his202 essay

Without a doubt the Renaissance is a highly interesting era in history. Many scholars debate vigorously about varying aspects of the many different ideas, social movements and changes that took place during this time. Within this forum lies a question. A question that addresses Machievelli and the social milieu of the time. What does Machiavelli's famous work, The Prince, tell us about his attitude towards the Church? How dies his attitude reflect Renaissance thought circa 1514, when The Prince was written? In answering these questions one will come to a richer understanding of the Renaissance as a complex and interesting period in time when many different ideas, beliefs and theories were thrown together in the metaphorical melting pot, and what came out of this pot is still of high importance in academic circles today.


To answer this question one must take into account the total social milieu of the time. We must look back to the 13th century when 'rinascita' become known. Working our way up from here one will be able to see just how Machiavelli's The Prince, and the Renaissance thought at the time of writing, became so anti-Papal, pro-education, pro-development of the mind, body, soul and thus, of society itself.

It starts with the rinascita, the rebirth of ancient thought. This rebirth entitled anybody to now ask questions, to make judgements, and to come up with their own ideas. It pushed people to undertake learning in the Ancient thought and to improve upon it. It inspired strong passions about the human spirit, about civic duty, eventually leading to a Republic and strong debate between the Church and the layiety.

In the 15th century, the rinascita grew into humanitas. The humanitas was the name given to a social movement inspired to uphold the importance of human emotions, the importance of a solid, virtuous society, the importance of the liberal arts and the foundational idea of virtue as knowledge. This new way of thinking played a huge role in forming the Italian Republic. This new governmental system appreciated the Ancients, it advocated a desire to learn, it held up the importance of the human spirit and inspired civic values within the people.

This then led to the creation of thought that challenged the Church's position on scripture and truth. Documents such as the Decameron, a medieval allegorical work, were created. Certain stories within the Decameron provide good examples of popular thought of the time; such stories explicate and illuminate issues within the Church such as corruption and infidelity.

These stories came to be well known at the same time that the contemporary thought was delving into hermetic, mystical devotion. The appreciation of education, and the power of knowledge played a huge role in the development of the aforementioned thought. People believed that they were empowered by knowledge, and that this knowledge led them to question the Church's role, the truth of the truth and the validity of the Church's teachings. Thus mystical, hermetic devotion became popular as it was believed to hold the answers to the questions being addressed at the time.
Whilst people were learning more and more about the hypocrisy of the Church they were also learning to think for themselves, furthermore and more importantly, they were learning that it was virtuous to acquire knowledge. This thought spurred them on. As such, it is obvious that the scene was set to be a fertile ground for future dissension against the Church.

In the next few years tensions were high. Prosperity was not always guaranteed. Leadership was failing. War was draining the resources. Obedience to a foreign pope annoyed the patriotic people. The Church was becoming richer and richer in the face of people, the majority of whom were doing it tough during this time. As such, the Church became a perfect victim for the angst and hatred of the pressured society.

It is at this momentous occasion in time when Machiavelli sat down and wrote his defining work, The Prince. The extreme suggestions for socio-political development mirror the the extremely difficult situations occurring all around Machiavelli at the time of writing. All of Machiavelli's thoughts and actions can be linked back to this context.