Leonardo Bruni

Leonardo Bruni (c.1370 – 1444) was a leading humanist, historian and a chancellor of Florence. He has been called the first modern historian. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Events Beginning of the rule of Poland by Capet-Anjou family. ... Events March 2 - Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg proclaimed commander of the Albanian resistance April 16 - Truce of Tours. ... Humanism is a broad category of active ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on our ability to determine what is right using the qualities innate to humanity, particularly rationality. ... A historian is a person who studies history. ... The Chancellor of Florence held the most important position in the bureaucracy of the Florentine Republic but did not hold any political power. ...

Biography

Born in Arezzo, Tuscany, Bruni was the leading pupil of Coluccio Salutati and succeeded him as chancellor in 1410. Bruni's time in office was not as perilous a time for Florence as a few years earlier, but it was still very involved in long running warfare. Bruni did not lead the city to nearly the extent of his predecessor as first the Albizzi family and then the Medici family dominated the city during his time in office. He was succeeded in office by Carlo Marsuppini. Church of Santa Maria della Pieve Arezzo is an old city in central Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located in Tuscany. ... Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in North-West Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... Coluccio Salutati (1331-1406) was one of the most important political and cultural leaders of Renaissance Florence. ... Events July 15 – Battle of Grunwald (a. ... Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ... The Albizzi family was a Florentine family based in Arezzo and rivals of the Medici and Alberti families. ... The Medici family was a powerful and influential Florentine family from the 13th to 17th century. ...

Significance

Leonardo Bruni's most notable work is History of the Florentine People which has been called the first modern history book. Bruni was the first historian to write about the three period view of history: Antiquity, Middle Age and Modern. The term Middle Age was first coined by a contemporary Flavio Biondo. The dates he uses to define the periods are not exactly what modern historians use today, but he laid the conceptual groundwork for a tripartite division of history. While it probably was not Bruni's intention to secularize history, the three period view of history is unquestionably secular and for that Bruni has been called the first modern historian. The foundation of Bruni's conception can be found with Petrarch who had first written, a generation earlier, about a "Dark Age" covering the period from the time of the fall of Rome extending to the time of Petrarch. It was Bruni and his fellow humanists who believed they had reached the end of the Dark Age and were entering a modern period, and thus logically called the intervening period a Middle Age. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Flavio Biondo (Latin Flavius Blondus) (1392 – June 4, 1463) was an Italian Renaissance humanist historian. ... Secularity is the state of being free from religious or spiritual qualities. ... From the c. ... Petrarch, who conceived the idea of a European Dark Age. From Cycle of Famous Men and Women, Andrea di Bartolo di Bargillac, c. ... The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of Eighteenth Century, was written by the English historian, Edward Gibbon. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

It was Bruni who used the phrase studia humanitatis, meaning the study of human endeavours versus those of theology and metaphysics, which is where the term humanists comes from. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Humanism is a system of thought that defines a socio-political doctrine (-ism) whose bounds exceed those of locally developed cultures, to include all of humanity and all issues common to human beings. ...

As a humanist Bruni was essential in translating many works of Plato and Aristotle. His use of Tacitus's Histories to buttress his republican theses in the Panegyric to the City of Florence (c. 1403) was instrumental in bringing the Roman historian to the attention of Renaissance political philosophers (see Tacitean studies for details). Plato ( Greek: Πλάτων, Plátōn, wide, broad-shouldered) (c. ... Aristotle (Ancient Greek: Aristotélēs 384 – March 7, 322 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or: Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... The Histories (Latin: Historiae) is a book by Tacitus, written c. ... Events July 21 - Battle of Shrewsbury. ... Justus Lipsiuss 1598 edition of the complete works of Tacitus. ...

Bruni died in Florence in 1444.

Bibliography

• Latin text and English translation:
  • Leonardo Bruni (April 2001). History of the Florentine People, Volume 1, Edited and Translated by James Hankins, Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00506-6.
  • Leonardo Bruni (November 2004). History of the Florentine People, Volume 2, Edited and Translated by James Hankins, Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01066-3.

The Harvard University Press is a publishing house, a division of Harvard University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ... The Harvard University Press is a publishing house, a division of Harvard University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. ...

External links

• History of the Florentine People (PDF), Excerpts and excellent 'Editor Introduction' (2001).

Latin texts online

• An vulgus et literati eodem modo per Terentii Tullique tempora Romae locuti sint
• Calphurnia et Gurgulia
• De Bello Gallico Adversus Gothos
• de studijs et litteris ad illustem dominam baptistam de malatesta tractatulus
• Epistola ad Baptistam de Malatestis.