Fifteenth-Century Florentine Exceptionalism: Civic Humanism, the Medici, and Savonarola
Date
2014-12Author
McCorkle, Patrick D.
Advisor(s)
Barricelli, Franca
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The Italian city-state of Florence had a long-standing tradition of exceptionalist
rhetoric during the Renaissance, though the focus of the city's distinction altered over
time. This tradition, also referred to as the "Myth of Florence," is similar to the idea
of "American exceptionalism." This paper aims to investigate the distinct change in
Florentine exceptionalism over the course of the fifteenth century. The civic humanists
of the early 1400s viewed Florence as a New Rome, spreader of political liberty,
and, with its republican form of government, heir to the ancient Roman Republic.
In the 1490s, Dominican Friar Girolamo Savonarola argued that Florence was a
New Jerusalem, destined to become the new model of Christendom on earth. Medici
hegemony explains the rhetorical shift from Rome to Jerusalem. Before 1434, Florence
was a functioning republic. After that date, and until 1494, Florence was increasingly
under the rule of one family. The transition to a quasi-principality made civic humanist
rhetoric impossible and paved the way for Savonarola to craft his message of
Florentine religious exceptionalism.
Subject
Exceptionalism
Roman Republic
Civic humanism
Florence, Italy
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/72236Citation
Volume IX, December 2014, pp. 77 - 93