The Civilisation of the Period of the Renaissance in Italy

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Read by E. Sharp

English · 1878 · 8h 20m · History

4.5 (2 reviews)

Though Jacob Burckhardt describes his work as a mere "essay" in his introduction, "The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy" is a foundational work of cultural history that seeks to capture the “spirit” of the Italian Renaissance by examining its social, political, and intellectual life. The first volume explores how Renaissance Italy fostered new forms of political power, self-conscious individuality, and renewed engagement with classical culture. Burckhardt treats art, literature, festivals, religion, manners, and even everyday customs as interconnected expressions of a single civilization, fostering what he saw as the emergence of “modern” European consciousness. The work’s legacy is immense - it helped establish the Renaissance as a distinct historical period, pioneered the art-and-society method of cultural history, and popularized influential (if debated) ideas such as the birth of individualism and modernity in Renaissance Italy. Later historians have criticized some of its generalizations and omissions, yet Burckhardt’s synthesis remains a classic shaping scholarly and popular understandings of the Renaissance to the present day. (Summary by E. Sharp)

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I.I - Introduction 10:06 Read by E. Sharp
I.II - The Tyranny of the Fourteenth Century 14:32 Read by E. Sharp
I.III - The Tyranny of the Fifteenth Century 22:03 Read by E. Sharp
I.IV - The Petty Tyrannies 13:46 Read by E. Sharp
I.V - The Greater Dynasties 38:51 Read by E. Sharp
I.VI - The Opponents of Tyranny 11:34 Read by E. Sharp
I.VII - The Republics: Venice and Florence 25:43 Read by E. Sharp
I.VII.2 - The Republics: Venice and Florence (cont.) 23:03 Read by E. Sharp
I.VIII - Foreign Policy of the Italian States 15:02 Read by E. Sharp
I.IX - War as a Work of Art 6:13 Read by E. Sharp
I.X - The Papacy and Its Dangers 21:50 Read by E. Sharp
I.X.2 - The Papacy and Its Dangers (cont.) 22:28 Read by E. Sharp
II.I - The Italian State and the Individual 8:20 Read by E. Sharp
II.II - The Perfecting of the Individual 8:58 Read by E. Sharp
II.III - The Modern Idea of Fame 18:47 Read by E. Sharp
II.IV - Modern Wit and Satire 25:33 Read by E. Sharp
III.I - Introductory Remarks 13:18 Read by E. Sharp
III.II - Rome, the City of Ruins 18:47 Read by E. Sharp
III.III - The Old Authors 31:59 Read by E. Sharp
III.IV - Humanism in the Fourteenth Century 13:50 Read by E. Sharp
III.V - The Universities and Schools 13:05 Read by E. Sharp
III.VI - The Furtherers of Humanism 25:47 Read by E. Sharp
III.VII - The Reproduction of Antiquity, etc. 22:14 Read by E. Sharp
III.VIII - Latin Treatises and History 12:34 Read by E. Sharp
III.IX - General Latinisation of Culture 12:03 Read by E. Sharp
III.X - Modern Latin Poetry 28:18 Read by E. Sharp
III.XI - Fall of the Humanists 21:29 Read by E. Sharp