Chapter 12 - The Renaissance PDF

# Chapter 12 - The Renaissance When people discuss the Renaissance, they generally mean the Italian Renaissance, but it actually refers to the multiple phases of change that occurred over all of Europe. Each nation had its own period of transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern era. The R...

# Chapter 12 - The Renaissance When people discuss the Renaissance, they generally mean the Italian Renaissance, but it actually refers to the multiple phases of change that occurred over all of Europe. Each nation had its own period of transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern era. The Renaissance is largely considered the turning point that marked the final end of the Middle Ages, but there is no one defining event that officially ended it. There are arguments that say there were about 100 years of transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern era, but by the time the Renaissance was over, the Middle Ages had definitely ended. One of the reasons that the Renaissance marks a definitive shift in eras is that the focus and thought processes began to significantly change. The Middle Ages emphasized the importance of Christianity, particularly the Roman Catholic teachings. By the time of the Renaissance, power had become consolidated and the corrupt nature of the Church was obvious. During the Renaissance and the following centuries, the power of the Church steadily declined as it fought against the brilliant scientists and philosophers of the time. ## Prelude to the Renaissance Science may not have been as important as theology during the Middle Ages, but it was a period that saw some world-changing inventions, particularly toward the end. Many of these inventions made the Renaissance possible. Although the Great Famine and the Black Death significantly reduced the population, by the beginning of the Renaissance, the population across much of Europe was growing again. Significant improvements in farming made it easier and faster to produce food, meaning that changes in the climate were less devastating than they had been. Quarantines had proven to be an effective way of preventing further spread of the plague in major cities and towns. The improvements in agriculture and a better understanding of how to manage disease outbreaks made survival much easier. However, it was Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press that allowed for significant advances in thinking and ideology. Books could not only be mass produced, but they could be sold for considerably less. This made reading more accessible as the growing population moved away from an agrarian economy into the cities. All of these events contributed to the explosion of thoughts and ideas that have come to be known as the Renaissance. ## Italian Renaissance The change in thinking began in little pockets of Europe, but the first major shift occurred in Italy around 1480 and lasted until about 1520. There were many reasons why the first Renaissance took place in Italy. As the home to the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the country attracted many great minds from around the world. A number of prestigious universities had emerged by the time of the Renaissance in Italy, attracting even more people from around the continent. With many major port cities, Italy also attracted ideas and great thinkers from many regions beyond Europe. Some of the most significant people to arrive came from the crumbling Byzantine Empire. Though Constantinople would not fall until 1453, people had been leaving the empire before the final battle. They brought with them the ideas and culture that had been preserved after the fall of Rome, reviving the ideas in the minds of Western Europeans. Although they were not the only influence, their arrival around the time of the Renaissance cannot be dismissed as a coincidence either. Men like Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei learned to balance their investigations into the world around them with the paranoia of the Catholic Church. By working within the system, they were able to postulate ideas with less risk. They studied everything from biology and physics to nature and art to classical philosophy. Religion was not their main motivation, which was a significant departure from previous centuries. They did not want to dismiss religion, but they also did not want to be hindered by it. By establishing a delicate balance, they were able to explore ideas that were heretical to the Church. They were not immune from the anger of the Church, however (Galileo spent a number of years under house arrest toward the end of his life), but they understood the limits better than others, such as Giordano Bruno. Renaissance thinking began to analyze more than just the sciences, too. Architects during the Renaissance didn’t exactly reject the architecture of the Middle Ages, but they did seek a more classical appearance in their buildings, giving rise to beautiful and elaborate structures that were nearly as impressive as those of Rome. The ideas of Rome were considered paramount, and they sought to further those ideas over the philosophies and works of the Middle Ages. At some point during the Renaissance, people tried to differentiate the obviously changing times. They used the term Renaissance to indicate the rebirth of thinking and ideas. Really, it was the return to a previous era, but they were more interested in painting the previous centuries as unenlightened. The idea that the time before the Renaissance was a dark period certainly has a basis in fact, given how much bloodshed occurred, but that kind of barbarity intensified after the Renaissance, with the most recent examples being both of the World Wars. The Renaissance was more of a significant shift in thinking than a rebirth, but it did place a new emphasis on science and progress, which had been far less important during the Middle Ages. ## The Renaissance Spreads Italy was the first country to experience a significant shift in thinking, but they were not the only country that began to reevaluate their way of thinking after the horrors and uncertainty of the Black Death and so many wars. Both France and England experienced significant changes during the 16th century, including changes in their politics and art. William Shakespeare is probably the most famous figure from this time, but there were many others who left their mark on their countries as the world began to move away from the authority of the Catholic Church. In areas north of Italy, the Northern Renaissance saw changes in the Protestant regions. These ideas spread to the Americas, influencing the thought processes and beliefs in the colonies. ## The Renaissance Fades Historians do not agree on when the Renaissance ended. Some place the end around 1520 when the enthusiasm and major players of the Italian Renaissance were gone. Others place the end of the era around 1620 when the spirit of renewal and ideas died down across the continent. What is indisputable is that Western thinking never returned back to the blind faith that many had in their religion, which was the mindset of the Middle Ages. As more people became educated, ideas were more easily evolved and spread. Following the Renaissance, Europe experienced a steady shift into more scientific thinking and away from the mysticism of religion. Following the Renaissance was the Enlightenment, which ended with several revolutions and a considerable amount of bloodshed. World-altering inventions came along far more frequently and were not always fully understood before they showed their devastating effects (such as the machines of the Industrial Revolution that significantly polluted the environment and poisoned people in cities). With people more inclined to turn to science to find the causes of problems, fewer people believed it was simply the will of an omnipotent being they could not understand. Science became far more important and resulted in both astonishing and horrific creations that still continue today.