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B. Dante
The medieval view of fame is rather different from what was
evinced in antiquity. The overriding factor responsible for the
transformation is the advent of Christianity, and the centerpiece is
the Christian distinction between earthly and heavenly fame.
According to the Christian orthodoxy, only heavenly fame counts
because of its divine provenance, and earthly fame pales into
insignificance and is therefore unworthy of serious pursuit (Koonce,
1966: 15). The contrast between heavenly and earthly glory is a
recurring theme in the Gospels, and the following two verses from
the Gospel of John perfectly capture the sharp distinction: “I [Jesus]
do not accept glory from human beings” (5.41) and “they [some
members in the Jewish authorities] loved human glory more than
the glory that comes from God” (12.43).
6
Despite the clear dominance of Christianity in medieval
Europe, the rise of Italian humanism revolutionized the Western
conception of worldly fame, and its influence can still be felt to this
day. Moreover, despite the Christian emphasis on divine glory and
its disparagement of earthly fame, it is still possible to ferret out
numerous examples wherein worldly fame is exalted. That is,
though worldly fame was in principle disdained in the Middle Ages,
human longing for fame never completely disappeared. Particularly
relevant to our discussion of how Petrarch and Chaucer conceived
worldly fame is Italian humanism, which was characterized in part
by its emphasis on fame. As Robert Kilburn Root writes, “Italy was
the one part of medieval Europe where fame was recognized as an
incentive and a reward surpassing even political power and
material wealth” (1957: 160). Donald R. Howard likewise points
out that fame was the Italian “pet obsession,” as evidenced by the
fact that explorations of the nature of fame appear in both the
6
The author learns of these two references from Koonce (1966: 16-17).
