About the RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a time from the fourteenth through the seventeenth century and was considered a rebirth of art, literature, culture and all around life for many Europeans. This time of rebirth came after the Middle, or Dark, Ages and was a complete rebound of this dark time. The Renaissance was not only a time of cultural rebirth, but political and economic stability.
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Reasoning and Impact of Renaissance The era of the Renaissance is directly a result of the Middle, or Dark, Ages. In the middle of the fourteenth century the Black Death swept across Europe, killing perhaps a third of the population. While devastating, some of the survivors found themselves better off financially and socially, with the same wealth spread among fewer people, and better potential for climbing the social ladder and also allowed people to patronize Renaissance artists. In addition, the merchant classes of a region like Italy also saw a great increase in their wealth from their role in trade, from the same trade routes which spread the Black Death so quickly. This trade income was further developed by Renaissance developments in commerce, giving the merchants further wealth to patronize with. With inventions like the printing press, news spread rapider and works were able to be reproduced for all to read and talk about. The Renaissance occurred because of a combination of these events.
The Renaissance led a remarkable amount of impacts on the eras following all the way through modern day. Art and the characteristics of it were radically different after the Renaissance. Correct proportioning and lines were now featured in art. Secularism was a new concept that still holds true today for many people. The Renaissance also catalyzed for the growth of humanism and the overall prosperity of education for all levels. This age called for a time of recognizing individual achievement, scientific inquiry, and the development of the arts that still hold true today. |
Why Italy?
One major reason the Renaissance began in Italy is linked to geography. The city-states of Italy, positioned on the Mediterranean Sea, were centers for trade and commerce, the first port of call for both goods and new ideas. Secondly, Italy was the core of the former Roman empire, and, at the collapse of the Byzantine empire in 1453, became the home for the intellectuals who brought with them many of the great works of the ancient Greeks and Romans, works that had been lost to the West during the Dark Ages. In similar reasoning, the Holy Roman Empire had essentially lost power in northern Italy, causing the papal states were governed by various leading families within each region, and the city of Naples dominated the South. This hole of leadership allowed merchant families to gain power within each city-state and were able to revise the laws governing banking, commerce, shipping, and trade. This freer atmosphere led to a busy exchange of both goods and ideas. The Renaissance was a rebirth of ancient Greek and Roman thinking and styles, and the single best reason for Italy as the birthplace of the Renaissance was the concentration of wealth, power, and intellect in the Church. In that time, the Church controlled so much of the political, economic, and social life of Europe, that it gathered most of the best minds, wealthiest men, and most powerful leaders into itself in Rome at one time or another. The noble merchants of various Italian cities had built up so much wealth over the centuries that they could better afford to patronize the arts and sciences than almost anyone else. |