Renaissance in Europe and All that you should know

Monalisa-famous painting from the Renaissance era

David-famous sculpture from the Renaissance era

         The History of the Renaissance in Europe is an important part of History. The period of the Renaissance is an important era in the history of Europe. We know that modern Europe is shaped through these phases of transition. The word Renaissance is associated with revival and rebirth. This period brought many important cultural, economic, and social changes.

               Even though Renaissance was not one specific event or change, it was a collection of many changes spanning over a long time, we are specifically focusing on events that occurred in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Renaissance transitioned Europe from the late middle ages to the modern world.

1. What is Renaissance actually

         Before the Renaissance, everything was centered on God. The main subject of art is literature. philosophy and politics was a god. After Renaissance human life got its place in art, literature, philosophy, politics, and other fields as well. We often make the mistake of considering that the Renaissance is related to cultural changes only. But the Renaissance changed many aspects of human life.

           The Renaissance period was a revival of ideas related to humanism which had their basis in Greek and Roman culture. The ideas that got rebirth in the Renaissance impacted many events laterwards in the modern world. The early example of changes at the beginning of the Renaissance was a change in the perspectives of oil paintings. The earliest forms of the Renaissance were in Italy in the thirteenth century in the writings of Dante and Giotto.

          Renaissance was seen in many fields from literature to science in many different ways. polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo and many others are hailed as renaissance men in history. Many historians consider that the Renaissance began in the fourteenth century in the Italian city of Florence.

 

2. Europe before Renaissance

                 Religion was an important part of human life before and even after the Renaissance. but before the Renaissance period, all disciplines in human life were only concentrated on religion and god. Human life was not part of any kind of discipline. Art, literature, philosophy, politics, economics, and all other disciplines relied too much on religious conduct.
                  Human feelings and incidents in daily life of humans had no place in all kinds of disciplines. Feudalism and the catholic church dominated society. Even though we are particularly focusing on the Renaissance in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there was a Renaissance period before this period as well.

                 Renaissance in the twelfth century occurred through reforms led by King Charlemagne, King Otto I of Saxons. These changes and other small reforms that took place before the fifteenth and sixteenth-century helped and created a basis for a renaissance that occurred in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

3. Reasons for Renaissance

           There are many reasons and contributing factors that caused the Renaissance to take place. Renaissance took place because of an increase in the interaction of many different cultures. The trade between Europe, Asia, and the middle-east empires was at its peak during this time.

              The Silk route was the largest trade route that existed during this time. Silk Route was not just a route used for the exchange of foods and goods, but ideas and knowledge also. This was helpful in creating a basis for the adoption of new ideas and norms.

             The crusades led by Christian knights to capture the Holy land of Jerusalem from Muslim hold caused the migration of many Christians, Jews, and Muslim people in vast areas. This led to further interaction between these people of different cultures.

            The empires located in middle-east had access to both the knowledge and culture of Europe and Asia. The traders from middle-east acted as a medium between the cultural exchange of Europe and Asia. This further helped to interact with different cultures connected by the silk route.

                      The ideas and philosophy of ancient Greek and Roman cultures were ignored in Europe for a long time, even in the middle ages. These ideas were preserved in writings by Muslim and jew scholars. When Europeans interacted with Jews and Muslims they rediscovered these ancient texts.

                   The discovery of ancient Greek and Roman culture and their ideas was among the main reasons for the Renaissance. Petrarch, an Italian scholar is considered the founder of humanism in the Renaissance era. Petrarch rediscovered the work of the Roman philosopher Cicero. Similar things were done by other European scholars.

             Humanism was the most important movement in the Renaissance. The idea of humanism was a rediscovery of values and social norms discussed by ancient Roman and Greek philosophers. Present social norms and values in Europe during the middle ages were completely based on religion.

              The ideas of Greek and Roman philosophers had less reliance on religion. They had space for humanism and individualism. Petrarch used the ideas of ancient texts to promote logic and reason. This was an important shift in the life of European people because their life was dominated by feudalism and religion.

               Various innovations also contributed to the Renaissance. The innovation of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg was the most important innovation during this time. This allowed the poor and middle-class people to afford books as the cost of printing decreased. This helped to spread the literacy among common people of Europe. This further helped in the protestant reformation.

                The event called the 'black death' which caused the death of millions of people from Europe and Asia is also among the main reasons for a renaissance. This was a pandemic of plague around the silk route. This created upheaval in the life of people causing them to question their faith and methods of worship.

               when a large amount of the population was reduced, new economic and political changes took place. This resulted in the emergence of city-states. These city-states were helpful for Renaissance activities.   

4. Importance of Renaissance

             The Renaissance is an important event in history. Because it gave a whole- new perspective for humans to look towards life. The dominance of feudalism and religion was challenged. The life of common citizens became subjects of art and literature. It was the most important change. The emergence of humanism was important for the liberation of humans from religious dominance.

                 Renaissance further helped in religious reforms such as the protestant reformation. All the changes we see in the modern world were possible through the new mindset of humans, which was possible during the Renaissance. The exchange of ideas between different cultures of Asia and Europe further helped in the progress of humans all over the world.

To know more about Renaissance: