The Twelfth-Century Renaissance (review)

280 Short Notices Parergon 20.1 (2003) benefit of monolingual scholars, although one wonders why such would pick up the book in the first place. Surely a knowledge of both languages is necessary for any scholar interested in this question of interlingual and intercultural influence? An Introduction plus four chapters and an Afterword form the structure of the work. There are copious Notes and an Index, the last being centred on authors and ideas. Generally, foreign language material is quoted correctly, although vulgus profanus (p. 109) should read vulgus profanum. A separate bibliography is not provided. In short, Sturm-Maddox’s book is a valuable revision of what we know about the influence of Petrarch on Ronsard, tracing the varying relationship of the latter poet to the former and re-evaluating the work of previous scholars who have turned their attention to this most interesting question. Max Walkley Department of French Studies University of Sydney Swanson, R. N., The Twelfth-Century Renaissance, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1999; cloth; pp. ix, 240; 8 b/w illustrations; RRP £45.00; ISBN 0719042550. The twelfth century is one of the key periods in the history of medieval Europe, a time of immense cultural vitality and intellectual energy allied to strong economic growth and expansion. Since C. H. Haskins first applied the term ‘renaissance’ to it in 1927, there has been an enormous amount of research and study devoted to all aspects of the political, economic and cultural life of the period. Perhaps because of this – but also because of doubts over the very concept of a renaissance – there have been relatively few attempts to produce a general overview of the period. Swanson’s aim is both modest and ambitious: ‘to provide a fair summary of current approaches and views’ (p. vii). Given the torrent of material which has appeared in recent years, and the apparent reluctance of twelfth-century specialists to undertake this task, it is no mean feat to distill all their research into a single short volume. His work is, by his own admission, basic, generalised and highly selective, and intended only as a introduction. He takes a thematic approach, focussing mainly on intellectual and cultural life: attitudes to the past, philosophy and theology, ideas of law and government, visual arts, vernacular Short Notices 281 Parergon 20.1 (2003) literature, and music. One chapter considers the contribution of women, and the extent to which they were involved in the many changes of the twelfth century. All this is done succinctly, clearly and reliably, and Swanson’s work can be recommended as a good, up-to-date introduction. But he also makes an interesting and useful contribution to the debate over the idea of a ‘twelfthcentury renaissance’, arguing that the phrase, in the sense of ‘intellectual and cultural dynamism’, can be best applied to the development of theology as an academic discipline, supported by philosophical and educational changes. He also postulates other, separate renaissances in the ‘long twelfth century’: one in the area of canon law and political views, and one in the arts, music and vernacular literature. This appears to remove from the idea of a ‘renaissance’ any connection with the classical heritage, but it is a good starting-point for further debate and discussion. Toby Burrows Scholars’Centre The University of Western Australia Symcox, Geoffrey, ed., Italian Reports on America 1493-1522: Letters, Dispatches, and Papal Bulls (Repertorium Columbianum X), Turnhout, Brepols, 2001; cloth; pp. xiii, 161; EUR50.00; ISBN 2503511805. This volume continues the dedicated work, first planned by the late Fredi Chiappelli, of re-editing in a single, up-to-date series, the contemporary sources that relate to Columbus’s four voyages. The documents are transcribed in their original language and then translated into English to make them more easily available to monolingual scholars. Many of the sources have been previously edited, particularly by Guglielmo Berchet (in the Raccolta produced in 1892), and this re-edition is designed not simply to ensure that the new, more readily available series is complete, but also to provide a clearer indication of the chronology of the dissemination of information. This collection, which is largely composed of documents that exist in only...