Ever since the publication of Jacob Burckhardt's <The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy>
(1860), the origins, accomplishments and significance of the period in question,roughly 1450-
1620,have been vigorously debated. Of course, the Renaissance was a topic of historical discussion
long before Burckhardt's classic work appeared, but after its publication, the passion and intensity of
the debate dramatically increased. In one corner, were liberal historians like John Addington Symonds
who, taking their cue from what they interpreted as Burckhardt's prejudice against the Middle Ages,
argued that "the light of classical civilization was extinguished in the night of the Dark Ages and was
reborn miraculously at the Renaissance which was the starting point of the new period of progress and
enlightenment," as Christopher Dawson aptly put it. In the opposite corner, were historians like
Dawson who maintained that "the ancient world saved its soul by its conversion to Christianity and
that the tradition of its culture lived on in Western Christendom," flowering into some of the richest
fruits of the Renaissance. (<The Judgment of the Nations> Sheed and Ward, 1942, P. 63). The
debate as to whether the Renaissance built upon and continued the Christian achievements of the
Middle Ages,or whether the Renaissance was independently pagan, and marked a sharp break with
the preceding Catholic era,is masterfully covered in Wallace Ferguson's acclaimed book, <The
Renaissance in Historical Thought> (1948), and continues to this day. And the good news is that the
Medievalists are winning. We now know, thanks to the work of eminent scholars such as Ludwig von
Pastor (<History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages>), Charles Homer Haskins (<The
Renaissance of the Twelfth Century>), R. W. Southern (<The Making of the Middle Ages>), Stanley
Jaki (<The Road of Science and the Ways to God>) and, of course, Dawson (particularly his books
<The Dividing of Christendom> and <Religion and The Rise of Western Culture>) that 1) the
widespread revival of classical learning and humanistic ideals identified exclusively with the
Renaissance actually began during the Medieval period; 2) the scientific advances of the Renaissance
have their origins in the Middle Ages, and were only arrived at because of the Christian world view;
3) the great art of the Renaissance was often inspired by Medieval artists, who produced paintings and
sculptures and architecture of no less astonishing merit; and 4) although paganism and immorality
certainly exercised a considerable influence during the Renaissance, Christian moral and spiritual
ideals were able to survive and even flourish, as the saints met the secular challenge of the
Renaissance, just as faithful Christians had overcome the barbarism of the Middle Ages. Moreover,
we now know that Jacob Burckhardt's alleged disdain for the Medieval era was not nearly as
pronounced as certain interpreters of his work would have us believe. Indeed, as the current edition of
the <Encyclopaedia Britannica> says in a remarkable statement: "Although Burckhardt emphasized
many contrasts between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, he did not underrate Medieval
achievements. His concept of history left no room for the idea that the Renaissance or any other
period was characterized by general progress over the preceding epoch." (Vol. 3, P. 484).
Heretofore, no student of the Renaissance could afford to ignore Burckhardt's classic work, nor
Wallace Ferguson's follow-up supplement to it. Now comes a third work which will likely be
regarded as equally indispensable: <The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance> by Sir John Hale
(Atheneum, 1994, 648 pages). A Fellow of the British Academy and Emeritus Professor of Italian
History at University College, London, Hale is the author of many books including <England and the
Italian Renaissance> (1954), <Machiavelli and Renaissance Italy> (1961), <Italian Renaissance
Painting> (1977) and <Renaissance War Studies> (1982). Widely regarded as the world's leading
Renaissance historian, Professor Hale's new book is the culmination of a lifetime of research and
reflection.
In <The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance>, Professor Hale "captures Europe's
spectacular metamorphosis from 1450-1620, when the words 'Europe' and 'European' first acquired
widely understood significance," to quote a perceptive review of it. "Filled with numerous
illustrations, reproductions and quotations, Hale's work analyzes the foundation of modern Western
thought and culture during this era, adding a fresh perspective to the contemporary debate about the
nature of Europe."
"With the Renaissance came humanism and its implicit threat to unquestioned religious faith and
its reverence for Greek and Roman models in art, literature, and thought. Hale discusses how art and
writing flourished across Europe as never before,the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's
Madonnas sprang up in Rome; the influence of DaVinci's forays into cartography, anatomy and
applied science spread over Europe; in France, Francois Rabelais spun his audacious tales; and in
Germany, painter Jan Breughel portrayed a new world of rooms richly decorated with items appealing
to the expanding number of consumers.
