Back, Forward, & Back Again

Petrarch looked back over his shoulder nearly thirteen centuries to glimpse sight of works that would make mankind wonder and marvel for centuries to come: Cicero’s letters.  This demonstration of ‘ad fontes’ triggered a new perspective of communication.  Somehow, diving back into the past allowed our forefathers to move more quickly forward. 

Letters to Cicero

Petrarch’s discovery didn’t stop there.  He continued to dig deeper into the past and introduced ideals of humanism—that man was capable of great things.  “What a piece of work is man!”  Shakespeare would later exclaim, which is the very sentiment that fueled and sustained a new awareness of communication.

The two letters Petrarch wrote to Cicero were only the beginning; humanism ideals couldn’t be contained to the written word alone.  Artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo communicated their ideas and passions through arts, and for others, it was speech.  Castiglione’s The Courtier masterfully illustrates how the Renaissance-theme of sprezzatura shifted the communication-focus to speech. 

But humanism didn’t allow communication to be contained to an after-dinner conversation or canvas.  No, people themselves voyaged across the Atlantic to communicate their ideas about God and spread their political practices.  In the blog post, “Voyages of Discovery Lead to Exchanges of Culture,” Jeremy expounds on the impact these voyages had on civilizations then and now.

In Northern Europe, humanism focused more on religion than the arts.  Christian humanism laid the groundwork for the Reformation and the developments and changes in communication of the time.  The invention of the printing press was also a critical component of consciousness of communication.  The accessibility of the Bible enabled people to study about God for themselves, leading to increased piousness; the idea of sola scriptura—that the scriptures contain all the truth man needs for salvation—was emphasized as well.  In her blog post, “A Wasted Sacrifice,” Kristina describes it as “a challenge an invocation, to explore, dig into, and discover the word for oneself.”  This new invention, coupled with a desire to connect with God, were primary factors to the shaping of communication during the Reformation.    

However, as Dr. Gideon Burton pointed out, new mediums always bring positive and negative social consequences.  This was the case here.  Protests became more plentiful and information was spread with unprecedented speed, but not all of it was true. 

Luther's Art

Martin Luther provides a classic example of printing press propaganda.  Many of us are familiar with his 95 Theses, but he also published prints that essentially mocked the Catholic church by comparing its rituals with events from the life of Jesus Christ.  In Luther's Art, the image on the left shows Christ washing the feet of His disciples while the one of the right shows people kissing the feet of the pope.  This is just one example of several issues that came forth with changes in communication.

Communication builds upon itself with each era, always advancing and pushing us further and further towards what we once thought impossible.  I find it ironic that the further we move forward, the further we can look back.  ‘Ad fontes’ is our cry song of sorts that reminds us that we can better understand ourselves and our future if we know where—and who—we’re coming from.  

Image Sources: Letters to Cicero, Luther's Art