History on the Renaissance - Coursework Example

Running Head: History on the Renaissance In 1347, a merchant ship docked in Messina, Sicily with sailors who were desperately ailing. The ship was traveling from Crimea, central Asia and as it took the sailors ashore, rats with bubonic plague bacterium-infected fleas left the ship. This marked the onset of the Black Death in Europe. Ultimately, in its several shapes, this plague would slay up to a minimum of a third of Europe’s population, prompting among the nobility a vicious economic depression, disastrous power struggles and peasant revolts. Nonetheless, there was the emergence of a new spirit from this near total debacle –the deaths culminated into great shortage of workers with their demand leading to an increase in wages. Serfdom became antiquated and owing to higher wages, peasants’ living standards improved. Consecutively, there arose wealthy merchant families and they availed the money, incentives and resources for the Renaissance. The end of the medieval society encouraged intellectuals from northern Italy to make a new beginning by establishing a new civilization through pursuing revival and rebirth, which would later be called the Renaissance. This immediate break with antiquity was just the beginning (Brown, 2007). This paper looks into the history on Renaissance. The comprehension of the Italian Renaissance assists one to appreciate how its cultural traces that have emerged from its social, religious, economic and political fabric. Introduction Renaissance is a French word coined by Jules Michelet, a French historian. It literally means rebirth and refers to a period of the humanistic revival of classical art, architecture, literature and learning. It is also defined as a cultural progression that commenced in Italy in the fourteenth century and later spread all over Europe, lasting through the sixteenth century and marking the shift to modern times from medieval times. Shannon refers to it as the transition era into the modern day. Further, he asserts that it is a perfect way of describing the intellectual and economic transformations that occurred in Europe. During this time, Europe experienced financial growth arising from the economic stagnation of the middle ages. Generally, it is believed that Renaissance began in northern Italy, particularly Florence city, Tuscany. This is due to her near perfect location flanked by Western Europe and the Eastern shore of the Mediterranean. Afterward, it stretched to other parts of Europe. Italians refer to the Renaissance as Rinascimento (Findlen, 2002). Growth and prosperity of cities marked the period of the Italian Renaissance. The cities became important trade as well as commercial centers and this wealth aided the sustenance of the then ongoing social and political changes. There was the growth of trade in ideas in addition to growth of trade in goods among cities, states and other countries. Soon after, there was an inland shift of commerce and trade shifted along the major trade routes. Towns along the banks of rivers like Rhine, the Danube and Rhone became imperative trade centers, because rivers were the simplest way of transporting goods. The growth of trade in other areas lessened the significance of political and economic affiliation among tenants and landowners (Findlen, 2002). Many extremely developed and competitive urban areas characterized the Italian Renaissance culture. Rome, Florence and Venice became Renaissance cities and the wealthy merchant classes of Venice and Florence were the chief patrons of Renaissance art and literature. They created their own distinctive home and workplace in the Renaissance palace, fitting them for rearing and nurturing the next generation’s urban rulers. Some of the greatest patrons included the Medici family and the Malatesta family. It was fundamental that the promotion of great art and ideas would commence in the heart of immense riches, considering that funding the erection of great cathedrals, which the best artists in the region lavishly decorated, needed such prosperity (Urton, 2009). One characteristic of the Italian Renaissance was Humanism. This was a literary ideal, philosophical and artistic, that focused on studying original ancient texts as well as assessing them via a combination of empirical evidence and reasoning. This was unlike the scholastic mode of the medieval times that focused on the resolution of inconsistency among authors. Findlen defines humanism as a cultural and intellectual movement rooted in the love of antiquity as well as the desire for its revival. Humanist education had its foot on the study of five humanities including moral philosophy, rhetoric, history, poetry and grammar. Humanism stressed on the dignity of man, potential and inspired secular studies as well as the creation of art that reflected the forms and ideas of the classical world (Kreis, 2000). Art was another feature of the Italian Renaissance. In the Italian paintings and sculptures is seen the most palpable changes throughout Renaissance times. Despite the persistence of the medieval tradition of using religious subjects as well as using the Bible to illustrate stories, they pervaded this interest with humanism. In the arts, Renaissance entailed great new techniques of representing the visible world and the human figure as well as new attitudes about the artist’s role in society. There also developed a highly realistic linear perspective in the Renaissance art. The artist rose steadily from an ordinary level as artisan to philosopher and poet-like status (Gundersheimer, 