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.