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Essay on humanism in the renaissance
Impact of renaissance on european culture
Essay on humanism in the renaissance
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Giovanni Boccaccio's the Decameron, written in the Early Renaissance, is a sharp social commentary that reflected the ideas and themes of the Renaissance and of Renaissance Humanism. His tales of nuns and priests caught in compromising situations, corrupt clergy selling chances to see religious artifacts, and of wives cheating on their husbands show the changing ideals of the time and the corruption that was running rampant within the church and in the lives of the general populace. The Decameron speaks against this corruption and reflects the secular attitude of living as happily as possible, demoting the principals of Christian morality that had ruled daily life in the time before the Renaissance. Another concept that sprung from the Renaissance was capitalism, an aspect that Boccaccio explores. The capitalism of the Renaissance, corruption of the Church clergy and the ideas of humanism are reflected in the Decameron.
Boccaccios Decameron reflects Renaissance capitalism and the new attitude of people towards sin and making money. Prior to the Renaissance, it was considered a sin to charge interest on borrowed money. There were very few Christian bankers in the early Middle Ages, and it was not until the late Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance that it became acceptable to start charging interest. As a result, capitalism was able to reach new height in the Renaissance. Despite the changing attitude of those seeking to get rich, usury was still considered a sin. The attitude of the people towards sin began to change, and the Renaissance was characterized by these changing morals. Sin became more acceptable when the benefit of sinning was becoming rich. Capitalism led to materialism, which corrupted the clergy as well as the laity. In the Middle Ages, social classes were very structured, and there was little room for social movement. Yet in the Renaissance, it was not uncommon for people to gain social status, because they could make money. There was a class of popolo grosso, or new rich. Capitalism allowed people who had very little to gain material wealth. The woman in the 10th day 10th story, a peasant is able to move up in social status, by marrying a richer man. It was very possible that this could happen during that time. This social mobility also brought with it a sense of greed and materialism, even within the clergy. In the 6th day, 10th sto...
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..., it is filled with sordid details of nuns who sleep around and other vulgar tales. It is written to be art, but not art to glorify God as most art had previously been intended. The Decameron reflects Humanistic thinking about the elevation of man, which had an influence upon morality in the Renaissance.
The Renaissance was a period when society, attitudes and ideas were changing. Capitalism allowed for social mobility, yet it also served to change peoples opinions on morality. People now saw things that were once thought immoral to be acceptable, when the gain was great. Capitalism paved the way for greed and desire for material wealth. Immorality also existed in the clergy of the church. Corruption in Popes and priests set an example for all other Christians, and would eventually set the stage for the coming of Protestantism. Through Humanistic thinking, man and his art were elevated. Boccaccios The Decameron is a work in which the capitalism, corruption of the clergy and humanistic thinking are reflected. Each story of the book reflects the overall changing society of the Renaissance.
Works Cited
Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. New York: Penguin Group, 1982.
In the book, Giovanni and Lusanna, by Gene Bucker, he discusses the scandalous actions of a Florentine woman taking a wealthy high status man to court over the legality of their marriage. Published in 1988, the book explains the legal action taken for and against Lusanna and Giovanni, the social affects placed on both persons throughout their trial, and the roles of both men and women during the time. From the long and complicated trial, it can be inferred that women’s places within Florentine society were limited compared to their male counterparts and that women’s affairs should remain in the home. In this paper, I will examine the legal and societal place of women in Florentine society during the Renaissance. Here, I will argue that women were the “merchandise” of humanity and their main objective was to produce sons.
Lauro Martines, The Wages of Social Sin, in An Italian Renaissance Sextet: Six Tales in Historical Context (University of Toronto Press, 1994) pp. 120
Antonio Manetti, a Florentine Humanist and holder of several high offices in Florence, was the author of the delightful novella known as the Fat Woodworker. This novella, first published in its final refined form in the 1470’s, tells the story of a rather complex and slightly malicious trick created by a genius architect known as Filippo Brunelleschi. While the trick is mean at times, the reader tends to not notice because of the comedic way that the fat woodworker reacts. The prank that unfolds can in some ways closely parallel the many tricks that occur in Boccaccio’s Decameron, though there are some large differences.
The Middle Ages and the Renaissance were different in their own unique ways. The Middle Ages, time was simpler. They relied more on the churches and their religious means. The Renaissance was during the year 1350 and didn’t last until 1700. The Renaissance means “rebirth” or “revival” (Background Essay). This was a time when art and science were popular and important. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the change of man’s point of view from the Middle Ages due to the Renaissance.
Ruskin, John. “Grotesque Renaissance.” The Stones of Venice: The Fall. 1853. New York: Garland Publishing, 1979. 112-65. Rpt. in Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1989. 21-2.
Some male characters in this book have values that do not draw parallels with their stature in life. For example, Schedoni is a monk, supposedly a loving and caring individual who spreads the word of God. In reality, he conspires with the Marchesa (in a church) to commit a mortal sin, by telling her, "...this girl is put out of the way of committing more mischief..." (173). This action shows his true color, usually green, and through his large ego, this jealous nature reveals itself. If he is secure as a person, these petty grievances against Vivaldi would be just that, petty. Bonarmo's personality does not correspond to his stature either. He is a servant whose loyalty to his master deserts him. He is too independent and too intelligent to be in servitude to a master whom he does not believe superior to himself. These characters possess too much pride and ego to live in a world where they are not always in co...
