superb Latinist and (with his older friend Niccolò Niccoli) eventually becoming the most celebrated discoverer of lost Latin manuscripts. Poggio's long and productive humanist career extended into the era when Medici absolutism ended the republican system in Florence. Unusually quarrelsome even for a humanist, he spent most of his career in Rome. He returned to Florence as an old man in 1453, when (following in Salutati's and Bruni's footsteps) he accepted the city's invitation to take up the post of chancellor.
Niccolö Niccoli (1364-1437).
Like Chrysoloras himself, Niccoli wrote next to nothing and therefore remains a rather cryptic character. Yet, it's clear from the writings of his fellow humanists that Niccoli was a highly influential figure of central importance to the movement. Even more quarrelsome than Poggio (which is perhaps why the two of them got along), the eccentric Niccoli was the most avant-garde of the humanists in his attitude of extreme classicism. A bit of a poser, he ostentatiously courted financial ruin in order to devote himself solely to his studies. Unlike Bruni, his other close friend, Niccoli was an aristocrat. Also unlike Bruni, Niccoli shared with Chrysoloras an intense interest inancient art. An avid book collector, he also pioneered the study of ancient coins, inscriptions, and other artifacts. After his death Niccoli's magnificent book collection became the nucleus of the public library founded at San Marco in Florence by Cosimo de Medici.
Pier Paulo Vergerio (1370-1444).
Born in Capodistria and educated at Padua, where he was professor of logic from 1390 to 1406, Vergerio was visiting Florence in 1398 when he heard about Chrysoloras and joined the group. Like Poggio and Bruni, he would also do humanist work for the Vatican, but Vergerio is best known as a teacher and pioneering educational theorist. He championed a liberal, humanist education that broke sharply with medieval traditions and attempted to recreate the
encyclios paidea
of the Greeks. ∗ His book
On Gentlemanly Manners and Liberal Studies for Youth,
probably written a couple of years after Chrysoloras left Florence, was the first and the most influential work of Renaissance educational theory. It cites many Greek sources and seems to owe much to Chrysoloras’ ideas and example.
Roberto Rossi (c. 1355-1417).
While lacking the genius of some of his friends, Rossi mastered Greek and acquired a fine collection of Greek manuscripts. But he's mainly notable first for his trip to Venice in 1390-91 (when he met Cydones and Chrysoloras), and second because he later tutored the scions of many leadingFlorentine families in Latin and Greek. His students included the young Cosimo de Medici.
These were the standouts among Chrysoloras’ Florentine students of Greek. The brilliant threesome of Bruni, Poggio, and Niccoli made up the core group of friends, though there were others whose humanist credentials were perfectly respectable. The aristocratic Palla Strozzi, an exceedingly wealthy and well-connected patron of the arts and letters, had taken the lead in helping Salutati arrange for Chrysoloras’ invitation. It was he who paid for the Greek books that Chrysoloras used in teaching, and for having copies made for the other students. Antonio Corbinelli, another wealthy aristocrat in the group, eventually acquired one of the best classical libraries in Europe, the Greek portion of which included Homer, Plutarch, Herodotus, Thucyd-ides, Polybius, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Demosthenes, Aeschines, Theocritus, and Pindar.
And of course there was Jacopo Angeli da Scarperia, who kept up with his Greek after escorting Chrysoloras back to Florence, and who ultimately made a number of workmanlike translations of his own (including several of Plutarch's
Lives).
After Chrysoloras left in 1400, Angeli took a mid-level secretarial position at the Vatican, which enabled him to continue his humanist studies.
Niccolö Niccoli (1364-1437).
Like Chrysoloras himself, Niccoli wrote next to nothing and therefore remains a rather cryptic character. Yet, it's clear from the writings of his fellow humanists that Niccoli was a highly influential figure of central importance to the movement. Even more quarrelsome than Poggio (which is perhaps why the two of them got along), the eccentric Niccoli was the most avant-garde of the humanists in his attitude of extreme classicism. A bit of a poser, he ostentatiously courted financial ruin in order to devote himself solely to his studies. Unlike Bruni, his other close friend, Niccoli was an aristocrat. Also unlike Bruni, Niccoli shared with Chrysoloras an intense interest inancient art. An avid book collector, he also pioneered the study of ancient coins, inscriptions, and other artifacts. After his death Niccoli's magnificent book collection became the nucleus of the public library founded at San Marco in Florence by Cosimo de Medici.
Pier Paulo Vergerio (1370-1444).
Born in Capodistria and educated at Padua, where he was professor of logic from 1390 to 1406, Vergerio was visiting Florence in 1398 when he heard about Chrysoloras and joined the group. Like Poggio and Bruni, he would also do humanist work for the Vatican, but Vergerio is best known as a teacher and pioneering educational theorist. He championed a liberal, humanist education that broke sharply with medieval traditions and attempted to recreate the
encyclios paidea
of the Greeks. ∗ His book
On Gentlemanly Manners and Liberal Studies for Youth,
probably written a couple of years after Chrysoloras left Florence, was the first and the most influential work of Renaissance educational theory. It cites many Greek sources and seems to owe much to Chrysoloras’ ideas and example.
Roberto Rossi (c. 1355-1417).
While lacking the genius of some of his friends, Rossi mastered Greek and acquired a fine collection of Greek manuscripts. But he's mainly notable first for his trip to Venice in 1390-91 (when he met Cydones and Chrysoloras), and second because he later tutored the scions of many leadingFlorentine families in Latin and Greek. His students included the young Cosimo de Medici.
These were the standouts among Chrysoloras’ Florentine students of Greek. The brilliant threesome of Bruni, Poggio, and Niccoli made up the core group of friends, though there were others whose humanist credentials were perfectly respectable. The aristocratic Palla Strozzi, an exceedingly wealthy and well-connected patron of the arts and letters, had taken the lead in helping Salutati arrange for Chrysoloras’ invitation. It was he who paid for the Greek books that Chrysoloras used in teaching, and for having copies made for the other students. Antonio Corbinelli, another wealthy aristocrat in the group, eventually acquired one of the best classical libraries in Europe, the Greek portion of which included Homer, Plutarch, Herodotus, Thucyd-ides, Polybius, Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, Aristophanes, Demosthenes, Aeschines, Theocritus, and Pindar.
And of course there was Jacopo Angeli da Scarperia, who kept up with his Greek after escorting Chrysoloras back to Florence, and who ultimately made a number of workmanlike translations of his own (including several of Plutarch's
Lives).
After Chrysoloras left in 1400, Angeli took a mid-level secretarial position at the Vatican, which enabled him to continue his humanist studies.
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