Dbq Renaissance Value Of Reading

Thesis: Although the Renaissance values of philosophy and morality were transformed over time, the Renaissance value of reading changed the most because it was considered to be very important and crucial to the high ranking members of society. The Renaissance value of reading transformed the most over time because it would soon be considered appealing if one knew how to read, and it was also considered to be essential for the high class members of society. According to Piccolomini, a prince who could not read was no use because he would be subject to flattery, and would not be able to learn from books (Doc 1). The importance of reading is stressed by the writer here, and he goes as far as to describe an illiterate prince as a “helpless prey of flattery and intrigue” (Doc 1) ,implying that because an illiterate prince

As a humanist, the author, Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, would obviously stress the importance of reading because he would want his other books about humanism to be read. As time went on, even more books specified an importance in reading. However, there was a very crucial change, now more and more books were in the vernacular. Therefore, the Renaissance value of reading now how to change. Instead of reading in Greek and Latin, many people were reading in the vernacular. According to The Book of the Courtier, a successful courtier should be well educated and able to read in the vernacular (Doc 2). Castiglione states that being well learned in humanities and history especially in vernacular would be appealing to the public, and that being well educated in the vernacular would attribute to being a successful courtier. Castiglione’s book was very popular, and many young men followed it as a guide. Therefore, it would influence many of them to learn less of Latin and more vernacular, because the young men who followed this book all wanted to be successful courtiers. The