The Renaissance
The renaissance is one of the periods of European history which saw the rebirth of European culture after the middle ages, and it ushered in the modern era of secularism, rationality, individualism, and humanism. During that time, people reflected these values in buildings, painting, sculptures, writings, science, and all aspects of their lives. The renaissance encompasses roughly a 300 year period in Europe where architects, poets, and philosophers got inspired by the style and ambitions of Greek and Roman civilizations. It took place from the 14th century to the 17th century, and during that time the greatest authors, thinkers, and artists in human history thrived during that era. In essence, the renaissance was about new ideas (like humanism) abolishing old views and customs like religious beliefs and practices which have made a connection between the middle ages and modern-day civilizations.
European commerce got new lands and cultures due to a global exploration, which later led to the emergence of prosperous cities and a wealthy merchant class, especially in Italy. Europe gained great wealth during that time from trade especially in Italy, as the Italian cities acted as hubs for international in valuable products such as silk, wool, cloth, armor, silver, and spices.
The beginning of the Italian Renaissance started in Florence, a city with a rich cultural history where wealthy citizens could afford to support artists, philosophers, writers, scientists, and so forth. The Medici family were famous benefactors of the movement The Medici’s patronage of the arts is something that they’re well-known for. They sponsored artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, and Donatello. These men are the four renaissance geniuses They have been popularized by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles adulation. Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, and Donatello are four exceptional artists that are the most well-known maestros of the renaissance.
Michelangelo Di Lodovica Buonarroti Simoni is a well-known renaissance man. He was an architect, poet, engineer, and artist who was said to be one of the greatest in his lifetime. His sculpture of David and famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel depicting the scenes from Genesis and The Last Judgment is what he’s well-known for.
Leonardo Da Vinci is acclaimed to be a true Renaissance Man — an artist, inventor, polymath, and draftsman. The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are his well-known masterpieces.
Raffaello Sanzio Da Urbina was a painter and an architect. He was a very inventive artist. His most famous works include his paintings of the Madonna of the Pinks, Saint George, and the Dragon, Sistine Madonna The School Athens, and many others housed in the Raphael Rooms in the Vatican.
Donato di Niccolò Di Betto Bardi was a sculptor. His most well-known works are his bronze sculpture of David, a bronze roundel of Chellini Madonna, and a wooden sculpture of Penitent Magdalene. The middle ages is a period in European history that occurred between the roman empire and the age of the renaissance.
The middle ages is a period of European history that began in the 5th century and ended in the 16th century. At the time of the middle ages, everything was based on religion. Whereas the renaissance was more about art. A very notable difference between these two periods is their art. Gothic art was portrayed in the middle ages. Since everything revolved around religion during that period, architecture was tied to gothic sculpture, as its architects were focused more on religious buildings and cathedrals. A building that’s notable to many from that period is the Notre Dame Cathedral situated in France. The renaissance had a more classical form of art. Renaissance artists portrayed human beauty, nature, and religion in their art. During the middle ages, art had no perspective unlike the time of the renaissance and that’s due to it being offensive to mimic God’s creations, as perspective makes art look more realistic.
Medieval literature dealt with religious topics like chivalry and Christianity, whilst the renaissance dealt with man himself, humanism, arts, and sciences with their progress. The literature in the middle ages was written in Greek and Latin unlike the renaissance as it was written in English. Authors from the middle ages wrote literature on parchment paper, all the text was handwritten by a trained scribe. During the renaissance age, writers would use a printing press instead of handwriting their literature.
The renaissance was a time of education and innovation, unlike the middle ages. About 5% of people could write and read in 1330. It was really rare to find an educated person during the middle ages, as only the sons of rich families went to school. So a peasant or an average person like most of us wouldn’t have been able to get an education in the past as education was quite expensive. There were 3 major school types during the 4th century; the monastic school, the grammar school, and the elementary-song school.
Grammar schools were usually found in large churches and cathedrals. These schools mainly taught boys about Latin grammar. Grammar schools would also teach boys about the art of arguing and the art of public speaking which is pretty similar to what roman schools used to teach. Just like roman schools, grammar schools would avoid spending too much time on subjects like mathematics and science.
