The Renaissance refers to a period in European history from A.D. 1400 to A.D. 1600. Historians say that it started earlier or later depending on the country. It bridged the periods of the Middle Ages and modern history, and it overlaps with the Early Modern, Elizabethan and Restoration periods. The Renaissance began in Italy in the 14th century, but other countries went through similar cultural changes.
The geographical exploration that flourished during the Renaissance led to the destruction of the people of the Western Hemisphere, as European conquest and colonization brought plagues and slavery to the Indigenous people living there. Black people were shipped from Africa to the Western Hemisphere to work as slaves on European colonies.
The French word for rebirth is "Renaissance". Classical philosophy was largely ignored or forgotten after the Middle Ages, which caused intense interest in and learning about classical antiquity to be reborn. The Middle Ages were considered a period of decline by Renaissance thinkers. They wanted to re-emphasize classical texts and philosophy. They created their own style of art, philosophy and scientific inquiry. Shakespeare's works, astronomy, humanist philosophy, printing press, vernacular language in writing, painting and sculpture technique, world exploration, and the late Renaissance are some of the major developments of the Renaissance.
What is the name of the Renaissance?
Robert Wilde, a U.K.-based historian and writer, prefers to think of the Renaissance as an intellectual and cultural movement rather than a historical period. Wilde told Live Science that the Renaissance is not a time period for historians.
The interest in classical antiquity and philosophy grew during this time, with some Renaissance thinkers using it as a way to revive their culture. They created their own style of art, philosophy and scientific inquiry by interpreting Classical ideas. In the late Renaissance, there were developments in astronomy, humanist philosophy, the printing press, and world exploration.
Jacob Burckhardt popularized the term Renaissance in his book "The Civilization of Renaissance Italy" in the 19th century.
The development of history.
In this painting by Jules Laure, Charlemagne is surrounded by his officers as he welcomes Alcuin. Leemage/Corbis is the image.
Classical texts and knowledge were present in Europe during the Middle Ages. The Carolingian Renaissance was the first of the three main periods that saw resurgences in the art and philosophy of antiquity.
Wilde said that the 12th century Renaissance was influential on the later Renaissance. Europeans studied on larger scale Classical Latin texts and Greek science and philosophy, and established early versions of universities.
The Crusades were a part of the Renaissance. Middle Eastern civilization made strides in many cultural fields while Europeans were crusading. Many classical Greek and Roman texts were kept by Islamic countries, and were reintroduced through the return of the Crusaders.
The fall of the Byzantine Empire was a factor. Many scholars fled to Europe after the Ottomans were deposed in 1403. The conflict between the Moors and Christians in Spain caused many academics to flee to other areas, particularly the Italian city-states of Florence, Padua and others. The atmosphere for a revival in learning was created by this.
The Black Death helped set the stage for the Renaissance, according to Robert S. Gottfried. Florence experienced social and political upheaval due to the deaths of many prominent officials. The Medici family moved to Florence in the wake of the plague and over the centuries produced business and political leaders as well as four popes.
The Medici's and many others took advantage of the opportunities. Being patrons of artists was a popular way for powerful families to show their wealth. The Black Death caused people to question the church's emphasis on the afterlife and focus more on the present moment, which is an element of the Renaissance's humanist philosophy.
Many historians think that Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance, while others think that all of Italy is its birthplace. Renaissance thought, values and artistic technique spread throughout Europe from Italy. The end of the Hundred Years War between France and England allowed people to focus on things other than conflict, while military invasions in Italy helped spread ideas.
The Italian word "Uomo Universale" means "universal man" and is what inspired the term "Renaissance Man", a person who is talented in multiple fields.
The Renaissance has Characteristics.
The first proof sheet is shown in this illustration. The image is from Bettmann/Getty Images.
The growth and development of the printing press was one of the most important technical achievements of the Renaissance. The technology was used in China centuries earlier than Johannes Gutenberg did. It allowed larger quantities of printed material to be made and more people to be reached. One of the biggest discoveries in the history of human history was the invention of printing with a moving type. Wilde said that this is the easiest and single greatest development of the Renaissance.
Intellectual movement.
The evolution of Renaissance humanism as a method of thinking was one of the most significant changes that occurred during the Renaissance.
Wilde said that Renaissance humanism involved attempts by man to master nature rather than develop religious piety. Classical Greek and Roman texts allowed for a new mindset after the Middle Ages. The Renaissance readers understood the classical texts to be about human decisions, actions and creations, rather than following the rules set forth by the Catholic Church.
The Renaissance humanists believed that God gave humans opportunities and that it was their duty to do the best and most moral beings. "Renaissance humanism emphasized reason, scientific inquiry and human fulfillment in the natural world," said Abernethy.
The art of the Renaissance.
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican is adorned with Michelangelo's artwork. The image is from Fotopress.
Virginia Cox wrote in "A Short History of the Italian Renaissance" that Renaissance art was heavily influenced by classical art. The techniques of Greek and Roman sculpture, painting and decorative arts meshed with the Renaissance's philosophy. Both classical and Renaissance art focused on nature. People were depicted living life and showing emotion in religious works. Light and shadow techniques improved, as well as perspective, and paintings looked more realistic.
Renaissance artists were able to work and develop new techniques thanks to the help of patrons. Wealthy individuals became important patrons of the Catholic Church during the Renaissance and the Middle Ages, according to Cox. The Medici family supported the arts for most of the 15th and 16th century. Michelangelo, da Vinci and Raphael were supported by the Medici family.
Rome overtook Florence as the epicenter of Renaissance art at the end of the 15th century. The Pope filled the city with religious buildings. The period from the 1490s to the 1520s is known as the High Renaissance.
The music of the Renaissance.
