The very definition of Renaissance is rebirth and that is exactly what happened to Europe during the Renaissance. It began in the urban society of Italy in primarily the city-state of Florence. The Black Death left the population of Europe very low and because of that combined with the decline of the church power, people began to emphasize individual achievements and show more interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture. Italian city-states were where the Renaissance began. The main 3 city-states were Milan, Venice and Florence. Milan was the center of the main trade route ruled by the Visconti family. It had a centralized state with an efficient tax system that gave money to the government. Venice was a link between Asia and Western Europe, run by an elected leader called a Doge. Merchants ran the city for a profit. Their international power was the black slave trade. Like Venice, Florence was run by merchants, but in 1434 the Medici family overthrew them. Venice then became the cultural center of the Renaissance. Renaissance society was made up of 3 estates. The first estate is clergy, the second is nobility also called Renaissance men and the third is commoners. 85% of commoners were peasants and the other 15% were townspeople. There were 2 writers during the Renaissance who outline the way certain people should be. Machiavelli wrote “The Prince” which told how to get and hold political power. Castiglione wrote the “Book of Courtiers” which describes the perfect Renaissance noble. In Renaissance society marriages were arranged to strengthen political ties. The woman’s family paid the dowry and the men controlled the business and family. Children were only adults when their father went to the court and freed them. Renaissan... ... middle of paper ... ...father of Renaissance humanism. Dante wrote “The Divine Comedy”, a book about the soul’s journey to salvation; his main points questioned the Catholic Church. The goals of humanism were individualism and to study fulfillment. They wanted people to mainly challenge tradition. Humanism is also found throughout the Reformation. Christian humanists were the people who pushed for change of the Catholic Church. They believed that in order to change society, you had to change the individual human beings who make it up. Erasmus is one of the best know humanists of the Reformation. He wanted to spread the philosophy of Christ, provide education in works of Christianity, and criticize the abuses in the church. Overall the main tie of the Reformation and Renaissance was humanism. Both groups of people during those times wanted change towards a more secular view of things.
4. Renaissance Humanism was an intellectual movement that involved the study of classical literary works of Greeks and Romans.
Humanism revolves around the central idea of learning more about the world and not so much about religion. Desiderius Erasmus (c.1466–1536, was the most important Christian humanist. 4 Despite disagreeing with some of the theories of Luther, Erasmus was a supporter of the Reformation. One of his principal works was The Praise of Folly, where he utilized a satirical language to criticize the church and the society in general5.
4. Renaissance humanism was an intellectual trend that came from interest in Greco-Roman literature. It changed theories and education because it secularized history--events were no longer blamed on God’s will.
The Renaissance began after Europe began recovering from the Black Death. Anyone who had survived was just happy to be alive and started focusing more on material things, rather than religious ones. Another reason the focus shifted from religious thoughts was because of the Great Schism. People began second guessing their rulers and religious leaders and became more secular. One important city involved in the Renaissance was Florence, which would come to be known as the cultural center of the Renaissance. Florence was located in Tuscany and was ruled by merchants originally, but was later taken over by a wealthy family known as the Medicis. Later, however, the economy began to decline, which made the people turn to a man known as Savonarola. Savonarola, however, was an extremely strict ruler and did not allow such things as gambling or painting. He then went on to criticize the Pope and was sentenced to death for heresy. The Medici family then gained back control. These power struggles within Italy would lead to better trade which would help lead to people having a new, better way of life.
The renaissance was an age of recovery from the catastrophic 14th century, a time for the slow process of recovering from the effects of the Black Death, political disorder, and the economic recession. This recovery was accompanied by a rediscovery of the Greco-Roman culture and civilization. The renaissance began in Italy. There are plenty of reasons why Italy was the main location for revival of antiquity. The first one being the plague was the first to leave Italy. Therefore, they had more time to recover and grow. Another being that Italy was the main power during the past Greco-Roman culture, especially where it flourished in Rome. The rebirth in Italy led to the revival of three characteristics; an emergence of humanist attitudes, art,
The Renaissance, occurring from approximately 1300 to 1600 CE, was a period that began in Florence, Italy and spread to other parts of Western Europe (Fiero, 377). During this time, humanism became an ideal that the culture revolved around. Humanism is a philosophy that focuses on the abilities of humans and the importance of goodness, needs and rationality rather than the theistic beliefs religion offers (“Humanism”). Humanism is based around the strengths of humans. The result of this was a vast dominance of the arts during this time.
