How Mediums and Rhetoric Shaped the Renaissance

We witness changes in communication today at the very localized level. For example, the way I speak to my friends now is very different from the way I would if I had never been exposed to cell phones and the internet. Between texting and conversing via tagging each other in Facebook memes, today’s social interface hardly resembles that of the Renaissance. While forms of communication in the Renaissance Era is fairly difficult to track there are certain factors and events that can indicate changes in trends.

Caxton showing specimens of his printing to King Edward

Medium:

One such event was the birth of the printing press. With tools like computers, we take the magic of printing for granted. The printing press allowed print to be faster and less costly, causing a spike in the availability of the written word.

Arguably one of the most adept users of the new medium of communication was Martin Luther. His 95 Theses were not the only things he published. He wrote and published many short sermons and pamphlets. These were cheap and short enough that someone could have it read to them if they didn’t know how to read themselves. Luther was a genius who recognized quickly how printing could help him spread his ideas.

Even if the information that was published wasn’t accurate, it’s accessibility gave more people who wouldn’t normally read the option to do so. With more people reading, more people were talking about what they had read and learned.

This led to discussion and debates at Saoirse’s and the birth of the idea of “sprezzatura”, which described a certain wit, sophistication, and eloquence of speaking at these gatherings. An example of the accomplishments of one who possessed this can be found here.

Discussion in the public square acquired a different flavor when the Protestant Reformation took hold. Because open discussion was now the norm, people began to publicly critique, criticize, and even protest against aspects of the Catholic Church.

Rhetoric

Rhetoric is what happens when an idea takes form. No matter how it is shaped, there are rhetorical devices at play. This can include the language it is delivered in, whether it is spoken or typed, syntax, mood, voice, etc. We see these devices used and explored in many writings and transcriptions dating from the Renaissance.

One of the strongest examples of how language affects the feeling of a message is the comparison between two sermons from Catholic priests. John Colet’s 1530 sermon was delivered with forceful language in Latin. In contrast, Hugh Latimer gave his “Sermon of the Plowers” in the colloquial tongue. This allowed the more gentle, encouraging message of his sermon come through. Here is an excellent breakdown of these two sermons.

Although it is hard to know for sure what the oral communication was like in the Renaissance beyond transcriptions of speeches and sermons, it is clear that written and printed circulation of ideas became prominent and forever altered the way thoughts were expressed.