A rediscover of their history and recognition of early Greek philosophers changed the way that the influential families and Princes, in Italy, considered themselves. Their way of thinking of the Devine and need to promote one’s own aspirations through sponsorship of the arts, as well as, civic duty became not only fashionable but important to progress in the city states. Although Donatello’s David and Botticelli’s Primavera are master pieces in their own right, their influence on future generations of artists cannot be ignored. The spark that ignited the fire which we call the Renaissance was a transformation of societies thinking and values to a Humanistic approach to one duties to society and the church. These two works are a reflection of the changing attitudes which would eventually change all of
Decameron is a "fictional record of the stories that ten Florentine men and women told to entertain
Chaos struck all-over Europe in the 14th century; no social class or individual was immune from this bizarre mysterious death. Historians estimated that this unidentifiable disease killed a total of one-third of Europe’s population by the 1350’s. Now in today’s society scientists classify the unidentifiable disease as the bubonic plague also referred to as the Black Death. During 14th century European-society, there was no logical medical knowledge; instead, people resorted to supplementary explanations, such as God punishing the sinners, or other religious groups outside of Christianity misbehaving (Black Death 1). In this time period, oral tradition was still common among the illiterate, luckily for the upper class society several people were literate and documented the event of the Black Death by letters, poems, or even stories. The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio is a fictional medieval allegory story within its frame narrative has 100 tales that documented life in Italy occurring the same years as the bubonic plague. In the text the Decameron, author Boccaccio, depicts a story about ten wealthy Italians fleeing to the countryside after news of this mysterious deadly disease. Through interpretations of the story, Boccaccio gives insight about the Black Death’s affects, believed causations of the time, moral and religion standard, and response of the people in Florence Italy. In addition, found from examining the texts, information not related to the Black Death such as insight about the affects the Decameron had on society, Boccaccio’s reason for creating the story, and the intended audience. (Boccaccio).
... the reader realizes that the matron and Herculina are corrupt where the matron tries to convince Maria to give her pleasures for a letter to Saturno, and where Herculina is noted to murdering two individuals. The authority in the story is corrupt which leads Maria into becoming immoral and participating in the offers the matron has offered her, which leads predominantly to her downfall. Therefore both authors Garcia and Golding intend to portray the message that when the authorities with power are corrupt, then all of those around the authority will be corrupted, by examining how the characters demonstrate a pack mentality and all understand that humans instinctually will become savage to survive. The authors reinforce this message as characters, the setting, and objects in the corrupted authority is affecting are described in a pessimistic and immoral manner.
In this paper I'm focusing mainly on Renaissance art work, since that was the assignment, but I feel it's important to also mention the other important parts of the Renaissance, architecture, science, politics and religion.
In this brief monograph, we shall be hunting down and examining various creatures from the bestiary of Medieval/Renaissance thought. Among these are the fierce lion of imperious, egotistical power, a pair of fantastic peacocks, one of vanity, one of preening social status, and the docile lamb of humility. The lion and the peacocks are of the species known as pride, while the lamb is of an entirely different, in fact antithetical race, that of humility and forgiveness. The textual regions we shall be exploring include the diverse expanses, from palace to heath, of William Shakespeare, the dark, sinister Italy of John Webster, and the perfumed lady's chambers of Ben Jonson and Robert Herrick.
Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron is a series of tales written during the Late Middle Ages that is meant to entertain the reader. While the entertainment value of Boccaccio’s work in undeniable, the Decameron also provides the reader with information about society at the time, and Boccaccio’s own worldview. One of the most prevalent themes throughout the Decameron is the portrayal of clergymen and members of religious communities as negative influences on those around them, constantly behaving in a manner unfit for those who are supposed to be moral and spiritual exemplars. Throughout the tales told by the lieta brigada, many priests, and friars are portrayed as being extremely lustful and greedy, frequently indulging in sex (often with the wives of other men), and living lives more befitting of a minor lord than a monk. Those clergymen who are not portrayed as out rightly immoral are usually stupid, and are unable to stop others from acting immorally because of their ignorance. Despite this, a few of the clergymen in the story are shown as ultimately having good intentions, or improving in morality through the actions of another. To understand all of these criticisms of the clergy, we must look at them through a historical lens, and observe the behavior of members of the Church in the Late Middle Ages. Finally, these analyses of the Decameron’s portrayal of clergymen may give us insight into Boccaccio’s own faith, and allow us to understand the motives of the author. In this essay, I will analyze the portrayal of clergymen and members of religious communities in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron. I will focus on the licentiousness, greed, and stupidity of these members of the Church, while also evaluating the few portrayals of good me...
Men and women, in modern times, are supposed to have equals rights, however in the renaissance period, they did not. By the end of The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice the audience sees two women murdered by their powerful husbands. The Renaissance era was also known as The Age of Enlightenment. This era got it’s name because it was basically the rebirth of studies. During the renaissance religion became more of a question, do to the studies on the human body. First it took human nature in all of its various manifestations and achievements its subject. Second it stressed the unity and compatibility of the truth found in all philosophical and theological schools and systems . third they emphasized the dignity of man in place of the medieval
The renaissance and the reformation were two of the most significant changes in history that has shaped our world today. Both of these great time periods are strikingly similar in some ways and totally different in others. This is because the renaissance was a change from religion to humanism whether it is in art or literature; it is where the individual began to matter. However, the reformation was,” in a nutshell,” a way to reform the church and even more so to form the way our society is today. The first half of this paper will view the drop in faith, the economic powers, and the artistic and literary changes during the renaissance, while the second half will view the progresses and changes the church makes during the reformation.