Written by Gervaise Markham in 1615. A handbook for housewives containing "all the virtuous knowledges and actions both of the mind and body, which ought to be in any complete housewife." Markham reveals the "pretty and curious secrets" of preparing everything from simple foods to such elaborate meals as a "humble feast" - an undertaking which entails preparing "no less than two and thirty dishes, which is as much as can stand on one table." He instructs the housewife on brewing beer and caring for wine, growing flax and hemp for thread, and spinning and dyeing. As a housewife was also responsible for the health and "soundness of body" of her family, he includes advice on the prevention of everything from the plague to baldness and bad breath.
About GM:
Pudsey, a retainer on the Shrewsbury Worksop side, bit his thumb at Orme, a retainer on the Holles Haughton side; was called out with drawn rapier, was slain on the spot like fiery Tybalt, and never bit his thumb more. Orme, poor man, was tried for murder; but of course the Holleses and the Stanhopes could not let him be hanged; they made interest, they feed law-counsel,—they smuggled him away to Ireland, and he could not be hanged. Whereupon Gervase Markham, a passably loose-tongued, loose-living gentleman, sworn squire-of dames to the Dowager of Shrewsbury, took upon himself to say publicly, That John Holles was himself privy to Pudsey’s murder, “That John Holles himself, if justice were done——!”
Holles and Markham have a duel where GM is pierced in the genitals - he survives but is incapable of having sex. This is 1497 or some such.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
English Renaissance
The renaissance is generally considered to have started in Italy with a renewed interest in antiquity. (Dante used Virgil as his guide). Italian humanists visited Byzantium in order to learn Greek and to buy old manuscripts, saved from pillages, conflagrations, and devastation of the invaded country. Many Greek texts were brought from Constantinople. Europe was ransacked for copies of the long unused Latin classics and copyists multiplied them. With the fall of Constantinople eastern scholars moved to Rome and brought ideas and texts with them.
Some of these ideas migrated north although some say renaissance in Italy and England are unrelated. Clearly Henry VII and his mother Margaret Beaumont took inspiration from the new ideas about education and scholarship, particularly from Erasmus. Margaret met John Fisher in 1494. He was a friend and collaborator of Erasmus, who was to be her lifelong confidant, counselor, and companion. Fisher became the Bishop of Winchester, and Cancellor of Cambridge University.
Margaret translated Thomas A Kempis to English and founded two colleges at Cambridge - Jesus College in 1497, and St. John's College after her death in 1509, through a grant in her will.
She promoted the printing of books, and was a leading patron of the first English printer, William Caxton, and his successor. Finally, she belived in education for everybody
Scholars went to Italy to be educated and returned with new ideas. Thomas Linacre, for example, was hired by Henry upon his return from Italy around 1500, first as a tutor to his oldest son Arthur, and then as the King's personal physician. Linacre later became the first president of the Royal College of Physicians, which was incorporated in 1518. William Grocyn travelled to Italy to be educated, and on his return initiated the teaching of Greek at Oxford.
Two other important proponents of education in general and new kinds of learning in particular were Thomas More and John Colet. Colet traveled to Italy, where he became a fervent promoter of Platonism. More (1478-1535) was the son of a London lawyer. He studied Greek and Platonic philosophy at Oxford.
Henry VII surrounded himself with men who promoted the Renaissance's ``New Learning.'' The King himself was clearly fascinated by the political and cultural life of the main Italian states, and during his reign, the English court was a more interesting and cosmopolitan place, than it was to be in the time of his successor. Foreign scholars were likely to receive a warm welcome, and Henry was also the leading patron of English writers and poets.
Henry's interest in the arts was widely recognized, and a knowledge of the Classics was regarded as an avenue to royal favor, encouraging others to master the Renaissance learning. Erasmus reported in 1505, that London had eclipsed both Oxford and Cambridge, and had become the country's most important educational center, where ``there are ... five or six men who are accurate scholars in both tongues [Greek and Latin], such as I think even Italy itself does not at present possess.''
