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Vittorino da Feltre Humanistic pedagogy in Italy during the early renaissance

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 abstract Current Educational Research
Erni Gustafson:
Vittorino da Feltre.
Nordic Studies in Education,
Vol. 33, pp. 155–170 Oslo.
ISSN 1891-5914.

Vittorino da Feltre: Humanistic

pedagogy in Italy during the early
renaissance

Vittorino da Feltre (1378–1447)

can be regarded as a pioneer of
humanistic education and peda-
gogy. The article describes da
Feltre’s pedagogic activities as
the school master of La Giocosa,
owned by marquis Gonzaga in
Mantua, Italy. Some of the eco-
nomic, political, and social pre-
conditions for humanistic peda-
gogy during the first decades of
the 15th century are also dis-
cussed. Finally, the article places
da Feltre’s educational ideas and
practices in the academic and
cultural context of the early
Renaissance in Italy.
Keywords: education · peda-
gogy · Renaissance · humanism
Manuscript received: Novem-
ber 2011 (peer reviewed)
Erni Gustafson, Lillehammer
University College, Norway.
erni.gustafson@hil.no
Vittorino da Feltre
Humanistic pedagogy in Italy during
the early renaissance
ERNI GUSTAFSON
Vittorino (Rambaldoni) da Feltre (1378–14471) studied and
took inspiration from Quintilianus (Woodward, 1963, p. 26)2
in his pedagogic practice in service for the Marquis of Mantua, 155
Gianfrancesco Gonzaga. da Feltre (and as also shortly discussed
in this article, Pier Paolo Vergerio [Petrus Paulus Vergerius,
1368–14443) appears to be little known in pedagogic circles.
Texts from da Feltre’s own hand do not exist, nor have they
ever existed. This includes pedagogic memoranda, exercises,
or, which was common for the scholars of that time, some
«elegant epistles» of rhetoric value. He himself considered there
to be enough written on the topic by others (Woodward,
1963, p. 80)!
Why is it then important to know of a humanistic, pedagog-
ic approach and a child-friendly praxis from as far back in time
as the classical antiquity, and as here discussed, young Renais-
sance? Partly, it is important to emphasize that this kind of ped-
agogic and didactic thinking and praxis, a psychological view
on children’s upbringing and learning conditions that we often
count as a phenomenon in modern times alone, actually have
parallels to times long ago. This means that not everything is as
new and distinctive for modern times as many wish to believe.
From a purely pedagogic history of ideas angle it is thus im-
portant to show that significant exceptions to the common
pedagogic praxis exist. This, which is now considered «black
pedagogy,» consisted of learning through memorization (with
 E R N I G U S T A F S O N ————————————————————————
minimal subject comprehension for the stu-
dent), bodily punishment and oppression of
pupils, teachers with little or no knowledge
about (and minimal interest for) «pedagogic»
questions, and generally inhuman teaching
strategies.
Changed Structure – Changed
Needs – Changed Pedagogy
Several explanations exist for why the emer-
gence of humanism, here defined as the stud-
ies of Roman (later even Greek) antiquity and
associated changes of study program, curricu-
lum and syllabus, happened exactly in Italy
and exactly at that time. The following is a
brief discussion of two possible explanations.
Humanism as a cultural epoch can be
connected to the birth of capitalism, the de-
velopment of trade and banking, as well as to
the increased need of competent administra-
156 tive personnel in both the profane and eccle-
siastical administrations of society. The fore-
most concern was that the profane, sovereign
aristocracy, as well as the upper echelons of
society’s leading administrative strata (in-
cluding the ecclesial bureaucracy) was in
need of a more extensive general education
than what the church could provide with its
narrow self-interest-targeted instruction in
monasteries, cathedral schools, and also part-
ly universities.
The cities and emerging city-states that
were ruled by powerful merchant families
and artisans characterized the northern half
of Italy during the 14th century. However,
these cities and city-states came under pro-
gressively greater influence of powerful con-
dottiere, more or less despotic generals that
raised themselves up by defeating others of
the same kind in the many small local wars
that typified Italy during the Middle Ages
(and later during the entire Renaissance).
Nevertheless, even they were on an in-
creasing scale in large need of a mercantile
NO RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3
and diplomatic bureaucracy to secure their
financial and political interests, and, in sever-
al ways, these duchies preserved part of the
former republican structure. One can thus
say that the Italian city-states were similar in
many ways to ancient Greece and Rome.
This particular similarity made schooled in-
dividuals look to ancient Rome for inspira-
tion and guidance in how to best manage the
new society that emerged (Nauert, 2006).
During the dynamic and fast development
toward the progressive capitalistic society of
14th century Italy, a natural interest devel-
oped in how the application of common ex-
isting laws and regulations were being imple-
mented, along with an interest in public po-
litical debate and how audiences are
influenced (through rhetoric). This interest,
for natural reasons, did not exist amongst the
earlier omnipotent aristocrats (like the Ger-
man emperors) or in the autocratic theocra-
cy (papacy). But with the city-states’ and the
«free» cities’ increasing political and eco-
nomic power, at the expense of the emper-
or’s court and curia, ancient Rome and its
different institutions represented an instruc-
tive example of how a society could be
formed. Here one could find sources to rules
for legislation, juridical pleading, influential
techniques, i.e. how to express oneself in
speech and writing, both between states and
between individual rulers (Seigel, 1968).
All in all, at the end of the 14th and into
the 15th century, exactly what was needed to
prepare the upper class’ sons for their future
occupation as rulers of society was present in
the historically built educational program
that was passed on by the Romans and prop-
agated strongly by the humanists. «The suc-
cess of humanism in defining the goals and
methods of education rested on its suitability
for political and social needs of the
time»(Nauert, 2006, p. 16).
With the development of capital forces
followed thus the need for a different type of
N O RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3 ————————————————
education, with other aims than during the
Middle Ages, where the teaching in monas-
teries and cathedrals (as well as the few uni-
versities) was primarily associated with scho-
lastic knowledge, mainly characterized by
the church’s theological/administrative/ju-
ridical needs, and distinctively «theoretically»
oriented.
In a time of expanding trade and budding
nation-states’ ambitions an increasing need
of heightened general knowledge arose,
which included the ability to express oneself
through text and spoken word in a purpose-
ful way, e.g. in diplomacy. People were
needed who could think independently,
however still within the frames of a cultural
canon that made it possible to «understand»
each other across borders and local cultural
differences. As Nauert (2006, p. 17) writes:
«The new culture of humanism was an en-
during solution to the need of this distinctive
society for a type of culture and education
suited to its character.»
