Posted by Professor of History and Classics
Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario)
Thursday, February 22, 2018, 5:30 pm,
Stokes Hall South 461
From elite tournaments and duels to boxing matches and bull fights, the spectacle of violent sport was a central part of the Renaissance. Greek athletic ideals reappeared in treatises on education and noble virtues. Rulers were praised for their athleticism, wrestling, and dancing. The need for physical exercise became prominent in Renaissance medical, political, and moral treatises. Population increases and political instability also led to a democratization of sport as mass entertainment and a vehicle for social control. The Renaissance not only reintroduced classical sport into society but also gave birth to modern notions of sport. Drawing on the writing of such prominent humanists as Petrarch, Boccaccio, Vergerio, Castiglione, and Mercuriale, Prof. D’Elia recreates a little known chapter in the history of Renaissance literature and culture.