Renaissance Background

• Renaissance and Reformation were reactions against medieval European civilization.

• The Middle Ages was not entirely a dark age; towards its end, awareness began to grow, called the Renaissance.

• Renaissance was a temperamental change marked by the revival of Greek and Roman civilizations which had declined during the Middle Ages.

• The Renaissance emphasized principles neglected in the Middle Ages such as:

  • Faith in the temporal world

  • Development of humanism

  • Importance of rationality over orthodoxy

  • Appreciation of nature’s beauty

• Renaissance was a gradual outcome of several past centuries, not sudden.

• Early efforts to inspire Renaissance came from figures like Peter Aubelier (France), Roger Bacon (England), and Dante (Italy).

• They encouraged people to identify human weaknesses (foibles) using a scientific outlook instead of superstition.

• During the medieval period, great empires and major business centers were founded.

• Important universities such as those in Paris, Bologna (Italy), and Oxford flourished.

• Youth were eager to join universities, full of enthusiasm and curiosity, often disguised as politeness but marked by restlessness and impatience.

• The Renaissance emerged from this impatience and eagerness of the people.

• The Renaissance period lasted roughly from the 14th to 16th century, especially 1350 to 1550.

• Modern Europe is considered an offshoot of the Renaissance.

• The Renaissance promoted:

  • Freedom of thought

  • Scientific and critical outlook

  • Pure art and literature free from Church influence

  • Development of regional languages

Meaning

• The term Renaissance refers to intellectual upheavals discernible towards the end of the Middle Ages.

• It includes intellectual changes at the end of the medieval and beginning of the modern periods.

• These changes signify:

  • Decline of feudalism

  • Study of ancient literature

  • Rise of nation-states

  • Beginning of modern science

  • Inventions like moving letters, gunpowder, compass

  • Discovery of new trade routes

  • Introduction of primary capitalism

• Historian Davis said Renaissance expresses the freedom-loving, intrepid ideas imprisoned by religious authorities in the Middle Ages.

• Historian Jules Michelet identified two key factors of Renaissance:

  • “The discovery of the world”: Geographical achievements of 15th and 16th centuries opening trade across Atlantic, Pacific, Indian oceans; introduction of Americas, South Africa, Australia to Old World.

  • “The discovery of man”: Manpower discarding medieval Papacy, adopting progressive and independent outlook.

• Henry S. Lucas defines Renaissance as changes in medieval thinking, originating in Italy around 1300 and spreading through Europe by 1600.

• Hayes states “Renaissance” literally means “Rebirth”, but should be used with limitations, not to signify all modern changes.

• Renaissance can be defined as an intellectual, liberal, and cultural movement where new Europe took shape, inspired by ancient Europe with critical and inventive tendencies.

• As a result, man snapped medieval bonds, and various phases of human life influenced art, literature, philosophy, and science of the period.

Causes of Renaissance

• The Crusades were military expeditions from the end of the 11th to the 13th century aimed to recover the Holy Land, Jerusalem from the Muslims (Seljuk Turks).

• Crusades brought Europeans into contact with the enlightened East, where Arabs had enriched their civilization through Greek and Indian contacts.

• Crusades encouraged voyages and the study of geography, broadening the intellectual horizons of Europeans.

• Through Crusades, important knowledge and inventions like Aristotle’s scientific books, Arabic numerals, algebra, mariner’s compass, and paper reached Western Europe.

• Crusades played a key role in ending European segregation and fostering the Renaissance.

• Crusades established business links with Eastern countries; many European businessmen settled in Asia Minor and Jerusalem.

• This commercial growth spurred Renaissance through:

  • Exposure to new ideas and progressive elements from foreign travels,

  • Growth of cities like Venice, Milan, Florence, Angersbourg, and Nuremberg as international trade centers,

  • A permissive atmosphere in cities promoting freedom of thought and skepticism,

  • Accumulation of wealth by businessmen who became patrons of art and scholarship,

  • Criticism of the Church by the business class, reducing its dominance.

• Europeans learned paper-making from Arabs during the Middle Ages.

• In the mid-15th century, Johann Gutenberg of Germany invented the printing press, revolutionizing intellectual growth.

• By 1477, the printing press reached Britain through Caxton, then spread to Italy, Germany, Spain, and France.

• Printing led to mass production of books at low cost, ending knowledge monopoly by few.

• Dissemination of knowledge weakened superstitions and orthodox practices, increased self-confidence, literacy, and cultural awareness.

• Society shifted toward reason and away from superstition, promoting awareness of human greatness and rights.

• In 1453, the Turks captured Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire and triggering a new era in Western Europe.

• Turkish control of land routes to the East increased European demand for luxuries and spices, prompting search for new sea routes to East, leading to discovery of America, India, and new sea-routes to East Indies.

