The term Renaissance was created by Jacob Burckhardt in 1860. Renaissance means a rebirth of classic culture in Europe.

Background: The Renaissance is also known as the "rebirth" or "revival" of European culture. Prior to the Renaissance, Europe was in a period known as the Middle Ages, often referred to as the Dark Ages. The Middle Ages was a time of very little progress. The feudal system consisted of relationships between social classes based on loyalty and protection. The Catholic Church along with the kings dominated the power in Europe. In 1348, the Black Death struck Europe, killing close to 40% of the European population. The bubonic plague was carried by rats and spread along trade routes throughout all of Europe. Many people blamed the Jews for poisoning wells and killing the millions of people. This was one of the earliest examples of prejudice against Jews in Europe. This concept of using Jews as scapegoats led to many other incidents including the Holocaust. The Catholic Church had no explanation for the plague, leading to its loss of power. Other incidents like the Babylonian Captivity and the Great Schism lead directly to the fall of the Catholic Church's power. Reformers such as John Wycliff and John Huss further attacked the Catholic Church, leading to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

The Italian Renaissance: Florence, Italy was the birth place of the Renaissance for many reasons. Italy's geographical location was in the center of the Mediterranean, making it a crossroads of trades. Urbanization was also much more advanced in Italy. 25 percent of Italians lived in urban communities. These cities were centers for trade, new ideas and inventions, and culture. The social factors that led to the success of Italy were the vital roles played by wealthy nobles and the up-and-coming wealthy merchant class. Italy was also the location of two previous empires, Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The city-states of Italy copied the structure of these ancient empires.

Italian Renaissance Art: Art during the Italian Renaissance was greatly influenced by humanism. Secularism was a major factor in art. Even in religious paintings, humans took on more significance. Painting became more of an exercise to glorify the artist, rather than God. The three great master artists of the period are:
            Michelangelo Buonarroti was known for both his painting and sculpture skills. Michelangelo's most famous sculpture was the David which he sculpted out of marble at a very young age. Michelangelo is also famous for his fresco paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. To learn more about Michelangelo, click here.
            Leonardo da Vinci is known as the "Renaissance Man." Leonardo da Vinci introduced a very secular approach to art, painting the famous Mona Lisa, and The Laster Supper. Da Vinci was also interested in science, engineering, and anatomy. To learn more about Leonardo da Vinci, click here.
            Raphael was considered the biggest rival of Michelangelo. Raphael is best known for his perfection of painting. Raphael was the youngest of the three master artists, dying at the young age of only 37. Raphael's most famous painting is the School of Athens. To learn more about Raphael, click here.

Italian Renaissance Artwork

Education: The Renaissance also served as a rebirth of education. New schools were established and taught a person to be well-rounded by teaching grammar, music, geometry, algebra, poetry, and military arts. The most important contribution to Renaissance education was Johann Gutenberg's invention of the printing press. The printing press allowed multiple copies to be printed at the same time. This lead to the publishing of bibles, books, newspapers, and textbooks. All of these contributed to the huge increase in the literacy rate.

The Northern Renaissance: The Renaissance quickly spread from the Italian city-states to Belgium, the Netherlands, France, England, and Germany. Northern humanists are also known as Christian humanists and emphasized Christian readings such as the Bible. The new concept of mysticism, the belief that the Christian can bridge the gap between himself and God through meditation, prayer, and other acts of devotion, was created during the Northern Renaissance. In the Netherlands, Belgium, and in Germany, an organization of laypersons known as the Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life was established to help the poor and found schools for Christian children. Erasmus is known as the prince of humanism. He was the most famous intellectual of the Northern Renaissance period. Erasmus was critical of the clergy and its abuses. His most famous book was the Praise of Folly. Erasmus's primary message was the power of education to promote true reverence for God and in living out the Gospel message. Erasmus laid the foundation for other reformers such as Martin Luther. Another brilliant individual was Thomas More. More is responsible for the establishment of Utopia, a vision of better life based on communal living. More had so much pride in his work that he was willing to die for his beliefs. Unfortunately, this did happen in 1535 when he opposed King Henry VIII and was beheaded.

Sources

Viault, Birdsall S. Modern European History
McGraw Hill AP European History Review Book