After studying in England, most of these scholars travelled to Italy, to master the new Platonic learning. Thomas Linacre, for example, was hired by Henry upon his return from Italy around 1500, first as a tutor to his oldest son Arthur, and then as the King's personal physician. Linacre later became the first president of the Royal College of Physicians, which was incorporated in 1518. William Grocyn travelled to Italy to be educated, and on his return initiated the teaching of Greek at Oxford.
One leading royal patron of education was Lady Margaret Beaufort, the King's mother. She has been described as ``more nearly the typical `man of the Renaissance' than her son,'' and that, even though her ``influence and endowments were ... religious rather than secular, they were outward looking and humanist, never scholastic.'' Lady Margaret was the only woman whose advice the King ever sought or heeded.
Margaret was only fourteen when her son Henry was born. She died in 1509, outliving her son by several months. As a child, she was taught reading, writing, and French. Her tutors remarked on her intelligence. She desired to learn Greek and Latin, but her mother refused to hire a tutor to educate her in the languages that were reserved for men who joined the clergy. As an adult, she completed an English translation of Thomas a@ag Kempis's {The Imitation of Christ,} which had been begun by William Atkinson, as well as translating another religious work.
Lady Margaret promoted the education of the entire population. She was a devout Christian, who championed the preaching of simple but eloquent sermons, which would uplift even the lowliest churchgoer. She promoted the printing of books, and was a leading patron of the first English printer, William Caxton, and his successor.
In 1494, Margaret met John Fisher, a friend and collaborator of Erasmus, who was to be her lifelong confidant, counselor, and companion. Fisher became the Bishop of Winchester, and Cancellor of Cambridge University. He encouraged Margaret to patronize projects that promoted the New Learning. As a result, she supported the founding of two colleges at Cambridge, Jesus College in 1497, and St. John's College after her death in 1509, through a grant in her will. St. John's, which opened in 1516, became the leading college at Cambridge for the next thirty years.
Another patron of education was Bishop Richard Fox, the man who played a key role in Henry VII's foreign policy. In 1517, Fox and Hugh Oldham, bishop of Exeter, founded Corpus Christi College, whose statutes set out in detail a humanist curriculum. Initially, Fox had wished to found a college to educate clergy in the New Learning, but ultimately, the college accepted students destined for secular employment.
Although Henry and his circle favored the New Learning, the universities remained dominated by medieval scholasticism. The efforts of Henry and his circle were ultimately successful, however, as they opened the door for a circle of scholars associated with Erasmus of Rotterdam to create a revolution in education, which led to the great flowering of culture and the English economy during the next hundred years.
The Erasmus Circle
The central figure in the circle that launched the English Renaissance was Erasmus of Rotterdam. Born to poor parents in Holland in 1467, Erasmus was educated by the Brotherhood of the Common Life, a teaching order modeled on a Kempis's {Imitation of Christ,} that took in poor, but promising children. Several of his teachers inspired him to take dedicate his life to the promotion of Platonist Classical learning.
Erasmus became the leading humanist thinker of his age, and his name was a household word throughout educated Europe. He published his first work, the {Adages,} in 1500. Works such as {In Praise of Folly} and {The Handbook of the Militant Christian} become enormously popular, precisely at the moment when printing was coming into vogue. His works spread far and wide, and played an important role in promoting literacy throughout Europe.
Among Erasmus's key collaborators in England were Thomas More (1478-1535) and John Colet (1467-1519). They were the nucleus of a small group of Classically educated scholars, formed during the reign of Henry VII, who dedicated themselves to creating a Renaissance that would usher in an age where society would be governed by reason. Colet was the son of a London mercer, who was Lord Mayor in 1486 and 1495. He traveled to Italy, where he became a fervent promoter of Platonism. More (1478-1535) was the son of a London lawyer. He studied Greek and Platonic philosophy at Oxford, and became a key leader of the English Renaissance during the reign of Henry VIII.