• Greek scholars, philosophers, and artists fled Constantinople to Italy, France, Germany, and England, bringing ancient knowledge and new ideas.

• The vast Mongolian Empire under Kubla Khan fostered East-West contact and exchange of knowledge.

• Mongolian empire included diverse groups: cardinals of the Pope, Buddhist monks, craftsmen from Paris, Italy, China, mathematicians, and astrologers from India.

• Cities like Peking (Cambul) and Samarkand became international cultural centers.

• This contact deeply influenced Europeans through exchange of views and learning.

• The travels of Marco Polo to Kubla Khan’s court in 1272 inspired Europeans for centuries.

Italy-The Birth Place of Renaissance

• The Renaissance first spread in Italy and then diffused to Germany, England, France, and other European countries.

• Renaissance began in Italy because ancient achievements and traditions of acquiring knowledge were still alive there.

• Competition for the rise of new cities and many patrons of art and literature helped foster Renaissance.

• Ancient Italian relics inspired a critical outlook among scholars since the time of Petrarch.

• The development of social classes in Italy was different; old aristocracy and newly rich business classes formed consolidated urban communities.

• The atmosphere of liberal and free thinking in Italian cities sowed the seeds of Renaissance.

• Italy was rich due to overseas trade, acting as a commercial hub between Asia and Europe through Arab and northern European traders.

• Italian cities like Milan, Naples, Florence, and Venice flourished as commercial centers due to frequent trade visits from Balkan Peninsula, West Asia, Byzantine, and Egypt.

• Returning crusaders shared knowledge of Muslim civilization, broadening Italian outlooks.

• Italian cities had museums, public libraries, and theatres, fostering a cultured life and Renaissance.

• The bourgeoisie (business middle class) became influential, disregarding feudal lords and the Pope, strengthening Renaissance spirit by breaking medieval conventions.

• Wealth from trade allowed businessmen like Cassimo Medici and his grandson Firenze Cassimo to patronize artists and scholars, collecting and translating thousands of rare books.

• Florence patronized many artists, writers, and poets, including Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Niccolò Machiavelli.

• Italy was the birthplace of ancient Roman civilization, whose monuments reminded people of its grandeur and inspired Renaissance.

• The prestige and splendor of Rome motivated people to revive Roman culture, first seen in Dante’s works.

• Rome, as the center of West European Christianity, was home to the Pope who supported Renaissance scholars.

• Pope Nicholas V (1447-1455) opened the Vatican Library and built Saint Peter’s Cathedral, promoting Renaissance ideas globally.

• Growing business in Italy demanded new education focused on vocational and geographical knowledge, based on science and logic.

• After the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, many Greek scholars, artists, and businessmen fled to Italy.

• These fugitive scholars brought invaluable ancient Greek manuscripts unknown to Europeans.

• Many fugitive scholars became teachers in Italian schools and universities, acting as precursors of the Renaissance awakening.

Characteristics of Renaissance

• Renaissance redeemed people from the grip of medieval religion and conventions, promoting logical rational thinking.

• Aristotle’s logic deeply influenced people’s minds at the start of the Renaissance.

• Universities like Paris, Bologna, Oxford, and Cambridge advanced logical thinking, accepting only facts that conformed to logical standards.

• The spirit of empiricism (relying on experiment to validate thoughts) was encouraged during this age.

• Roger Bacon was the forerunner of empiricism.

• Using experiments, Galileo proved Copernicus’ principle to be irrefutable.

• A key aspect of Renaissance was humanism, which meant interest in human life, respect for humans, and efforts to improve life.

• Ancient Greek literature reflected a concern for human life, influencing Renaissance humanism.

• Humanism emphasized a temporal outlook over the spiritual, signaling the decline of religion’s binding force on thought and activity.

• Supporters of humanism were called humanists.

• Humanists believed true happiness and the good of life lay in people’s welfare, not serving God or military valor.

• Humanists envisioned an integrated personality possessing both a fascinating body and fine feelings.

• Italians supported humanism as they were repressed by religious restraints and couldn’t develop natural tendencies otherwise.

• Secularism was the keystone of humanism.

• Erasmus was a leading figure in humanism; German humanists included Johann Reuchlin and Philipp Melanchthon.

• In England, John Colet and Thomas More influenced human values through significant humanistic works.

• Another Renaissance characteristic was the adoration of natural beauty, free from physical and mental pressure.

• Humanism’s impact on art showed in precise and surrealistic expression.

• Italian artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer were fascinated by translating scientific norms into art and wrote extensively on the subject.

• Leonardo da Vinci stated, “A good artist has to delineate two important things—man and his emotions.”