The Renaissance

The Renaissance

The Renaissance was a time of rediscovery. European artists and philosophers brought back the classical culture of Rome and Greece. Rediscovery is uncovering something from the past. An example would be like legwarmers. They were worn in the 80’s and the fad of legwarmers is coming back into style again in 2006. Some synonyms that come to mind when you think of the Renaissance are rebirth, revival, rejuvenation, and history repeating. In most of Europe the Renaissance took place around the 14th and 16th centuries. Most countries such as Italy, England and France don’t have specific dates as to when the Renaissance started or ended. Some significant events of this time period were the reign of Elizabeth I, The Black Death, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Elizabeth I was the Queen of England during the years of 1558-1603. She had a large interest in Renaissance culture. She ruled with a combination of enthusiasm and hesitation. She was from Italian blood, which gave her a sinister touch, even though she really wasn’t cruel at all. The Black Death was a time of poor sanitation, overcrowding and disease. Too many people in one place let fleas spread and along with the fleas, the Black Death spread as well. It was very gruesome. 1.4 million out of the 4.2 million people living in the area died. Most peasants benefited from this plague because overcrowding among the middle class made healthy and strong workers more valuable. The peasants had and enjoyed more freedom during the Black Death. Leonardo Da Vinci was an artist, an architect, a sculptor, an engineer, a mathematician, musician and a scientist, and an inventor. He was one of the first Renaissance artists to assimilate depth into their paintings. Da Vinci’s most famous paintings are the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. He painted them during the Renaissance. Da Vinci was born in Florence, Italy in 1452 and he died in 1519. Things that define the Renaissance are Humanism and Neoplatonism. Humanism underlined human achievement and the fact that humans are rational and can handle the truth. Neoplatonism sought to bring Humanism and Christianity together. Plato didn’t believe in evil and he thought all men were capable of doing good. Plato thought that all things came from the Transcendent One, or God, so all things are good, and that darkness only came when God wasn’t there.

The Renaissance was a time of change in the areas of technology, philosophy, and literature.

There were many, many inventions and advances in technology. Among them are the printing press, clocks, gunpowder and eyeglasses.