Laici, giuristi, umanisti. Ronald Witt e l’Italia medievale

Taking up the teachings of Kristeller, Ronald Witt (1933–2017) has devoted two important books to the medieval origins of Italian humanism, both now trans- lated into Italian. In the second volume, the study goes back to the Carolingian period in search of the origins of the Italian exceptionality that might justify the antiquar- ian passions of the Renaissance. Since the authority of Antiquity is often evoked in a political context to justify powers and institutions, initially Kristeller and later and more extensively Witt have linked this Italian exceptionality to the persistence of a secular culture that had disappeared on the other side of the Alps. Starting from the 12th century, the emergence of jurisprudence and the innovative culture of the class of public functionaries who began to cultivate a passion for Antiquity is a very Italian peculiarity. During the preceding period, from the 8th century to the Gregorian reform, by contrast, secularism is an internal feature of clerical culture and helped to pave the way for the turning point that saw laymen taking charge to form a new and dynamic ruling class.