The European Renaissance
The Renaissance was a period of European history, considered
by modern scholars as that between 1300 and 1600. Many dramatic
changes happened during the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a
period of new inventions and beliefs. The Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, modern science, capitalism, politics, diplomacy, and warfare were all shaped by events, ideas, and thinkers of the Renaissance. In terms of cultural developments, the invention of the printing press, the Protestant Reformation and Catholic Counter-Reformation, and the flowering of Humanism were revolutionary for the construction of modern thought and culture. And of course the artistic accomplishments in art, literature, music, and theater are of monumental scope and significance.
The Renaissance was drastically different from the Middle
Ages. During the Middle Ages the church held most of the power and
its economy was agriculturally based. Exploration and learning
was almost put to a stop. During the Renaissance society was
transformed into a society increasingly dominated by central political
institutions with an urban commercial attitude.
English: Self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. Red c...
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, Galleria dell'...
Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiaru...Also, people's
curiosity overcame their fear and many people started to venture out
and explore. New schools and colleges became more and more common.
The Renaissance was started by many rich Italian cities, such
as Florence, Ferrara, Milan, and Venice. Because these cities were
very wealthy, many merchants started to spend money on different
things, such as painting, learning, new banking techniques, and new
systems of government. These things gave rise to a new type of
scholar, the humanist. Humanism was subjects concerned with humankind
and culture. They studied various things such as Latin, Greek
language, literature and philosophy. Music and mathematics were also
studied as well.
The Renaissance gave way to new forms of painting , art and
sculpture. During the Renaissance, artist were no longer regarded as
mere artisans,