Essay On The Rise Of The Renaissance

The Renaissance is broken up into three parts, the rise of the Renaissance from 1500 to
1558, the height of Renaissance from 1558 to 1603, and the decline of the Renaissance from
1603 to 1649. This time brought new discoveries, colonization, repopulating, education, and
literature. The rise of the Renaissance was undetected at first because of wars, and hardship
that affected England for a century and a half. Under Henry the VIII, England’s population
grew, and feudalism decaying as people move to larger cities. The enclosure law forces people
to moved to cities, because agricultural workers could not pay the high rent. London’s
population more than doubled, going from 93,000 to 224,000 people within 42 years. The
inventing of the

printing press increased people’s drive to learn. Higher and lower education
devoted their education to learning humanism, the study of humans interest and values. New
types of literature also were introduced in the Renaissance, such as sonnets, native dramas, and
interludes. Martin Luther, and Henry VIII diminished the influence of the Church. Martin
Luther exposed corruption in the church by showing the people don’t have to worship God in
church, but instead they can worship in the privacy of their home. Henry VIII created the
Church of England because the Catholic pope wouldn’t divorce him from his wife, Catherine
of Aragon.
Queen Elizabeth’s subjects were loyal supporters of their queen, allowing her
established a strong central government. The country’s loyalty to the Queen became stronger
after the Pope excommunicated her, creating a stronger unity in England. Queen Elizabeth
created a hundred free grammar schools throughout the country, and made them open to
people of all social standings.

Gresham College was created to provide higher education for the
middle class. Elizabeth’s power did not stop on land, she was also able to rule the seas. Her
ships were able to bring her back treasures from their voyages on the sea; England’s navy was
likewise as strong, defeating Armada’s navy in 1588. Literature and entertainment were
blossoming under Queen Elizabeth’s rule. It was the golden age of poems, songs, dances, and
dramas. William Shakespeare wrote many great tragedies and comedies. Public theaters
brought audiences of all social levels; however, as the century drew to a close, the Puritan
religion forced many theaters to close. The start of the new century, brought a new rule for
England, as their beloved Queen’s health began to fail; Elizabeth named James of Scotland her
successor in 1603, since she had no children and was dying.
James I had little knowledge about England, and struggled to gain the loyalties of
England’s subjects. James and his son Charles were unable to keep the balanced once held
between the Protestants and Catholics by Queen Elizabeth, being members of the Church of
England. In 1604 there was a plot the boom both house while they were in session, with

the
King and his family in attendance, on November 1605; however the plot was discovered and
stopped. Charles reign brought the civil war in 1642 because of the dismissal of Parliament.
Charles was defeated and beheaded in 1649, causing England power to change from a
monarchy to a commonwealth. Stuart period brought back literary importance, but less
exuberant and more cynical and introspective. Theaters were popular until the Puritan
government closed all playhouses in 1649, however in 1660 theaters reopened.