RTT Quarterly January-March 2025 The Renaissance

from Wikipedia.com (cropped)

Renaissance, literally translated means “rebirth.” Of course, there is much debate as to when the Renaissance occurred and most agree that the dates are fluid. Some say it began with the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in AD 1439. In general, most agree that dates might include 1300-1600. These dates overlap with the Medieval period in part of Europe and with the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.

Most historians also agree that the Renaissance began in Italy with the revival of art influenced by the rediscovery of classical works of literature and architecture from Greece and Rome. The “Northern Renaissance” was 50-100 years later and focused more on literature and religion than the arts, but Northern Europe was not devoid of artisans.

Renaissance society was hierarchical, with clear distinctions between the nobility, clergy, merchants, and peasants. Merchants and artisans rose in importance, especially in cities like Florence and Venice. These individuals became the wealthy middle class and patrons of the arts.

Urban life was different from rural life, offering more opportunities for trade, education, and cultural development. However, it also had problems like overcrowding, disease, and poverty.

The Renaissance is perhaps most famous for its artistic achievements. Artists such as Da Vinci, Donatello, and Michelangelo revolutionized art with realistic portrayals of the human body, the use of perspective, and new techniques such as sfumato.

Architecture also flourished, with the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the development of new forms like domes.

The Renaissance saw the rise of humanism, a philosophy that emphasized the study of classical Greek and Roman texts and the value of individual achievement. Education became more focused on subjects like literature, philosophy, history, and languages (particularly Latin and Greek).

Universities played a major role in spreading knowledge, and many scholars traveled across Europe, sharing ideas.

The Reformation, initiated by figures like Martin Luther in the early 16th century, led to religious divisions and the creation of Protestantism, which had a profound impact on European society.

The Renaissance was also a time of scientific discovery, with figures like Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei challenging traditional views of the heavens and contributing to the development of modern science.

The wealthy enjoyed an abundance of food, while peasants often had a simple diet based on grains, vegetables, and limited meat. Spices were prized but expensive.

The upper classes had access to entertainment such as theater, music, and festivities. Dancing, games, and hunting were popular activities.

Life expectancy was shorter than today, and diseases such as plague, smallpox, and syphilis were widespread. Medical knowledge was limited, and treatments were often ineffective.

In general, women's roles were more limited compared to men, especially in public life. They were expected to marry and manage the household. However, some women, especially in wealthy families, had access to education and could become patrons of the arts. (Catherine di Medici)

For this quarter you are challenged to read books about the Renaissance, either written during that time or about that time. Fiction or non-fiction will suffice.



Books previously read by members of this group:
The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo by Irving Stone
As You Like It by William Shakespeare
The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O’Melveny
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
In the Name of the Family by Sarah Dunant
The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel
Monteverdi by Wulf Konold
The Queen’s Agent by John Cooper
City of Vengeance by D.V. Bishop
The Serpent and the Pearl by Kate Quinn
The Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree by Tariq Ali
The World of Renaissance Florence
A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Thomas Middleton
Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King
Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt
Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power by Leah Chang

What will you be reading? What can you recommend?
Here’s the Wiki: (to come!)

Thinking I might do a combo read/video here. Walter Isaacson, Leonardo da Vinci along with the Great Courses video George R. Bent, Leonardo da Vinci and the Italian High Renaissance.

Other possibilities. I have the complete Arkangel Shakespeare on CD which I might listen to accompanied by the Pelican Shakespeare, on which they were based. I think I've also got Thomas Middleton: The Collected Works around somewhere.

>2 CurrerBell: OMG. I forgot! Vive la France. The great work of the French Renaissance, Montaigne: Complete Essays. I had intended to make this my priority for Q1/2025, though I suspect I might not complete it by the end of March since I don't want to do a hasty reading. In particular, I do want to reread Apologie de raymond sebond after some half-a-century (the title being best translated, in my view, as "Defense of Raymond Sebond"). But I want to get through Montaigne in a leisurely fashion, reading also Philippe Desan's Montaigne: A Life as well as some other Montaigne literature that I have around on TBR.

I also have around the house Heinrich Mann (elder brother of Thomas), Young Henry of Navarre, the first of his two-volume biographical novel of the greatest French king, Henri IV ("Paris is well worth a mass," not to be confused with Shakespeare's Bolingbroke). In the line of royal succession and simultaneously a leader of the Huguenots in the wars of religion, he was a pragmatist who secured religious toleration through the Edict of Nantes (ultimately revoked by Louis XIV). My understanding is that he and the Catholic Montaigne were friends. I'll most likely get Mann's Henry, King of France when I finish the first volume.

Incidentally, I've always considered Montaigne's Sebond the greatest philosophical essay, with Areopagitica coming in second (and for me to put the greatest poet second to anyone is saying something).

>3 CurrerBell: I've read both of the Mann's and liked the first one better than the second. I think they were both 600+ page chunksters!

I will begin this challenge by reading two plays, A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Thomas Middleton and The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster.

I would then like to read a NF, Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King.

I would like to reread Katharina von Medici by Cornelia Wusowski, a huge chunkster that I loved as a teenager, and something by Shakespeare - I don't know what yet because I'd like it to fit the renaissance theme.