Musical innovations in the Renaissance were partly made possible because patronage expanded beyond the Catholic Church. The Metropolitan Museum of Art says that new technologies resulted in the invention of several new instruments. The sheet music could be more widely distributed.
Renaissance music was characterized by its non-violent nature. Composers try to create music that will touch the audience emotionally. They began to incorporate lyrics more dramatically into compositions and considered music and poetry to be closely related, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Literature and theatre from the Renaissance.
The image is from traveler1116/
The Brooklyn College English Department says that Renaissance literature had a return to classical ideals of tragedy and comedy. Shakespeare's works are good examples of this. Hamlet is an educated Renaissance man because of the themes of human agency, life's non- religious meanings and the true nature of man.
The printing press allowed for popular plays to be performed around the world. In her book "Shakespeare's Stage Traffic", Janet Clarke wrote that a play's popularity can determine whether publishers choose to print the script. "Publishers invested in plays that were popular as theatre traffic as much as they invested in the authors" wrote Hull.
Renaissance society and economics.
The fall of feudalism and the rise of a capitalist market economy were the most prevalent societal changes during the Renaissance. Increased trade and the labor shortage caused by the Black Death gave rise to something of a middle class. Serfdom ended when workers demanded good living conditions.
Rulers realized they could maintain their power without the church. There were no more knights in service to the king and peasants. Money was more important than your loyalties.
Popes were frustrated by this shift. The "Peace of Westphalia" made it harder for the pope to interfere in European politics. Pope Innocent X said that it was null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, and devoid of meaning for all time.
The religion of the Renaissance.
The Black Death, the rise in trade, the development of a middle class and the papacy's temporary move from Rome to Avignon were some of the factors that led to the decline of the Catholic Church. The rise of Renaissance humanism created an atmosphere that gave rise to different movements and sects.
The invention of the printing press allowed for the publication of the Bible in other languages. Ordinary people were able to read and learn from the Bible. The early Evangelicals believed that salvation was not determined by the power of the church, but by personal conversion and the importance of the scriptures.
The "wars of religion" that lasted for centuries in Europe were caused by the fracturing of Christians in western Europe into different groups. Groups of people left Europe in order to escape persecution. The Pilgrims became known as the group when they came to the city in 1620.
The geography of the Renaissance.
The world map shows Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the world. The image is from Fine Art Images/Heritage Images.
Explorers sailed off to chart new lands to learn more about the world. Columbus "discovered" the New World in 1492, and Ferdinand Magellan was the first person to circumnavigate the globe in the early 1500s.
The European exploration and colonization of the Western Hemisphere was a disaster. The Indigenous population was ravaged by plagues, with death rates in some areas estimated to be as high as 90%. The native survivors were forced to work as slaves by the Spanish.
European powers began to colonize parts of Africa. The trans-Atlantic slave trade began to expand to the United States as Europeans began to take people from Africa to work as slaves.
Science from the Renaissance.
The moon is around the Earth in this 1708 depiction of the heliocentric solar system. The Oxford Science Archive/Print Collector has this image.
The ancient Greek belief that creation was constructed around perfect laws and reasoning was rediscovered by scholars after studying classical texts. The ancients studied astronomy, medicine, geography, math, and architecture more often than before.
One of the major scientific discoveries of the Renaissance was made by the Polish mathematician and astronomer,Nicolaus Copernicus. He published his theory of a heliocentric solar system in the 1530s. The sun is at the center of the solar system. The Catholic Church banned the printing of the book, though it was a major breakthrough in science.
Empiricism took hold of scientific thought. "Scientists were guided by experience and experiment and began to investigate the natural world through observation." The first indication of a divergence between science and religion was shown by this. Scientists were accused of dabbling in witchcraft, and sometimes imprisoned, when their work was suppressed.
Galileo Galilei was a scientist who was in danger for his work. Galileo found support for a heliocentric solar system and improved the telescope. He conducted motion experiments on pendulums and falling objects that paved the way for the discovery of gravity. He spent the last nine years of his life under house arrest.
The renaissance festival was held.
The term "Renaissance festival" refers to modern-day festivals that celebrate the art and culture of the Renaissance, but there were other festivals that took place during the Renaissance.
Festivals were held periodically throughout the reign of Henri II, the king of France between 1547 and 1559. The king's arrival into the city or town where the festival was being held was included in a paper written by Richard Cooper, a professor of French at the University of Oxford. Henri II held these festivals to make an important event such as the coronation of his queen or a military victory.
The world was changed by the Renaissance.
The foundation for the Age of Enlightenment was created during the Renaissance, when the world was transitioning from the ancient world to the modern. The developments in science, art, philosophy and trade, as well as technological advancements like the printing press, left lasting impressions on society and set the stage for many elements of our modern culture.
The Renaissance had a positive impact on Europe, but it also had devastating effects on the people of the Western Hemisphere, as plagues decimated Indigenous populations and the survivors were often enslaved by European colonizers. As European power grew, the system of conquest, colonization and slavery was repeated in Africa. The ramifications of European colonization and slavery are still debated today.
There are additional resources.
There are links to biographies of da Vinci, Galileo, Descartes, and Chaucer on the History Channel page.
The Renaissance and its characters will be told through tales of adventure in this book.
Waldemar Januszczak gives you a peek into the more exciting aspects of the time, from an episode on the gods and myths to one on a period of war, confusion and darkness.
There is a bibliography.
"The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" is a book by Jacob Burckhardt.
"The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century" was published in 1927.
The Black Death: Natural and Human Disaster in Medieval Europe was published in 1985.
Virginia Cox wrote "A Short History of the Italian Renaissance".
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a piece on music in the Renaissance.
The Brooklyn College English Department has an introduction to the Renaissance.
"Medieval and Modern History" is a book written by Philip Van Ness.
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