The Darker Vision of the Renaissance: Beyond the Fields of Reason

The Darker Vision of the Renaissance explores political, literary, social, religious, medical, and artistic events between 1300 and 1670 that led beyond the bounds of reason into the nonrational, irrational, and suprarational phenomena of the European Renaissance.

Format: Hardback
Length: 326 pages
Publication date: 25 March 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

The Darker Vision of the Renaissance delves into a comprehensive examination of political, literary, social, religious, medical, and artistic events that occurred between 1300 and 1670, pushing the boundaries of reason into the realm of nonrational, irrational, and suprarational phenomena during the European Renaissance. In his introduction, Robert S. Kinsman explores the various uses of ratio, "fancy," and "folly," melancholy, anxiety, and alienation during this period.

Lynn White Jr. presents the central thesis of the collection, asserting that the years 1300–1650 marked one of the most psychologically disturbed eras in European history. Donald R. Howard delves into the concept of "world-alienation" during this time, using two late fourteenth-century poems, "Gawain and the Green Knight" and "Toilus and Criseyde," to illustrate his point.

John G. Burke provides a detailed account of the flourishing of hermetic, magical, cabalistic, and astrological practices during the Renaissance. Lauro Martines explores the physical and psychological tensions experienced by gentlemen and courtiers as a result of literal exile or psychic alienation from their lesser fellows. Kees W. Bolle offers an analysis of the "structures" of Renaissance mysticism.

Gilbert Reaney's essay examines ratio as the basis for the "measured" music of the fourteenth century, contrasting it with the newer duple and triple rhythms that gained prominence in the later half of the century. Marc Bensimon's essay explores Renaissance modes of perception, as depicted in works of art, literature, and philosophic speculation, influenced by primordial anxieties stemming from the passage of time and the fear of death.

Furthermore, the reflections of theological notions about the "dreadful hidden will of God" in pieces such as Marlowe's "Dr. Faustus" are given thorough background and insightful treatment. The Darker Vision of the Renaissance offers a profound exploration of the multifaceted aspects of the European Renaissance, shedding light on the nonrational, irrational, and suprarational phenomena that shaped this remarkable period.

Weight: 635g
Dimension: 234 x 156 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520356740