Italy was the leading nation in the emerg-
ing capitalistic Europe, based on individual
ownership and private contracts. In Italy at
this time, one of the most important groups
came to be those who administered con-
tracts and industrial activities. Lawyers and
notaries established and interpreted the
agreements that made large-scale trade pos-
sible. The capitalistic society that was devel-
oped had a much larger need of functionar-
ies educated in recording contracts and
agreements, verifying the authenticity of
deeds, archiving business records, etc. These
experts needed a long, thorough, and broad
juridical education in order to formulate and
interpret laws, however, training in accurate
expression and rhetorical efficiency in writ-
ten and spoken Latin – ars dictaminis4 – was
also necessary.
Along with the creation of business docu-
ments, the professional educators taught
some elements of Roman law, the applica-
HU MA N IS TIC P E D AGO G Y IN IT ALY
tion of legal means, and stylistic and gram-
matical precision in the design of corre-
spondence. As the complexity of the admin-
istrative apparatus increased, a trend toward
increased specialization and «sophistication»
in the bureaucracy also developed. It took
those who, for instance, were especially
adept at writing Latin to linguistically deco-
rate diplomatic and legal documents with
quotations from ancient and Christian au-
thorities (of cause, this counted for the curial
administration, i.e. the Church’s own bu-
reaucracy; Garin, 1965).
Some utilized this tendency toward spe-
cialization in order to specifically acquaint
themselves more deeply with the ancient
Roman, and later ancient Greek, languages,
literature, institutions, and habits. The an-
cient ideas of a general education that can be
referred to as educated, enlightened, or cultivat-
ed5 were adopted. The ideal was the classical
humanitas: a cultivation of the whole hu- 157
man’s character: body, spirit, emotion, and
reason (Marrou, 1977). This foundation
paved the way for the «movement,» which
later came to be known as humanism, or the
Italian Renaissance.6 Thus, the foundation
was also laid for studia humanitatis7, the hu-
manists’ design of education that would re-
spond to the changing needs of the emerg-
ing capitalist society and the new rulers; the
education which da Feltre, amongst others,
developed and perfected.
The Need of Learning What Is
Beneficial
Medieval scholasticism was characterized by
a high degree of abstraction, nearly always
from a theoretical (literary) study. In a socie-
ty distinguished by the Catholic Church’s
needs to as high a degree as in medieval Eu-
rope, security (theological, ontological, and
epistemological) was of course placed first in
the academic study. To obtain absolute
 E R N I G U S T A F S O N ————————————————————————
knowledge about God and his creations was
perhaps the main reason for the medieval
scholars to study.
This was increasingly unsatisfactory for
young men and their families who applied
for an administrative, legal, or political career
in the new power constellations. The society
that emerged during the 1300s questioned
the utility of these often metaphysical ten-
dencies toward abstraction and logical sub-
tlety(Nauert, 2006). As we know, politics
(and economic theory!) is not scientifically
based on absolute certainty and logic. The
ability to correctly express oneself in text and
speech, to argumentatively influence an au-
dience (readers or listeners, e.g. in a court),
or to make practical decisions in a non-abso-
lute, however probabilistic way, seemed con-
siderably more appealing to many people.
The new studia humanitatis promised stu-
dents to satiate these needs and more. They of-
158 fered rhetorical proficiency, linguistic excel-
lence, and moral training as subjects. With
these, the study also composed a segment of
the education for political participants, regard-
less of the future role of the student as an in-
fluential but «ordinary» citizen, a courtier, or a
ruler. Conservative as they always had been,
the universities, holding fast to the scholastic
tradition, could not deliver this whole, «edu-
cational package» to their students.
Nevertheless, outside the universities, the
independently operating humanists could
fulfill the requests. Here the dominant and
affluent families’ promising sons could seek
the knowledge needed. However, if no in-
dependently operating humanist was availa-
ble to receive pupils, the students were con-
nected with the princely court or the
wealthier city-states’ administrative systems.
Reorientation
The teaching of the new time was character-
ized primarily by the study of classical (i.e.
NO RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3
predominantly Latin or Greek to Latin trans-
lated) texts. These were not read with a mu-
seological gaze as during the Middle Ages.
Instead, the texts functioned as stylistic ar-
chetypes and were contemplated through a
utilitarian approach. They were subjected to
a growing literary scientific examination and
criticism. The texts were to be utilized as ar-
chetypes and their substance used in practical
contexts. Included were both philosophical
and scientific texts from, but not limited to,
Plato and Aristotle, and even rhetorical
models from Cicero’s speeches.
Something entirely new replaced the me-
dieval study of Trivium and Quadrivium.8 On
a superficial level, it may appear that this new
study effortlessly continued as humanism’s
«fine arts,» however, when looking at what
was emphasized and how different topics
were presented, the divergence is noticeable.
Latin as a scientific language obtained a
new identity. Source criticism and linguistic
research purged distortions and neologisms
that crept in during the Middle Ages. Schol-
ars searched back to original sources to find
the «right and proper» Latin (Grendler,
1989). Petrarca initiated this process as early
as the 14th century.
Through this process of ancient cultural
studies, more rigorous and strict methodol-
ogies were invented and adapted than during
the Middle Ages. In the humanist’s Latin
study, unlike in the former medieval Latin
schools, the objective was not only to learn a
(written) language, but also to more deeply
understand Roman literature, society, and
history. The language skills were used to
«enter» the mindset of a civilization that dis-
appeared, but was considered qualitatively
far superior to the contemporary. Reclama-
tion of the Roman civilization was desired,
and exactly herein lays the root of the appel-
lation Re-naissance.
The interpretation of texts (primarily the
Bible) had, ever since the Carolingian period
N O RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3 ————————————————
throughout scholasticism, been ranked in
four categories of meaning: the literal or his-
torical, the metaphorical or tropological
(moral), the allegorical, and the anagogical
(toward the ultimate, reaching beyond). The
frame of interpretation that these four cate-
gories constituted was replaced by freer
interpretation praxis where the aim was to
explore the intention of the text, what the
author «really meant». This change in
hermeneutics was based on other texts than
the Bible becoming the subject of interest
for researchers.
