of French and Italian idiom. Abraham Fraunce’s Arca-
dian Rhetorike (1588) follows the Ramist approach in Eng-
lish and draws its examples from the best ancient and
contemporary European writers, including Tasso and
Boscán. The most important French treatises were those
pnof André de Tonquelin (1555) and Pierre de Courcelles
(1557).
The political climate created by authoritarian rulers
may have limited the scope of public oratory, but there
was a greatly increased demand for sermons in the ver-
nacular; among the most effective preachers were
SAVONAROLA, LUTHER, and John KNOX(see PREACHING). At
the same time, there was a great increase in international
diplomatic activity and in written communications be-
tween heads of state; this called for a class of men skilled
in the art of persuasive argument, from which the ambas-
sadors, ministers, and secretaries could be recruited. Elo-
quence as well as knowledge was required of those who
practiced as advocates in the law courts. The spoken word
was of paramount importance in education, which was
still largely oral. Public disputations on subjects of acade-
mic controversy were still frequently held at the universi-
ties. Sir Henry Wotton (1568–1639) provost of Eton,
advised the boys there “not to neglect rhetoric, because
Almighty God has left mankind affections to be wrought
upon” (Isaak Walton’s Lives). The influence of Renais-
sance rhetorical teaching lasted well into the 19th century,
especially in the grammar schools.
Further reading: Wayne A. Rebhorn, The Emperor of
Men’s Minds: Literature and the Renaissance Discourse of
Rhetoric (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1995); ∼,
Renaissance Debates on Rhetoric (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Uni-
versity Press, 1999).
Riaño, Diego de (died 1534) Spanish architect
Riaño worked mainly in southern Spain and in 1523 was
appointed cathedral architect at Seville. His masterpiece,
however, was the Renaissance-plateresque Ayuntiamento
(city hall) of Seville (1527–35), in which classical motifs
are applied with extraordinary exuberance and inventive-
ness to give an effect of great richness and variety.
Ribadeneyra, Pedro de (Pedro Rivadeneyra, Pedro
Ribadeneira) (1527–1611) Spanish biographer and
religious writer
Born Pedro Ortiz de Cisneros at Toledo, he adopted the
name of his maternal grandmother. The turning point of
his life occurred in Rome, where he met IGNATIUS LOYOLA,
whose friend and devoted disciple he became and to
whom he was affectionately known as “Perico.” He joined
the recently constituted Society of Jesus (its statutes had
been approved in 1540). In the year of Ignatius’s death and
beatification (1556), Ribadeneyra was given charge of the
Jesuit mission to Belgium. Although Loyola left his own
account of his life (Autobiografía y Diario espiritual), Rib-
adeneyra’s Vita Ignatii Loyolae (Naples, 1572) became the
classic biography of the future saint. His Spanish transla-
tion of it was published in 1583. Ribadeneyra also wrote a
two-volume history of the “schism” in England (Historia
ecclesiástica del scisma del Reyno de Inglaterra; 1588,
1593), a consolatory work addressed to Spaniards after the
disaster of the SPANISH ARMADA(Tratado de la tribulación;
1589), and two volumes of saints’ lives (Flos sanctorum;
1599, 1601).Ribalta, Francisco de (c. 1565–1628) Spanish artist
Born in Valencia, Ribalta probably trained at the ESCORIAL
under Juan FERNÁNDEZ DE NAVARRETEand at Madrid. His
earliest known work is Christ nailed to the Cross (1582;
Hermitage, St. Petersburg), a minor mannerist painting,
but after moving to Valencia in about 1599 and establish-
ing a large studio there he adopted a grander realist style,
influenced by CARAVAGGIO. Later works, typical of the
Spanish Baroque, include The Vision of Father Simeon
(1612; National Gallery, London) and two paintings com-
missioned by the Capuchins in about 1620: The Vision of
St. Francis (Prado, Madrid) and St. Francis embracing
Christ (Valencia museum). His son Juan (c. 1597–1628)
was also a painter.Ribeiro, Bernadim (1482–1552) Portuguese poet and
novelist
Ribeiro, who was born at Torrão, was a friend of Sá de MI-
RANDA, was perhaps a converted Jew, and belonged to the
group of courtly poets whose works appeared in Resende’s
Cancioneiro geral (1516). Little else is known of his life.
His Éclogas were the first written in Portuguese and estab-
lished a fashion for this type. These and a fragmentary
pastoral novel, Minina e Moça, which is extremely senti-
mental in rendering the lovers’ unappeasable passion,
were published posthumously (1554), together with the
Trovas de Crisfal attributed to Cristóvão Falcão (c. 1518–
c. 1554). This work, if not in fact by Ribeiro, is a very
close and successful imitation of his style.Ricci, Matteo (1552–1610) Italian Jesuit missionary and
writer
Born in Macerata, Ricci obtained a wide-ranging educa-
tion in Rome and joined the Society of Jesus in 1571. He
went to Goa in 1578 and Macao in 1582, before following
the Jesuit missionary Michael Ruggieri to China. After an
unsettled beginning, Ricci developed a comprehensive
knowledge of Chinese language and culture, before set-
tling at Chao-king (Zhaoqing) in 1583. In 1589 the new
viceroy finally expelled him and he moved on to Shao-
chow, then Nanking (1599), and Beijing (1601), where in
the same year he was received by the emperor. Wherever
he went, Ricci shone as a missionary of outstanding abil-
ity. He achieved numerous conversions by placing Christ-
ian doctrine within the context of Chinese culture, rather441122 RRiiaann~oo,, DDiieeggoo ddee