Renaissance means rebirth. Many people who lived in Italy in 1350 and 1550 believed that they were witnessing a rebirth of antiquity or Greco- civilization, marking of a new age. To them, the thousand or so years between the end of the Roman Empire and their own era was a middle period, characterized by darkness of its lack of Classical culture. A historian by the name Jacob Burckhardt portrayed Italy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries as the birthplace of the modern world and saw a revival of antiquity, the perfecting of the individual, and secularism as its distinguishing features. Burkhardt established the framework for all modern interpretations of the period. Renaissance Italy was largely an urban society. The city-states, especially …show more content…
The Renaissance was an age of recovery from the fifteenth century and rest of Europe began a slow process of recuperation from the effects of the Black Death, political disorder, and economic recession. Recovery was accomplished by the re-discovery by the culture of Classical antiquity. Increasingly aware of their own historical past, Italian intellectuals became intensely interested in the Greco-Roman culture of the Mediterranean world. The revival of Classic antiquity affected politics and art, it led to new attempts to reconcile the pagan philosophy of antiquity with Christian thought, as well as new ways of viewing human beings. A revived emphasis on individual ability became characteristic of the Italian Renaissance. As the fifteenth century Florentine architect, Leon Battista Alberti expressed it, “Men can do all thing if they will.” A high regard for human dignity, worth, and a realization of individual potentiality or universal person who was capable of achievements in many areas of life. Features of the Italian Renaissance were not characteristic of all Italians but were primarily the wealthy upper classes, who constituted a small percentage of the total population. Achievements of the Italian Renaissance were thus the product of an elite rather than a …show more content…
In the fourteenth-century Italian merchants were carrying on a flourishing commerce throughout the Mediterranean and had also expanded their lines of trade north along the Atlantic seaboard. As early as the thirteenth century a number of German coastal towns had formed a commercial and military alliance known as the Hansa or the Hanseatic League. By 1500, more that eighty cities belonged to the League, which established settlements and commercial bases in northern Europe and England. Hansa had a monopoly on northern European trade in timber, fish, grain, metals, and wines. In the fifteenth century, the Hanseatic League proved that they could not compete with the larger developing territorial states. Trade recovered, and the Venetians continued to maintain a wealthy commercial empire. It was not until the sixteenth century when overseas discoveries gave new importance to the states facing the Atlantic, did the petty Italian city-states begin to suffer from the competitive advantages of the ever-growing and more powerful national territorial
The early Renaissance, which had begun in Quattrocento Italy, was sparked by the beginnings of the Humanist movement. Considered a return to classical ideals, harkening to an early time when art, philosophy and architecture focused more on men’s achievements rather than entirely concern with his salvation, which dominated the Middle Ages. Although piety was still a predominant part of everyday life, the nostalgia, which became inspiration during this period, initiated a rediscovery of the ideals from the classical Roman and Greek eras. Whose art and architecture could be seen throughout Italy and Sicily. Thus, higher education became the predominant theme among influential families. From this an immergence of forgotten manuscripts and treatise
Italian Renaissance is looked back today as one of the most important periods that has occurred in this world. It was the earliest manifestation of the Renaissance, as well it was the era of massive cultural change and achievement that started in the 14th century and terminated during the end of the 16th century. Many views of the Italian culture and society remained mostly medieval and the Renaissance didn’t fully develop until the end of the century. As the Renaissance started to develop it began in Central Italy and poured into the cities of Florence and Siena. As time surpassed it spread to Venice where the remains of Greek culture were gathered together, giving humanist scholar’s new texts. Social structure was a key part in the Renaissance
Italian city-states were where the Renaissance began. The main 3 city-states were Milan, Venice and Florence. Milan was the center of the main trade route ruled by the Visconti family. It had a centralized state with an efficient tax system that gave money to the government. Venice was a link between Asia and Western Europe, run by an elected leader called a Doge. Merchants ran the city for a profit. Their international power was the black slave trade. Like Venice, Florence was run by merchants, but in 1434 the Medici family overthrew them. Venice then became the cultural center of the Renaissance.
