There were several conditions that contributed to the rise of the Italian Renaissance. First are the Crusades, the holy wars fought between the Christians and the Muslims. Over time, the Crusades opened up multiple new trade routes, especially in the city-states of Italy. Their prime geographical location resulted in the Europeans coming in contact with foreign cultures. Acquiring exotic goods and ideas from the eastern world had a great impact on Europe during the Dark Ages. Secondly, the scandals of the Roman Catholic Church during the Medieval Ages lead to the Renaissance. People started to notice the Church's corruption, doubting their ultimate authority over every aspect of European culture and society. This resulted in many developing a secular outlook, rather than being heavily dependent on the Church. Third is the growth in wealth and population of the middle class. As their fortunes improved and began to accumulate money, they could spend it on things other than their basic needs. Their desires stimulated the European life economically and culturally. With the emerging capitalist society, individuals publicly exposed their wealth and others were motivated to emulate this expensive living. Lastly, the healthy competition between the upper class for status, gave rise to the Renaissance. Serving as patrons to artists, the wealthy began to compete in sponsoring the best artworks. While artists achieved public …show more content…
By reviving the classical Greco-Roman texts, people detached from their medieval mindsets. Renaissance humanism separated politics with the Church, suggesting that the Church should guide only spiritual matters. Humanism promoted the glorification of human being, giving them more confidence. Humanism also stressed the philosophy of enjoying life on earth, rather than focusing on preparing for the
“The church (…) individualism was identical with arrogance, rebellion, and sin”(doc 1). This shows that actions like rebellion and sin relate with individualism, which is just like Humanism. “In true order that mortal man should first care for mortal things”(doc 4). This just shows how important things have meant to people, and to respect person’s property. Humanism brought the idea of civilized people with great ideas into the world. Before the Renaissance, religion was everything, when the Renaissance came, the people were exposed to the arts and
When historians use the term “Renaissance humanism” they are talking about the revival of the “worldly spirit of the ancient Greeks and Romans, which [the humanists] believed had been lost in the Middle Ages.” Humanists liked ancient writings and looked for “guidelines for living life well in this world,” as well as models and styles to follow for their own books and other written works. The humanists thought that the ancient Greeks and Romans had written beautifully and were extremely intelligent, so they wanted to copy their ancient styles and learn about them. Some humanists also began focusing on things that were happening in the world, and ways to enjoy life more on this planet. They stopped looking at religion so much and started focusing
The Italian humanism was able to change an individual's role of society through education, civic humanism, and individualism in art. In the Middle Ages the world was barbaric, but the Renaissance was able to transform many individuals into civilized citizens for their community, civic humanism. Individualism and secularism are both important aspects of the Italian Renaissance that derived itself from humanism.
Arguably the greatest and longest impacting movement brought about by the forward thinkers of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized the human potential to attain excellence through direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of the classical Greek and Roman societies (Merriam-Webster). The scholars and believers in humanism sought to change the course of society away from the narrow pedantry of medieval scholasticism and utilitarianism. Humanism was a basic desire for every citizen to be able to speak with eloquence and read and write with clarity, so that common citizens were capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities (Gray). The movement also emphasized the value of a human being as well as the importance of rational thought rather than blind faith in spiritualism or superstition. It also pushed people to explore human desires and pleasures while also enriching their minds. The influential nature of humanism was far reaching and most notable for its effects on Renaissance art, literature, and philosophy.
For centuries, people looked to religion for the answers to their greatest questions. The Church had a firm grip of how people viewed the world. God's will was to be followed without question and any attempt to explain a phenomenon without God's involvement was heresy. When the Renaissance began to spread across Europe, the qualities of humanism became more prominent. Scientific and rational analysis was becoming of great interest compared to supernatural explanations. Renaissance world-view can be characterized by a growing humanistic orientation that can be demonstrated by analyzing cultural artifacts from the era.
