The Political thought of Pre-renaissance Humanists on the Concept of Virtus Romana: Investigation on Petrarca and Salutati

This paper reviews the political thoughts of Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) and Coluccio Salutati (1331-1406) through the lens of the concept of virtus romana. Petrarca was the first humanist of the Renaissance and Salutati was another humanist, who was born a generation later and became the chancellor of the Florentine Republic. Petrarca saw the cause of the decline and fall of Italy in the Barbarian invaders and their corrupt culture, especially the papal influence from A vignon, the noblemen of foreign origin now residing in Rome, and mercenaries. He believed that these three elements had to be eliminated, in order to revive virtus romano and also the ancient Rome in his time(s). He hoped that the revival of virtus romano through such identification - in a way geographic - of Italy and the ancient Rome would regenerate the identity of Italians as Romans and their love for fatherland. However, his political stance was ambiguous by reason of having no finn political background. Sometimes he gave support to Cola di Rienzo's republican agenda, other times he placed reliance on the monarchical, despotic agenda of Emperor Charles the Fourth and Pope Urbanus the Fifth. Still he didn't give up his core political ideas, that is, to bring about renovatio romae (revival of the Roman glory) through the revival of virlus romano. Salutati also followed Petrarca in his efforts to legitimate through the ancient Rome. But, unlike his forerunner, Salutati had a concrete object to realize his ideas in, i.e. his fatherland Florence. As the head of state of Florence, he understood virtus romana as the ancient Roman citizens' love for liberty and believed that Florence, not geographic Italy, was the legitimate