business activity in Portugal are recorded in two account books that are kept today at the Salviati Archive, in the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa. To answer the research question, this article thoroughly examines the characteristics of these documents. The aim is to determine if these records follow the general principles of double entry bookkeeping proposed by different scholars. This investigation thus seeks to contribute to the debate on the introduction of double entry in Portugal via Italian influence.

The preliminary analysis of these books shows that we are, indeed, in the presence of double entry records. The example does contain formal imperfections, but it has strong similarities with the context of Tuscan accounting of the time, which can arguably mean that it represents a stage of evolution and development of the double entry method. Since we do not have any other examples, Michele Da Colle’s account books can be considered the earliest records in double entry in Portugal.

Evidence also suggests that Italian merchants exerted influence on Portuguese merchants for the adoption of this method, although it didn’t last in the centuries to come. This explains why several Portuguese works on arithmetic from the sixteenth century fail to mention the double entry system, which was only regularly applied in Portugal as of the mid-eighteenth century.

O título deste artigo introduz a questão de partida: poderão os livros do mercador Michele Da Colle ser considerados o mais antigo exemplo de aplicação do método digráfico em Portugal? Michele foi um mercador toscano, agente da companhia pisana Salviati-Da Colle, que se estabeleceu em Lisboa na segunda metade do século XV. Registou os dados contabilísticos dos primeiros anos da sua atividade em Portugal em dois livros, que estão hoje depositados no Arquivo Salviati, na Scuola Normale Superiore de Pisa. Para responder à questão enunciada, procedemos a uma análise detalhada das características destes exemplos documentais. O objetivo é determinar se essas características cumprem os princípios gerais do método digráfico apresentados por diferentes autores. Com este estudo de caso, pretendemos ainda contribuir para o debate sobre a possível influência italiana na introdução das partidas dobradas em Portugal.
Depois de analisadas as características dos livros, podemos concluir que estamos perante um exemplo de partidas dobradas. Embora não seja um exemplo perfeito, enquadra-se no contexto de produção contabilística toscana da época, que consiste numa fase de evolução e aperfeiçoamento do método digráfico. Face à ausência de outros exemplos, os livros de Michele podem ser considerados os mais antigos registos em partidas dobradas feitos em Portugal.
Alguns indícios documentais recolhidos sugerem ainda a possibilidade de os mercadores italianos terem exercido alguma influência sobre os mercadores portugueses na adoção deste método. No entanto, ainda que essa influência tenha sido exercida, não frutificou. Os diversos tratados portugueses de aritmética do século XVI não fazem qualquer referência ao sistema das partidas dobradas e só a partir de meados do século XVIII é que o método seria regularmente utilizado em Portugal.

Una sera di ottobre di cinque secoli fa: il Granduca Francesco I de' Medici e la Granduchessa sua seconda moglie, la patrizia veneziana Bianca Cappello, muoiono in circostanze misteriose a poche ore di distanza uno dall'altra nella villa di Poggio a Caiano. Termina così, in modo cruento e improvviso, la vita di una donna bellissima, colta, intelligente e anticonformista, spo-sa riamata di due mariti, uno plebeo e l'altro un principe, ammirata e lodata da artisti, musicisti, poeti, regnanti e papi, sui quali spiccano Filippo II di Spagna, Sisto V e Torquato Tasso. All'indomani della sua morte e della dispersione e occultamento dei suoi resti, Ferdinando de' Medici, il cognato cardinale, sottopone la memoria e il ricordo di Bianca a una sistematica opera di cancellazione che ha pochi eguali nella nostra lunga e travagliata epopea nazionale. Questo libro vuole ristabilire la verità sulla vicenda umana e storica di una Stella del nostro Rinascimento, e ridare finalmente a Bianca Cappello de' Medici la sua vera identità e il suo vero volto.

Finally the true story and the true looks of one of the most glorious and most admired women of the Italian Renaissance and one of the most unjustly slandered and victimized, at the center of one of the most celebrated "cold cases" of Italian history.

