Humanist Philology and Its Impact on the Evolution of the Humanities in Early Modern Europe

Abstract

The article considers how the humanist educational and research agenda influenced learning and scholarship from the late fifteenth century through the sixteenth century, and in particular its impact on the humanities (linguistics, bibliography and history). Beyond such essential requirements as free exchange of research information and mas- tering both classical languages in order to read the original ancient texts, scientific dis- ciplines made additional demands that went far beyond those of the Scholastic trivium. The author also addresses the adoption of textual criticism (e.g. the use of variations among manuscripts for interpreting difficult passages, comparing parallel passages in classical texts, etc.) and the broad application of genres and practices originally con- nected with the study of grammar and rhetoric, including most prominently the genre of commentary and the academic practice of collecting literary excerpts. The article provides an overview of questions and problems dealt with in contem- porary accounts of the history of sixteenth century science and philology as well as an analysis of several texts (from Cornu Copiae by Niccolò Perotti and Conrad Gess- ner’s bibliographical works), which supplements and corrects the views that prevail as the opinio communis in this field. As one instance, the rise of sixteenth century bibliography conformed to the agenda of humanist philology while also relying heavily on the potential of the new technology of book printing for seeking informa- tion and propagating it.