The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy

by Jacob Burckhardt and Jacob 1818-1897 Burckhardt

Book Overview

Published in 1860, Burckhardt's great work redefined our sense of the European past, wholly reinterpreting what has since been known simply as the Italian Renaissance. With unsurpassed erudition, Burckhardt illuminates a world of artistic and cultural ferment, innovation, and discovery; of revived humanism; of fierce tensions between church and empire; and of the birth of both the modern state and the modern individual. The Civilization of the Renaissance...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394604970
• ISBN13: 9780394604978
• Release Date: December 1980
• Publisher: Modern Library
• Length: 424 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.0" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Great Essay Slopppy Edition

This is an excellent essay, even for those who did not know they cared about the Renaissance. My primary motive for purchasing this book was the fact that it had influenced Nietzsche; however, this book has much independent merit, whether you love hate or don't care about Nietzsche, there will be something here for you. Burckhardt does a great job of capturing the amoral ethos of the time on its own terms; not judging it from the position of some imagined superiority. He is obviously well-versed in the relevant literature, and the translation does not seem to obscure him. This particular edition does have numerous typographical errors, which can be somewhat distracting as one reads.

synthesis of an era

The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (Modern Library Classics)The Civilization offers a handy checklist for anyone wishing to delve deeper into the Medieval and Renaissance studies. The somewhat tortuous introduction which outlines the political turmoil in 15th century Italy adds weight to the two conclusions which Burckhardt makes towards the end: the Reformation had galvanized the Vatican into action and helped, inadvertently, the Catholic church to regain ground, and, secondly, a combination of a fragmented national identity, secularization and reliance on cunning and talent prompted the rise of the individual. Burckhardt then proceeds to chart out the different trends, fashions, and cultural shifts which made the Renaissance: revival of the interest in antiquity, search for classical manuscripts, studies in classical Latin, rediscovery of ancient literary forms, creation of libraries, patronage of the arts, exaltation of man in painting, dress and literature, interest in the human body, the opening up to the world - in short humanism. In his account of life in the Renaissance Burckhardt notes how laughter insinuated itself into artistic expression as a form of protest against dogma and despotism. Where its impact was felt most was in the celebration of religious festivals. Ridicule and paganism were never deep under the surface in miracle plays and pageants. After examining the Italian Renaissance man's values and finding that honour had supplanted guilt, Burckhardt takes a closer look at religion. Inevitably there is reference to the medieval worship of relics, simony, sale of indulgences, moral corruption in the Church from top to bottom, but also an equally bitter treatment of the things which replaced, or rather reinforced, them: preachers of repentance, adoration of the Madonna, persecution of heretics and in particular the Epicureans. Added to the mix was superstition, which does not strike a student of the Renaissance as particularly modern but with which the ancients would certainly have been at home. This paradigm shift which touched the lives of many men in the 14th and 15th century left many men adrift, spiritually and intellectually. Along with the unquestionable achievements in all areas of life which were ushered in by the Renaissance, Burckhardt observes, the age was marked by a steady slide towards fatalism and skepticism. Welcome to modern times!

Note to the editor

This is a reference book for those that need a concise edition on Renaissance. However for the reader less learned, this issue is lacking an editor's information, for example, a brief comment on the author; wich language his work was first published; others english translations after 1878 Middlemore, and so on.

The Ciivilization of the Renaissance in Italy

A better book could not have fallen into my hands! An American professor in Venice recommended it, and after I read it I was only sorry I had not read it before going to Italy. The mystery of its medieval, rather Renaissance cities (Florence, Venice, among others) would have been clearer; even today's Italians' ways and personality. So much a product of Renaissance Italy...and its wonderful heritage from Ancient Rome. I truly recommend this book for Italy lovers, anyone going there soon, or for the sheer joy of reading a good history book. Jacob Burckkhardt is one of the most intelligent, enlightened historians I know.

The Man Who Invented the Renaissance

Jacob Burckhardt had one of those rare minds who could construct a new synthesis out of thought, government, art, and culture -- and who, for the first time, made it possible to talk about the Renaissance as a moment in the history of Western man. This is a very dense work with flashes of genius as well as long scholarly footnotes with extensively quoted Italian and Latin. In a book by a dullard, this would be excruciating. But Burckhardt is anything but as he manages his material like a Moscow taxi driver: by accelerating and then coasting. When you least expect it, another epiphany draws you in. Burckhardt's Renaissance was an incredible high in the history of mankind. The Medicis, Sforzas, and Malatestas strut their way through the history of the period; Dante, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante create works of the imagination that still overpower us; popes like Julius II, Alexander VI, and Leo X combine worldliness with spirituality (sometimes); and even the average man has a face and a voice for the first time.This book will make your blood race.