Cultural Achievements of the Italian Renaissance

Cultural Achievements of the Italian Renaissance

Humanism was a key movement in the Renaissance and had a major

influence on the cultural changes and achievements. Humanists studied

history; they were particularly interested in Ancient Greek and Roman

civilisation, and classical works, as well as in contemporary history

and politics. Although the Humanists were Catholic, their ideas were

more secular - "learning emerged from the cloister… to rejoin the

human mainstream."

The humanist ideas soon spread into the classroom. Previously,

learning had been ecclesiastical - theocracy and theology were taught

a lot - but during the Renaissance, learning became more secular. It

was based upon classical culture so students studied classical

authors, philosophers and mathematicians, for example: Ovia, Cicero,

Livy, Plato and Aristotle. More progress could be made now that

learning was not entirely based upon the church. Ideas soon spread due

to the invention of the printing press in Germany in 1469; an ability

to communicate to the masses quickly and reliably was a major cultural

achievement.

Books became much more accessible, and this in turn was a factor in

many people learning to read and write. Before printing, most people

were illiterate and very few books were in existence, as they had to

be hand-written. Often the only book available was the Bible, which

was copied out over a long period of time by a member of the clergy.

Mass production of books was a very important development during the

Renaissance as it meant that all the new ideas were obtainable to many

more people than would have been the case, had printing not been

invented. Authors of the time include Dante (poetry) and Machiavelli

(prose). The famous "Book of the Courtier" by Castiglione, goes into

great detail about the attributes of the ideal courtier. Some of these

attributes had only come to be regarded as important during the

Renaissance, due to the sudden interest in, and ideas about culture:

"he should have a knowledge of Greek and Latin [and be] very well

acquainted with the poets… orators and historians".