During the Renaissance, dedicated scholars travelled across Europe searching monasteries and libraries for long-forgotten classical manuscripts. This course follows the remarkable stories of Petrarch, Boccaccio and Poggio Bracciolini, whose discoveries helped revive ancient learning and reshape European intellectual history. Participants will explore the challenges, ethics and lasting influence of these remarkable book hunters, whose work laid important foundations for the Renaissance and the modern world. Suitable for anyone interested in history, literature and the history of ideas.

DELIVERY MODE

Online

COURSE RESOURCES

• The Swerve, by Stephen Greenblatt

COURSE OUTLINE

• The loss of Classical libraries and manuscripts after the fall of the Roman Empire
• How some books survived
• The beginning of the Renaissance
• Petrarch - life and works
• Boccaccio - life and works including manuscripts taken from Monte Cassino Abbey
• Casino Brachiolini - life and works

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand how Renaissance scholars helped revive interest in Classic literature
• Appreciate the factors that allowed some manuscripts to be found (copying by monasteries, Byzantine Empire, the Muslim World)