Renaissance

The term Renaissance, French for “rebirth,” is applied to a cultural movement and a time period in Europe in the 14th, 15th,rift gold and 16th centuries, and carrying over into the 17th century. It is considered the transitional phase between the Middle Ages and modern times. The concept of rebirth is associated with the Renaissance because of a revival of premedieval classical influences, in particular from the civilizations of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Such cultural classifications are of course too pat. It is an oversimplification to regard the Middle Ages as the stagnant Dark Ages. Scholarship and the arts are a continuum, and individuals grew even as societies and institutions stagnated. Moreover, other peoples, such as the Arab Muslims and the Chinese, were breaking new intellectual ground during the medieval period, and some of their learning in geography and other fields reached Europeans as well. The CRUSADES of the 11th through 13th centuries, in which Christian European armies invaded the Near East, led to increasing cultural contacts. Yet there were events and developments—many of them surrounding individuals—during the centuries associated with the Renaissance that can be regarded as culturally transforming, making the concept of such a period a helpful one in historical studies.

During the 14th century, scholars and writers, especially in Italy, read the classics with a new focus on the power of reason and the worth of the individual. The movement associated with this fresh interpretation has come to be known as humanism, as heralded by 14th-century Italian poet and scholar Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca). The fall of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) to the Ottoman Turks in 1453—in effect, the end of the Eastern Roman Empire (or Byzantine Empire), which had been centered there—drove Byzantine scholars to western Europe, giving new impetus to classical and Muslim studies and their relevance in contemporary life. Moreover, Spanish victories over the occupying Moors out of North Africa—the final victory in 1492—and the capture of various universities, led to greater access to Muslim scholarship, as well as to Greek scholarship from texts that had been in Muslim hands. The development of the movable type printing press by German goldsmith and printer Johannes Gutenberg, in the mid-15th century, made texts available to a wider audience. A new freedom of expression in painting, sculpture, architecture, and music, as well as in philosophy and writing, emphasizing the contribution of the individual as opposed to the anonymity of many of the artists of the Middle Ages, resulted. In the sciences,rift gold intellectual curiosity, a willingness to experiment, and an adherence to reason and objectivity led to new discoveries, such as the telescope early in the 17th century. A 15th–16th-century Italian artist, architect, and scientist, Leonardo da Vinci, is representative of this new approach to intellectual and creative pursuits in the Renaissance. Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus, his contemporary, made the case that the study of Christian theology should be open to all, not just the clergy. Such views played a part in the Reformation, led by Martin Luther, another contemporary, whose activities in Germany resulted in the founding of Protestantism. Political and social institutions were also reexamined during these centuries, with a new sense of optimism regarding the lot of humankind and a new emphasis on education.