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[20/12, 11:26 pm] Shosho??: Renaissance

XIV century

The great critical movement

How early

The great cultural movement that began in (taly during the early (1300s) and spread all over Europe is known as the Renaissance.Domains

The word 'Renaissance' is derived from the Latin word 'rinascere' which means the act of being reborn.It is an appropriate name for the movement since many European scholars and artists of that period turned to ancient Greek and Roman cultures.However, it influenced future generations in many areas such as art, Literature, education and history.The changes that were brought about by the Renaissance were gradual and hardly affected the people.

[20/12, 11:26 pm] Shosho💕🐣: Renaissance

XIV century

The great critical movement

How early

The great cultural movement that began in (taly during the early (1300s) and spread all over Europe is known as the Renaissance. The changes that were brought about by the Renaissance were gradual and hardly affected the people. However, it influenced future generations in many areas such as art, Literature, education and history.

Domains

The word 'Renaissance' is derived from the Latin word 'rinascere' which means the act of being reborn. It is an appropriate name for the movement since many European scholars and artists of that period turned to ancient Greek and Roman cultures. By studying the cultures of Greece and Rome, which are known as "classical antiquity", they wished to revive them in their own times, The Renaissance represented a rebirth of these cultures

The Renaissance is an important landmark in the history of the world since marked the end of the Middle Ages Many of the concepts and ideas of the Middle Ages were abandoned by the leaders of the Renaissance. For example, medieval thinkers believed that the most important responsibility of the people was to pray to God and to aim at saving their souls. Society was believed to be full of evil temptations. Renaissance thinkers, on the contrary. believed sincerely that the people owed a responsibility to the society in which they lived. Society was not seen as an evil temptation but as a dvillsing agency.

The study of theology, which was an important subject in the Middle Ages, was replaced by the study of humanity. The Renaissance thinkers spent their the studying the achievements of different cultures. They were particularly nterested in the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome.

There was a revolution in the field of art also. Medieval artists painted han figures that looked stuff and artificial. Renaissance
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upon the beauty of the human body. Their paintings and sculptures were lifelike.

The Renaissance began in Italy. Petrarch and Boccaccio were the first e Renaissance humanists. These two scholars recovered many ancient e manuscripts during the 1300s. They studied and imitated the ancient writings. Much importance was given to style. Petrarch, through his poetry, and Boccaccio, through his stories, tried to describe human feelings. They felt that understanding and dealing with human problems was more important c than trying to understand the mysteries of God's will.

In the field of art also, Italy was the pioneer. During the early 1300s, the Florentine painter Giotto became the first artist to portray nature realistically. Art during the late 1400s and early 1500s was dominated by three men -Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. The focus of 1 Renaissance art was on realism. They tried to make their work as lifelike as possible. Michelangelo's statue of Moses, his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine, Chapel, Raphael's portrait of the Madonna, and Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper and Mona Lisa rank among the greatest achievements of

Renaissance art. During the 1400s, the Renaissance spread from Italy to the rest of Europe. Politically, some of the countries of Europe were undergoing changes. By the late 1400s, England was being united into a nation under the monarchs of the House of Tudors. The Tudors who ruled from 1485 to 1603 were the most important patrons of the Renaissance. Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch i invited many Italian humanists to his court. These men influenced English scholars. The study of ancient Greek and Roman literature became fashionable in England during this period. The writings of Greek and Latin philosophers and scientists were translated by English scholars. As a result. the Englishman of that age was familiar with the works of classical authors. Aristotle and other

The new learning promoted the growth of universities. The first- universities were merely groups of teachers and students without any particular university building. The students stayed in lodgings and their lecturers lived in rented halls. Exams were conducted in the form of open discussions. There were a number of distinguished scholars in England
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during the 1400s. During Henry VII's reign, Grocyn and Linacre taught Greek at Oxford and Colet lectured on the Greek Testament. Colet founded St Paul's Grammar School, the first school in England that was completely devoted to the study of classical literature. William Lily was its first headmaster and his book on Latin grammar continued to be the standard textbook for the next two hundred years. Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, was herself a patroness of the New Learning. She founded two Cambridge colleges-Christ's and St John's. Erasmus was another great scholar who taught at Cambridge and inspired Latimer and Fisher with his ideas. Thomas More, in his book Utopia, described the ideal land. More was far ahead of his time in his ideas and principles.

