The Renaissance 2 Essay, Research Paper

The Renaissance

Renaissance. To some scholars this is a term, which describes the historic period between the late 14th century and the second half of the 16th century, which was characterized by the rebirth of the cultural and artistic life. To others this is a term, which is misused to describe just one era in history, a term which distinguishes one period too sharply from another. Either point of view it is fact that many effects occurred that had a direct impact on modern society.

The Renaissance started in Florentine, Italy and spread throughout all of Europe. It is based solely on naturalism, which in other words, is the study of man and the universe without the use of metaphysics. That man is the center and measure of all things. During the Renaissance, many advances were made in the math and science department. Famous names such as Leonardo da Vinci, Copernicus, Tycho Brahe and Keplero, just to name a few were all brilliant scientists and mathematicians who made major advances in their field of study. New sciences such as astrology, alchemy and natural magic helped to reject previous methods used. In the astronomical field, progress was made which opened the way for Galileo and heliocentrism. As for mathematics, the Italian algebraists were able to resolve third degree equations, which the Greeks and Arabs had never managed to do, and freed calculation from all purely dogmatic considerations. Advances were also made in medicine, at which were in a sense, rebellion against the archaistic ideas of Galen and a rebirth in the study of anatomy and the importance of direct observation.

Another major change in the Renaissance was that life was not just all-positive growth. The Renaissance was also a time of hardships, which included the Black Death which concentrated the population by one third. Labor became scarce, industries contracted, and the economy stagnated, but agriculture was put on a sounder basis as unneeded marginal land went out of cultivation. Warfare was common, and death by pestilence and violence was frequent. Interest in the occult and magic was widespread, and the officially sanctioned persecution for witchcraft began during the Renaissance. However the 15th century experienced modest recovery with the construction of palaces for the urban elites, a boom in the decorative arts, and renewed long-distance trade headed by Venice in the Mediterranean. The later part of the Renaissance was marked by a growth of bureaucracy, and increase in state authority in the areas of justice and taxation, and the creation of larger regional states.

From the mid-15th century up until the 16th century there was a brilliant period of artistic achievement as well as the transformation in literature. It s obvious that the Renaissance had its own distinctive style in art, music, and architecture. The people of the Renaissance were inspired to imitate, being careful not to recreate, ancient Greek and Roman culture. Great artisans, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello, all set the stage for Renaissance art. The Renaissance laid the basis for mass national literacy and the mass secular culture that is used in modern society. People began learning to read, therefore enabling them to discover what in truth was said in the Bible. Countless people became livid with the church for that and started riots. The Renaissance spawned the great creative vernacular literature in the late 16th century, which meant that nations could feel a sense of independence and a sense of uniqueness. Each of these aspects of the Renaissance coalesces together to shape the knowledge, ideas, and ways of thinking which enable the world to progress into modern culture.