"Yet, as Hale explains, although Renaissance Europe saw immense achievements, it was also
filled with many inconsistencies, imperfections and failings. The improvement of maps, the increase
in traffic and the stimulation of trade as a prosperous population grew, all contributed to the end of the
fragmentation of Europe and encouraged a continental point of view. According to Hale, however,
new knowledge of neighboring cultures may have opened minds, but it also fed prejudices. 'As the
image of Europe became intellectually ever clearer, so did its divisions,' Hale writes.
"For some, the Renaissance was a time of optimism and hope,an age which made intellectual
and artistic achievement its hallmark. For others it was characterized by wretchedness, increased
rivalries, warfare and religious strife. Yet whatever the opinion of those living through this
extraordinary era, 'thoughtful men,at different times and in different places and with different
reasons,came to see themselves as living in a period which felt different,' Hale writes. ( From the
review of Hale's book in <News from Atheneum>, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing Company,
August, 1994).
Where does Hale stand in the great debate over the connection - or lack of it - between the
Renaissance and the Middle Ages? While giving full credit to the new aspects and creative energy of
the Age of Humanism, Hale makes it unmistakably clear that he views the Renaissance as an <upward
continuation> of,rather than a radical departure from,the Medieval era. This is particularly true of
the progress of Christianity, argues Hale, for it continued to maintain its powerful influence during the
bumps and grinds of this historical transition. Indeed, for all its secular elements, the Renaissance was
still a time "when almost everyone believed or wished to believe that he or she played a personal role
in a divine plan, initiated when God created the world and concerned more directly with the individual
when God himself became a man and in this guise died under the torture of the cross for his fellows."
(p. 112). Moreover, " in moments of anguish priests were [still] seen as essential intermediaries
between God and man and true repentance as a possible guarantee against the pains of hell." (p. 114).
Theology, says Hale, was <not> overshadowed by the new emphasis on classical civilization, for
intellectuals continued to passionately argue "about such issues as predestination, personal immortality,
the efficacy of penitential works in sealing an act of contrition, the question as to how far salvation
after death depended on having been as little absorbed as possible in the active life of trades and
families and politics and war." (ibid.). The
Renaissance's well advertised endorsement of individualism was always qualified, and did not
necessarily lead to self-indulgence and idleness,for "the medieval condemnation of the vice of sloth
remained a governing principle behind the surveillance of work and leisure alike in ideal
communities." (p. 441). The assumption that the Renaissance was an era given over to unprecedented
sensuality and sexual immorality is equally off base: "It would be hazardous to suggest that sexual
appetites changed or that sexual behaviour actually became more of a threat to the structure of civilized
society." (p. 430). In fact, states Hale, there was "a new alertness" to the reality and danger of sins
against the flesh: "This was due in part to the more vigilant scrutiny of morals by Catholic clergy and
the strenuous demands made by Protestantism on sexual conduct." (p. 430). Most importantly, says
Hale, the leading Christians of the Renaissance did not adopt a defensive,much less,
compromising,attitude toward Humanism, but sought to incorporate its grandest achievements into a
Christian worldview. In a paragraph that sums up the vital essence of his book, Hale describes how
eminent humanist Christians were able to "baptize" what was best in their age and thus make it part of
their heritage.
"On the whole...there was felt to be little potential conflict. Humanist moral teaching emphasized
the obligations of honourable individual conduct and the pursuit of the collective good in terms that
contradicted neither the Ten Commandments nor the Sermon on the Mount. There was in any case a
strong tendency among theologians themselves to divide the aspect of truth that was ascertainable by
reason and community experience from that of spirituality and revelation. 'Surely the first place is due
to holy scripture,' wrote Erasmus in his widely read dialogue <The Religious Banquet>, 'but
sometimes I find some things said or written by the ancients, by pagans and poets, so chaste, so holy,
so divine, I am persuaded that a good genius enlightened them. Certainly, there are many in the
communion of saints who are not in our catalogue of saints.' " (p. 198).
This article was taken from "The Dawson Newsletter," Summer 1995, P.O. Box 332,
Fayetteville, AR 72702, $8.00 per year.
