JOHN ALLEN P.

GUMIA II-BPHE
PHYSICAL EDUCATION DURING THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD (CONTRIBUTORS)
Pope Pius II’s (1405-1464)
- Objectives of physical education were good posture, body health and aid to learning.
- Pope Pius II’s great knowledge of conditions in Germany and elsewhere inspired a
scheme of wide church reform, but the political conditions of the time and the resistance
of the various vested interests rendered its application impossible. He did what he could,
particularly by encouraging the movements toward strict observance of the rules of life
within religious orders. On the whole, he created worthy cardinals, and on Jan. 17, 1460,
he issued a bull condemning appeals from a pope to a general (ecumenical) council of the
church. A voluminous writer about the events he had participated in, he wrote also
general history and geography, poetry, and at least one scurrilous novel (The Tale of Two
Lovers). Pius II was a patron of humanists, and he commissioned the architect Bernardo
Rossellino to transform his native village of Corsignano into the town of Pienza.
Rossellino’s buildings and town plan in Pienza represent one of the earliest examples of
Renaissance urban planning.
Martin Luther (1483- 1546),
- Taught in the court schools of northern Italy and was believed to be one of the first
teachers to combine physical and mental training in a school situation.
- It may seem strange to suggest that Luther was a figure of the Renaissance, with its
inquiring spirit and its taste for classical models of learning. Yet the appellation of Luther
as Renaissance Man is by no means a misnomer. One of the key foundations of the
Renaissance was the recovery of classical authority. Many of the great learned texts of
antiquity had been thought lost to posterity forever. However, when they were recovered,
gathering dust in some remote monastery library, for example, a new era was born.
- "Ad fontes!" was the Renaissance cry, "Back to the sources!" If humankind wished to
progress and move on from the intellectual aridity of medieval scholasticism, it must look
back to the example of the ancients, whose wise insights could illuminate the darkness
that devotees of the Renaissance believed had fallen upon the European mind.
- Luther accepted the Renaissance caricature of medieval learning, albeit for different
reasons. Scholasticism for him was inextricably linked to what she saw as a corrupt (and
corrupting) Catholic Church. One of his main doctrines was sola sciptura which meant
that the Bible was the sole source of truth, not the authority of the Church. Individual
Christians should be able to discover the truth of Scripture for themselves by being
permitted to read the Bible in their own language.
- Inevitably, this meant going “back to the sources,” examining carefully what the Bible
said and how its wisdom could help us get at the truth. There are, then, clear similarities
between Luther’s regard for Scripture and the Renaissance veneration for ancient
literature. But there’s also a crucial difference. In Luther’s bibliolatry, the authority of the
Church and of the ancients is replaced by the authority of Scripture, the Word of God.
Roger Asham (1515-1568)
- Professor at Cambridge in England, proclaimed the value of physical education as a
preparation for war and as a means of resting the mind.
Pietro Vergerio (1349-1428)
- From 1390 to 1406 he taught rhetoric and logic at Padua and Florence and served as tutor
for the Princes of Carrara at Padua. In 1392 or shortly after, Vergerio composed his
famous treatise On the Manners of a Gentleman and Liberal Studies (De ingenuis
moribus ). This first of over a dozen Italian Renaissance educational treatises, and most
influential of all of them, saw more than 20 editions by 1500, and more than 40 by 1600.
In it, Vergerio advocates the extensive study of Latin literature as the core of the
curriculum in general education; a revival of the study of Greek; the relegation of logic to
a secondary status; and a broad curriculum, to include varied academic subjects, physical
education, and military training. He gives primary importance to the careful inculcation
of good habits and Christian morality. He especially praises the study of history as
"philosophy teaching by example" and stresses the value of recreation and games of skill.
- Pietro Vergerio of Florence defined the objectives of physical education as being a good
posture, healthy body and assistance when learning, because it clears out the mind.