The renaissance was an age of recovery from the catastrophic 14th century, a time for the slow process of recovering from the effects of the Black Death, political disorder, and the economic recession. This recovery was accompanied by a rediscovery of the Greco-Roman culture and civilization. The renaissance began in Italy. There are plenty of reasons why Italy was the main location for revival of antiquity. The first one being the plague was the first to leave Italy. Therefore, they had more time to recover and grow. Another being that Italy was the main power during the past Greco-Roman culture, especially where it flourished in Rome. The rebirth in Italy led to the revival of three characteristics; an emergence of humanist attitudes, art,
Renaissance The Renaissance started in Italy in the 14th century. It was referred to as the “rebirth” because it brought back attention to art and science. The Middle Ages were really religion-dominated. The Renaissance turned the attention to individual and worldly experiences; they were the main themes of the Renaissance art movement. Art benefited from the patronage of such influential groups as Medici family of Florence, the Sforza family of Milan and the Popes Julius II and Leo X.
The Renaissance (A Very Short Introduction) written by Jerry Brotton has been illustrated into six illustrations: A global Renaissance, The humanist script, Church and state, Brave new worlds, Science and philosophy and Rewriting the Renaissance. Since this book is a history book, it is quite tough to read. This book is all about the past history which is related to the Renaissance. Honestly, I do not even have clear understanding on what is called “Renaissance” until I read this book. On page 9, under the subtitle of “Where and when was the Renaissance?” I finally found the meaning of Renaissance: the revival of classical culture. This word is come from Italian word which is rinascita. Then, French historian, Jules Michelet had come out with the definition of Renaissance. He define Renaissance as decisive historical period in European culture that represented a crucial break with the Middle Ages, and which created a modern understanding of humanity and its place in the world. He also promoted the Renaissance as representing a certain spirit or attitude, as much as referring to a specific historical period. But then, his Renaissance only took place on 16th century even though he had defined it from the previous century. There was also Jacob Burckhart, Swiss academic defined it as an Italian 15th-century phenomenon. By read it further, I found that these two persons read the vision of the Renaissance like a version of their own personal circumstances. Then again, there was also an Oxford-educated don, Walter Pater defined on this word. Similarly, in further reading, all these three thinkers had created 19th –century idea of the Renaissance as more of a spirit than a historical period.
The Italian Renaissance developed in cities such as Florence, Milan, and Venice, which had emerged during the 12th and 13th centuries as new commercial developments allowed them to expand (Paolucci 12). This mercantile society contrasted sharply with the rural, tradition bound society of medieval Europe. A significant break with tradition came in the field of history, as Renaissance historians rejected the medieval Christian views of history (Cole 40). Studies such as the Florentine History (1525) of Niccolo Machiavelli revealed a secular view of time and a critical attitude toward sources (Cole 44). This secular view was expressed by many Renaissance thinkers known as humanists. Humanism was another cultural break with medieval tradition; under its ideas scholars valued classical texts on their own te...
The Italian Renaissance is appropriately known as a period of such dynamic change within cultural innovations amongst European civilization that it is seen as a major turning point in European history. This age of rebirth abnormally broke the bonds of earlier cultural restraint and unleashed an outbreak of innovations that would forever change the course of history. Despite the common misunderstanding of the Italian Renaissance being a period of originality or of a reawakening of older cultures, it generated fundamental modernizations that accelerated growth in a vast number of forever impacting ways. Lasting from about 1350-1550, this age of modernized technology conveyed a sense of distinctive themes in art, which globalized the unification of a diverse culture. Within the Italian Renaissance, artistic innovations accelerated a new and centralized life and culture in Western European history.
Some of the main economic powers of the renaissance were Italian city states. The first, Milan, was in northern Italy. Milan, the center of trade and money with a large tax, was ruled by Visconti and was later taken over by Sforza. Next was Venice, which was the link of Asia and the western world. Venice was a republic with a doge, or an elected leader, and was ruled by merchants and aristocrats. Lastly, was Florence which became the cul...
