The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy

Dr. BURCKHARDT’S work on the Renaissance in Italy is too well known, not only to students of the period, but now to a wider circle of readers, for any introduction to be necessary. The increased interest which has of late years, in England, been taken in this and kindred subjects, and the welcome which has been given to the works of other writers upon them, encourage me to hope that in publishing this translation I am meeting a want felt by some who are either unable to read German at all, or to whom an English version will save a good deal of time and trouble.

The translation is made from the third edition of the original, recently published in Germany, with slight additions to the text, and large additions to the notes, by Dr. LUDWIG GEIGER, of Berlin. It also contains some fresh matter communicated by Dr. BURCKHARDT to Professor DIEGO VALBUSA of Mantua, the Italian translator of the book. To all three gentlemen my thanks are due for courtesy shown, or help given to me in the course of my work.

In a few cases, where Dr. GEIGER’S view differs from that taken by Dr. BURCKHARDT, I have called attention to the fact by bracketing Dr. GEIGER’S opinion and adding his initials.

THE TRANSLATOR.

CONTENTS.

PART I.

THE STATE AS A WORK OF ART

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

PAGE

Political condition of Italy in the thirteenth century 4

The Norman State under Frederick II. 5

Ezzelino da Romano 7

CHAPTER II.

THE TYRANNY OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

Finance and its relation to culture 8

The ideal of the absolute ruler 9

Inward and outward dangers 10

Florentine estimate of the tyrants 11

The Visconti 12

CHAPTER III.

THE TYRANNY OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

Intervention and visits of the emperors 18

Want of a fixed law of succession. Illegitimacy 20

Founding of States by Condottieri 22

Relations of Condottieri to their employers 23

The family of Sforza 24

Giacomo Piccinino 25

Later attempts of the Condottieri 26

CHAPTER IV.

THE PETTY TYRANNIES.

The Baglioni of Perugia 28

Massacre in the year 1500 31

Malatesta, Pico, and Petrucci 33

CHAPTER V.

THE GREATER DYNASTIES.

The Aragonese at Naples 35

The last Visconti at Milan 38

Francesco Sforza and his luck 39

Galeazzo Maria and Ludovic Moro 40

The Gonzaga at Mantua 43

Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino 44

The Este at Ferrara 46

CHAPTER VI.

THE OPPONENTS OF TYRANNY.

The later Guelphs and Ghibellines 55

The conspirators 56

Murders in church 57

Influence of ancient tyrannicide 57

Catiline as an ideal 59

Florentine view of tyrannicide 59

The people and tyrannicide 60

CHAPTER VII.

THE REPUBLICS: VENICE AND FLORENCE.

Venice in the fifteenth century 62

The inhabitants 63

Dangers from the poor nobility 64

Causes of the stability of Venice 65

The Council of Ten and political trials 66

Relations with the Condottieri 67

Optimism of Venetian foreign policy 68

Venice as the home of statistics 69

Retardation of the Renaissance 71

Mediæval devotion to reliques 72

Florence from the fourteenth century 73

Objectivity of political intelligence 74

Dante as a politician 75

Florence as the home of statistics: the two Villanis 76

Higher form of statistics 77

Florentine constitutions and the historians 82

Fundamental vice of the State 82

Political theorists 83

Macchiavelli and his views 84

Siena and Genoa 86

CHAPTER VIII.

FOREIGN POLICY OF THE ITALIAN STATES.

Envy felt towards Venice 88

Relations to other countries: sympathy with France 89

Plan for a balance of power 90

Foreign intervention and conquests 91