Hi I'm JohnGreenandthisisCrashCourseEuropeanHistory.
So, asyou'llrecallfromourpreviousepisode, a decliningEuropeanpopulationduetodiseaseandwarinthe 14thcenturymeantthatlaborhadbecomemuchmorevaluable, whichshiftedlong-heldbeliefsabouthowsocietyshouldbeorganized.
Infact, Petrarchgavetheerainwhichheliveditsname--callingthemthe "middleages" justashiswritingandresearchhelpedusherin a NewAgethatwenowcalltheRenaissance.
AccordingtoRenaissanceauthorLeonardoBruniintheearlyfifteenthcentury, "FrancescoPetrarchwasthefirstwith a talentsufficienttorecognizeandcallbacktolighttheancienteleganceofthelostandextinguishedstyle."
Andbylanguage, ofcourse, theymostlymeantLatin--beingabletowriteinLatinandevenperformLatinorationswasseenaskeyto a fullyeducatedlife, aseveryhighschoolLatinteacherwillbehappytotellyou.
Competenceinthesefieldswasseenascrucialtodevelopingtheselfand a prerequisiteforjoiningFlorentineorVenetianelites.
Like, VenetianyouthLauroQuirini, forexample, studiedthehumanitiesattheUniversityofPaduaandthenwassenttoworkin a VenetianenterpriseonCrete, fullypreparedforhisnewjobas a commoditiestrader, althoughhealsoworkedas a translatorand a writer.
Profit-orientedbankersfinancedtheChurch, whichwasrunbypriestswho'd taken a vowofpoverty, andfoundedby a figurewhointhegospelsoverturnsthetablesofmoneylendersinthetemple.
Also, Inthesecity-states, accessto a morehumanisticeducationalapproachhelpedboosteconomicgrowthandfueledthecreationofmuchartandarchitecturethatisstillreallyinfluential.
Butinotherways, ordinarypeopledidalsohave a Renaissance--ancientauthorsweretranslatedintoItalianandFrench, whichallowedthosewithoutaccesstoLatintoreadCiceroandthelike.
DeliberatelyfollowingPetrarch's pathashehadfollowedCicero's, Ceretawrote a famouslettertoonemisogynistthatreadinpart: "I cannottolerateyourhavingattackedmyentiresex. . . . Withjustcause I ammovedtodemonstratehowgreat a reputationforlearningandvirtuewomenhavewonbytheirinbornexcellence, manifestedineveryageasknowledge. . . ."