Dialectics, which during the Middle Ages
had dominated all other areas, now fell back
to a much less prominent position. Histori-
cal studies, with attempts toward source-
critical examination, took the place of the
infallible authorities’ established interpreta-
tion of past that was supreme during the
Middle Ages. The mathematical and natural
scientific subjects in Quadrivium were even-
tually liberated from authoritarian shackles,
and developed toward knowledge based on
logical thinking and verification through ex-
perimentation.
The changing needs that emerged with
the feudal society’s slow languish and the
birth of capitalism created the demand for
new forms of organizing the education sys-
tem, along with new forms of didactic prac-
tice, pedagogic focus, and curricular con-
tent.
It was during this transitional stage that
people such as Vergerio and da Feltre found
their place in pedagogic history. Organiza-
tion of da Feltre and others’ teaching was di-
rected entirely privately, or as an institution
subordinate to one of the new rulers. For ex-
ample da Feltre’s patron, Gonzaga, spon-
sored the education completely separate
from the Catholic Church or a university.
Thereupon, a different and new economic
base for financing studies and maintaining
the teaching force was developed. The
HU MA N IS TIC P E D AGO G Y IN IT ALY
northern Italian city-states’ increased eco-
nomic and political power was also a signifi-
cant factor in the change of needs and de-
mands of teaching–something that the pio-
neers of the new time’s spirit could offer.
The Renaissance and humanism were ur-
ban phenomena, which characterized the
early 15th century school system organiza-
tion in Italy. The school system, beginning
in the early 1400s, began moving away from
the homogeneous and monolithic monopo-
ly which the Catholic Church held for ap-
proximately 1,000 years, toward a more
power political and curricular, if not geo-
graphically decentralized, condition.
Typically, the humanists conducted the
education of the leading elite in boarding
schools. Even earlier this was common and
referred to as «to board» (stare a dozzina) or
«to live at the boarding school» (a dozzina).
These expressions were not worthy enough
for the humanists. Their schools became 159
known as gymnasium, or that of Guarino Ve-
ronese who borrows a concept from classical
Latin, contubernium, which is a shared accom-
modation that includes companionship, inti-
macy, and intellectual exchange(Grendler,
1989, p. 131).9
Although da Feltre accepted students as
young as four (Woodward, 1963, p. 130), the
typical student moved to the boarding
school at age ten to twelve, after having pre-
viously received private teaching in the
home, first from parents, followed by a gov-
erness, and later a magister. Once in boarding
school, students commonly stayed until their
early twenties.
The insistence on the boarding school as
the ideal arena for learning can explain the
heavy emphasis found in Renaissance peda-
gogic literature that a teacher must have high
ethical standards and be well educated and
knowledgeable, as well as the necessity of
close and secure bonds that unite pupil/stu-
dent and teacher. This may also explain the
 E R N I G U S T A F S O N ————————————————————————
profound belief that this method of teaching
paired with ideal content was a necessity (de-
spite obvious proofs to the contrary even in
the authors’ own time!) in shaping good rul-
ers immune to authoritarianism, corruption,
and generally profligate living. By all means
the boarding school, as it appears in the Ital-
ian Renaissance, came to be the educational
institution per preference for higher pre-
university education. This is true for most of
the leading Western nations’ educational sys-
tems, continuing contemporarily.
In the early Renaissance, the budding idea
of humanism, in the spirit of the new time,
asserted that it was of less importance for a
student to hold an imprimatur with a univer-
sity than to have studied under one of the
era’s great humanists. Commonly, these were
in the service of a secular or ecclesiastical
prince or in service at one of the many citi-
zen-driven city-states. This was one of the
160 aspects that made it possible for a private
school like the one da Feltre was head of to
achieve a status and influence that surpassed
several universities.10 Having studied under
da Feltre would likely imply a far higher de-
gree of documented knowledge than an ac-
ademic degree from most universities.11
Woodward writes, with reference to the
quality of the curriculum used by Vittorino,
that even in comparison to universities with
pronounced humanist sympathies, it had a
«thoroughness and breadth» which was
probably «far in advance of the standard usual
for the degree of Master or Doctor»(Wood-
ward, 1963, p. 61).
From a class and gender perspective, how-
ever, nothing essential was changed by the
emergence of humanism. A person such as
da Feltre represents a very special exception,
in him even very poor parents could find a
master teacher for their gifted sons. Regard-
ing females, we know with certainty of only
three who received the same education as
male students from Vittorino. Two of them
NO RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3
were Gonzaga’s own daughters (according to
Woodward (1963), at least one of them, Ce-
cilia, appeared to have an extraordinary in-
tellectual capacity) and the third was a Bar-
bara of Brandenburg, who was brought to
Gonzaga’s court at the age of twelve, with
the intention to later become his eldest son,
Ludovigo’s, bride.
Generally, the boys and girls of the poor
were not considered to be in need of school-
ing. Sons of merchants and more prosperous
artisans could expect to learn to read and
write in Italian as well as gather rudimentary
knowledge of arithmetic and «accounting».
To learn advanced mathematics, logic, rhet-
oric, and physical education was reserved for
the upper class. Girls could in general not
hold any positions as secular or ecclesiastical
officials, nor could they enter into law, and
obviously not hold any office associated with
political or military power. They could not
study at universities and were not to learn
Latin (Grendler, 1989, p. 88).
The Life of Vittorino da Feltre
Vittorino (Ramboldini) da Feltre was born
in 1378 in the small town of Feltre in the
foothills of the Dolomites in Northeast Italy.
He was an only child to a notary and his
wife. Almost no records exist from da Feltre’s
childhood. In 1396, at the age of 18, da Fel-
tre matriculated into the University of Padua
(Woodward, 1963, p. 6).
Amongst some of the highly reputable
universities in Italy at the time, such as Flor-
ence, Ferrara, and Bologna, was also Padua,
nearby Venice. da Feltre stayed in Padua for
almost 20 years. Venice’s major trading with
countries and territories belonging to the
Byzantine, former Eastern Roman, empire,
made knowledge of Greek language and his-
tory highly valued. da Feltre gradually be-
came well educated in classical Greek. How-
ever, his main studies were Latin, rhetoric,
N O RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3 ————————————————
dialectics, and «moral philosophy». He re-
ceived his Ph.D. in these subjects before
1411. After da Feltre obtained his Laurea he
also studied mathematics.
