Jaeger’s Medieval Humanism Now Published

Italica Press is pleased to announce the publication of C. Stephen Jaeger’s Medieval Humanism: Collected Essays.

In this volume Jaeger argues that a synthesis of culture from 950 to 1150 emerges from the humanism of the early cathedral schools that proliferated from the second half of the tenth century and from the educational innovations closely tied to the rule of Emperor Otto I, the Great. Its thought and teaching takes its character from the fusion of ancient Roman philosophy and ethical ideals with Christian teachings. Its influence in church and imperial administration is as profound as it is in philosophy, literary style, and social mores. A humanist educated class emerges from these schools that reaches deep into clerical, monastic, and worldly spheres.

These collected essays, some published here for the first time, summarize the past fifty years of Jaeger’s work and thought. Its introduction, revisions, and updates also incorporate other scholars’ research over the past half-century, remove the archival character of standard “collected essays,” and produce a fresh view of a new reinvisioning of European cultural history. These chapters also speak to our own age of rapidly changing cultural and educational values.

Preface, introduction, comprehensive bibliography, notes, index. 510 pages.

This is the latest volume in Italica’s series Studies in Art and History.