The Universities of the Italian RenaissanceA “magisterial [and] elegantly written” study of Renaissance Italy’s remarkable accomplishments in higher education and academic research (Choice). Winner of the Howard R. Marraro Prize for Italian History from the American Historical Association Selected by Choice Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title of the Year Italian Renaissance universities were Europe's intellectual leaders in humanistic studies, law, medicine, philosophy, and science. Employing some of the foremost scholars of the time—including Pietro Pomponazzi, Andreas Vesalius, and Galileo Galilei—the Italian Renaissance university was the prototype of today's research university. This is the first book in any language to offer a comprehensive study of this most influential institution. Noted scholar Paul F. Grendler offers a detailed and authoritative account of the universities of Renaissance Italy. Beginning with brief narratives of the origins and development of each university, Grendler explores such topics as the number of professors and their distribution by discipline; student enrollment (some estimates are the first attempted); famous faculty members; budgets and salaries; and relations with civil authority. He discusses the timetable of lectures, student living, foreign students, the road to the doctorate, and the impact of the Counter Reformation. He shows in detail how humanism changed research and teaching, producing the medical Renaissance of anatomy and medical botany, new approaches to Aristotle, and mathematical innovation. Universities responded by creating new professorships and suppressing older ones. The book concludes with the decline of Italian universities, as internal abuses and external threats—including increased student violence and competition from religious schools—ended Italy’s educational leadership in the seventeenth century. |
Contents
The University in Action | |
Student Living | |
Theology Metaphysics and Sacred Scripture | |
Doctorates of Theology | |
Moral Philosophy | |
Mathematics | |
13 | |
RECESSIONAL | |
Student Violence | |
Positive Developments | |
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academic anatomy ancient appointed Aristotelian Aristotle Aristotle’s arts and medicine astrology astronomy became began Bolognese lire canon law canonists Catania civil law civilians colleges of doctors commentaries commune count palatine Dominican ducats duke edited extraordinary professors faculty of theology famous Ferrara fifteenth Florence Florentine florins Francesco Galen Giovanni Greek humanistic humanistic studies humanities Italian universities Italy Jesuits lectures lectureship legists logic logicians Macerata major mathematics medical botany medical theory medieval mendicant order Messina metaphysicians metaphysics Milan moral philosophy Naples natural philosophy ordinary professor ordinary professorship Pandects papacy papal Parma Patrizi Pavia Perugia Platonic Pomponazzi Pope position practical medicine probably professor of natural professors of medicine Renaissance rhetoric Riformatori roll salary Salerno scholars Siena Sienese sixteenth century student rector studium subjects surgery teaching texts theologians Turin University of Bologna University of Ferrara University of Padua University of Pisa University of Rome University of Siena Venetian Venetian government Venice