Magnificence and the Common Good: Architectural Patronage and Social Responsibility in the Early Modern Period
(2022) The Responsible Society in Early Modern Christianity: Voices & Fruits — Location: Rome (13.June.2022)
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- Abstract
- This paper proposes to study reflections on social responsibility in Early Modern Christianity by focusing on the concept of the common good (bonum commune, utilitas publica, Gemeiner Nutz) in political theory. As the shared duty of citizens to strive for the continuous harmonious existence of the civitas, and its material welfare, the “common good” responds best to contemporary ideas on social responsibility. Unlike liberality (liberalitas) or magnificence (magnificentia), the common good is not defined as a virtue, allowing the individual to be a good Christian, but as a shared duty (“a social responsibility”) towards an abstract entity as the civitas (or “society”). This distinction allows us to question models of architectural patronage, available to early modern Christians, and the architectural language they require. While the magnificent asks for a certain amount of sumptuousness, striving for the common good might not require such a display of wealth. The question also rises whether buildings should be read as portraits of a patron’s virtuousness or as embodiments of civic duties (or both). The paper deals with these questions, and takes Johann von Soest’s poem Wie men woll ein statt regiern soll of 1495 (instructing the urban magistracy of Worms how to strive for the common good), as well as the new legislative textbooks of Worms of 1498, as specific textual entries into early modern ideas on social responsibility in relation to architectural patronage and design.
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De Raedt, N. (2022). Magnificence and the Common Good: Architectural Patronage and Social Responsibility in the Early Modern Period. The Responsible Society in Early Modern Christianity: Voices & Fruits, Rome. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/105230