The Italian Renaissance | Italy - The Cradle of the Renaissance (Lecture 3)

Lecture 3: The Renaissance first developed in Italy early in the 14th century because of the unique circumstances of the Italian peninsula. Unlike in northern Europe, long-distance trade in the Mediterranean had continued after the collapse of the Roman Empire, and urban life had remained strong in Italy. Because townsmen and merchants required secular learning, rather than clerical education, a powerful lay tradition of study and secular values had been sustained. In addition, the memories of the Roman Empire were everywhere to be seen. The inhabitants of the peninsula identified much more with the memories of ancient Rome or the sophisticated cities of the Byzantine Empire than with the rural, feudal culture of the north. A rich secular burgher class arose, and the division of the peninsula into a mosaic of small states allowed each to experiment with different social and political models and encouraged creative competition.

Primary Source Texts:
Kenneth R. Bartlett, “The Classical Heritage,” pp. 7–15, in The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance.

Secondary Sources:
Armando Sapori, The Italian Merchant in the Middle Ages.

Supplementary Reading:
Aziz S. Atiya, Crusade, Commerce and Culture.
Robert S. Lopez and Irving W. Raymond, trans., Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World.

Lecture 4: https://rumble.com/v4wjls2-the-italian-renaissance-the-age-of-dante-guelfs-and-ghibellines-lecture-4.html