2.7: Political Setting

The medieval feudal system had never taken hold in Italy. There were lords and vassals, as well as a large and strong independent class of artisans and merchants who balked at subservience, especially against those lords who did not live in the cities. Thus, by 1200, most Italian cities had come to dominate their respective hinterlands.

Instead of kings and vassals, power was in the hands of the popoli grossi, (literally meaning the “fat people)”. However, the term was used to identify about 5% of the population that was rich, noble or non-noble. This culture was rife with flattery and politicking, since so much depended on personal connections. The most important thing to the social elite was honor. Any perceived insult had to be met with retaliation, meaning there was a great deal of bloodshed between powerful families. One example is Shakespeare's famous play Romeo and Juliet, featuring rival elite families locked in a blood feud over honor. There was no such thing as a police force, just the guards of the rich and powerful and, usually, a city guard that answered to the city council. Both law enforcement and personal vendettas were generally carried out by private mercenaries.

Ironically, the popoli grossi required a peaceful political setting on a large scale in order for their commercial interests to prosper. Thus, they were often hesitant to embark on a large-scale war in Italy. In an effort to show off both their mastery of arms and thought, they focused on education and culture, which led to the creation of Renaissance art and scholarship.

Figure 3.3.1: Portrait of a young Cosimo de Medici, who would become the de facto ruler of Florence in the fifteenth century. He is depicted holding a book and wearing a sword: symbols of his learning and his authority.

The central irony of the prosperity of the Renaissance was that the vast majority of the population benefited only indirectly or not at all. Poor townsfolk had to endure heavy taxes on basic foodstuffs that made it especially miserable to be poor in one of the richest places in Europe at the time. A significant percentage of the population of cities were “paupers,” the indigent and homeless who tried to scrape by as laborers or sought charity from the church. Cities were especially vulnerable to epidemics as well.

Patronage

To understand why the Renaissance brought about a remarkable explosion of art, it is crucial to grasp the nature of patronage. In patronage, a member of the popoli grossi would pay an artist in advance for a work of art. That work of art would be displayed publicly, demonstrating the patron's wealth, political power, and influence. While there was plenty of bloodshed between powerful Renaissance families, political competition often took the form of an ongoing battle over who could commission the best art and then "give" that art to their home city, rather than actually fighting in the streets.

Perhaps the most spectacular example was Cosimo de Medici, leader of the Medici family and its vast banking empire. In 1439, he threw a city-wide party called the Council of Florence, which featured public lectures on Greek philosophy, displays of art, and a huge church council that brought together representatives of both the western Latin Church and the Eastern Orthodox church in a (doomed) attempt to heal the schism that divided Christianity. The Catholic hierarchy used the occasion to establish the canonical version of the Christian Bible, specifically which books ought to be included in the Old Testament. de Medici paid for the entire event out of his personal fortune. He even covered the travel expenses of visiting dignitaries from places as far away as India and Ethiopia. The Council clinched the Medici as the family of Florence for the next generation, with Cosimo being described by a contemporary as a “king in all but name.”

Art and learning benefited enormously from the wealth of northern Italy precisely because the wealthy and powerful of northern Italy competed to pay for the best art and the most innovative scholarship - without that form of cultural and political competition, it is doubtful that many of the masterpieces of Renaissance art would have ever been created.