Civic Humanism and the Rise of the Medici^*

Abstract

This article analyzes the intellectual content of civic humanism in the specific context of Medici power, asking the question: what ideological role did civic humanism play in Medicean Florence? It argues that there is no contradiction between the ideals of civic humanism and support for the Medici regime. On the contrary, civic humanism could be used to justify and legitimate Medici power. The article analyzes the writings of principal humanists such as Leonardo Bruni, Poggio Bracciolini, and Francesco Filelfo, showing that Hans Baron's republican “civic humanism “ was compatible with different constitutional forms and different distributions of power.

The construction of Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence in the fifteenth century: between accountability and technologies of government

“…Cosimo was also noted for his patronage of culture and the arts during the Renaissance and liberally spent part of the family fortune to enrich the civic life of Florence (Kent 2000). Additionally, his patronage of the arts both recognised and proclaimed the humanistic responsibility of the civic duty that came with wealth (Jurdjevic 1999). He was a patron and confidante of many artists and designers, including Filippo Lippi, Donatello, and the architect Brunelleschi, who designed and supervised the work of the dome.…”

The power of “wealth, nobility and men:” Inequality and corruption in Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories

“…Both Bruni and Bracciolini were far more concerned with protecting the legacy of the leading families of Florence, it turns out, than providing an accurate and useful account of the political and social conflicts that drove Florentine history (FH Preface). Not only did they neglect to include any sustained treatment of elite conflict during the years prior to Medici rule, civic humanists like Bruni and Bracciolini speciously traced the origins of Florentine republicanism to a glorified vision of Florentine harmony and unity (more generally, see Hankins, 2000; Jurdjevic, 1999; Najemy, 2000). Florentine republicanism, according to this traditional humanist historiography, owed its existence to the virtue of the great men of Florence whose prudence and valor safeguarded Florentine independence from foreign subjugation under the Roman emperor and later Milan.…”

“…It was during this period, under the patronage of the new patrician class, that civic humanist writing on the relationship between virtue, politics, and freedom proliferated. The myth of consensus and paternalistic leadership espoused by the humanists legitimized the oligarchic power and authority of the Albizzi state (Jurdjevic, 1999; Najemy, 2000). Writers like Bruni lauded the “dutiful and subservient citizen” who remained a respectful distance from those who exercised real power (Najemy, 2000: 92).…”

La repressione del dissenso a Firenze nell’età di Cosimo de’ Medici

“…Il mandato di Cosimo si protrae fino al 1464, dando vita a una lunga stagione dominata dall'influenza preponderante della famiglia sulla vita politica, ecclesiastica, culturale ed artistica della città 4 . In questo periodo il partito mediceo mira ad abolire il fazionalismo organizzandosi in modo unitario e rendendo superflua l'esistenza FABRONI, 1789;GUTKIND, 1938;GOMBRICH, 1973, 51-83;KENT, 1975, 575-638;BROWN, 1992, 3-52;MOLHO, 1979, 5-33;Cosimo il Vecchio de' Medici, 1992;FUBINI, 1994, 62-86;JURDJEVIC, 1999JURDJEVIC, , 994-1020KENT, 2000;Regoliosi e Ferrone, 2001, 87-92;HANKINS, 2003, I, 427-455;LANG, 2005, 341-348;POLCRI, 2008, 111-134;KENT, 2009. del partito guelfo, in forza a Firenze da più di un secolo. Il regime mediceo mira al controllo delle procedure elettorali, in particolare della nomina degli Accoppiatori che hanno il compito di eleggere i membri della Signoria.…”