While the printing press certainly bridged some of the gap between the impoverished and the wealthy, there was still significant inequality between the two social classes. As a result, many individuals from middle and lower classes resented the elite and wealthy. This is clear in individual responses to the social inequalities of the Renaissance, such as “A Letter to Posterity,” by Francis Petrarch. Petrarch’s resentment for the upper class is clear, as he explicitly states “I have always possessed an extreme contempt for wealth,” though justifies that he does not hate wealth itself, but rather the many despicable anxieties that accompany having in excess (A Letter to Posterity). Petrarch further disparages the upper classes for their ostentatious displays of wealth, which he feels are inherently bad and distracting. Petrarch’s resentment for the upper class is representative of the responses of many lower class
While the printing press certainly bridged some of the gap between the impoverished and the wealthy, there was still significant inequality between the two social classes. As a result, many individuals from middle and lower classes resented the elite and wealthy. This is clear in individual responses to the social inequalities of the Renaissance, such as “A Letter to Posterity,” by Francis Petrarch. Petrarch’s resentment for the upper class is clear, as he explicitly states “I have always possessed an extreme contempt for wealth,” though justifies that he does not hate wealth itself, but rather the many despicable anxieties that accompany having in excess (A Letter to Posterity). Petrarch further disparages the upper classes for their ostentatious displays of wealth, which he feels are inherently bad and distracting. Petrarch’s resentment for the upper class is representative of the responses of many lower class