Humanism in Literature
In
the previous post, we talked about Humanism and Renaissance. Now we will deal
exclusively with Humanism as a literary school that had rationalism and the
appreciation of man as two of its characteristics.
Humanism
was a transitional literary movement between Troubadourism and Classicism that
marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age in
Europe. It brought ideological, social, cultural and psychological
transformations.
Gradually, it was possible to consolidate the importance of science for society and distinguish religious dogmas from human reason to strengthen Anthropocentrism to the detriment of Theocentrism. The Italian poet Francesco Petrarca, is considered the father of Humanism for contributing to the creation of sonnets, bringing together about 300 in his work.
The
language of Humanism is rational, historical, political and theatrical. It is
based, above all, on the appreciation of the human being and on the
psychological universe of the characters. Palace poetry, historical chronicles
and theatrical texts were the themes most used by humanist writers.
Historical context of Humanism
The
hegemony of the Church was broken and this directly influenced the way of
expression of the ascendant society of that period, as well as its relationship
with spirituality. The end of Feudalism caused migration from the countryside
to urban areas.
The
first cities (burgs) emerged and, consequently, a new social class, the
bourgeoisie. The bourgeois began to compete with the nobility for economic and
social power.
The
maritime expansion, the invention of the compass, the heliocentric theory
proved by Galileo, gave man a more scientific and rationalist posture. Trade
expanded and small industries were created.
This
new social organization, however, had consequences because the people,
accustomed to servitude, had neither education nor professional qualifications
to meet the commercial demands that were being consolidated.
It
was a period of great hunger and diseases. The bubonic plague epidemic, known as
the Black Death, for example, decimated a third of Europe's population.
The
shift from decentralized power in each fief to its noble in charge during
Feudalism, led to Absolutism, power centralized in the hands of the king.
Transition between the Middle Ages and
Renaissance and Classicism – at the
end of the Middle Ages the feudal structure, worn out, began to give way to a
new social, economic, political and cultural order. All these transformations
brought changes in the way of thinking of many people, especially the richest
ones who lived in big cities. In this context, intellectual, scientific and
artistic movements were developed, such as Humanism, Renaissance and
Classicism.
Anthropocentrism – philosophical concept that emphasizes the
importance of man as an agent endowed with intelligence and critical capacity.
Unlike Theocentrism (God as the center of the world), this concept allowed the
decentralization of knowledge that was previously the property of the Church.
Rationalism – strand of modern knowledge theory that defends the
innate nature of ideas and that all true knowledge comes from rationality. In
other words, it is possible to arrive at the truth only through the exercise of
our reason, even before the sensorial experience. An example of this would be
mathematics, where we do not need to rely on our senses to establish that 2 + 2
= 4.
Emergence of the bourgeoisie – a group of people dedicated to commerce during the
Middle Ages. The term bourgeoisie derives from “burgs”, as the small towns that
emerged with the rebirth of commercial activity in the transition from the
Middle Ages to the Modern Age, between the 14th and 15th centuries, were
called.
Scientism – philosophical conception of positivist origin that
affirms the superiority of science over all other forms of human understanding
of reality (religion, metaphysical philosophy, etc.), as it is the only one capable
of presenting practical benefits and achieving authentic cognitive rigor.
Classical antiquity – long period of European history that extends
approximately from the 8th century BC, with the rise of Homer's Greek poetry,
to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, more precisely
in the year 476. The studies previously carried out by classical Greek and
Roman thinkers, especially by Greco-Roman Literature and Mythology, inspired
humanist artists.
Appreciation of man – appreciation of man above all else, contemplating human
attributes and achievements. With the distance from religious issues, in this
period it was possible to carry out new forms of study about art, science and
politics. Inspired by the classic Greco-Roman models, there was an appreciation
of the human body and emotions.
Ideal of beauty and perfection – combined with the concept of appreciation of classic
models. During this period, the aim was to achieve the perfection of human
forms through balanced proportions and perfect beauty.
Literary categories created by authors of Humanism
Palace poetry
Palace
poetry was considered the essence that guided the language of Humanism. Made by
nobles for Portuguese nobles and gentlemen, it spoke of love in a sensual way and
without so much idealization of women. They were musical poems, but they were
not sung as at the time of Troubadourism.
The main themes explored by palace poetry were court customs, religious,
satirical, lyrical and heroic themes. The Portuguese poet Garcia Resende (1482-1536) collected palace poetry in the
“General Songbook” (1516). The songbook brought together about 900 poetic
productions of the time.
The
main writers in General Songbook were Garcia de Resende, João Ruiz de Castelo
Branco, Nuno Pereira, Fernão da Silveira, Conde Vimioso, Aires Teles, Diogo
Brandão and Gil Vicente.
Differences between Palace Poetry and Troubadour Poetry
In
Troubadourism, poetry was closely linked to music, hence the name “songs”.
The main poetic productions of that time were the lyrical songs (love and friend) and satirical songs (scorn and curse). They were poetic texts recited
and accompanied by music and dances.
During Humanism, the poetic text separated itself from the music and acquired its independence. The main poetic compositions explored in the period:
Vilancete – old poetic composition of peasant character, consisting of a tierce glossed
in two or more octaves, whose final verse fully or partially
repeats one of the verses of the tierce.
Esparsa – ancient poetic composition, composed in lines of six syllables.
Small lyrical composition.
Cantiga – short poem, suitable for being sung by troubadours, with a light
theme and great popular acceptance.
Trova – popular and vulgar poetic composition.
Historical chronicle or Historiographical prose
It
is a type of historical chronicle that began in the Middle Ages (Troubadorism)
and reached its apogee with the humanist movement, especially with the works of
the Portuguese writer Fernão Lopes. The authors reported the life of the
monarchy from historical documents, needing objectivity to relate to reason.
Chivalry novel
Also
called Romance of chivalry, a literary genre that prevailed in the Middle Ages,
during Troubadourism and Humanism. They are narratives derived from epic poems
and songs of deed. Because they were long, they began to be written in prose.
They probably arose in France and England during the 10th and 15th
centuries and are grouped together in medieval prose. In addition to England
and France, they had a strong presence and were popularized in Portugal, Spain
and Italy.
They
were divided into chapters and their main feature is the accounts of the
fantastic adventures of the fearless, loyal and honorable medieval knights
errant who faced several battles without leaving aside the love for their
beautiful maidens.
The
main mission of these knights was to establish justice in the world and acquire
glory. They faced different monsters, fought in battles, arrested unjust kings
along the way. However, the story usually ended tragically.
Theatrical texts
They
were divided into autos (short and biblical plays) and farces (plays that
portrayed the daily life of society in a comical way). Vicentian Theater was the
name given to the theatrical texts produced by the Portuguese playwright Gil
Vicente during Humanism. It began in 1502, when he presented his
play O Monologo do Vaqueiro (The Cowboy Monologue), also
called Auto da visitação (Auto of visitation).
Humanism in Portugal
Humanism
in Portugal took place from 1434 to 1527 and had as its starting point the
appointment of Fernão Lopes as chief
chronicler of Torre do Tombo, in 1418. The transition to the Renaissance was
marked by the return of the poet Sá de Miranda from Italy with the Renaissance
novelties.
Gil Vicente developed popular theater and stood out with
productions in prose (historical chronicles and theater) and poetry (palace
poetry) during the 15th and 16th centuries. Prose and theater together reveal
Portugal's transformations in politics, economy and society.
