2-1-Q Chapter 6
LIL 120 A – Fall 2024
Professor Cripps
2 – Offer 2 Specific Details from the chapter. For each ID/quote add 3-8 sentences of your own explanation.
“Hence, at the start of Lapo’s imaginary conversation, a character called Angelo…what can be more alien to religion than the curia?” (pg. 139, para. 2, sentence 6&7). When Greenblatt describes the character Angelo asking this rhetorical question, he is emphasizing the idea that the Church’s bureaucracy and political power had become disconnected from the spiritual ideals and values of religion. In other words, the curia—representing the Church’s leadership and its often corrupt and self-serving nature—was seen as hypocritical and fundamentally at odds with the true essence of religious faith, which is meant to be about humility, piety, and connection to the divine. I found it ironic as it has been preached throughout the beginning of this book and during society in that period of time, that everything the curia is doing is sinful and deemed punishable. However, the leaders of the papal court and hierarchies participate in the activities freely and openly. But I realized that this critique is important because it reflects broader themes in the Renaissance about the separation of true religious feeling from institutional control, a sentiment that is seen later in history, fueling the Protestant Reformation and other movements critical of the Catholic Church.
Page 148 – “How is it possible then to identify hypocrites?…virtually any priest or monk who is at the curia is a hypocrite…”. I found this paragraph amusing, as the dialogue around hypocrites’ appearance aligns very well with priests and monks. And for suggesting that hypocrites are the priests and monks, implies that those who are involved in the administration and politics of the Church—represented by the curia—are acting in ways that contradict the teachings they are supposed to uphold. The priests and monks, who should be paragons of religious virtue, are instead seen as embodying the very corruption and moral decay that critics of the Church sought to expose. This is where we see people beginning to question the authority of the Church and its leaders, and I think leads to the shift in thinking that occurred during the Renaissance–away from blind acceptance of religious authority and toward a more critical, reason-based approach to understanding the world.
1 – Make 1 Connection to Self, to World, or to Text – or Extended by offering a little detail about something mentioned in the text (some light research needed to Extend)
Connection to World: There was extreme nepotism seen throughout this chapter, whether it was Salutati getting Poggio into the court, or Poggio getting every person that opposed him fired/removed from the court due to his connection to hierarchical figures. Now I understand that nepotism normally involves a familial connection, but it can be used to describe unfair advantages of close friends or associates. This caught my attention because nepotism is still a broader theme in institutions today. Before individuals become actors and models, they normally get their successes and roles because of their relation to another within the field they are applying themselves to. I’ve also seen it in educational institutions, especially in my area. Where the superintendent and principal have given teachers and friendly coworkers advantages or escapes to their behaviors because of their close connection to them outside of the workplace.
Q – Give us a Good Question to chew on – 1-3 sentences
Throughout this chapter, I have seen many sides of Poggio that have not yet been discussed in earlier chapters–characteristics that are not all positive. The chapter title is literally called “In the Lie Factory”. Based on this chapter and what we have seen, do you think Poggio was a good man? Why or why not?
