The Renaissance

(c.1350-c.1550) a period
between the Middle Ages and the Modern Era

Renaissance (Fr. rebirth) = the return to a period of artistic and cultural

achievement (classical Antiquity) in Europe from the fourteenth to the
sixteenth century characterized by a number of distinctive ideas about life:
humanism, individualism, secularism, materialism.
The Renaissance began in Italy (Florence)1 and then spread to the rest of
Northern Europe.
Reasons:
Italian city-states had survived the economic crisis of the Late Middle
Ages;
they had remained important centres of trade also manufacturing textiles
and luxury goods;
the Italian territory had preserved the architectural remains of the Ancient
Rome; statues, amphitheatres and vestiges were visible reminders of the
eternal Glory of Rome.

Differences between
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Politics:

Society:

Middle Ages
Fragmented power:
Local/feudal lords ruled
Church as centre of
activity; God as a
measure for all things
absolutism

Regulated by the Church,

prompted to prepare students for
religious life; the authority of dogma
=
stasis (inertia) = contemplative life

inquisition

Education:

Religion:

asceticism / living a pious life / live in

harmony with God

God as creator & ruler of the

entire universe God as the Great
Inquisitor; whoever defies Him or
disobeys His will suffer severe
punishment and even eternal damnation

Renaissance
Centralized power:
Powerful kings in England, France and
Spain
Secular/material world becomes a vital part
of life; man as a measure for all things
democracy
Stressed teaching of history, arts, ethics,
science and public speaking; intellectual
independence and the development of
personality = movement = active life
tolerance
hedonism / live life to the full = discover
yourself and all that is around you / live in
harmony with nature
the concept of free choice: any man can
determine his own fate; God is no longer
controlling mans fate man assumes full
responsibility = each man is his own priest
(Protestantism); the authority of the Church
is replaced by the authority of the Bible

The defining characteristic of the Renaissance

Humanism = the movement to recover, interpret, and assimilate the language,
literature, learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome
(Burke, P., The spread of Italian humanism, in The impact of humanism on western Europe, ed. A. Goodman and A. MacKay,
London, 1990, p. 2.)

renovatio hominis (the renewal of man = re-considering his

position in the Chain of Being)

- In literature and the arts: against the medieval tradition of having pious religious
motivation for creating works of art or literature, humanist writers / artists were
concerned with worldly or secular subjects rather than strictly religious themes.
Humanist writers glorified the individual and believed that man was the measure of
all things and had unlimited potential Humanist writers secularized the view of
history by writing from a non-religious point of view.

- In education: humanists believed that learning / knowledge stimulated the

creative powers of the individual they supported studying grammar, poetry, and
history, as well as mathematics, astronomy, and music. They tried to understand
human nature through a study of classical writers such as Plato and Aristotle
the quest of self-discovery (studia humanitatis)2

In religion: humanists believed that it depends on you if you see yourself as God
or Satan; in the early 16th century, the challenges of the Protestant Reformation,
led by charismatic figures such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, signalled a
radical break in the religious life and outlook of European society at all levels.

In science: the interest in anatomy (which received little attention in medieval

medicine) increased; dissections were performed and treatises were written
based on empirical observation of human anatomy great influence on art
(painting, sculpture): Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Botticelli
etc. William Harvey an English physician who made a detailed description of
the structure of the heart and of the circulatory system.
Great advances occurred in geography, astronomy, chemistry, physics,
manufacturing and engineering. Copernicus began to explore a shocking new
idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun. This is the Age of Galileo who
supported the heliocentric view (against the geocentric) and played a crucial part
in the scientific revolution (improvement of telescope and consequent
astronomical observations).

Seminar task: Discuss the achievements (scientific advances)

made in other fields of knowledge. Provide examples.

The spreading of humanism across Italy and the rest of Europe

- the invention of the printing press; about 1450, Johannes Gutenberg
invented the printing press with replaceable/moveable wooden or metal
letters, a technique which will remain standard until the 20th century. The
first European book printed by machine was the Gutenberg Bible (1456).

Conclusions

The fundamental assumption of all humanists,

as of the Renaissance movement in general,
was that the remains of classical antiquity
constituted a great reservoir of excellence
literary, intellectual, artistic, and moral to which
debased and decadent modern times could turn
in order to repair the damage wrought by the
barbaric and corrupt medium aevum that had
followed the fall of the Roman Empire. (James

Hankins Humanism, scholasticism and Renaissance philosophy in

The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Philosophy, CUP, 2007,
p.32)

Bibliography: read more on the general characteristics of the

Renaissance:

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melan
i/cs6/ren.html

The Renaissance in England

(the age of Shakespeare or the Elizabethan era)
In the last quarter of the fifteenth century, the ideas of the Italian Renaissance spread
to Northern Europe. Northern writers interpreted Italian ideas and attitudes towards
the classical antiquity in terms of their own traditions.
Historical events:

the Hundred Years War (13371453), a series of wars fought between France and
England England struggled to rebuild its economy
the War of the Roses (14551485), a series of civil wars fought between the houses
of Lancaster (symbolized by a red rose) and York (symbolized by a white rose) for the
throne of England. After a 30-year struggle, Henry Tudor 1, from the house of
Lancaster, gained control of England and his line ruled England until the seventeenth
century.
Henry VIII - a significant figure in the history of the English monarchy: the separation
of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church and establishing himself
as the Supreme Head of the Church of England + the Dissolution of the monasteries.

Henry VIII, portrait falsely

attributed to Hans Holbein
the
Younger,
c.1540
http://www.britannica.com/EBch
ecked/topic-art/615557/107412/
Henry-VIII-in-a-painting-by-Ha
ns-Holbein-the-Younger
(for details and full size portrait)

Elizabeth I the greatest monarch of England (She was a very gifted scholar who was an
accomplished linguist with the ability to speak several languages including Latin, Greek,
French, Spanish and Welsh)
- under her reign, England abandoned its minor, insular status and embarked upon a
worldwide mission of exploration and colonization; great explorers were encouraged:
Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh etc.
- she survived several plots, conspiracies and rebellions and managed to strengthen her
government; she established Protestantism as the countrys religion but nevertheless she
adopted a moderate approach towards Catholics
- she encouraged the Arts and Literature; Elizabeths court became the centre for
musicians, writers and scholars such as: William Byrd, William Shakespeare, Francis
Bacon, Christopher Marlow, Edmund Spenser
When Elizabeth became Queen in 1558, her country was poor, torn apart by religious
squabbles, and a second rate power in the world. When she died in1603, England was one
of the most prosperous and powerful countries in the world.

The Ditchley Portrait c.1592

Seminar task: Find other portraits of Elizabeth I;

identify the symbols / insignia of authority