Differences Of Humanism And The Renaissance In Northern Europe

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During the 1400s, a whirlwind of cultural, political, and religious ideas swept across Europe. It would lay the groundwork for the Reformation in Northern Europe and redefine the way that artists and intellectuals were seen in Italy. This movement is commonly called “The Renaissance” but the Renaissance that took place in Italy was arguably different from the Northern Renaissance. The Northern Renaissance took place in France, the Low Countries, Germany and England. Due to the different types of changes taking place, the two types of humanism emerging from these areas were distinctly different. Yet they focused on some of the same things as well; such as education and rediscovering old works of literature. The main differences between …show more content…

The humanists in Italy sought to study Classical literary literature from Greece and Rome. Many of the humanists’ occupations were secular and this contributed to the focus on the individual instead of God. Although the Northern Humanists also studied older literature and classics, their focus stayed primarily on early sources of Christian writing. This included the Holy Scriptures and the writings of church fathers. The Northern Humanists were interested in the reform of Christianity and focused on what they considered to be a “simpler religion” found in the early texts. Italian Humanists held on to their secular outlook throughout the development of their “civic humanism” and this kept the focus on learning and growing as an individual. Due to this, their humanism influenced them to become active in the state. One such humanist, Leonardo Bruni advocated Humanist’s participation in state affairs and service. Northern Humanists, also called Christian Humanists, were more interested in helping to positively influence society through educating them with Christian literature. Jacques Lefèvre d'Etaples, a leading Christian humanist, helped to apply humanism to religion. He theorized that a more accurate translation of the Bible would help people become more moral. During the Italian Renaissance, their urban society of city states was gaining wealth as well as access to more worldly possessions. This contributed to a more secular viewpoint as well. The varying prominence of religion in these two movements dictated the ultimate purpose of each type of

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