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The '''Renaissance''' was a [[cultural movement]] and time period in the [[History of Europe]], considered to mark the end of the [[Middle Ages]]. The Renaissance is usually considered to have begun in the [[14th century]] in Italy and the [[16th century]] in northern [[Europe]]. |
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It is also known as "'''Rinascimento'''" (in Italian). |
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The following article discusses the '''Renaissance''' in its most traditional form, as a cultural and scientific rebirth that began in [[14th century]] [[Italy]], where one of its main centers was [[Florence, Italy]], and then spread throughout Europe. In [[science]], [[theology]], [[literature]] and [[art]], the Renaissance began with a rediscovery of and focus on older Greek texts which had disappeared from the West in the latter years of the [[Roman Empire]]. |
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"Renaissance" is a [[French]] word that literally means ''rebirth''. This name has been historically used in contrast to the '''[[Dark Ages]]''', a term coined by [[Petrarch]] to refer to what we now call the Middle Ages. Following Petrarch's lead, the term had long been considered appropriate because during the Renaissance, the [[literature]] and culture of the ancient civilizations of [[Greece]] and [[Rome]] were adopted by scholars and artists in Italy, and widely disseminated through [[printing]]. |
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The term '''renaissance''' was probably first applied to this period of history by the Florentine painter [[Vasari]] in around 1550. [[Vasari]] used the term ''Renaissance'' to describe the changes in the world of [[art]] that occurred during that time. Many people today still make the mistake of identifying the renaissance as purely an artistic movement. |
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More properly, the '''renaissance''' was a movement that embodied both culture, thought, and especially learning. The '''renaissance''' itself can be identified with the rise of [[Humanism]] which began in Italy with authors such as [[Boccaccio]] and [[Petrarch]] in the [[14th century]] and ran through the [[15th century]] with [[Erasmus]] and many others, and into the [[High Renaissance]] period of the [[16th century]] when [[Mannerism]] became prevalent. |
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Towards the end of the Renaissance, scientists increasingly began to reject [[Greek]] (and biblical) sources in favor of new discoveries. Theologians continued to focus on the [[Greek]], as well as on the relatively new study [[Hebrew]] and [[Aramaic]]. The second half of the Renaissance is also the period of the [[Reformation]], although it could be argued that the conflict between [[Humanism]] and [[Scholasticism]], which was very much the footprint of the Renaissance, was also the starting point for the [[Reformation]]. In any case, the Renaissance and [[Reformation]] overlapped fairly heavily if you were to take a strict time-period viewpoint. |
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Rinascimento is also considered as a sort of natural evolution of italian [[Umanesimo]]. |
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During the last quarter of the 20th century, however, more and more scholars began to take a view that the '''Renaissance''' was perhaps only one of many such movements. This was in large part due to the work of historians like [[Charles H. Haskins]], who made convincing cases for a "Renaissance of the 12th century," as well as by historians arguing for a "[[Carolingian renaissance]]." Both of these concepts are now accepted by the scholarly community at large; as a result, the present trend among historians is to discuss each so-called renaissance in more particular terms, e.g., the ''Italian Renaissance'', the ''English Renaissance'', etc. This terminology is particularly useful because it eliminates the need for fitting "The renaissance" into a chronology that previously held that it was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the [[Reformation]], which was sometimes patently false. The entire period is now more often replaced by the term 'Early Modern' in the practice of historians. See [[periodization]]. |
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== [[Life in the Renaissance]] == |
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Although the Renaissance was a time of significant change in comparison to the [[Middle Ages]], there were times of both peace and prosperity, and war, disease and famine. For the average man in the street (or [[village]]) daily life had changed little since the [[Middle Ages]]. Diet was similar, life was short (an average life expectency of 30 - 35 years in most parts of [[Europe]], with perhaps a 50% child mortality rate within the first year of life), and war and disease were commonplace. |
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In comparison to the [[14th century]], however, the [[15th century]] and the [[16th century]] were both times of population growth, economic growth, and relative prosperity, especially for the town people and those of privilege. |
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=== [[Politics in the Renaissance]] === |
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==== [[Italian Renaissance]] ==== |
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Politics during the [[Italian Renaissance]] came to be dominated by the [[Italian wars]], the various struggles and scandals surrounding the [[Papacy]], and the lives of the great leaders and [http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condottieri condottieri] of the peninsula. |
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*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Bruni Leonardo Bruni] |
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*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_dEste Isabella dEste] |
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*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Foscari Francesco Foscari] |
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*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_de_Medici Cosimo de Medici] |
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*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_de_Medici Lorenzo de Medici] (a.k.a. ''Lorenzo il Magnifico'') |
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*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coluccio_Salutati Coluccio Salutati] |
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*[http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Sforza Francesco Sforza] |
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==== Northern European Renaissance ==== |
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Politics in [[Northern Europe]] during the Renaissance was dominated by: |
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* The [[Italian wars]] pursued in [[Italy]] by the kings of [[France]], beginning with [http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_VIII_of_France Charles VIII] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XII_of_France Louis XII] and continuing through the reign of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_I_of_France Francis I]. Although Charles and Louis spent much of their reigns in [[Italy]], [[France]] did not truly adopt the culture of the [[Italian Renaissance]] until the reign of Francis. |