2002). Secular works that mostly derived inspiration from Roman and Greek mythology were popular. Artists began experimenting with oil-based paints, combining powdered pigments and linseed oil, which progressively resulted into the abandonment of the use of egg tempera common in medieval techniques. Artists employed the fresco method on plaster walls. They started conceiving sculpture ‘in the round’ rather than as relief decorations on cathedrals. The Renaissance artists also introduced perspective, light into art and perfected the three-dimensional reality sense. They created a dramatic effect in their perception of space and form such that they have transformed our world outlook (Urton, 2009). Additionally, there occurred a similar avant-garde in Florentine arts, classicizing movement. They employed this powerful classicism to both literature and arts. Furthermore, sculpture experienced revival with the surfacing of an evident naturalism relating to contemporary sculpture as well as the sculpturing of greatly realistic figures. Normally, sculpture and paintings with biblical themes consisted of identifiable Florentines. Another characteristic of the Italian Renaissance was science. The Renaissance brought significant changes in both the way people perceived the universe as well as philosophers’ methods of elucidating natural phenomena. Religion was also another characteristic of the Italian Renaissance. Humanism ideals, while more secular in some ways, grew against a Christian background particularly in the Northern Renaissance. Much of the art was in dedication to or commissioned by the Church. Nevertheless, the Renaissance had a powerful effect on modern theology, predominantly concerning people’s view of the relationship between God and man. Additionally, self-awareness characterized the Italian Renaissance. By fifteenth century, Italian artists, writers and architects were aware of the ongoing changes and were using such phrases as ‘in the antique manner’ while describing their work. The consciousness of classical antiquity and the increasing desire to study and imitate nature also increased (Gundersheimer, 2002). The later Renaissance was characteristic of the founding of larger regional states, an increase in state’s authority in areas of taxation and a growth of bureaucracy. In 1494, King Charles VIII’s armies from France followed by Spain invaded Italy. The fight persisted until 1559 when Spain gained control of almost the whole peninsula and marked the end of the Italians’ independence. The more than sixty years of war took its toll on the daily life and wealth of Italians. Lack of an independent atmosphere, vital for the growth of the new Renaissance culture, led to its floundering and some scholars suggest that this marked the end of the Italian Renaissance. Although the Italian Renaissance culture was fading, the war had the upshot of revealing to northern Europeans the accomplishments and attitudes of the early Italian Renaissance. Indubitably, the role that Italy played was crucial in the expansion and development of the Renaissance all over Europe (Renaissance-faires.com, n.d). Conclusion The Italian era of the Renaissance that lasted up to the late sixteenth century greatly affected our modern world. Although it ended, the effects of the movement on modern society were and still are still evident. Among others, the growth of technological innovation, knowledge and global interconnectedness during the Renaissance set off the changes that still resonate even today. It is unbelievable to look back on this period, a time so long ago, and realize that many important things to the modern society stem from this. References All-about-renaissance-faires.com, (n.d): Social and Economic Changes During the Renaissance. Retrieved February 9, 2010, from http://www.all-about-renaissance-faires.com/renaissance_info/economic_social_and_religious_change_in_the_renaissance.htm Brown, L. (2007): Beginning of the Renaissance: A Time of Great Social and Cultural Change in Europe. Retrieved February 8, 2010, from http://weuropeanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/beginning_of_the_renaissance Findlen, P. (2002): The Italian Renaissance: the essential readings. Retrieved February 9, 2010, from http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=ZSdtcmnTBpoC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=the+Italian+renaissance&source=bl&ots=nSMZXQIDhc&sig=N5RW3ppb2m9kwc7GyRwGHVd0wDo&hl=en&ei=iKR4S5_RJ5z0nQO2s7ClCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CDMQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=&f=true Gundersheimer, W.L. (2002): The Italian Renaissance. Retrieved February 8, 2010, from http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=xtJoDXWcL3kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+Italian+renaissance&source=bl&ots=EpRVReGfQx&sig=MdZ3IHGHF_hA2Sz3sbDc-IRPT9c&hl=en&ei=oqR4S5CjGobqnAPi5pHNCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CA8Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=&f=true Kreis, S. (2000): Renaissance Humanism. Retrieved February 11, 2010, from http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/humanism.html Shannon, (2008): Social, Cultural and Political Impacts of the Renaissance in the U.S. Retrieved February 8, 2010, from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/671143/social_cultural_and_political_impacts.html?cat=37 Urton, R. (2009): Key Innovations and Artists of the Italian Renaissance. Retrieved February 11, 2010, from http://www.robinurton.com/history/Renaissance/early_ren.htm Read More