These scholars proceeded from the idea that, since man's nature was in the image of God, he could comprehend God's nature through reason. They rejected the stultifying, Aristotelian logic of the scholastics, whose commentaries dominated theology, and sought instead to reintroduce the writings of the early Church Fathers and the New Testament itself, in which they recognized an outlook coherent with Platonic philosophy.
Erasmus first traveled to England during the reign of Henry VII, in 1499. The circle around Erasmus, More, and Colet began to establish schools which became models for the transformation of the educational system. Around 1510, More set up a school in his home, where he taught his own and other children. In 1510, Henry VIII granted a license to establish St. Paul's school, which became the model for the reorganization of the English grammar schools throughout the country. When Erasmus turned down the job as the headmaster of the new school Colet asked William Lily, who had studied at Oxford and in Italy. Lily had also travelled to Rhodes to learn Greek. Erasmus did write the curriculum.
Lily, Colet, and Erasmus jointly collaborated in drafting a grammar textbook. By 1542, this text had been adopted as the official Latin Grammar used throughout the schools in England. Its use continued up through the Eighteenth century, and, in a modified form, in many schools even into the Twentieth.
- there WAS also something doing in England during Henry VIII (the first English Renaissance Monarch) and even more Elizabeth - but perhaps pushed more by political stability (possibly breaking with pope motivated people to find other authorities?). England less focused on visual art and more on literature, esp. drama.
Timing different? Italy 1400 - 1550, England 1485 - 1603 (or 1616)?
Religion:
Thomas More, Richard Hoooker
Science:
Politics:
Theater:
Shakespeare, Marlowe,
Poetry:
Roger Ascham, Edmund Spenser, Lady Mary Herbert, John Lyly, Wyatt, Surrey
Architecture:
Questions:
How to follow the trail of Boccacio, Dante, and others writing in the vernacular to Chaucer - and how does writing in the vernacular square with reading latin and greek texts? Is looking for pre-christian writing the common goal?
Are John Donne (1573-1631) and Ben Johnson (1573-1637) renaissance or later? And where the hell does Francis Bacon (1561-1621) fit?
Links at:
http://east_west_dialogue.tripod.com/europe/id5.html
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/renaissanceinfo.htm
Some of these ideas migrated north although some say renaissance in Italy and England are unrelated. Clearly Henry VII and his mother Margaret Beaumont took inspiration from the new ideas about education and scholarship, particularly from Erasmus. Margaret met John Fisher in 1494. He was a friend and collaborator of Erasmus, who was to be her lifelong confidant, counselor, and companion. Fisher became the Bishop of Winchester, and Cancellor of Cambridge University.
Margaret translated Thomas A Kempis to English and founded two colleges at Cambridge - Jesus College in 1497, and St. John's College after her death in 1509, through a grant in her will.
She promoted the printing of books, and was a leading patron of the first English printer, William Caxton, and his successor. Finally, she belived in education for everybody
Scholars went to Italy to be educated and returned with new ideas. Thomas Linacre, for example, was hired by Henry upon his return from Italy around 1500, first as a tutor to his oldest son Arthur, and then as the King's personal physician. Linacre later became the first president of the Royal College of Physicians, which was incorporated in 1518. William Grocyn travelled to Italy to be educated, and on his return initiated the teaching of Greek at Oxford.
Two other important proponents of education in general and new kinds of learning in particular were Thomas More and John Colet. Colet traveled to Italy, where he became a fervent promoter of Platonism. More (1478-1535) was the son of a London lawyer. He studied Greek and Platonic philosophy at Oxford.
Henry VII surrounded himself with men who promoted the Renaissance's ``New Learning.'' The King himself was clearly fascinated by the political and cultural life of the main Italian states, and during his reign, the English court was a more interesting and cosmopolitan place, than it was to be in the time of his successor. Foreign scholars were likely to receive a warm welcome, and Henry was also the leading patron of English writers and poets.