Although he now had a doctorate degree,
da Feltre was a poor man. To support him-
self, on the side of his teaching work at the
university, he began working for his teacher
in mathematics, Pelacani, as a famulus, a pre-
ceptor for Pelacani’s children and others in
the household (Woodward, 1963, p. 8). To
begin service as a private tutor for a wealthy
person, merchant, prince, or, as in this case,
a professor who made a fortune through pri-
vate teaching, was common for academics
before the stabilization and institutionaliza-
tion of the university system in Europe.
Vittorino was soon known as a particular-
ly good teacher, especially in mathematics,
and in 1415 he left Padua to join forces with
his colleague Guarino Veronese in Venice. In
exchange for Guarino’s lessons in Greek, da
Feltre taught Guarino Latin, in which he
had almost perfect mastery. Then followed
some years about which little are known of
da Feltre’s affairs. What is known is that
Guarino moved from Venice because of
plague outbreaks, and married in 1418
(Woodward, 1963, p. 23).
In 1420 we find him as a teacher at his old
university in Padua. He had at this point be-
come a highly respected lecturer and scholar
and received his students in his home. To
preside over a group of students (contu-
bernium) was considered a great privilege,
only given to those teachers who had ac-
quired great prestige. The position was also
regarded as very profitable and contributed
to scholars becoming wealthy (similar to da
Feltre’s former teacher, Pelacani).
For da Feltre, the educational quality of
teaching came first, and he never took more
students than he could give personal, indi-
vidualized instruction to. He also took stu-
dents who were talented but poor into his
HU MA N IS TIC P E D AGO G Y IN IT ALY
household. He waived tuition fees and, in
some cases, even supported them financially
in other ways. He maintained good contacts
with parents and other guardians. Neverthe-
less, if any of the students showed «unsatis-
factory morals», laziness, or were somehow
disappointing, da Feltre did not hesitate in
expelling them from instruction.
In 1422, at 44 years old, da Feltre accept-
ed, with great hesitation, an offer to take the
professorial chair in rhetoric at his own uni-
versity(Woodward, 1963, p. 24). At this point
he had developed into a very knowledgeable
person, but he also had deep religious feel-
ings and lived a very pious and ascetic life.
There is no evidence that he belonged to any
order or was part of the ecclesiastical hierar-
chy, so it is assumed that his religiosity was
completely personal in nature.
In many ways, it looks as if da Feltre’s
ultimate project was to merge the religious
requirements of a righteous existence with 161
the ancient Stoic ideals of a fulfilling life
(Woodward, 1963, p. 27). He dressed simply
and engaged in religious contemplation as
well as physical exercise every day. He devel-
oped great invulnerabilities to mental and
physical demands, such as cold and heat. His
meals were simple, but healthy and nutri-
tious. A healthy mind in a healthy body ap-
pears to have been an important maxim for
him.
Shortly after he received the chair as a
professor, however, he abdicated his position
(Woodward, 1963, p. 20). The reason may
have been dissatisfaction with the general
tendency of students to take positions toward
the studies and morality that he was not able
to accept or influence to any significant de-
gree (Woodward, 1963, p. 21). Guarino pre-
viously resigned from a teaching position as
well, due to students’ (some of them only 14
years old) lack of discipline and undesirable
attitude toward the studies (Woodward,
1963, p. 18).
 E R N I G U S T A F S O N ————————————————————————
In 1423, da Feltre was named principal of
a school for the sons of Venetian patrician
families and had earned a reputation as the
best and most accomplished teacher of «new
time» knowledge (i.e. logic, mathematics,
rhetoric, classical Latin and Greek, etc.).
This year he also received an offer that deci-
sively changed his life and made him famous
in the contemporary period.
Gian Francesco Gonzaga (1395–1444),
Mantua’s leading condottiere and enlightened
autocratic ruler, asked him to become his
children’s mentor and teacher. Gonzaga was
a self-made man who needed to prove wor-
thy to be included in the exclusive noble cir-
cle. During this time, one of the ways to
identify as «cultivated enough» (which was a
sine qua non of being accepted into high so-
ciety) was to hire a significant academic or
scholar as a household famulus. da Feltre sub-
mitted to this prospect at the end of 1423.
162 Vittorino received the request as early as
1421, but declined on the grounds that he
was well invested with the work of his school
in Venice and that a position for Gonzaga
would certainly bring envy from his col-
leagues. In addition, he explained, he ab-
horred court life, which involved great su-
perficiality and useless formality. All he
wanted was to peacefully complete useful
work. When he finally conceded, it was with
the insight that to educate the children of the
omnipotent merchant and war nobility was a
tremendous opportunity to influence the
personalities of future rulers.
Moreover, he thought it was possible to
make the service resemble a monastic life, an
opportunity that was very appealing to the
deeply and sincerely religious da Feltre. He
wrote to Gonzaga to accept service under
the conditions «that you [Gonzaga] do not
wish anything of me that will require un-
worthiness, either from me or you» (loosely
translated; Woodward, 1963, p. 24). Vittori-
no stayed at Gonzaga’s household for the last
NO RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3
22 years of his life. He died February 2,
1447, at 68 years old.
Pedagogic Praxis
The prince’s own children were the natural
starting point for da Feltre’s practice. At the
time of his investiture, there were three chil-
dren, Ludovico, Carlo, and Gianlucido, aged
three to nine. Cecilia was born in 1425, an-
other son, Alessandro, in 1427, and later an-
other daughter. Shortly after da Feltre began
his service, some children from other noble
families in Mantua came aboard. After one
year of experience, children of da Feltre’s
friends were also accepted with school fees
according to financial capacity.
During the years as a teacher for Gonzaga,
even very poor children with pronounced
skills were accepted, with no fees required
from the parents. These children received
the exact same treatment as the noble chil-
dren. Woodward writes that in some cases da
Feltre himself paid for these students’ ac-
commodations, food, and school supplies, in
some incidents for more than ten years
(Woodward, 1963, p. 30)!
Vittorino da Feltre’s school quickly be-
came famous for its excellent quality and
many leading scholars and upper aristocrats
of the early 1400s sent their children to
Mantua. The school became known as Gin-
nasio and the reputation of its quality spread
to France, Germany, and even to Greece.
Actually, the Marquis Gonzaga’s school out-
performed many European universities, es-
sentially because da Feltre gave the children
more in-depth lessons and worldly tempta-
tions were far fewer for young minds under
the authoritative schoolmaster than in the
dangerous freedom of large university cities.
