Aldus and Greek Learning‪.‬

For all its narrow specialization, my topic has broad implications, treating a crucial period in the history of the transmission of learning in the West, one rich in dominant personalities, major geopolitical developments, and intellectual and cultural movements that would begin to change the face of society and ultimately produce the world we have inherited. Aldus with his achievements was at the heart of some of the significant parts of these changes; perhaps more importantly, however, he was perceived by the learned world of his time as a, or perhaps even the, focal point. (1) Two areas concern us: first, the Renaissance and its guiding principle, humanism; second, the origins of printing from movable type in the West, and its migration across the Alps to Italy and then specifically to Venice. The broad canvas on which we view Aldus, his successes and failures, consists of Italy, the Renaissance, humanism, and the revival of classical learning in the West -- in particular the reacquisition and dissemination of the works of Greek antiquity in their original texts.