The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Humanism

From the fourteenth to the seventeenth century, humanism played a key role in European culture. Beginning as a movement based on the recovery, interpretation and imitation of ancient Greek and Roman texts and the archaeological study of the physical remains of antiquity, humanism turned into a dynamic cultural programme, influencing almost every facet of Renaissance intellectual life. The fourteen original essays in this volume deal with all aspects of the movement, from language learning to the development of science, from the effect of humanism on biblical study to its influence on art, from its Italian origins to its manifestations in the literature of More, Sidney and Shakespeare. A detailed biographical index, and a guide to further reading, are provided. Overall, The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Humanism provides a comprehensive introduction to a major movement in the culture of early modern Europe.

• Compact and comprehensive survey of rapidly-growing field of study • Essential for many university courses including history and modern languages • Fourteen original essays by leading European and American scholars across a range of disciplines

1. The origins of humanism Nicholas Mann; 2. Classical scholarship Michael D. Reeve; 3. Humanism in script and print in the fifteenth century Martin Davies; 4. The humanist reform of Latin and Latin teaching Kristian Jensen; 5. Humanist rhetoric and logic Peter Mack; 6. Humanists and the Bible Alistair Hamilton; 7. Humanism and the origins of modern political thought James Hankins; 8. Philologists and philosophers Jill Kraye; 9. Artists and humanists Charles Hope and Elizabeth McGrath; 10. Vernacular humanism in the sixteenth century Warren Boutcher; 11. The new science and the traditions of humanism Anthony Grafton; 12. Humanism and Italian literature M. L. McLaughlin; 13. Humanism and English literature in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Clare Carroll; 14. Humanism and seventeenth-century English literature Joseph Loewenstein; A guide to further reading in English; Biographical index.

‘This is an excellent publication, quite unique in its coverage, at a level accessible to students, of every aspect of the Renaissance … One of the most useful contextual volumes on the period of any kind.’ David Hopkins, University of Bristol