Introduction to Renaissance
Renaissance, in a broad sense, the culturally fruitful period of transition from the medieval era into the beginning of modern civilization in Europe. In a more restricted meaning, the word refers to the revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman culture that began in Italy during the 14th century. Renaissance is French for “rebirth.”
It is hard to assign beginning and ending dates to the Renaissance, for there was considerable shading and overlapping. Some historians maintain that the Renaissance extended from the middle of the 14th century to the middle of the 17th. The time of its beginning, and its duration, varied from country to country.
Spirit of the Renaissance
The Renaissance was to a large degree a revolt against the dogmatism and other-worldliness of the Middle Ages, when scholars concentrated on theology and religious matters and almost ignored the classical heritage from Greece and Rome. The Renaissance was a general flowering of the human spirit that brought more concern with man and his earthly interests than with theological abstractions. The scholars who held this viewpoint are called humanists. They believed with the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras that “man is the measure of all things.”
The new spirit powerfully championed the importance of free inquiry. Under its impulse astronomy was eventually reformed by Copernicus and Galileo, and science began assuming its modern form. Feudalism, which had grown weaker in the late Middle Ages, died out and was replaced by a trend toward nationalism and statism (concentration of power under strong monarchs). National languages began to flourish and Latin became less important. The invention of printing made books a common and potent means of spreading knowledge.
The discovery of America and the exploration of the Far East also stimulated the movement. The fall of Constantinople and the Eastern Roman Empire to the Turks in 1453 sent many classical scholars into western Europe, where they helped to promote the revival of learning already in progress.
The Renaissance In Italy
In northern Italy, and particularly in Florence, the Renaissance assumed large proportions. Petrarch (1304-1374) was its first great figure. He studied Greek and Roman literature in Latin, and communicated his interest in and appreciation of classical antiquity to others. He also produced poems that are considered classics of the Italian language. Boccaccio (1313-1375), also a Florentine, translated Homer into Latin and encouraged others to rediscover the neglected works of classical writers. He is best known, however, for his original work, The Decameron. There was a great deal of political and historical writing as well-much of which reflected civic pride and encouraged people to play an active role in community life. Dignitaries of the church, noblemen, and princes were affected by enthusiasm for the “revival of learning" and gave generous support to the work of the scholars and artists, particularly when the work reflected well on the patron's home city. The Medici family was especially energetic in its patronage.
The achievements of Italian artists in the Renaissance were remarkable. Among them were Botticelli, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and Tintoretto.
In Other European Countries
From Italy the Renaissance spread to France, Germany, England, Spain, and other countries. Erasmus (1466?-1536), the great Dutch scholar, often is credited with interpreting the movement for northern Europe. A new school of painting was a notable development in the Netherlands and Flanders. In Germany the strongest expression of the Renaissance was in humanistic philosophy. The humanism of Germany and the Low Countries was less artistic, less worldly on moral questions, and less indifferent to traditional Christian attitudes than was the humanism of Italy.
In France the movement bore a rich harvest in literature. Francois Rabelais (1494?-1553) and Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) typify the new spirit in their country. Pierre de Ronsard and other poets of the Pléiades group contributed to it when they wrote in the meters and on the themes of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
The Renaissance began late in Spain, but it produced the writer Cervantes and the painters Velázquez and El Greco. Scholars from England began pilgrimages to Italy during the latter half of the 15th century. One of these was Thomas Linacre, who taught Erasmus and Sir Thomas More at Oxford. The English Renaissance reached its finest achievement in the Elizabethan age, when Shakespeare was writing his plays and Francis Bacon was pursuing his philosophical and scientific investigations.
Decline of the Renaissance
In its later phases in Italy, the Renaissance grew more secular and diverse in character. Christian doctrine and standards of morality were ignored by many. This period entered its decline with the sack of Rome by the armies of Charles V in 1527. The Renaissance had its excesses and defects. There developed a tendency to regard the classics as the standard of perfection and at times inferior ancient works won higher esteem than the best works written in modern languages.
Nevertheless, in its overall effect the Renaissance was indeed an intellectual and artistic awakening and rebirth. Western Europe, aroused from its lethargy, was moved by a new desire for knowledge and placed new value on the human being. Manuscript copies of Greek and Latin works that had lain neglected in monasteries for centuries were brought out and copied diligently. The Greek models of sculpture and architecture were studied. Students filled the great universities at Paris, Bologna, and Oxford. There was increased building of churches, palaces, and civic buildings in a form breaking sharply from medieval Gothic. It was one of the great periods of European art, and the period in which music began to take on its modern form.