I am currently reading Romola by George Eliot which is set in Renaissance Florence, during the time of Savonarola, and it is chockfull of information about the time. She really immersed herself in this. It’s very slow going, though.

>6 MissWatson: If I participate, Romola is going to be my choice. I'll be following how it goes for you. I'm not afraid of slow, as long as it keeps my interest.

I’m going start with Shakespeare and John Fletcher’s play, Henry VIII. The Elizabethan Era, during which Shakespeare wrote, is considered the height of the English Renaissance and I like that the play covers the break with the Roman Catholic Church (earlier in the English Renaissance).

After that, I’ll see what I feel like but I’m thinking of focusing on the Tudor Era.

As for books to recommend, I recently read and loved The Swerve (by Stephen Goldblatt). I’ve pretty much gone on and on about it since I read it earlier in 2024, so I won’t bore you again but I will say that it was one of two books that made my Favorites List for the year 🙂

ETA: LOL, There is something seriously wrong with me: Not 2 minutes after I posted, I decided to start with G. J. Meyer’s book The Tudors: The Complete Story of England’s Most Notorious Dynasty (narrated by Robin Sachs) instead! I’ve read other of Meyer’s works and while I love them, I also know to expect a myth-busting style and cynical tone.

>6 MissWatson: And I have finished it, and it’s not going to be a favourite.

She read immensely for this, but can’t resist a desire to share her knowledge with us: detailed descriptions of how to get from point A to B, every time a character has to go somewhere. Entire chapters spent on describing religious festivals that have no bearing on the plot. Name-dropping of scholars and artists, telling us which picture used to hang in which church. There’s far too much decoration of this kind, which of course may have been what many of her readers want because it saves them reading up for themselves or because they can’t travel to Florence themselves. But it takes away too much attention from her main characters and their psychological development. The political shenanigans of which Tito is an important player also remain frustratingly vague.

>4 Tess_W: excellent read!

The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty by G. J. Meyer; narrated by Robin Sachs) - History is written by the victors and future generations tend to believe it. Then someone like G. J. Meyer goes and starts digging through documents with something akin to journalistic fervor and says, “Stop. Don’t buy into the propaganda. Take a look at this…” In The Tudors, Meyer smashes through the romanticism of the English Renaissance monarchs. Five rulers across three generations would build a brand that still endures despite the brutality, selfishness and sketchy motives that would get them canceled in modern times. (Or maybe not. I did see some uncomfortable parallels to current news— which made me think about the systems of control we as a people agree to submit to and our overall resiliency, as well as our breaking points… but I digress). Meyer does admit up front that attempting to draw the curtain back on the Tudors may be futile given media and entertainment portrayals over the past 400+ years.

I used to think the author was cynical but it’s really not that at all but a dry-eyed, acute, historical sobriety. And I am here for it. I loved his work on WWI, A World Undone and the Wilsonian legacy, The World Remade and have looked forward to this one on the Tudors. Meyer takes the same approach in making a statement in each chapter and then also providing contextual sections which help bridge the chapters and/or setup an important concept that will help the reader better understand and appreciate the moment or conundrum. His work hits a metaphorical reset button which is essential to truly understanding not only the why of then, but the why of now and even the future.

The late Robin Sachs is the British narrator of the audio edition and he’s okay. There were times I wished he sounded a bit more engaged with the material but overall, his deep, even voice carried me through the successive reigns. A note though about the audio edition: I have to go check against the print but it seems that chapter 26 is missing some text. There is an indication that someone did two terrible things but I didn’t find out what exactly they were!

>11 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Oooooo, this has been on my WL forever!

>3 CurrerBell: I have a Montaigne, Selected Essays and I might give a couple a try. My collection does not contain Sebond.

I was thinking of reading again the Florentines, and have Cymbeline and Tales from Shakespeare lined up, but not sure if the las one counts.

>14 AnishaInkspill: Sure it counts! We are very lax here!

>11 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Adding this one to my wish list!

I only have one book about the first Tudor, Henry VII, Winter King: Henry VII and the Dawn of Tudor England (by Thomas Penn) on my shelves (?!)
I have a little less than a week before I have to return to work — so hopefully I can tackle most of it before real life gets in the way!

>17 Tanya-dogearedcopy: Overall this one has a 4**** LT rating. I personally gave it only 3***, and here's my review. Not a bad book, but I really think Richmond deserved a bit better – and I say "Richmond" deliberately, taking note of the author's very skimpy treatment of his subject's pre-regnal life. As I noted in my review, this was more a prequel to Henry VIII than a biography of the title character.

>15 Tess_W: thx, and good to know, this helps, I want to revist The Florentines, I'm also quite tempted by Botticelli Reimagined I've been wanting to read this for ages, see how it goes.

I am going to find a book about Titian Vecellio, an ancestor of mine. He is in our family tree.
I found this:
Titian (born 1488/90, Pieve di Cadore, Republic of Venice Italy—died August 27, 1576, Venice) was the greatest Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school.He was recognized early in his own lifetime as a supremely talented painter, and his reputation has in the intervening centuries never suffered a decline."

>20 mnleona: It's always a bonus to have a personal interest or stake in reading!