The Renaissance Defined

Renaissance means rebirth. The term is used to describe the cultural explosion that occurred in Europe near the end of the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, there was a “rebirth” of classical knowledge.

The Renaissance lasted from about 1350 to 1600 and marked the beginning of modern times. New intellectual and artistic ideas that developed during the Renaissance marked the “birth” of the modern world. The Renaissance educated Europeans to develop new attitudes about themselves and the world around them.

The Cradle of the Renaissance

The Renaissance first began in the city-states of northern Italy. By 1350, there were three cities with a population over 100,000: Florence, Venice, and Genoa. The Renaissance spread from the Italian city-states to northern Europe.

Wealth accumulated from European trade with the Middle East led to the rise of Florence, Venice, and Genoa. All three city-states benefitted from their proximity to trade routes connecting Europe with Middle Eastern markets.

In addition, Florence, Venice, and Genoa served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe.

Venice and Genoa were seaports, and their merchants dominated the profitable Mediterranean trade. The prosperity of Florence, which is considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, was based on the manufacture of wool, silk, and leather.

Florence, Venice, and Genoa were initially independent city- states governed as republics (governments in which citizens elect their leaders). Wealthy merchants were active civic leaders.

Contributions of the Renaissance: Visual Arts

The Renaissance produced new ideas that were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and literature. Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded trade, sponsored works which glorified city- states in northern Italy.

Renaissance art differed from medieval art produced between 500 and Medieval art and literature focused on the church and salvation; Renaissance art focused on individuals and worldly matters, along with Christianity.

Contributions of the Renaissance included accomplishments in the visual arts by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

One of the greatest artists was Leonardo da Vinci, who painted Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Da Vinci was also a scholar and inventor who was interested in anatomy, medicine, and engineering. Da Vinci filled his notebooks with drawings for airplanes, bicycles, and machines for lifting and manufacturing.

How did Mona Lisa get that smile? How did Mona Lisa get that smile? (Start at 11:20) Leonardo’s Mysterious Machinery Game Leonardo’s Mysterious Handwriting More on Leonardo…

Another outstanding Renaissance artist was Michelangelo, who was a painter and sculptor. Michelangelo is famous for the statue of David and for painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The statue of David (the heroic Biblical king) is one of Michelangelo’s most famous works, as is his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican – a work commissioned by the Pope in The Sistine Chapel painting, which covers the area the size of a tennis court and includes Biblical themes, took Michelangelo three years of painting flat on his back to complete.

Rooms of the Vatican... School of Athens

Contributions of the Renaissance: Literature

The Renaissance included accomplishments in literature in the form of sonnets, plays, and essays.

Sonnets During the 1300s, the poet Petrarch wrote sonnets (short poems) in which he expressed his love for a woman named Laura who had died during the Black Death. Petrarch’s sonnets were inspired by humanism and focused on his personal feelings.

Plays The most famous of all playwrights is Shakespeare, who lived from 1564 – Shakespeare’s great strength lay in his ability to transform well-known stories into dramatic masterpieces. Some of his greatest works include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth.

Essays A famous writer of essays was Niccolo Machiavelli. By 1500, Italian city- states were in turmoil and many rulers were unable to hold onto their power. Machiavelli, an Italian philosopher, observed city-state rulers of his day to learn which personal qualities were most effective. He concluded the best rulers were those most willing to use force and those most able to deceive their opponents.

Essays In 1513, Machiavelli wrote The Prince, an early modern treatise (essay) on government. The Prince realistically analyzed the politics of Renaissance Italy.

Essays In The Prince, Machiavelli supported the absolute power of the ruler and produced guidelines for the acquisition and maintenance of power by absolute rule.

Essays Machiavelli advises in The Prince that one should do good if possible, but evil when necessary. Machiavelli maintains that the end justifies the means.

Contributions of the Renaissance: Intellectual Ideas

The Renaissance included accomplishments in intellectual ideas.

Education became increasingly secular during the Renaissance. This was reflected in humanism – the Renaissance movement based on the literature and ideas of ancient Greece and Rome.

Humanists accepted classical beliefs and wanted to use them to renew their own society. Among the most important beliefs was individualism (an emphasis on the dignity and worth of the individual person). Humanism celebrated the individual.

Humanists believed that education could help people improve themselves. They opened schools that taught humanities (the subjects taught in ancient times, including Greek, Latin, history, and philosophy). Humanism stimulated the study of Greek and Roman literature and culture.

Humanism was supported by wealthy patrons. These individuals and families, wealthy from newly expanded trade, spent lavishly in support of artifacts, sculptors, architects, and writers.

During the Northern Renaissance, the art and literature changed as people of different cultures adopted Renaissance ideas. Northern Renaissance artists portrayed religious and secular themes.

The most famous Christian humanist was Desiderius Erasmus, who inspired his colleagues to study Greek and Hebrew so they could understand older versions of the Bible that were written in these languages. In 1511, Erasmus wrote The Praise of Folly, in which he specifically attacked the Renaissance popes.

A friend of Erasmus, the English humanist Sir Thomas More, wrote Utopia in In Utopia, which was written in Latin, More criticized the society of his day by comparing it with an ideal society in which all citizens are equal and prosperous.

The Northern Renaissance

With the rise of trade, travel, and literacy, the Italian Renaissance spread to northern Europe.

During the 1400s, Renaissance art and humanist ideas began to filter northward from Italy to France, England, the Netherlands, and other European countries. This led to the Northern Renaissance.

After France invaded Italy in 1494, French kings and their warrior nobles became fascinated by Italian Renaissance art and fashions.

At the same time, Italian traders living in northern Europe set an example for northern European merchants. These northern European merchants began to appreciate wealth, beauty, personal involvement, and other Renaissance values.

Growing wealth in northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas. Northern merchants began to spend their wealth on education, fine houses, and material goods. Some northern Europeans began to travel to Italy to study with Italian masters.

Unlike in Italy, the Northern Renaissance had a more religious tone. Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity. Groups of scholars known as Christian humanists wanted reforms in Catholicism that would eliminate abuses and restore the simplicity of the early church. Christian humanists believed that humanist learning and Bible study were the best ways to approach these goals.

Spread of knowledge among the newly created middle class in northern Europe was aided by the invention of the printing press. By the 1400s, German engravers had developed a movable type printing press, in which the type was set into adjustable molds, inked, then pressed onto a sheet of paper. The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books (which could be published more quickly and less expensively) helped disseminate ideas.

In 1456, Johannes Gutenberg printed a complete edition of the Bible, known s as the Gutenberg Bible, using the movable type printing press.