The school was in a house originally built
as a casino (Woodward, 1963, p. 31), near
the princely corpes de logi, at an elevation in
the Northeast corner of then Mantua. This
N O RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3 ————————————————
«Pleasure house,» as Woodward (1963, p. 31)
calls it – La Gioiosa (due to its beautiful loca-
tion and pleasant surroundings), da Feltre
appositely renamed La Giocosa – the house of
play and learning.12 It was large with ample
spaces, painted by famous artists with bright
fresh colors, wall frescos depicting playing
children, and grand windows that let in an
abundance of light. da Feltre believed the
house should display the same spiritual dig-
nity and purity that he wished his students to
possess, and that it should be devoted to
sound intellectual work. The surroundings
were also designed in da Feltre’s humanistic
spirit. On three sides, the house was sur-
rounded by large meadows bisected by broad
avenues. In the meadows, children (i.e. boys)
were trained in war arts and physical educa-
tion; however the meadows were also used
for playing different games.
The school was structured so that all stu-
dents lived together. Even the school master
initially had his residence at the school. He
was with his students in everything, play,
work, studies, he even partly shared the lim-
ited leisure time given with them. He defi-
nitely considered himself a father figure to
his students, shared joys and sorrows with
them, and entered their personal spheres of
interest. Although he at times was responsi-
ble for between sixty and seventy students of
different ages, he almost never resorted to
corporal punishment, which to «all times»
have been a common ingredient in school
pedagogy (Woodward, 1963, p. 34).
His unquestionable authority and bound-
less interest in and consideration for his stu-
dents resulted in discipline never being a
problem (Woodward, 1963, p. 35). This
contrasts the teaching of monastic schools
and universities of the time, where chaotic
conditions could prevail. Respect for each
individual’s value and integrity, as well as an
attitude implying attraction as better for
learning than blind discipline, made da Feltre
HU MA N IS TIC P E D AGO G Y IN IT ALY
a beloved and highly esteemed figure to his
students. These sentiments are testified in
some of the surviving letters students wrote
after they became adults.13
The instruction lasted between seven and
eight hours per day, beginning early in the
morning, and occasionally da Feltre woke a
student earlier to help him review teaching
materials. The classroom teaching consisted
partly of text dictation, exercises, and trans-
lations, and partly of oral questioning. Dec-
lamations by him self, teaching assistants, and
students interrupted the monotony of les-
sons. Individualization was used largely to
support each student; even homework was
individualized and students were given spe-
cial attention when needed (Woodward,
1963, p. 62 f.).
The design of the school reflected the dis-
parity between da Feltre’s didactic methods
and pedagogic views and other intellectual
pedagogues of the time. The bright and 163
friendly image matched his sympathetic and
helpful attitude, which, accompanied by his
natural authority, resulted in rare use of dis-
ciplinary procedures.
da Feltre also showed a never-ending con-
fidence and hopefulness that each student
had the opportunity to achieve greatly, as
much as was possible within each individual’s
constitutional framework. His faith was also
rock-solid in that teachers can affect and in-
fluence their students’ life and character.
These were all new ideas, foreign to the me-
dieval monastic school, which was charac-
terized by dark and cheerless appearances,
where each person was a sinner without
hope and no notice was taken of individual
qualities or age. Discipline and blind obedi-
ence were regarded as the highest traditional
virtues, it was believed that knowledge liter-
ally had to be beaten into students.
The aim of the studies for da Feltre, as the
true humanist and teacher he was, was to en-
sure a consummate and harmonious devel-
 E R N I G U S T A F S O N ————————————————————————
opment of mind, body, and character, which
during later parts of the Renaissance was
codified into concepts describing the ideal,
complete citizen and member of society.14
However, during the young Renaissance,
this notion was completely new. For in-
stance, for da Feltre’s friend and fellow hu-
manist, Guarino Guarini, the ideal citizen
was still a clever and well-versed scholar. da
Feltre desired to educate young men to be-
come good servants of church and state, re-
gardless of the influential positions they re-
ceived. For Guarino, the ideal was mainly to
become a useful cog in the ecclesiastical bu-
reaucracy.
Didactic Methods
da Feltre agreed with Quintilianus that chil-
dren should begin their studies as early as
possible, they should come to school before
164 there was too much to unlearn (Gustafson,
2004; Woodward, 1963, p. 38)! For the
youngest children (four to five years old) da
Feltre assigned word and letter games, com-
bined with simple oral exercises. He placed
great emphasis on correct, clear, and distinct
pronunciation and also assigned speaking ex-
ercises similar to those of contemporary lan-
guage therapists and singing voice specialists.
Intonation, accentuation, and stylistic train-
ing were also part of teaching, even for the
youngest pupils.
Literacy was promoted according to tradi-
tional means of reading aloud, individually
and in groups. In light of books being scarce,
this was an effective method. During meals
there was total silence, save for one student
who read aloud to the others. As was the
case in ancient times, da Feltre considered
reading aloud to be helpful in understanding
a text, as well as a test of whether the student
had understood the text properly. To most
people, reading silently to oneself has been
uncommon up until «modern» times(Man-
NO RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3
guel, 1999). Older children took recitation
and declamation, i.e. rhetorical exercises be-
came more important. At age 14 pupils were
able to recite entire speeches from Cicero or
Demosthenes, in addition to being able to, as
Woodward writes, with «accuracy and taste»
read entire books of Livius or Sallustus, as
well as long excerpts of Homeros and Vergil-
ius (Woodward, 1963, p. 39). Children stud-
ied both classical and Christian texts with
the same requirements for proficiency in
both types of literature.
Earlier on, students memorized short pas-
sages by, for example, Ovidius and Vergilius.
Some of the pupils by the age of ten could
recite longer Latin texts by heart. At a time
when books were rare and very expensive, to
be able to recite prose and verse was a grand
and popular asset. The art of memorization
was thus also a subject of study for da Feltre’s
students. Similar to Quintilianus, memoriza-
tion was for da Feltre and his contemporary
time a primun ingenii signum (both a sign of
and a precondition for learning) and its cul-
tivation could lead to great results.
Subjects Taught
Grammar, i.e. language learning, was a cor-
nerstone of da Feltre’s curriculum and was,
with its various constituents, taught through
four different categories of exercises. First,
he taught a sufficiently large vocabulary
through dictation and included herein the
inflection of words. After, easy passages from
«poetic» authors were read, which were ex-
plained, translated, and used as tutorials.
