Renn. Manners essays

Renn. Manners essays Societies and cultures are often defined by the behaviours and idiosyncrasies that are unique to a group of people. Just as this rule generally applies to the modern world, so does it to the past and more specifically the time of rebirth in western society (AKA the Renaissance.) Just before and during this period, the process of urbanization took place across Europe, as surplus agriculture (as a result of new technology and methods) allowed the former rural classes to move to developing metropolitan cities. The result of this process was inevitably that people would interact with one another on a more regular basis than before, and the old medieval debate about the contemplative and secluded life versus the active and social life seemed to be resolved. In his book Galateo, Giovanni Della Casa addresses the issues that displease him in the developing active life and attempts to codify a set of manners to deal with these issues. On the surface, this treatise provides many examples of social behaviour that are familiar with us in the modern world, but if the reader carefully examines how these manners fit into the context of the Renaissance, certain cultural assumptions of the time period are hidden just beneath the surface. In order to understand the context in which the book was written, we must first examine how the author fit into this exciting period of change. Giovanni Della Casa was an Archbishop, and influential individual as a diplomat for the Vatican. Despite his ecclesiastical background, Della Casas writings prove to the reader that the general mentality of the Renaissance (especially in the middle class) was the overarching cultural assumption that viewed the active life as worthy aspiration. The Galateo covertly expresses humanistic ideals, republicanism and praise for the public man, giving the reader a clear impression of what the culture of the time was like. The first way that Della C...