Francios Rabelais (1490-1553)
- A French educational theorist, emphasized the objectives of physical welfare, the fact that
physical education is an important part of education and aids in mental training and that
is good preparation for welfare.
John Milton (1608- 1674)
- English poet expresses his views on physical education in his tractate education.
- Presented as a letter written in response to a request from the Puritan educational
reformer Samuel Hartlib, it represents John Milton's most comprehensive statement on
educational reform (Viswanathan 352), and gives voice to his views "concerning the best
and noblest way of education" (Milton 63).
- John Milton's instructive Of Education first appeared as an eight-page pamphlet in 1644,
and was reprinted in 1673 with a collection of his early poems. Milton's suggested
approach to education for students between the ages of 12 and 21 was greatly influenced
by his own experiences.
Vittorino da Feltra (1378-1446)
- The transitional period in history between the dark years of the medieval period and the
beginning of modern times, the four-tenth period of the renaissance and was an age of
great progress for humankind. One of the first teachers to introduce physical and mental
training into a school.
- This Period is associated with such names as Petrarch, Boccaccio, Michaelangelo,
Erasmus, da Vinci, da Gama, Columbus, Galelio, and Harvey.
 - Some outstanding leaders in the renaissance period who were responsible for spreading
these beliefs concerning physical education and mentioned briefly.
Desiderius Erasmus
- As the “Father of the Reformation,” Desiderius Erasmus (1466/69-1536) and his writings
influenced theologians, scholars, and common people. But ultimately, Erasmus was a
humanist, not a theologian or a radical reformer, and he remained a member of the
Catholic Church for his entire life. Decades after his death, the Council of Trent listed his
writings on the Index of Prohibited Books.
- For his time, Erasmus held rather unconventional teaching views. He encouraged
physical education, criticized the use of harsh discipline, and insisted that students
learned better when teachers stimulated their interest.
Baldassare Castiglione
- Was an Italiancourtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissance author, who is
probably most famous for his authorship of Il Cortegiano or The Book of the Courtier?
The work was an example of a courtesy book, dealing with questions of the etiquette and
morality of the courtier, and was very influential in 16th-century European court circles.
John Calvin
- An intelligent member of the Catholic middle-class, John Calvin (1509-1564) had the
family connections to place him in good schools. He left home in Noyon, France, in
1523, and traveled south to Paris to study law on a church scholarship. There he was
exposed to theological conservatism, humanism, and a movement calling for the
reformation of the church.
Johann Bernhard Basedow (1774)
- Johann of Prussia included gymnastics into his school in Dessau. Schools named
Philantropinum were opened in Germany which among languages and other disciplines
included outdoor activities such as gymnastics.
Johann Friedrich Guts Muth
- He is considered today as the “grandfather of modern gymnastics”. In his book
“Gymnastics for the youth” published in 1793, he defined two separate forms of
gymnastics. One was “natural gymnastics” and the other was the “artificial gymnastics”
By “natural gymnastics” Guts Muth meant those exercises which are 3racticed for health
and everyday living. “Artificial gymnastics” according to Guts Muth was all about the
beauty and the grace of the skills performed.
Per Henrik Ling
- Developed natural gymnastics using exercises for medical purposes. He was the creator
of physical therapy, calisthenics and floor exercises.
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn
- “Father of modern gymnastics”. He started the Turnverein movement (Gymnastic
unions). This movement spread gymnastics across the World. Jahn developed many
exercises along with the appropriate apparatuses. Among them were the pommel horse,
the side bar, the horizontal bar, the balance beam, vaults, rings, rope climbing, climbing
pole, and jumping events. He developed them in the school where he was teaching
gymnastics. However, while teaching gymnastics to his pupils, Jahn was teaching them
about Germany, nationalism and other ideologies that were prevalent at that time. The
first gymnasium was opened by Friedrich Jahn in 1811. This enticed other countries to
open similar gymnastics clubs all over Europe and later England.