Alongside this, introductions were given in
historical narratives with moral anecdotes
relating to the text. In addition, the compo-
sition and structure were studied along with
how elements of the text could be used as el-
ements in disputative conversation. In that
way, language learning was not only a «tech-
nical» study but was deposited in a literary
N O RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3 ————————————————
context and thus could provide students
with a «wider» meaning.
Such a flexible system of learning created
space for da Feltre to show his great skills in
practical didactics. He used many tools and
different sides of his personality to give stu-
dents the best of learning situations.
As mentioned, da Feltre did not follow
the rigid medieval four-part system for text
interpretation (see above). His method to
«read» a text followed different logic. At first
he occupied himself with verba, the exact
meaning of a word and its placement in a
given sentence, followed by an analysis of ge-
nus dicendi, i.e. the style of the text passage.
Here the author’s special individual rhythm,
selected word order, etc. are included. Then
the text is examined in relation to the
«room» (the allusions that can be drawn from
the text), in which the storyline precedes,
descripto locorum. Analyses of personal charac-
teristics (affectus personarum) are also per-
formed. While all this takes place, the ana-
lyzed passage is illustrated by other passages
from the same, or different, authors.
As is often the case with talented peda-
gogues, da Feltre had a great ability to illus-
trate his thesis and explain concepts to stu-
dents from different perspectives, always
with the intention that learning would be fa-
cilitated. It is said that he always utilized sim-
ple and direct language in lessons. The ex-
planations were clear and adapted to the age
and intellectual skills of the individual stu-
dent, while his voice was pleasant, varied,
and encouraged attention and dedica-
tion(Woodward, 1963, p. 46).
Each student wrote and made personal
understanding from what da Feltre discussed,
and they formed dictionaries with grammat-
ical references and interpretations in their
own linguistic style. In this way, each student
created a personal collection of examples.
Latin texts that were used include Vergil-
ius, Aeneid; Horatius, Odes; and Seneca’s
HU MA N IS TIC P E D AGO G Y IN IT ALY
tragedies. Livius, in addition to Vergilius, was
one of da Feltre’s favorites.15 Quintilianus was
obviously a favorite, as da Feltre acquired al-
most all of his rhetorical knowledge from
him. Plinius’ Naturalis Historia, and Cicero’s
speeches were also natural elements of the
curricula. Seneca was applied as a supportive
text for da Feltre’s stoic inclination. Of the
Christian writers, Augustinus was the prima-
ry source. De musica and De Categoriis are
mentioned by students. It appears that Vit-
torino preferred, for stylistic reasons, classical
Latin authors. The Christian authors of late
antiquity and the Middle Ages seem to have
been sacrificed on the altar of language, in
that they, in Vittorino’s eyes, were too lin-
guistically corrupt and inaccurate. Therefore
it is presumed that da Feltre himself took care
of Christian moral learning and theology.
With the entry of humanism into Euro-
pean thought, rhetoric, which had formerly
appeared in the universities’ curricula, be- 165
came one of the most important subjects.
During da Feltre’s time, rhetoric had not yet
reached the heights of prestige that would
befall it during the High Renaissance and on
to the Baroque. Quintilianus naturally be-
came the central authority on the subject;
however, other scholars were used as refer-
ence points as well. One of them was Gaspa-
rino Barzizza, who in De Compositione
(1420) enumerated three rhetorical aspects:
composition, dignity, and beauty (elegantia),
which composed an agreeable basic canon.16
Vittorino’s opinion was that the style, either
as text or numbers, should be simple and
clear without embellishment. In this too he
was paralleled with Quintilianus, who had a
great aversion to the time’s popular embel-
lishing and verbose style. According to
Quintilianus – and da Feltre – the rhetoric
should have a practical purpose. Eloquence
was not an «art» in itself to be worshiped, but
a practical means of communication within a
political and legal context.
 E R N I G U S T A F S O N ————————————————————————
In the teaching there was also emphasis on
rhythm, various rhetorical topoi (arguments),
and rhetorical figures. At the age of eleven to
twelve, students began performing their own
rhetorical writings. Students used formal
models, which were reproduced with great
accuracy. They not only wrote in Latin but
also translated Latin passages into Greek. da
Feltre himself put great effort into teaching
composition and rhetoric. Each student’s ex-
ercise was reviewed individually, corrected,
and, if necessary, rewritten by da Feltre him-
self so the student could see how it «should
look.» One testimonial that this diligent
work bore fruits comes from the above-
mentioned Traversari, who asserted that ten-
year-old Cecilia, Gonzaga’s oldest daughter,
surpassed his own adult students at the Uni-
versity of Florence.
The classically trained Renaissance person
should, in addition to linguistic disciplines,
166 possess philosophical and historical knowl-
edge. Homeros was considered a credible
historian. However, the more «real» histori-
ans, such as Herodotus and Thucydides,
were also in the curricula. Plutarchos was re-
garded as a foundation of moral and political
wisdom. Philosophy was for da Feltre gener-
ally synonymous with morality – ethics. Pla-
to, Aristotle, and the Stoics were taught to
provide arguments in the major project of
helping shape students into honorable states-
men and citizens.
da Feltre appreciated arithmetic as it
trained students’ mercantile skills and accu-
racy. He taught geometry, which likely was
associated with algebra, and trained students
to design and take measurements. Guest
speakers were engaged in natural philosophy
and Euclidean geometry. He ignored astrol-
ogy in favor of astronomy. To distinguish be-
tween these subjects was quite unique and
was not fully recognized until the 1800s
(even a notable scientist like Newton often
practiced astrology!).
NO RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3
Music was in many ways a branch of math-
ematics and had been since antiquity. In
modern understanding of the concept, music
was not an especially popular subject for da
Feltre. Surely there was music in the curric-
ulum, but then under careful supervision.
From da Feltre’s stance, music was subversive,
and could be corrupting his students’ good
morality. In addition, it fostered apathy – to
only listen to music without participating
was the same as an excuse not to do anything!
Active pursuit of music could lead to a loss of
self-control (Woodward, 1963, p. 43). With-
in this code of conduct, however, instrumen-
tal music, choral singing, and dancing were
allowed. The latter probably as a concession
to the realities that dance was in fact an im-
portant ingredient in the court life that the
vast majority of students would later live.
