The European Renaissance from 1300-1600.

The Renaissance was a period of European history, considered

by modern scholars as that between 1300 and 1600. Many dramatic

changes happend during the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a

period of new inventions and beliefs.

The Renaissance was drastically different from the Middle

Ages. During the Middle Ages the church held most of the power and

it's economy was agriculturaly 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. Also, people's

curiosity overcame thier 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.

English: Self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci. Red c...

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, Galleria dell'...

Self-portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, executed in re...

These things gave rise to a new type of

scholar, the humanist. Humanism was subjects concerned with humankind

and culture. They stutied various things such as Latin, Greek

language, literature and philosophy. Music and mathmatics 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, as they had been to the medieval past, but for the

first time emerged as independent personalities, compared to poets and

writers. Many artisans merged mathmatics with art , in order to

become more precise in their measurements and to make sure an object

was supported both rationally and porportionally. As a result

painters tried and often suceeded into making their painting a window

into the world. Artists also studied the way light hits objects and

the way our...