The Northern Renaissance

By 1450, the bubonic plague had ended in northern Europe By 1450, the bubonic plague had ended in northern Europe. Also, the Hundred Years' War between France and England was ending. This allowed new ideas from Italy to spread to northern Europe. They were quickly adopted.

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Here too, rulers and merchants used their money to sponsor artists Here too, rulers and merchants used their money to sponsor artists. But the northern Renaissance had a difference. Educated people combined classical learning with interest in religious ideas.

Artistic Ideas Spread

The new ideas of Italian art moved to the north, where artists began to use them. Major artists appeared in parts of Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Diirer painted religious subjects and realistic landscapes. Holbein, Van Eyck, and Bruegel painted lifelike portraits and scenes of peasant life. They revealed much about the times. They began to use oil-based paints. Oils became very popular, and their use spread to Italy.

Northern Writers Try to Reform Society

Writers of the Northern Renaissance combined humanism with a deep Christian faith. They urged reforms in the Church. They tried to make people more devoted to God.

They also wanted society to be more fair They also wanted society to be more fair. In England, Thomas More wrote a book about Utopia, an imaginary ideal society where everyone is equal and greed, war, and conflict do not exist.

William Shakespeare is often called the greatest playwright of all time. His plays showed a brilliant command of the English language. They also show a deep understanding of people and how they interact with one another.

Printing Spreads Renaissance Ideas

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440, he forever changed the lives of people in Europe and, eventually, all over the world. Previously, bookmaking entailed copying all the words and illustrations by hand.

Often the copying had been done onto parchment, animal skin that had been scraped until it was clean, smooth, and thin. The labor that went into creating them made each book very expensive

Because Gutenberg's press could produce books quickly and with relatively little effort, bookmaking became much less expensive, allowing more people to buy reading material.

The technology then spread rapidly The technology then spread rapidly. By 1500, presses in Europe had printed nearly 10 million books.

Printing made it easier to make many copies of a book Printing made it easier to make many copies of a book. As a result, written works became available far and wide. Books were printed in English, French, Spanish, Italian, or German. More people began to read.

The first book that Gutenberg printed was the Bible (aka the Gutenberg Bible).

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The Bible was a popular book The Bible was a popular book. After reading the Bible, some people formed new ideas about Christianity. These ideas were different from the official teachings of the Catholic Church.

Humanism Emerges Books also helped to spread awareness of a new philosophy that emerged when Renaissance scholars known as humanists returned to the works of ancient writers

Previously, during the Middle Ages, scholars had been guided by the teachings of the church, and people had concerned themselves with actions leading to heavenly rewards.

The writings of ancient, pagan Greece and Rome, called the "classics," had been greatly ignored.

To study the classics, humanists learned to read Greek and ancient Latin, and they sought out manuscripts that had lain undisturbed for nearly 2,000 years.

The humanists rediscovered writings on scientific matters, government, rhetoric, philosophy, and art. Humanists were influenced by the knowledge of these ancient civilizations and by the emphasis placed on man, his intellect, and his life on Earth.