European Renaissance.

The Renaissance.

Between the 1300's and 1500's Europe experienced a cultural rebirth known as the Renaissance. It started in one the period's most authentic, wealthiest city state known now as Italy. The leading force of the Renaissance was a movement known now as Humanism. Humanism was a time when they put the individualism of ones focus on society not towards religion. In prior time periods religious beliefs dictated every aspect of life, art, government and even to the books that could be read and the creativity observed. Generally, humanism stresses the individual's creative, reasoning, and aesthetic powers. However, during the Renaissance, individual ideas about humanism hold a different view. During the renaissance many dramatic changes occurred in the fields of philosophy, art, politics, and literature. Most of them developed within the Roman Empire. (p.36, Manchester William, A World Lit by Fire, The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance)

Writers and philosophers of the Renaissance time period expressed their opinions about human nature and the humans roles in the universe through their writings.

Boccaccio's statue in Uffizi

English: Portrait of Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374...

Giovanni Boccaccio and Florentines who have fled f...

The humanistic movement began during the early stages of the Italian Renaissance movement with the rediscovery of the writings of the classical Greeks and Romans, which were not only models of literary style, but considered guides to the understanding of life. The first and most recognized philosopher of the time was Francesco Petrarch who was born in

the town of Arezzo on July 20th. He became known for his poetry, which can be described, like all humanistic writing, to be very realistic and critical, Petrarach's style is close to those of the classical authors he studied, and expressed his view through the use of characters. He once said of his writing, "The style is the man." (p.78 Black)

His most famous contributions to the world of literature is the...