Henry's interest in the arts was widely recognized, and a knowledge of the Classics was regarded as an avenue to royal favor, encouraging others to master the Renaissance learning. Erasmus reported in 1505, that London had eclipsed both Oxford and Cambridge, and had become the country's most important educational center, where ``there are ... five or six men who are accurate scholars in both tongues [Greek and Latin], such as I think even Italy itself does not at present possess.''
After studying in England, most of these scholars travelled to Italy, to master the new Platonic learning. Thomas Linacre, for example, was hired by Henry upon his return from Italy around 1500, first as a tutor to his oldest son Arthur, and then as the King's personal physician. Linacre later became the first president of the Royal College of Physicians, which was incorporated in 1518. William Grocyn travelled to Italy to be educated, and on his return initiated the teaching of Greek at Oxford.
One leading royal patron of education was Lady Margaret Beaufort, the King's mother. She has been described as ``more nearly the typical `man of the Renaissance' than her son,'' and that, even though her ``influence and endowments were ... religious rather than secular, they were outward looking and humanist, never scholastic.'' Lady Margaret was the only woman whose advice the King ever sought or heeded.
Margaret was only fourteen when her son Henry was born. She died in 1509, outliving her son by several months. As a child, she was taught reading, writing, and French. Her tutors remarked on her intelligence. She desired to learn Greek and Latin, but her mother refused to hire a tutor to educate her in the languages that were reserved for men who joined the clergy. As an adult, she completed an English translation of Thomas a@ag Kempis's {The Imitation of Christ,} which had been begun by William Atkinson, as well as translating another religious work.
Lady Margaret promoted the education of the entire population. She was a devout Christian, who championed the preaching of simple but eloquent sermons, which would uplift even the lowliest churchgoer. She promoted the printing of books, and was a leading patron of the first English printer, William Caxton, and his successor.
In 1494, Margaret met John Fisher, a friend and collaborator of Erasmus, who was to be her lifelong confidant, counselor, and companion. Fisher became the Bishop of Winchester, and Cancellor of Cambridge University. He encouraged Margaret to patronize projects that promoted the New Learning. As a result, she supported the founding of two colleges at Cambridge, Jesus College in 1497, and St. John's College after her death in 1509, through a grant in her will. St. John's, which opened in 1516, became the leading college at Cambridge for the next thirty years.
Another patron of education was Bishop Richard Fox, the man who played a key role in Henry VII's foreign policy. In 1517, Fox and Hugh Oldham, bishop of Exeter, founded Corpus Christi College, whose statutes set out in detail a humanist curriculum. Initially, Fox had wished to found a college to educate clergy in the New Learning, but ultimately, the college accepted students destined for secular employment.
Although Henry and his circle favored the New Learning, the universities remained dominated by medieval scholasticism. The efforts of Henry and his circle were ultimately successful, however, as they opened the door for a circle of scholars associated with Erasmus of Rotterdam to create a revolution in education, which led to the great flowering of culture and the English economy during the next hundred years.
The Erasmus Circle
The central figure in the circle that launched the English Renaissance was Erasmus of Rotterdam. Born to poor parents in Holland in 1467, Erasmus was educated by the Brotherhood of the Common Life, a teaching order modeled on a Kempis's {Imitation of Christ,} that took in poor, but promising children. Several of his teachers inspired him to take dedicate his life to the promotion of Platonist Classical learning.
Erasmus became the leading humanist thinker of his age, and his name was a household word throughout educated Europe. He published his first work, the {Adages,} in 1500. Works such as {In Praise of Folly} and {The Handbook of the Militant Christian} become enormously popular, precisely at the moment when printing was coming into vogue. His works spread far and wide, and played an important role in promoting literacy throughout Europe.
Among Erasmus's key collaborators in England were Thomas More (1478-1535) and John Colet (1467-1519). They were the nucleus of a small group of Classically educated scholars, formed during the reign of Henry VII, who dedicated themselves to creating a Renaissance that would usher in an age where society would be governed by reason. Colet was the son of a London mercer, who was Lord Mayor in 1486 and 1495. He traveled to Italy, where he became a fervent promoter of Platonism. More (1478-1535) was the son of a London lawyer. He studied Greek and Platonic philosophy at Oxford, and became a key leader of the English Renaissance during the reign of Henry VIII.
