Castiglione believed that in order for someone to be considered an accomplished Renaissance man they must have the ability to tell an amusing story. Castiglione expressed that in order to tell an amusing story which would achieve the desired effects upon the audience, one must possess intellectual flexibility. During the Renaissance, books were not readily available as they are today, and therefore the public was dependent upon the communication skills of talented individuals to provide entertainment. Because entertainment was dependent upon superior communication skills, Castiglione felt the possession of cognitive astuteness and social competence were the requirements to be considered an accomplished Renaissance man.
Surely the ability to tell a funny story could not be the only requirement to be considered a true Renaissance man. Did Castiglione forget about all of the performers and the artists whose artifacts of the Renaissance exist and have become widely famous and are studied in colleges all over the world? So I must respectfully disagree with Castiglione because his Renaissance men are not around today to be heard and experienced by countless generations, but the artifacts of the musicians and artists have endured the restraints of time and privileged us with their true Renaissance art.
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Artist and performers are just the professional versions of storytellers, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteI think Castiglione is saying that the true Renaissance man (or woman) needs to be a social creature. He or she must not only have a wide range of accomplishments and a broad base of knowledge; a true person on the Renaissance needed to be able to draw on that knowledge and those experiences to share with his/her peers at the appropriate times in appropriate ways. Storytelling is a crystallized example of this appropriate sharing of wisdom.
Great essay Sarah!
ReplyDeleteThe question might be in what context did Castiglione mean humor. What was the undestanding of humor during his time. With that being said, I believe Renaissance men and women are very much still alive. The fragmentary nature of our modern society does not allow us to always see our Renaissance (wo)men because our public spheres are gone. Also, few Renaissance (wo)men would frequent our "public spaces" today to share his knowledge. We just have to look a little deeper to find him/her today.
Sara, you bring up a good point. I can't see that being able to speak well is the only trait that can be considered a renaissance man. I like to that that Castiglione only felt that it was an important trait, but not the only one.
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