Two other notable men, the Earl of Surrey and Thomas Wyatt, had travelled to Italy and brought back the sonnet form of poetry which had flourished since Petrarch's time. After Chaucer, poetry had languished in England. But with Surrey and Wyatt, the tradition was renewed again, such that during Elizabeth's reign, England become 'a nest of singing birds'. The sonnet became very fashionable and great masters like Spenser, Sidney and Shakespeare wrote several poems in this form.

The fall of Constantinople in 1453 had far-reaching effects. There was a regular exodus of Greek scholars who were welcomed all over Europe. They infused an interest in the ancient classics. Enthusiasm for learning was therefore characteristic of the Renaissance.

The Renaissance period, filled with its love for education, gave rise to an interest in science. In the Middle Ages, people meekly accepted the scientific theories of the ancients. For centuries, hardly any scientific discoveries were made. Modern science began its history with the Renaissance. Some of the important inventions which contributed to the spread of the Renaissance were the printing press, Invented by John Gutenberg, the mariner's compass and the telescope. While the printing press made books freely available, the mariner's compass encouraged sea travel. The first printing press was set up in England by William Caxton. It was established at Westminster in 1476. The greatest shock to medieval notions of the universe was given by Nicolaus Copernicus. For two thousand years, mankind had believed that the earth was the centre of the universe. Copernicus proved that the sun was
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the centre around which the earth and other planets revolved. This new idea and the invention of the telescope encouraged the study of astronomy.

In the field of geographical discovery, no other age in the history of the world had made so much progress. Christopher Columbus discovered America; Vasco da Gama found the sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope, and Ferdinand Magellan was the first to sail around the world. Some of the well-known British mariners were Sir John Hawkins, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh.

The spirit of enquiry that resulted due to the New Learning of the Renaissance inspired people to question old values. This acted as a disturbing force in the realm of religion. People of the medieval age unquestioningly accepted the authority of the Catholic Church. This submissive attitude was replaced by that of an enquiring generation that was shocked by the moral decay of the Church and of the pope. Scholars like Colet and Erasmus tried to apply humanistic methods to the study of Christianity. Others like Luther rejected the authority of the Church of Rome. This resulted in the religious revolution in Europe known as the Reformation.

The economic conditions of England experienced tremendous change. The population increased, causing old villages to expand. Many new villages sprang up, and boroughs and towns expanded. Industry received a boost due to the large quantities of coal, tin and iron which were mined. The discovery of new sea routes brought countries closer. As a result, sea traffic developed, and with it, trade and commerce.

Society during the Renaissance was sharply distinguished into two classes the very wealthy and the very poor. Farmers were very wealthy and the nobles and barons possessed huge estates. They lived in a lavish style in huge palaces. The feudal system was in practice. According to this, the king was al the top and below him were the barons and nobles. On the next rung were the tenants. The barons could raise an army whenever the king ordered it. The poor had no rights of their own. They were protected by the lord for whom

they worked. The men of the Renaissance livedourite hobbiefull. They enjoyed several outdoor activities and sports. The favourite hobbies of the men were hunting

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[20/12, 11:46 pm] Shosho💕🐣: snaring and trapping. The poaching of deer was very common. They also loved horses and dogs and spent much time with them. Theatre-going was another fashion of the age.

The impact of the Renaissance has been remarkable. For hundreds of years, artists, sculptors and writers have tried to reach the heights achieved by the men of the Renaissance, but in vain. Renaissance figures like Petrarch, Boccaccio, da Vinci and Michelangelo have set such high standards that they remain celebrated to this day. In almost every sphere of life-intellectual, scientific and artistic-the Renaissance is a period of tremendous achievement. To 'drink Life to the lees' seemed to be the motto of the Renaissance men.