The Early Renaissance and its birth of Civic Humanism

The Early Renaissance, starting in Florence, was the birth place for which civic humanism grew out of. Civic humanism can be seen through the literature and art of Florence. People like Salutati and works of Bruni and Ghiberti clearly exude this movement.

Civic humanism was begun by Salutati and Bruni. Both men believed strongly in studying the humanities and glorified Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio as the forebears of humanism and declared Florence as the center for the new learning. They stressed that participation in public affairs is essential for full human development. By participating in public life, seeking higher ends for one’s society as well as oneself, could an individual be truly virtuous. Their idea...