Levels of perception of antiquity by Florence citizens (according to family books, diaries, correspondence)

Abstract

The given article is devoted to the perception of the ancient heritage by the representatives of Florence urban environment, who were non-humanists in the 14th and 15th centuries. The research is conducted on the basis of sources of a personal origin, related to the literature of "the second plan": family books, correspondence, and also biographies and chronicles. Such principles as the scope of reading, the level of education, the knowledge of Latin, goal setting, reflecting different degrees of intellectualization of the townspeople engaged in trade, business, and banking are posited as the basis to determine the levels of their appropriation of the ancient culture. The article represents an attempt to define the influence of the Florentine patriciate formation process upon the development of the intellectual and cultural elite in the first half of the 15th century