The claim, central to many interpretations of the Renaissance, that humanists introduced a revolution in the classroom is refuted in Robert Black's masterly survey, based on over 500 manuscript school books. He shows that the study of classical texts in schools reached a high point in the twelfth century, followed by a collapse in the thirteenth as universities rose in influence. It was not until the later 1400s that humanism had a significant impact in the schoolroom, as Italian teaching, particularly at elementary levels, remained strongly traditional throughout the fifteenth century.
Author(s): Robert Black
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 506
Contents......Page 6
Acknowledgements......Page 9
List of abbreviations......Page 11
Editorial note regarding citations from manuscripts and publications......Page 14
A note on chronological terminology......Page 16
Introduction......Page 18
1 Italian Renaissance education: an historiographical perspective......Page 29
Doctores puerorum......Page 51
Tabula, carta, salterium......Page 53
IANUA......Page 61
Ianua: its origins and early character......Page 62
Ianua’s early prevalence in Italy......Page 65
Other early manuscripts of Ianua: the character and development of the text before the fifteenth century......Page 67
The later development of Ianua......Page 72
The ancient and medieval background......Page 81
The twelfth century and the invention of secondary grammar......Page 86
The thirteenth century and the emergence of a distinctive Italian approach......Page 99
The fourteenth century and the rise of the vernacular......Page 115
The fifteenth century: an era of failed reform......Page 141
Conclusion......Page 188
Major and minor authors......Page 190
The Dark Ages: decline and renaissance of the classics......Page 191
The tenth and eleventh centuries: the ascendant classics......Page 196
The twelfth century: the classical apogee......Page 202
The thirteenth century: revolution......Page 209
The fourteenth century: counter-revolution......Page 217
The minor authors......Page 242
Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy......Page 253
The Latin classics......Page 255
The late fifteenth century and the triumph of humanism......Page 287
Conclusion......Page 290
The role of the vernacular......Page 292
Word order......Page 298
Interlinear Latin synonyms......Page 300
Grammatical analysis......Page 302
Rhetorical figures......Page 303
Grammar......Page 305
Mnemonic verses......Page 307
History......Page 310
Mythology......Page 313
Paraphrase......Page 315
Authorities......Page 318
Introductory philosophy......Page 321
Introductory rhetorical analysis......Page 325
Introductory and accompanying material......Page 328
Metric analysis......Page 335
Sententiae......Page 337
Allegory......Page 341
School glosses and learned commentaries: tradition and adaptation in reading Boethius’s Consolation......Page 342
The secondary syllabus as an integrated curriculum......Page 348
Grammar and rhetoric......Page 353
Rhetoric and style in the Italian grammar syllabus before the Renaissance: the force of tradition......Page 355
Rhetoric and style in the grammar curriculum during the fifteenth century: innovation triumphant......Page 366
Conclusion......Page 383
Appendix I BL Harley 2653: the earliest known manuscript of Ianua......Page 386
Appendix II A handlist of manuscripts of Ianua......Page 390
Appendix III Manuscripts of Tebaldo’s Regule......Page 396
Appendix IV Handlist of manuscripts of school authors produced in Italy and now found in Florentine libraries......Page 403
Appendix V Theoretical grammar manuscripts in Florentine libraries examined and included or eliminated as Italian school grammars......Page 443
Appendix VI Authorities cited explicitly in manuscripts of major school authors in Florentine libraries......Page 445
Bibliography......Page 452
Index of manuscripts......Page 473
A......Page 483
B......Page 485
C......Page 487
D......Page 489
F......Page 490
G......Page 492
J......Page 494
L......Page 495
M......Page 496
N......Page 497
P......Page 498
R......Page 501
S......Page 502
T......Page 504
V......Page 505
Z......Page 506
