Introduction

The Italian Renaissance humanism was a fractious movement, featuring heated debates in writing and physical confrontations in person. Hans Baderm traced this development to the turn of the 15th century when Florence was engaged in an existential struggle with Milan. Florentine intellectuals began to promote republicanism as the ideal form of political life. The heroes of Baderm's story are humanists like Colucio Salutati and above all Leonardo Bruni.