The Italian Renaissance included some of the greatest artists we have ever seen from Leonard Da Vinci, to Michelangelo, and Raphael. The Renaissance took place from the late thirteenth to sixteenth centuries and is know as the ‘rebirth’. The idea that the rebirth of the arts after being asleep for a thousand years is an amazing thing to grasp. This time brought back light to liberal arts, which were on the brink of being extinct. (Murray 2) What is also interesting about art during this time was that most of the art had Christian in its roots, for example, Botticelli’s The Allegory of Spring (Faure 1) is said to have had a Christian interpretation. (Murray) “Every Italian artist, willingly took the title of architect, sculptor, and painter” (Faure 2). At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Italian painters had asked the Flemish painters for their secret techniques because the Italians felt like the language of painting was one that was always meant for them. (Faure 4) The sculptors claimed their inspiration from ancient works. Lastly the Renaissance introduced idea of individualism, which helped the Italians get away from everything that was going on during that time. Art during the Renaissance included painting, sculpting and architecture, all of which were an important part in expressing the idea of individualism and making art what is is today.
The Renaissance period started in Italy and took place between the 1400’s and the 1600’s. In French, the term Renaissance means rebirth, which is an accurate way to describe that period since it was then that many people chose to break away from the stagnation, incertitude, and extreme hardships that occurred during the Middle Ages and plagued most of Europe. The Renaissance period is noted for being a time when the population sought educational reform which increased literacy and many were able to master more than one skill set. This led to an intellectual, economic, and artistic revolution that transformed several European nations such as Italy, France, Spain, and several others. During this time, there were several developments within the Catholic Church, such as scandals and controversy.
The Renaissance was a time when people began to think and see things differently. It was a time for new innovations. People wanted to study the past and learn more about culture. People began to see important in human emotion, and they began to see that there was much more rather than just religion. Europe was facing many problems like the Black Death. But the problems caused a shift in the world view of people in 14th century Italy. During the early 1400’s, Europe witnessed a major rebirth of fine art painting, sculpture, drawing and architecture. Early Renaissance art had its birth of creativity and development in Florence, Italy, which eventually spread to Western Europe. Italy contained the status of being the richest trading nation with both Europe and the Orient, Italy was fortunate to be left with a huge repository of classical ruins and artifacts. In almost every town and city, examples of Roman architecture and sculpture, including copies of sculptures from Ancient Greece, had been familiar for centuries. The decline of Constantinople and the capital of the Byzantine Empire caused many Greek scholars to go to Italy, bringing knowl...
The Renaissance or “rebirth” is a cultural movement that started in Italy during the late 14th century and expanded to the early 17th century. The Renaissance was a bridge that allowed Western Europe to move from the medieval era to the modern era. Renaissance later spread to other parts of Europe. Advances in technology allowed art and architecture to flourish during the Renaissance era. Cities like Florence in Italy saw a spike in artists and architects who have changed from mere paid skilled laborers to professional artists.
The term Renaissance has, over the years, become synonymous with ideas of expanding civilisation, rebirth, and cultural expansion. The most renowned example of a country’s cultural renaissance was that of the Italians; however this is only one example of such a cultural and philosophical paradigm. To begin with, a “renaissance” is a revolution of the rebirth of ideals within a country’s individuals: self-awareness, art, architecture, religion and science, to name a few. For it is these ideas that have given civilisations the drive and perseverance to rise from a period wrought with fallow and of social, cultural, and economical regression. Many prominent world powers today, and subsequently in the past, have went through a period of renaissance, which was preceded by what many call a dark age; it is through this time of upheaval that the ideas and socio-political philosophies flourished, paving the way towards each nations’ renaissance. To this, the Renaissance should not only be seen as an essential part of European history, but its ideals should also be credited philosophically for improving and influencing different developing societies through the ages.
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, affectionately known as "B.-P.", was born in London, England, on February 22, 1857. At the age of 12 he received a scholarship from Charterhouse School, one of England's famous public schools. The school was then located in London, but it soon moved to Godalming in Surrey. There were some woods just outside the school, these were "out-of-bounds" for the pupils.