Ao avaliar então as hipóteses mais plausíveis para explicar a existência dos índios no Novo Mundo, José de Acosta acredita que os mesmos não teriam migrado por vontade própria, pois os mesmos não conheciam a agulha de marear (bússola), nem tampouco o imã. Discute então que todas as viagens anteriores a invenção da bússola eram baseadas na observação das estrelas ou por cabotagem. Havia ainda há possibilidade de que os nativos haviam sido arremessados ao Novo Mundo (ou Índias) por tormentas, esta dedução também pouco endossada por ele. Como podemos observar, na passagem abaixo, José de Acosta se preocupa em comparar os animais do Velho com o Novo Mundo, tentanto verificar, deste modo, quais eram relacionadas e quais isoladas. Eventuando assim, teorias de origem e dispersão das espécies que, indiretamente, contrariavam o fixismo descrito no livro Gênese. O Fixismo, doutrina filosófica amplamente difundida até o século XVIII, afirmava que Deus teria criado todas as espécies tal como são. Sendo que as mesmas permaneceriam imutáveis. Assim,seus descendentes jamais sofreriam qualquer tipo de mudança, mesmo sob influência do clima, ambiente ou tempo.

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In this informative and lively volume, Margaret L. King synthesizes a large body of literature on the condition of western European women in the Renaissance centuries (1350-1650), crafting a much-needed and unified overview of women's experience in Renaissance society.

Utilizing the perspectives of social, church, and intellectual history, King looks at women of all classes, in both usual and unusual settings. She first describes the familial roles filled by most women of the day—as mothers, daughters, wives, widows, and workers. She turns then to that significant fraction of women in, and acted upon, by the church: nuns,uncloistered holy women, saints, heretics, reformers,and witches, devoting special attention to the social and economic independence monastic life afforded them. The lives of exceptional women, those warriors, queens, patronesses, scholars, and visionaries who found some other place in society for their energies and strivings, are explored, with consideration given to the works and writings of those first protesting female subordination: the French Christine de Pizan, the Italian Modesta da Pozzo, the English Mary Astell.

Of interest to students of European history and women's studies, King's volume will also appeal to general readers seeking an informative, engaging entrance into the Renaissance period."'
READ INTRODUCTION HERE
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I am very excited to announce the publication of a Special issue on “The Uses of History in Religious Controversies from Erasmus to Baronio” (Renaissance Studies, 35, 2021, no. 1).

The journal can be accessed by clicking here (FREE ACCESS for a limited time only): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14774658/2021/35/1 .



Special Issue Articles:

Stefan BAUER:
The uses of history in religious controversies from Erasmus to Baronio;

Stefan BAUER:
Pontianus Polman re-imagined: how (not) to write a history of religious polemics;

Marie BARRAL-BARON:
A Church without history? Luther and historical argument in the context of humanist polemics;

Sam KENNERLEY:
Students of history, masters of tradition: Josse Clichtove,
Noël Beda and the limits of historical criticism;

David V. N. BAGCHI:
The historical argument in early Reformation controversy revisited: the Council of Constance in the writings of Eck and Cochlaeus;

Harald BOLLBUCK:
Searching for the true religion: the Church History of the
Magdeburg Centuries between critical methods and confessional polemics;

Thomas S. FREEMAN:
1077 and all that: Gregory VII in Reformation historical writing;

Gianmarco GIULIANI:
Reformatio or restauratio? The rehabilitation of Pope Gregory VII in Catholic historiography after Trent

Why did Giordano Bruno let himself be led to the stake by the Holy Office on 17 February 1600? A new, compelling and documented reconstruction that reopens one of the most celebrated court cases in our history.

Perché Giordano Bruno si lasciò condurre al rogo dal Sant’Officio il 17 febbraio 1600? Una nuova, avvincente e documentata ricostruzione che riapre uno dei casi giudiziari più celebri della nostra storia.

