Roberto Weiss (21 January 1906 – 10 August 1969) was an Italian-British scholar and historian who specialised in the fields of Italian-English cultural contacts during the period of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

, and of

Renaissance humanism Renaissance humanism was a revival in the study of classical antiquity, at first in Italy and then spreading across Western Europe in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. During the period, the term ''humanist'' ( it, umanista) referred to teache ...

Early career

Weiss was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. After spending his later childhood in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, he came to Britain to study law at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He worked for a short time from 1932–1933 in the Department of Western Manuscripts of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

, and obtained his

D.Phil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from Oxford in 1934, in the same year winning the Charles Oldham prize. He was naturalised British in 1934. The author

John Buchan John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation. After a brief legal career, ...

became his friend and mentor.Obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'', August 1969. He also met the novelist

Barbara Pym Barbara Mary Crampton Pym FRSL (2 June 1913 – 11 January 1980) was an English novelist. In the 1950s she published a series of social comedies, of which the best known are '' Excellent Women'' (1952) and ''A Glass of Blessings'' (1958). In 1977 ...

, who later used him as the basis for the character Count Ricardo Bianco in her first novel, ''

Some Tame Gazelle ''Some Tame Gazelle'' is Barbara Pym's first novel, originally published in 1950. The title of the book is taken from the poem "Something to Love" by Thomas Haynes Bayly, and the work of other English poets is frequently referenced during the c ...

'' (1950), which she had begun writing while at Oxford. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, between 1942 and 1945, he served in the British

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

in a non-combatant role.

Scholarship

Other than his period of military service, Weiss taught at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

from 1938 until his death. He became Professor of Italian in 1946. He was a pioneer in the study of early humanism. His first book (based on his thesis), ''Humanism in England during the Fifteenth Century'' (1941, subsequent editions: 1955, 1967, 2009) was the first full-length monograph in English to treat the subject of the pre-

Tudor Tudor most commonly refers to: * House of Tudor, English royal house of Welsh origins ** Tudor period, a historical era in England coinciding with the rule of the Tudor dynasty Tudor may also refer to: Architecture * Tudor architecture, the fin ...

influence of Italian humanism on England. A reviewer from its first publication said that "young Weiss's meticulous scholarship had already long been recognised", and it was elsewhere described as "the best general guide" to its subject, and as the work in whose shadow other scholars remained seven decades later. The book was also criticised for adhering too much to

Jacob Burckhardt Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt (25 May 1818 – 8 August 1897) was a Swiss historian of art and culture and an influential figure in the historiography of both fields. He is known as one of the major progenitors of cultural history. Sigfri ...

. Subsequent lines of research took in Italian pre-humanists and the Renaissance knowledge of Greek. Weiss cited Rosamond Joscelyne Mitchell in this book, and she cited him in her book ''From Bristol to Rome in the Fifteenth Century''. His last book, the posthumously published ''The Renaissance Discovery of

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...

'' (1969) was an examination of the antiquarian studies of the renaissance humanists themselves, beginning with

Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credite ...

and ending with the sack of Rome in 1527. He also made important contributions to the study of individual humanists. Weiss was known for the conciseness of his writing. He stated that he could have turned each of the last ten chapters of ''The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity'' into its own book.Introduction to ''The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity''. His wife Eve, an English teacher, ensured the correctness of his English

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

and flow. Shortly before his death he was awarded the Serena Medal for Italian Studies by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

. Weiss died on 10 August 1969 in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east o ...

, having suffered a heart attack in the early hours of 9 August.

Assessments

According to Weiss's obituary in ''

'', the Italian department at UCL "developed into one of the most flourishing centres of Italian scholarship outside Italy" under his leadership. ''The Times'' also called him "a vital link in Anglo-Italian cultural relations". His obituary in the medievalist journal '' Speculum'' called him "one of the most learned and productive scholars of his generation". He has had a successful posthumous publishing career.

Personal life

In 1936 Weiss married Eve Cecil, with whom he settled in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and ...

and had four children. He died in

Published works (selection)

A bibliography of Weiss' works was published by Conor Francis Fahy and John D. Moores as "A list of the publications of Roberto Weiss, 1906–1969", in ''Italian Studies'', vol. 29 (1974), pp. 1–11. *''Humanism in England during the Fifteenth Century'' (1941; 2nd ed. 1957, 3rd ed. 1967) *''The Dawn of Humanism in Italy '' (1947; Italian edition: ''Il Primo secolo dell'umanesimo'', 1949), *''Un umanista veneziano: Papa Paulo II'' (1958) *''The Medals of

Pope Sixtus IV Pope Sixtus IV ( it, Sisto IV: 21 July 1414 – 12 August 1484), born Francesco della Rovere, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 August 1471 to his death in August 1484. His accomplishments as pope include ...

(1471–1484)'' (1961) *''The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity'' (1969), *''Medieval and Humanist Greek : collected essays'' (1977) *''Illustrium imagines: Incorporating an English translation of Nota'',

References

Notes Bibliography *Astrik Gabriel, Paul Oskar Kristeller and Kenneth Setton, "Roberto Weiss" (obituary), ''Speculum'' 1971, p. 574 f
online
with

JSTOR JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...

subscription). *Obituary in ''

'', Thursday, 14 August 1969; pg. 10; Issue 57638; col F
online
* *

External links

Fitzwilliam MuseumLibrary of the University of Warwick
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Roberto 1906 births 1969 deaths Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom Italian people of Czech descent Writers from Milan People from Henley-on-Thames Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of University College London 20th-century British historians Corresponding Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery personnel Military personnel from Milan