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* The [[Tudor Dynasty]] in England produced a series of successful, beginning with [http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VII_of_England Henry VII], to his son [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_England Henry VIII] and continuing through the reign of [http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England Elizabeth I], arguably England's most successful (and last) Renaissance monarch. |
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* In [[Spain]], [[Austria]] and the [[Habsburg]] lands, the greatest monarch of the period was probably [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor], despite his being ultimately unsuccessful in his attempts to unite nearly all of Europe under the one [[crown]]. |
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=== [[Religion in the Renaissance]] === |
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[[Religion in the Renaissance]] can be best summed up by saying that the '''Renaissance''' was a period of huge [[religious]] turmoil. The studies and teachings of the [[Humanists]] eventually lead to the [[Reformation]], and many of the religious debates can be broadly (and as inaccurately as broad generalisations usually are) categorised as a battle between the establishment and the new blood. |
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== [[Learning in the Renaissance]] == |
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Perhaps the most significant invention of the Renaissance was the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press printing press]. Apart from allowing many copies of the [[Bible]] to be distributed much more easily and cheaply than copying by hand, the new technology allowed wide distribution of [[political]] information, [[Renaissance Music]] works, [[Renaissance Dance]] texts, and many other works. |
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=== [[Renaissance Authors]] === |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Alciato Andrea Alciato] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovico_Ariosto Ludovico Ariosto] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_Bruni Leonardo Bruni] |
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* [[Giovanni Boccaccio]] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_of_Rotterdam Erasmus of Rotterdam] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_de_Montaigne Michel de Montaigne] |
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* [[Petrarch]], Francesco Petrarca |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castiglione Castiglione] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coluccio_Salutati Coluccio Salutati] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francois_Rabelais Francois Rabelais] |
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* [[William Shakespeare]] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More Thomas More] |
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=== [[Science and Technology in the Renaissance]] === |
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[[Science and Technology in the Renaissance]] was focussed around the major sciences of [[astrology]] and [[geometry]], as well as [[medicine]], [[magic]] and [[alchemy]]. Although [[astronomy]] was a major emerging science, it did not truly come into its own until after the end of the [[16th century]]. Until [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Kepler Johannes Kepler], [[astronomy]] was a science that was studied purely to enable better understanding of [[astrology]]. |
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For example, [[Copernicus]], probably the man most recognisably a [[scientist]] of his day, studied [[medicine]], [[canon law]] and [[philosophy]] and earned a living as a [[secretary]] and a [[doctor]]. |
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Nonetheless, the advent of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press printing press] did allow for much wider distribution of scientific thought during the Renaissance than had been possible in the [[Middle Ages]] and so [[scientist]]s throughout [[Europe]] were able to collaborate on works and exchange [[theories]] in a way that was not previously possible. Everyone knew what everyone else was working on, even if it was completely wrong. |
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=== [[Philosophy in the Renaissance]] === |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_of_Cusa Nicholas of Cusa] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsilio_Ficino Marsilio Ficino] |
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* [[Niccolo Machiavelli]] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Guicciardini Francesco Guicciardini] |
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== [[The Arts in the Renaissance]] == |
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=== [[Renaissance Painting and Scupture]] === |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fra_Angelico Fra Angelico] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giotto_di_Bondone Giotto di Bondone] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_Bosch Hieronymus Bosch] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Brueghel_the_Elder Pieter Brueghel the Elder] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Brueghel_the_Younger Pieter Brueghel the Younger] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Brueghel_the_Elder Jan Brueghel the Elder] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Brueghel_the_Younger Jan Brueghel the Younger] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_Brunelleschi Filippo Brunelleschi] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatello Donatello] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandro_Botticelli Sandro Botticelli] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albrecht_Durer Albrecht Durer] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo Michelangelo] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffaello_Santi Raphael], Raffaello Sanzio |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci Leonardo da Vinci] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_van_Eyck Jan van Eyck] |
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* [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogier_van_der_Weyden Rogier van der Weyden] |
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=== [[Renaissance Music]] === |
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The advent of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press printing press] in the Renaissance allowed the wide distribution of printed music. This allowed composers to sell their work more widely and obtain a better living. Important Renaissance composers and arrangers of music include [http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josquin_Des_Prez Josquin Des Prez] and [[Tielman Susato]]. |
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=== [[Renaissance Dance]] === |
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Although dance as an art form was well known in the [[middle ages]], the first recorded dance instructions and [[choreography]] date from the middle of the [[15th century]]. |
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Early Italian dancemasters include [[Domenico da Piacenza]] and his students [[Antonio Cornazano]] and [[Guglielmo Ebreo]] (Guglielmo the [[Jew]]). |
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Dance masters of the late [[16th century]] include the Italians [[Fabritio Caroso]] and [[Cesare Negri]] as well as the frenchmen [[Thoinot Arbeau]] and [[Antoine Arena]]. |
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