Monastic schools trained boys to work at churches. This type of schools had monks to teach boys lessons relating to religious education. Monastic schools would sometimes teach boys from poor families in exchange for working as servants in the monastery. In 1140, Richard De Clare established a priory called St. Mary Magdalene Priory in Tonbridge and boys would usually work in it to get educated by the monks.
Elementary-song schools were usually found in towns with large churches. Young boys would be taught to sing Latin hymns and songs at elementary-song schools. Although it was fairly rare, boys were also taught how to read and write if an educated priest was available.
England has two main centres of learning; Oxford and Cambridge, founded in the 12th century. These two universities took boys to study as soon as they were considered ready to study. Some boys were as young as thirteen.
Although the middle ages wasn’t a great time for innovation it still has some remarkable inventions that are really significant. A few inventions that were made during the medieval time are spectacles, vertical windmills, mechanical clocks, building techniques (gothic architecture, medieval castles), agriculture (three-field crop rotation).
Education was centered around churches in times before the renaissance. During the renaissance, education revolves around the rediscovery of lost ideas which led to a rebirth of civilizations, hence the name “Renaissance” which is a French word for rebirth. Art Architecture and science were fields of study that were valued during the renaissance. They were closely linked and fused together seamlessly during that time. At that time, education had to do with serving the purpose of humanists, which also meant that education wasn’t only based on learning what ancient authorities said, but science too. Educators of the renaissance dealt with subjects like humanities such as poetry, rhetoric, moral philosophy, grammar, and ancient authors. Since it was thought that classics provided moral instruction and an intensive understanding of human behavior, education of the renaissance was composed of ancient literature and history. People would learn about ancient manuscripts but they would need to learn Latin and ancient Greek in order to understand the manuscripts.
The renaissance was an important period of innovation roughly from the 14th century through the 16th century. Artifacts and inventions were spread during that time. The printing press is a major innovation of the renaissance and possibly the history of the world. Around 1440, the German inventor, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press and by 1500 printing presses spread through Europe. It is one of the most important inventions of our time. The printing press has drastically changed the way our societies evolved. Some other notable innovations of that period are; the parachute, floating dock, lifting tower, crank and connecting rod, patent law, bastion fortresses, etc.
Now we’ve said that throughout the renaissance humanism was taught in schools. But what is it exactly? Humanism is simply the belief that man has beauty, worth, and dignity. It’s a subject that studies humanities and the liberal arts; literary scholarship. It is about humans and how much potential they have to grow, it doesn’t relate to religion or any religious beliefs and themes.
Humanists reject the idea of God. They class themselves as atheists. They have no belief in an afterlife so they focus on chasing happiness in this life. Humanists believe that science, human experience, and rational thinking are the only things that can provide them with answers to their questions and provide them with knowledge and a moral code to live by. Humanism asserts that humans have the right to shape their own life and they are responsible for it.
Humanist beliefs have developed our world. Humanism philosophies have taught us plenty of things. There are three basic types of humanism; liberal, socialist, and evolutionary humanism.
Liberal humanism is the first type of humanism philosophy. Liberal humanists believe that the sacredness of humanity lives in every individual. Hence, it’s really important to protect each individual’s sacredness and freedom. The modern ideas of “equality” and “human rights” come from this idea.
Secondly, socialist humanism. People of this type of humanism believe that the sacredness of humanity lives in the collective, the Sapien species as a whole. So it is important to protect the equality of individuals in the species, instead of the individual freedom favored by liberal humanists. Inequality denies a human’s holiness of life and character because it privileges unimportant qualities like skin color and wealth. When we favor white people over people of colour, for instance, it just shows that we value people’s complexion over the sanctity possessed by all humans.
Lastly, we have the last type of humanism which is evolutionary humanism. These humanists believe that we need to completely direct the evolution of our species, ascertaining we evolve into superhumans in preference to subhumans. One of the most notable forms of evolutionary humanism is Nasizm. The Aryan race was believed to be the most advanced form of Sapiens, and that interbreeding with lower forms like homosexuals, jews, and the mentally ill would corrupt the superior race and lead us toward devolution into subhumans. The Nazis had a goal to assist natural selection in the development of a superhuman race.