Around the 1485 was born in Villaescusa de Haro Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal (c. 1485-1547), in a family which has dedicated all its best men in the progress of the Kingdom of Castilla. Sebastián Ramírez will life to see the transformation of this Kingdom in an Empire under the government of Carlos V, and to be one of the most trustworthy men of the emperor. After being the responsible of the civil an ecclesiastic government in Santo Domingo (1528-1531) and the president of the Real Audiencia de Nueva España in Tenochtitlán (1531-1535) before the existence of the Viceroyalty; he returned to Spain to be the president of the Real Audiencia de Granada (1536-1539), after of the one in Valladolid (1539-1542) and also the president of the commission responsible to create the laws of the spanish territories in America (1542); at last at the same time he was the bishop of Tuy (1537-1539), León (1539-1542) and Cuenca (1542-1547).
    In this city he decided in the end of 1544 to begin the construction of a new cloister in the cathedral which was almost in ruins, and -after the repeated refusal of the Cathedral Chapter- decided to support at least the building of its hallway. To design and to make it, he chose a singular french man who had been working with the best artists in the Iberian Peninsula since 1535 and for men as important as Francisco de los Cobos: Étienne Jamet (c. 1515-1546) known as Esteban Jamete. The union of these two special men made of the entrance to the cloister of the Cuenca cathedral an exceptional space where the art of Jamet –full of quality, diversity, elegance and pathos- was used to advertise the wishes of the Carlos’ V court to reach the universitas christiana, through a triumphal arc which memorializes the hoped catholic triumph; and inside, the hallway conceived as a meditation’s place for the Christian who is spur on to the virtue’s way of wisdom and fight against the vice to achieve the eternal life in Jesus Christ. Thereby they became the ruins of this space in a stair to God along the religious wars and the inner struggle of citizens, they made the Arco de Sebastián Ramírez de Fuenleal (1546-1550).

Edition: Paula Velasco Grijalbo.
Press: Diputación Provincial de Cuenca.
ISBN: 978-84-16161-40-9.

"""By far the best collection of sources to introduce readers to Renaissance humanism in all its many guises. What distinguishes this stimulating and useful anthology is the vision behind it: King shows that Renaissance thinkers had a lot to say, not only about the ancient world—one of their habitual passions—but also about the self, how civic experience was configured, the arts, the roles and contributions of women, the new science, the 'new' world, and so much more."
    —Christopher S. Celenza, Johns Hopkins University

READ INTRODUCTION HERE

Orné d’une grande émeraude flanquée de pierres précieuses et de décors émaillés, le pendentif dit de « Catherine de Médicis » est un exemple remarquable de l’orfèvrerie de la Renaissance française. L’objet fut réalisé à la demande de la reine-mère pour être offert à Noël 1571, sans doute à son fils, Charles IX. Outre la richesse du décor, ce bijou est exceptionnel car la BnF conserve par ailleurs la lettre de commande de la main de la reine. On y décèle l’implication directe de la souveraine dans la conception de l’objet, notamment l’élaboration du message qu’il devait délivrer.

Hans Baldung Grien, the most famous apprentice and close friend of German artist Albrecht Dürer, was known for his unique and highly eroticised images of witches. In paintings and woodcut prints, he gave powerful visual expression to late medieval tropes and stereotypes, such as the poison maiden, venomous virgin, the Fall of Man, 'death and the maiden' and other motifs and eschatological themes, which mingled abject and erotic qualities in the female body.

Dear readers, I have now made available the inventory that should have been included with this article.  I apologize for that oversight.

I transcribed and translated the inventory (shown above on Academia.edu,

Published with appendix, 3 August 2018, with "French History".

This research will describe the first major operation launched by an Italian army against a heavily fortified city after the assimilation of the French style artillery into the warfare of the Peninsula. The paper will examine, in particular, the preparations for this “marvellous enterprise,” stressing the difficulties with the procurement of ammunition during the early stages of employment of these new guns.  Data have been gathered from the State Archives of Florence, Pisa, and Lucca. Furthermore, numerous chronicles and several diaries have been useful in highlighting the political, social, and economic background of the campaign.
The article demonstrates that, from the last years of the fifteenth century, the issues with supplying ordnance compelled the Italian regional states to develop the manufacture of pieces, shot, and powder, facing a “revolutionary challenge” in terms of management, commerce, and production.

George Huppert’s After the Black Death: A Social History of Early Modern Europe is an interdisciplinary analysis of European society from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. The text examines peasants, nobles, and clergy in rural areas, villages, and cities across Europe. Dedicating his book to Fernand Braudel, Huppert immediately expresses his adherence to the Annales school’s method of historical interpretation. Following Braudel’s use of geography, sociology, economics, social anthropology, and other interdisciplinary fields, Huppert constructs a picture of European life by describing a few representative individuals, villages, and cities. He juxtaposes the source information available from the case studies in an attempt to find similarities, differences, and generalizations. Huppert’s analysis of rural and urban life, including topics ranging from armed rebellion to marriage practices, provides historians with a detailed view of daily life and an insight into aspects of Renaissance history typically overlooked in traditional political narratives. Thus, After the Black Death provides a worthwhile resource for those interested in a social history of the Renaissance that combines a wide range of sources that go beyond well-known popes, kings, inventors, painters, and philosophers.