These scholars proceeded from the idea that, since man's nature was in the image of God, he could comprehend God's nature through reason. They rejected the stultifying, Aristotelian logic of the scholastics, whose commentaries dominated theology, and sought instead to reintroduce the writings of the early Church Fathers and the New Testament itself, in which they recognized an outlook coherent with Platonic philosophy.
Erasmus first traveled to England during the reign of Henry VII, in 1499. The circle around Erasmus, More, and Colet began to establish schools which became models for the transformation of the educational system. Around 1510, More set up a school in his home, where he taught his own and other children. In 1510, Henry VIII granted a license to establish St. Paul's school, which became the model for the reorganization of the English grammar schools throughout the country. When Erasmus turned down the job as the headmaster of the new school Colet asked William Lily, who had studied at Oxford and in Italy. Lily had also travelled to Rhodes to learn Greek. Erasmus did write the curriculum.
Lily, Colet, and Erasmus jointly collaborated in drafting a grammar textbook. By 1542, this text had been adopted as the official Latin Grammar used throughout the schools in England. Its use continued up through the Eighteenth century, and, in a modified form, in many schools even into the Twentieth.
- there WAS also something doing in England during Henry VIII (the first English Renaissance Monarch) and even more Elizabeth - but perhaps pushed more by political stability (possibly breaking with pope motivated people to find other authorities?). England less focused on visual art and more on literature, esp. drama.
Timing different? Italy 1400 - 1550, England 1485 - 1603 (or 1616)?
Religion:
Thomas More, Richard Hoooker
Science:
Politics:
Theater:
Shakespeare, Marlowe,
Poetry:
Roger Ascham, Edmund Spenser, Lady Mary Herbert, John Lyly, Wyatt, Surrey
Architecture:
Questions:
How to follow the trail of Boccacio, Dante, and others writing in the vernacular to Chaucer - and how does writing in the vernacular square with reading latin and greek texts? Is looking for pre-christian writing the common goal?
Are John Donne (1573-1631) and Ben Johnson (1573-1637) renaissance or later? And where the hell does Francis Bacon (1561-1621) fit?
Links at:
http://east_west_dialogue.tripod.com/europe/id5.html
http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/renaissanceinfo.htm
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Great Chain of Being
One of the big ideas that remained in force from the classical period was the concept of the Great Chain of Being. Its major premise was that everything in the universe had its position in a divinely planned order, a hierarchy that looked like a vertical chain going from the most important and perfect - God - on top to the least important and imperfect - innanimate things like rocks - at the bottom.
came from ...
DETAILS
note that people thought all links had to be represented - the most perfect world contains the whole chain, and so imperfection is part of perfection ..
Literary ramifications - metaphors indicate something about status
political ramificiations - your social position is divinely ordained, obey or else
moral ramifications - upsetting the cart is a sin
Theological - the cause is more perfect than what it causes - there must be a cause for everything - the first cause can not be caused - hence God
Illustrations:
Bibliography:
E.M.W. Tillyard "The Elizabethan World Picture"
Arthur Lovejoy "The Great Chain of Being"
other sources
http://e.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chain_of_Being
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/Tillyard01.html
came from ...
DETAILS
note that people thought all links had to be represented - the most perfect world contains the whole chain, and so imperfection is part of perfection ..
Literary ramifications - metaphors indicate something about status
political ramificiations - your social position is divinely ordained, obey or else
moral ramifications - upsetting the cart is a sin
Theological - the cause is more perfect than what it causes - there must be a cause for everything - the first cause can not be caused - hence God
Illustrations:
Bibliography:
E.M.W. Tillyard "The Elizabethan World Picture"
Arthur Lovejoy "The Great Chain of Being"
other sources
http://e.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chain_of_Being
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/Tillyard01.html
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