WHAT IS THE RENAISSANCE?
n the 14th century a movement began in Florence, Italy that would shape Europe and the world for centuries to come. This movement was called the Renaissance!
It was a time of rebirth in Europe from about 1300 to 1600 where many of the great thinkers, scientists, explorers, and artists, like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, lived and worked.
Before the Renaissance began, people in Europe lived through what historians called the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages. Much of the progress made by the Roman and Greek civilizations in politics, science, and art was lost during this period. People lived their lives largely in accordance with the religious ideals of the Catholic Church, trusting God in times of trouble. During the Middle Ages, most Europeans were poorly educated, and wars and famines were common. In the 14th century, people were devastated by the effect of The Black Death, a plague that killed an estimated 30% to 60% of the population on the continent. The death and economic troubles brought about by the plague caused many people to question the traditional ideals that they had previously lived by. This opened people up to the new ideas that would emerge from thinkers of the Renaissance.
While recovering from the plague, the city-state of Florence in Italy was changing. It was a place where citizens' individual freedoms were valued and many citizens were able to participate in the government. The economy was doing well from trade with Asia and other parts of Europe and the people were invigorated from several military victories. After seeing so many of their fellow people die of the plague, the elite in the city were beginning to look for new ways to live and think about the world. In many ways, they began to imagine their city as a new Rome where individualism was highly valued.
This way of thinking, along with the economic prosperity in the city, led to a way of thought called humanism. Humanists were interested in the human experience of the world and were less concerned with supernatural matters and the afterlife. They focused on what scholars call the humanities: grammar, history, art, literature, and philosophy. Many humanists in Italy were very interested in the Greek and Roman classics, architecture, and art. They mimicked the art and politics of the ancients and were often sponsored by the wealthy elite, like the Medici Family.
This revival of classical ideas and new ways of looking at the world didn’t just stay in Italy, but eventually spread all over Western Europe causing wonderful advancements. Artists began painting, drawing, and creating sculptures in a realistic way and during the Renaissance, many of the great works of art, like the Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel, were created. Johannes Gutenburg also created the printing press during this time. This invention made books much cheaper and gave more people the opportunity to read and learn than ever before. Even science and exploration thrived as people looked for new ways to think about the world around them using reason and observation!
While the Renaissance didn’t happen on one single date, like many big historical moments, it is one of the most significant movements to spread across Europe. Not only is the Renaissance and the art and inventions that came out of it interesting, but it also helps us to understand how our modern-day ideas about individualism and the humanities are influenced by the past. Historians study the Renaissance to help them understand how the ideas of humanism, and the progress in politics, sciences, and art, set the stage for the Age of Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and the other big moments in history that followed!