Differentiating the Renaissance Period and Middle Ages Era in Europe

The Renaissance was a time of change and prosperity. The decision was made depending on the difference of two eras. Unlike the Renaissance, the Middle Ages were a thousand years of ignorance and superstition. The Renaissance men were leaders in an era of rebirth and learning looked to the Ancient Greeks and Romans for models of advance. Many historians felt that the Middle Ages and the Renaissance were one era. The debate centers around whether the Renaissance was a unique age or a continuation of the Middle Ages.

“Was the Renaissance a period distinct from the Middle Ages, or was it a continuation?” Par my opinion I feel that the Renaissance was a distinct period of change and prosperity.

“The world is waking out of a long deep sleep…” (Doc. 5) A.J. Froude finds specific examples that lead him to the understanding that their was distinction between both periods. The Life and Letters of Erasmus say that the church was a corrupt place and there was no religious teaching. Erasmus is trying to say in his book, directed tot the Prince, that he should bring back the respect of the Church and religious aspect to give the Church power again. These statements written by Erasmus show the want by townspeople for change. In the Middle Ages many people disregarded the advancement in society and only thought about the world and they were not humane. Erasmus shows how humanist actions begin. “In the Middle Ages both sides of human consciousness lay dreaming or half awake…the Renaissance we find artists who in every branch created new and perfect works…” (Doc. 2) From The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy by Jacob Burchardt he identifies that medieval man was childish, half-awake controlled by faith and defined by his group of membe...

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... life in the early modern period. “Thus, from the beginning, the double conception of medieval darkness and subsequent cultural rebirth was colored by the acceptance of classical standards…” (Doc.1) Writers and thinkers were inspired by the classical culture of the Greeks and Romans. They found their society much more “fascinating” than feudal and religious literature. They re-identified architecture, astronomy, medicine, and math. They corrected the order of the Church and began to believe again in karma, reincarnation and moksha. Renaissance men advanced the knowledge of human body, scientific calculations, and changed building attributes. As the change of these amenities came a change in the social structure. More men and women became literate, resulting in the increase and need for universities. Education. The Renaissance has a long and complex historiography.