This essay is concerned with the economic evolution of the Upper Valdarno between the 12th and 15th centuries. In these four centuries, this corner of Tuscany saw a remarkable evolution of the productive activities, of the settlements and of the demographic levels. In particular, in the 14th and 15th centuries, the penetration of Florentine mercantile capitals was very strong, with a progressive diffusion of the city's landed property and a subjection of the local economy to the needs of Florence destined to last until the end of the modern age.

If you want to contribute with an entry, please write to marco.sgarbi@unive.it

Gives accurate and reliable summaries of the current state of research. It includes entries on philosophers, problems, terms, historical periods, subjects and the cultural context of Renaissance Philosophy. Furthermore, it covers Latin, Arabic, Jewish, Byzantine and vernacular philosophy, and includes entries on the cross-fertilization of these philosophical traditions. A unique feature of this encyclopedia is that it does not aim to define what Renaissance philosophy is, rather simply to cover the philosophy of the period between 1300 and 1650.

The exhibition "Dressed for Success" is built around the fashion diary of Matthäus Schwarz (1497-1574), head accountant of the immensely rich and influential Fugger company, headed by Jacob Fugger and later on his nephew Anton. From 1520 on Matthäus Schwarz had himself painted in the representative dresses designed for various occasions from weddings to imperial diets. Over the course of 40 years the "klaidungsbuechlin" (book of clothes) documents more than 130 different outfits, forming a uniquely detailed source for the history and development of fashion in the 16th century.
The catalogue presents and contextualises the klaidungsbuechlin in its period. Following the timeline of the precisely dated images, it guides through a vivid period of early world trade and reformation and follows Matthäus Schwarz on his education and business journeys. In the period, fashion was a central tool to document and promote social status and ambitions and Schwarz used this tool carefully, finally being knighted by Ferdinand I. in 1541.
The catalogue presents a wide range of objects with numerous loans from collections all over Europe. It encompasses paintings by Hans Holbein the Elder and Christoph Amberger, woodcuts and engravings by Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach or Jörd Breu as well as Medals by Hans Schwarz and Friedrich Hagenauer. Futhermore it features prominent examples of arms and armour, goldsmiths work, woodcarving, majolica and textiles from the 16th century.
-cat. no. 12: sundial with map, attributed to Erhard Etzlaub, Nuremberg 1511, boxwood
-cat. no. 29: standing cup and cover (possibly made in Augsburg), 1480-1499, Silver-gilt and enamel
-cat. no. 31: relief depicting Jacob Fugger and the allegory of wealth, Sebastian Loscher, Augsburg before 1525, limewood
-cat. no. 35: medal of Jacob Fugger, Hans Schwarz, Augsburg 1518, bronce
-cat. no. 36: commemorative coin of Jacob Fugger, after Hans Schwarz, Augsburg 1518, silver
-cat. no. 38: portrait of Martin Luther, Lucas Cranach, Wittenberg 1521, engraving
-cat. no. 40: portrait of Charles V, Daniel Hopfer, Augsburg 1518, etching
-cat. no. 58: four gaming pieces with portraits, Augsburg around 1535, boxwood
-cat. no. 60: gaming piece with the portraits of Jacob and Ulrich or Anton Fugger, Augsburg around 1525-1530, fruitwood
-cat. no. 67: glass cup with the coat of arms of Fugger-Thurzo, Venice arounf 1520-1530, glass with enamel and gilding
-cat. no. 69: enamelled cup with the coat of arms of Ulstett and Haug, Tuscany around 1550, copper with enamel and gilding
-cat. no. 71: lute, Italy around 1600, wood, ivory and ebony
-cat. no. 79: entrance of Charles V in Augsburg, Jörg Breu the elder, Augsburg around 1530, series of 10 engravings
-cat. no. 81: portraits of Charles V and Ferdinand I, Barthel Beham, 1531, engraving
-cat. no. 82: delivery of the Augsburg Confession in 1530, Paul Fürst, Nuremberg 1655, engraving
-cat. no. 84: Book of the Good and Evil Fortune, Francesco Petraca, printed in Augsburg 1532
-cat. no. 94: medal on the battle at Mühlberg, Nickel Milicz, 1547, silver
-cat. no. 96: relief with the subservience of the protestant cities 1547, Nürnberg around 1570-1580
-cat. no. 99: standing cup and cover on the annulment of the Augsburg Interim, Jochim Worm, Lüneburg around 1552/53, silver gilt

