Aristotle in the Vernacular (AIV) Podcast

Continuing our theme of Aristotle's Politics, Dr. Grace Allen speaks with us about her work on renaissance secretaries and their role in the transmission of Aristotle's work.

In this episode, Nicolas Stone Villani talks to us about his work on the reception of Aristotle in renaissance political thought: in particular, the work of Niccolò Machiavelli.

This podcast—the first in a series on the ongoing work of the members in the Aristotle in the Vernacular project—lays out the project's main questions and investigative pathways in an interview with Dr. David Lines, one of the leaders of the Warwick team. While the rich Latin tradition of works on Aristotle is well-known, less research has focused on his presence in the vernacular. Yet, between 1400 and 1650 over 250 works in Italian were written on Aristotle—such as commentaries, translations, compendia, dialogues, and more— that aimed to make this systematic thinker accessible to contemporary audiences. While Aristotle assumed a new importance in the West from the twelfth century onward, the countours of his cultural and intellectual influence would change dramatically in the Renaissance. The changing shape of this influence, and the dynamics of its interaction with the growing use of the Italian vernacular is what this project seeks to explore.