ABSTRACT
Italy in the time of the Renaissance may be cited as a significant example of conditions which were suitable for the development of a grand system of patronage, and hence for the birthplace of the Renaissance. Such are in brief the political and social conditions under which patronage in the Middle Ages flourished, but there were in addition some important economic aspects. Aside from uncertain and capricious patronage, nothing material could come to the author from his writings, and his very public oftentimes depended upon his patron. Professor Emerton has pointed out the ideality in the case of the Humanists, showing that the poet need not feel humbled by this relation, for the very essence of such patronage was the reflection that through his work he was giving back quite as much as he received in money.