The Renaissance was huge turning point that impacted society since it changed the daily and social life of many people. During the 14th century, Italy became a place that is very powerful with business and had strong political powers because it was a huge trading center. This started an time where Italy and some of Europe became prosperous in economics which is called as The Renaissance. There was many causes to the Renaissance but the one cause is the influence from Greeks and Romans since Ancient Greece studied history and are famous historians, it influenced people to do the same. Another important cause is that people embrace the idea of human and life is more important than religion. This also led to people shifting their focus from religious belief to secular ideas. People also really wanted to accomplish their own achievements with their own power. Lastly, a disease known as The Black Death is also a cause since it ended the system of feudalism and allowed people to find new ways to climb up the social class especially in places where social mobility much greater than other places. As a result, people's life became more and more prosperous . People who had shifted their focus to non-religious ideas accomplishes many things and some who became artists were also very successful. The city Florence that is in Italy was a place where art florised. Many important figures and wealthy families acquired their status and their famed recognition, would patronize arts by paying an artist to create an impressive work of art. This was to mainly to show off their limitless amount of wealthy. This led to an increase in trade which also meant that many cities grew in size and can provide more jobs to people. Wealth became a symbol for power, wealth and prestige. In the Renaissance, people became more richer, prosperous and intelligent because they change
Before there was a rebirth in Europe, there was instability that resulted into deaths, famine, and destruction. Therefore, the renaissance played a crucial role in Europe, specifically in Italy. The renaissance would be defined as a cycle where Europe practiced a rebirth of antiquity based on the Greeks and Roman culture. For instance, the people of Italian Europe studied religion and the Northern people established several teachings of learning on topics of technology, philosophy, and science. Wherefore, the social status of artists changed since advanced ideas of art was always available in Europe l throughout the Renaissance. This had an impact on the church to be more stabilized because of how their power was drained in the past. In addition,
Renaissance society first took shape within the merchant cities of late medieval Italy. Italy had a cultural advantage over the rest of Europe because its geography made it the natural gateway between east and west. The city-states had wealth from commerce and that that were
The artistic and economic changes that are associated with the Renaissance, first began in the Florence.Trade, crusades and the expansion of commerce in city states (11th and 12th ) centuries helped florence a lot in economy. Geography also made florence a model of Renaissance culture because it was central Italy, agriculture thrived in tuscany and Lombardy and Florence conquered Pisa in 1406 (access to sea , expansion of trade)
It became known as the birthing place of the Renaissance due to the growing economic power. As Italy’s trade partners increased so did their abundance of wealth, which can be tied into why Italy is known as the starting point of the renaissance. Along with their economic growth was the increased interest in humanism. Many poets, artists, and writers became influences in the start of the Renaissance. Francesco Petrarch for instance, was known by many as the “Father of Humanism,” and considered one of the earliest humanists.
Humanism describes the emphasis that was revived in the Renaissance when the Liberal Arts were used to distinguish man from beasts. Through letters--or scholarship--was sought a rebirth of spirit and spiritual freedom and justification of the claim to rational autonomy. In essence, the Renaissance was a revival of the capacities and powers of the ancients.
The ancient ideas about beuty- of mind, body and spirit, led on to a new philosophy, known as humanism, which challenged the teachings of the medieval Church. Renaissance thinkers made human beings, and human achivements, their main concern. They cared more about life in this world, than about eternity. Most humanists did not reject altogether. But now they believed that, in some ways, humans could be perfect, and almost equal to God.
The Renaissance began after Europe began recovering from the Black Death. Anyone who had survived was just happy to be alive and started focusing more on material things, rather than religious ones. Another reason the focus shifted from religious thoughts was because of the Great Schism. People began second guessing their rulers and religious leaders and became more secular. One important city involved in the Renaissance was Florence, which would come to be known as the cultural
The Italian Renaissance took place from the 1400s to the 1700s, just after the plague spread through. One of the major reasons why the Renaissance started in Italy was because of how fast the plague got through and spread throughout the rest of Europe. The Northern Renaissance took place from the 1400s to the 1600s, because the ideas from Italy spread to and then throughout Europe.
The Renaissance change the way people looked at humanism.Humanism is a when you turned away from the medieval things and take interest in the important ones. Although many people wanted to have individualism, most people did. They took a habit of being independent and self reliant. The Renaissance period changed the way people viewed things, like the complexity of men, artistic expression, and individualism.