English Humanism

The literature of the English Renaissance demands some attention to the intellectual and educational background which produced it, in order to be seen in proper perspective. The selection in this book, originally published in 1985, both illustrate the intellectual climate of the English Renaissance and exemplify some of its characteristics, though not strictly literary products. These include education, classicism and imitation, wisdom and eloquence, history and moral philosophy, religion and vernacular scripture. Erasmus has been given a dominant place in the anthology as the main mediator of humanist ideas to England; other authors represented include Castiglione, Machiavelli, Sir Thomas Elyot, Roger Ascham and Ben Jonson. This volume charts precisely the debt of English Renaissance literature to Continental Humanism and the classical revival and is a valuable contribution to an understanding of the literature and society of the time.