Litterae and Studia Humanitatis on Poggio Bracciolini

CIORDIA, MARTÍN JOSÉ

San Diego

Congreso; The Renaissance Society of America Annual Meeting; 2013

The Renaissance Society of America

From Kristeller and Garin, including Fubini, Goodhart Gordan, Sozzi, Harth and more recently, Montalto and Cánfora -to name just a few, Poggio Bracciolini’s work has been studied from different points of view. Although it has not received the attention that other Renaissance humanists have, there’s still a lot to deal with in his work. From the Petrarch’s wise erudite figure to the Montaigne’s worldly man, Poggio Bracciolini reveals a different consideration on “the human”. In this presentation, I analyze some of his works, mainly De infelicitate principum, with the aim of studying his conception of litterae and studia humanitatis, particularly, in relation to two matters: 1) wisdom and the book; 2) the vita activa et vita contemplativa. This will also allow me to take a stand regarding some of the general theses on these issues, which have been long considered in Renaissance studies.