Humanism The introduction of the concept of humanism greatly affected the Renaissance. The Humanistic influence shaped Renaissance art, writing, education and thinkers, its ideas were spread among all aspects of life. Machiavelli’s writings during the Renaissance were also affected by the ideas of humanism. His ideas reflect the thoughts of humanism in the way he thought governments and societies should be organized.
The Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual movement that had its peak during the 15th and 16th centuries. During these times there was a heightened interest with the classical learning that was brought about in the middle ages. The renaissance first started in Italy and then eventually spread to Western Europe. During this period there was a high interest in the aesthetics of the classical world like architecture. The renaissance focused on the 17th century philosophy which came from the Greeks.
The Renaissance was a cultural movement occurring from the 14th to 17th century. During this time, many new ideas and works were emerging. One key idea from the Renaissance is humanism. Humanism is essentially a celebration of the individual being and what makes us so unique. People who believed in the humanist movement generally preferred cold hard facts to merely believing something as a result of religion.
The word Renaissance in French implies the notion of “rebirth” or “reformation “ This period within the context of history was characterized as the period of European Civilization immediately following the era of the middle ages. This period mostly relates to a large extent, the growth and propagative phenomena of artistic and intellectual erudition, presently used by artistic scholars and philosophers decipher and recover ancient learning as well as standards of Greece and Rome. The Renaissance era to many transcended beyond a period of simply intellectual movement, it was to them equally a period of cultural rediscovery which imparted some sort of deeper understanding making it one of the most significant eras in universal history. Believed to have been restricted to Italy, the Renaissance era occurred during the late 15th century, this great movement made an advanced and significant difference in the world we have come to know today as well as the world of the past. The Renaissance era is significant not just simply because it is one of the world’s most known events, but because it is a movement that has benefited and contributed intellectual developments to today’s notion of western civilization.
The Renaissance time period started in the late 14th century and it lasted all through the 16th century. It all started in the late Middle ages throughout Italy (http://fashionhistory.net) taking at least one-hundred years before it reached the Northern Alps. This was also the period where the word “European” was put in use and understood by other places, and the word “Renascrere” originated from the Italian word “Renascrere” and it meant to be re-born. The word Renascrere fitted perfectly to this age due to the fact that many had intellectual pursuits and creative energy was re-born (www.richeast.org). The Renaissance would be best known for its artistic aspect and famous polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo given the term “Renaissance men.” It was an effective cultural and development of perspective in painting movement spreading to the rest of Europe and the advancements in science. (www.richeast.org)
The Renaissance was a time period that started around 1300s C.E. and lasted to the 1500s and began in Italy and over time spread to Europe (Frey 316). The Renaissance was known for adopting new ideas, the study of humanism, breathtaking art, and the era of deadly diseases that spread rapidly from one person to another and killed people within days.
Some of the main economic powers of the renaissance were Italian city states. The first, Milan, was in northern Italy. Milan, the center of trade and money with a large tax, was ruled by Visconti and was later taken over by Sforza. Next was Venice, which was the link of Asia and the western world. Venice was a republic with a doge, or an elected leader, and was ruled by merchants and aristocrats. Lastly, was Florence which became the cul...
A central focus of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was an intellectual movement that claimed the heart of the Renaissance. Humanists studied the classical cultures of Greece and Rome. They used their newly acquired knowledge to develop a better understand of their own times. Humanists, although they were mostly Christian, did not focus of religion. Instead they were fixated on worldly subjects. It was believed that education should stimulate one’s creative mind. Humanists emphasized humanities, which are classic subjects such as grammar and poetry.
What was the Renaissance and why did it happen? Italian life in the 14th and 15th centuries was lived among the vast ruins of the ancient Roman Empire. The cruelty and barbarism of Rome had long been forgotten, and the splendor of that lost civilization's ruins suggested a glorious, golden past. By contrast, the period following the fall of the Rome in the fifth century seemed to some Italian intellectuals and artists to be a period of decline and decay.