As described above, the surroundings of
La Giocosa were largely meadows designated
for physical exercise in the form of sports
and play. da Feltre believed that not only the
soul and the intellect needed to be cultivat-
ed, but also the body. At this time, knowl-
edge of different types of martial arts was a
sine qua non for the sons of the aristocracy.
Knowledge of war was quite essential for
young noblemen, even if in service for spir-
itual purposes. It was important to study tac-
tics and strategy, which could be found in
ancient sources. To be able to command, to
be a leader of military operations, was also
necessary.
However, for this to have any value, the
boys had to be trained to be physically and
mentally able to handle weapons. da Feltre
believed it was possible to learn how to sto-
ically endure pain and suffering, maintain
self-control, and discipline oneself. In this
practical approach to physical education, he
leaned heavily toward the ancient Stoic phi-
losophers.
However, da Feltre also considered physi-
cal development of the body a moral matter.
N O RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3 ————————————————
As the Renaissance man he was, he respect-
ed that the whole person must be in harmo-
ny – intellect, spiritual life, and body. Surely
the students had to learn at least one of the
epigrams from Juvenalis’ Satires: a healthy
soul in a healthy body. Yes, da Feltre appre-
ciated sports and physical training to the ex-
tent that in the hierarchy of subjects it was
only preceded by language studies! Never-
theless, the physical challenges were never
driven further than what was considered
sound and supportive for the body. He op-
posed all types of physical excesses as much
as laziness and apathy.
Through first playing and gaming, and
then more regular training in weapon carry-
ing, with an «institutionalization» of an as-
cetic life in terms of food and comfort (tem-
perature was never high at La Giocosa), the
boys were prepared for their coming com-
mission as generals and commanders.
Life outside of the school was carefully or-
ganized. Regardless of weather, a daily dose
of physical exercise was required. The exer-
cises consisted of fencing, horse riding, run-
ning, and various athletic arts. da Feltre had
a special predilection for team play as he
considered it an excellent arena for learning
consideration and team spirit. Now and
then, he and the older students went on ex-
cursions into the mountains above Lake
Garda, for several days at a time (Woodward,
1963, p. 66). These excursions were organ-
ized not only to get exercise and fresh air, but
they also provided an opportunity to focus
on nature studies and to train students to en-
dure hardships and live a simple life.
The religious observances were not ne-
glected in any way. Quite the opposite, reli-
gious reverence, faith, and pietism played a
crucial role in da Feltre’s private life. Human
value was unbreakably tied to God. All stu-
dents regularly witnessed mass and da Feltre
himself was an example in religious rever-
ence for his students. Christianity and hu-
HU MA N IS TIC P E D AGO G Y IN IT ALY
manism, in accordance with the classical ide-
als, were two inseparable factors, both indis-
pensable for people to realize their full
potential, and each contributed in creating
the full and complete human being.
Nothing indicates that da Feltre saw any
contradiction between Christianity and clas-
sical humanistic teachings. On the contrary,
Christian faith and morality were entirely
complementary to, for example Stoic ideals
and platonic idealism. For him it was a unity,
a whole that his students should experience
and incorporate into their characters, which
was the motivation for all da Feltre’s teaching
efforts.
Conclusion
Several of the early Renaissance statesmen
and leading secular and ecclesiastical scholars
had studied under da Feltre in their youth.
Niccola Perotti (1429–1480), who wrote 167
one of the most widely used Latin grammar
books, can be mentioned, along with Loren-
zo Valla (1406–1457), who was perhaps the
most important of all linguists after «cleans-
ing» Latin from all its medieval figments and
introducing a scientific source criticism in
the language study. The Duke of Urbino,
Frederigo de Montefeltre (1422–1482),
whose court the Renaissance historian Jacob
Burchardt described as «a work of art,» was
in adolescent years a pupil of da Feltre.17
At his death one of da Feltre’s «free» stu-
dents, Giovanni Andrea, bishop of Aleria,
wrote that his old schoolteacher had been
«the poor students’ father who everybody
looked up to as a beacon of goodness»
(loosely translated) (Woodward 1963, s. 91).
His colleague and friend, Ambrogio Traver-
sari, leaves this epitaph: «Meliorem illo
virum, ausim dicere, nescio an unquam vi-
derim» – loosely translated – «never ever has
one seen or heard a better man». (Wood-
ward, 1963, s. 91) W.H. Woodward, da Fel-
 E R N I G U S T A F S O N ————————————————————————
tre’s modern biographer, describes him con-
clusively as «the first modern Schoolmaster».
Prendilacqua, da Feltre’s first biographer,
writes that he died so poor (due to his gen-
erosity) that the expenditures for the funeral
had to be financed by others.18 His abstemi-
ousness and humility also made him hide,
rather than display, his great knowledge and
deep insight. Perhaps this is one reason why
Vittorino da Feltre has been partly overseen
in the history of pedagogy, despite his histor-
ically important role as a leading pioneer of
humanistic pedagogy.19
Notes
1 Sources regarding da Feltre’s date of birth
vary considerably. Woodward (1963), along
with da Feltre’s biographer Francesco
Prendilacqua, purports the year to be 1378,
Catholic Encyclopedia claims 1397, and sev-
168 eral other dates exist. In accordance with
Woodward and one of the dates Grendler
(1989, p. 129) suggests, I have chosen to
acknowledge 1378 as the year of birth.
There seems to be, however, relative consen-
sus about the date of death as 1447.
2 William Harrison Woodward’s work Vit-
torino da Feltre and other humanist educators
(first published in 1897, reprinted several
times) is still one of the foremost English
sources of knowledge about da Feltre and he
has even translated excerpts of Vergerio.
This article builds to no small extent on
Woodward’s translations and interpretations.
3 Vergerio’s real birth year has been dis-
cussed. Here is chosen what Hans Baron
indicates in Speculum N° 52, 1977.
4 This process can usefully be compared
with the similar bureaucratization process (of
course without the material basis that capi-
talism formed 1,200 years later) during the
first and second decade a.d. when the impe-
rial administration and diplomacy grew in
extent and more thoroughly trained officials
NO RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3
were required. As Syme asserts, an expecta-
tion emerged in the imperial staff that there
should be an assembly of highly skilled man-
agers with a substantial education who could
competently administer diplomatic activities
and other important fields of «national
affairs» (Syme, 1958).
5 The proper word here would be the Ger-
man «gebildet,» from the noun «Bildung.»
