Ronald G. Witt, William B. Hamilton Professor Emeritus

Please note: Ronald has left the "History" group at Duke University; some info here might not be up to date.

My interest is in the discontinuities and continuities between medieval and early European thought and especially in France and Italy. My most recent book, In the Footsteps of the Ancients. The Origins of Italian Humanism 1250-1420 interprets early Italian humanism in the light of earlier Italian intellectual traditions. A second book, still in the writing stage, entitled The Two Cultures of Medieval Italy 800-1250 traces the interrelationship between the documentary and book culture of medieval Italy.

Contact Info:

Office Location:	234 Carr Bldg, Durham, NC 27708
Email Address:

Education:

Ph.D.	Harvard University	1965
M.A.	Harvard University	1958
B.A.	University of Michigan at Ann Arbor	1954

Research Interests:

Current projects: My wife and I are very much interested in Renaissance Dance and have frequently taught the dances to interested students. In addition, we have three children.

My interest is in the discontinuities and continuities between medieval and early European thought and especially in France and Italy. My most recent book, In the Footsteps of the Ancients. The Origins of Italian Humanism 1250-1420 interprets early Italian humanism in the light of earlier Italian intellectual traditions. A second book, still in the writing stage, entitled The Two Cultures of Medieval Italy 800-1250 traces the interrelationship between the documentary and book culture of medieval Italy.

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. The Italian Difference: Two Cultures of Medieval Italy (800-1250) (2003) (Manuscript in circulation.)
2. Introduction, in Petrarch's De otio religioso (2002), pp. 3-23, New York (trans. Susan Shearer.)
3. Ars dictaminis, Cambridge Literary History of the Middle Ages, edited by Alastair Minnis (2002), Cambridge (to appear.)
4. Humanism and Reform, collected essays in Variorum Series (2001), Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk
5. Forthcoming: Introduction to Petrarch, in De otio religioso (2001), New York (trans. Susan Schearer.)

I have been awarded the Alumni Teaching Award, Guggenheim Scholarship, Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, Old Dominion Trust Award, Fulbright Research in Two Countries; and four grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities. I am currently serving as the Vice-President of the Renaissance Society of America (2000-2002).