En el presente trabajo abordamos cómo Rodrigo y Mencía de Mendoza, padre e hija, I y II marqueses del Cenete, respectivamente, fueron, además de excelentes mecenas, dos de los más destacados protagonistas en la introducción del Renacimiento en Valencia y, por extensión, en la península Ibérica. Asimismo, observamos también la vertiente coleccionista de ambos, iniciada por el I marqués del Cenete y acrecentada sustancialmente por su primogénita, quien no sólo se convirtió en referente del coleccionismo pictórico, bibliográfico, etc., sino también en la personificación ideal de humanista.

The term Utopia in Renaissance philosophy originates from and refers to Thomas More's 1516 work: Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo reipublicae statu sive de nova insula Utopia ("A truly golden little book, no less beneficial than entertaining, of a republic's best state and of the new island Utopia") (More T. In: Logan GM et al (ed) Utopia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002). This literary sensation gave rise to a philosophical and artistic genre that would flourish in the late Renaissance and Enlightenment, extending into nineteenthcentury ideologies, namely utopian socialism. The term contains within itself an ambivalence of meanings that relate to its two possible rootsou-topos, meaning a nonexisting place, or simply no place; and eu-topos, referring to a good place. Calling upon ancient Greek philosophic and literary traditions, as well as the biblical model of the Garden of Eden, Renaissance utopias would often describe imagined, isolated (or geographically confined) political or religious communities that possessed clear attributes of perfection.

The altarpiece of Saints Catherine of Siena and Thomas Aquinas, formerly placed above the first altar on the right in the church of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, but destroyed by fire in 1867, is perhaps one of Giovanni Bellini’s most famous works – yet it is also one about which we possess the least material information. Through the analysis of primary sources and the surviving documentation this paper reconstructs the original material characteristics of the panel, including its technique and original size. The paper also discusses the restoration of the stone frame, still in situ and convincingly attributed to Pietro Lombardo and his workshop, and takes into account unpublished photographs of the 1994–1995 treatment supported by Save Venice. On the basis of this information a digital recreation of the original altarpiece is provided, and the opportunity is taken to correct the errors in the previous reconstructions published by Giles Robertson, Rona Goffen, and Denise Zaru.

Tesis para optar al grado de Magíster en Pensamiento Contemporáneo.

RESUMEN:
En la presente investigación se trabajará en torno a la relación entre religión y política en Nicolás Maquiavelo. En su obra, encontramos que la religión tiene una doble función para el autor: por un lado, una función privada; por el otro, una función pública. Como expresión de lo anterior, se analizará la figura bíblica del rey David a partir de sus textos políticos (El príncipe y Discursos sobre la primera década de Tito Livio), y particularmente, el breve discurso Exhortación a la penitencia. Este último discurso ha sido poco trabajado en sus argumentos teórico-políticos y las consecuencias que se desprenden sobre pensar la relación entre religión y política en el autor.
En esta investigación, sostendré que en Exhortación a la penitencia, y en particular, desde el análisis de la persona de David, se abre el campo de conocimiento sobre la relación entre religión y política en la obra maquiaveliana. En ese sentido, la pregunta que se abordará es ¿qué nos puede enseñar la figura de David sobre la relación entre religión y política en Maquiavelo?

Stefano Dall’Aglio sheds new light on the notorious Florentine Lorenzino de’ Medici (also known as Lorenzaccio) and on two of the most infamous assassinations of Italian Renaissance history. In 1537 Lorenzino changed the course of history by murdering Alessandro de’ Medici, first Duke of Florence, and paving the way for the accession of the new duke, Cosimo I. In 1548 Lorenzino was killed in Venice in revenge for the assassination he had committed. Basing his work on extensive research in the historical archives of Florence and Simancas, Dall’Aglio reconstructs the events surrounding these murders and involving the Medici, their loyalists, the Florentine republican exiles, and some of the most powerful sovereigns of the time. The first publication in a century and the first work in English to examine the life of Lorenzino de’ Medici, this fascinating revisionist history is as gripping as a detective novel, as Dall’Aglio unravels a 500-year-old mystery, revealing that behind the bloody death of the duke’s assassin there was the Emperor Charles V.