Due to the impossibility of accurately trans-
lating «Bildung» and its grammatical deriva-
tives, the following gives direction for defin-
ing this concept. The word implicates knowl-
edge of a broad range of topics – of culture,
society, history, art, etc., as well as profound
human ethical understanding. The concept
concerns erudition and broad cultural aware-
ness and is not limited to «learning» in a nar-
row academic sense, but considers the per-
sonal worldview an individual possesses. It is
about stimulation (not only passive transmis-
sion), development of character, and personal
capacities (not skills). «Bildung» is embedded
in the interrelationship between an individ-
ual, other people, and the world, and leads to
inner harmony between the different faculties
within man and outer harmony with others.
The «gebildet» person has strong self-esteem
rooted in understanding and real interest in
people – not in mere need of aggravating
oneself or in psychological defense mecha-
nisms. The goal is a nuanced, non-egocentric
self-government, in the deepest meaning of
the word, to enrich the individual and the
whole of humanity. When in the rest of this
paper the English words «educated» or «culti-
vated» are used, most often they embody «Bil-
dung»/»gebildet.» For definitions of «Bil-
dung» see R. Spaemann (1994). Also see
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie under «Bildung.» For
an English dissertation about erudition,
enlightenment and connoisseurship, all ingre-
dients in «Bildung», see Eisner (1991).
6 According to Oscar Kristeller (1961),
one of the 1900s’ leading and most influen-
N O RD I C S T U D I E S I N E D U C A T I O N 3 /2 0 1 3 ————————————————
tial researchers on Italian humanism, one can
not regard humanism as a philosophy, e.g. in
contradiction to scholasticism, but more as a
trend, a changed mentality, a movement in
time. The Renaissance/humanism as a dis-
tinct philosophy was previously strongly
claimed by, amongst others, Jacob Burck-
hardt.
7 The designation can be traced back to
Cicero, Pro Archaia, where the term studia
humanitatis ac litterarum occurs as classifica-
tion of the subjects that students must study
in order to achieve their full human poten-
tial. All the seven «liberal arts» appear to be
included, which was relevant education for a
«free man.» This ideal of Cicero was contin-
ued by ancient authors such as Aulus Gellus
whom in Attic Nights (Nocte Atticae) used
the term for the educational program of the
ruling elite, not unlike the classical Greek
paideia, or the German/Swedish Bildung/
allmänbildning.
8 Trivium – grammar, i.e. language skills in
Latin and Greek, rhetoric, and dialectics, i.e.
logic. Quadrivium – arithmetic, geometry,
music, i.e. in praxis mathematics, as well as
astronomy/astrology.
9 These Renaissance boarding schools are
archetypes of e.g. the English famous board-
ing school, Rugby. One can also sense the
historical lines from the Renaissance
princely funded boarding schools to the
North American Prep. Schools, the topmost
aristocratic private colleges, as well as the Ivy
League universities.
10 Woodward indicates in one place, how-
ever, that Gonzaga in 1433, perhaps influ-
enced by da Feltre, applied and was granted
permission by emperor Sigismund to estab-
lish a «Studium Generale» based on the «Gym-
nasium Palatinum» that already existed. The
grant, however, was never substantiated.
11 Compare this to the United States where
it is often more important at which univer-
sity a person has studied than their grades.
HU MA N IS TIC P E D AGO G Y IN IT ALY
The logo on the diploma is often a more
important sign of quality than what grade
the student is able to exhibit.
12 In Venetian, there was a Cá Zoiosa. There
is a striking word similarity to the Italian gio-
cosa, which comes from jocosa (L. jocus is syn-
onymous with ludus – sport, competition).
Gioiosa comes from gioia (L. gaudia), which
also was the appellation for elementary
school. Woodward quotes Paglia who says,
that Casa Zoyosa was, loosely translated, «the
house of playful studies (of «literature») and
caring of the spirit’s beauty and delight» (la
casa di ludi letterarie e di delizie spirituali) (p. 32).
13 Out of the fragmented correspondence,
the letters from Sassulo da Prato and Franc-
esco Prendilacqua, are the more complete
that can testify to the students’ appreciation
(see Woodward (1963) for explanation of the
full correspondence).
14 Also for Quintilianus and his intellectual
contemporary, the well-educated and inter- 169
ested citizen was the ideal. See more in Gus-
tafson (2004).
15 Authors who, for various reasons (often
moral), did not find favor with da Feltre
were, of course, Ovidius and Juvenalis, but
also Plautus (some students with «strong
morality» were, however, allowed to shortly
get acquainted with him). Horatius’ satires
were reserved for the last year of study
(Woodward, 1963, p. 47).
16 Barzizza was one of the first to receive a
transcript of Quintilianus’ Institutio from
Poggio after it was discovered (Kennedy,
1980).
17 Frederigo’s library was one of the era’s
most extensive, and contained copies of all
works of well-known Greek and Latin
authors, up to that contemporary time. It also
contained a complete series of Italian poets,
essays on music, church history, works on
theology, nature science, mathematics, med-
icine, law, military strategy and tactics, as well
as a number of books translated from
 E R N I G U S T A F S O N ————————————————————————
Hebrew. Baldassare Castiglione (1478–1529),
author of Il Cortegiano («The Book of the
Courtier»), was also included in this very
famous court of European cultural history.
Frederigo’s person and court formed the
model for what is described as «the basic
grammar for courtly society up to the French
Revolution» and for «the ideal good govern-
ment» (Quondam, 1981, p. 37). We may well
assume that da Feltre’s upbringing of Freder-
igo was no small contribution to the creation
of a court culture that uniquely characterized
the «household’s» collection of learned men
and women, of servants, but perhaps fore-
most the military chivalry of officers. This
«household» was «governed less like a com-
pany of soldiers than a strict religious com-
munity,» and there was no «gaming nor
swearing, but men conversed with the
utmost sobriety» (Symonds, 1888, p. 21).]
18 A medal forged by Pisanello in da Feltre’s
170 honor shows a pelican that gives birth to her
nestlings from a wound in the chest – a sym-
bol of the master’s great self-sacrifice, one
can infer.
19 Interestingly, however, in 1954 an
inspired, well-documented novel Vittorino;
oder die Schleier der Welt was issued (not trans-
lated to English or Scandinavian languages),
by the German Otto Rombach. In this book
da Feltre’s great psychological and pedagog-
ical insights clearly emerge.
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