Renaissance Essay

Renaissance Essay

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc23771154 \h 1

Body PAGEREF _Toc23771155 \h 1

Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc23771156 \h 1

Renaissance Essay

Introduction

Renaissance means “rebirth”, it refers to an era that followed Medieval Ages in Europe. The Humanists of Europe coined this term and they were the first scholars and artists who stressed upon the revival or research of their classic Greco-Roman knowledge for the cause of Enlightenment. The Hundred Years’ Franco-English war fueled the desperation of people who were already under stress due to consistent long wars and the horrors of Black Death, the Fall of Constantinople brought the situation to its climax which caused mass intellectual rebellion against the status-quo and thus started Renaissance. Renaissance encouraged the painters, architects, sculptors, poets, and scientists to explore their ancient pre-fifth century secular knowledge and produce the arts without taking the consent of Pope into any account.

Body

There is no exact year of when the Renaissance started, but it is unanimously believed that it started after the Fall of Constantinople and the terrible period of Black Death. People of the whole of Europe were under the thumb of Europe during that period. Christian clergy was exploiting the masses but no one could rebel against Pope who had universal authority throughout the continent due to having the King of unified Holy Roman Empire in hands. The plague of the Black Death started in China and reached Europe during the second half of the 14th century. It is estimated that almost 25 million people succumbed to this terrible plague including many political and religious elite creatures all over Europe. Peoples’ believe in Pope started crumbling when they found their religious masters helpless before this alien disease which was perceived as divine punishment by them. People were unable to rebel against the religious authority despite their miserable state because of the Feudal Administration that was under the control of the Pope via the Holy Roman Empire. The Franco-English Hundred Years' War started over the claims of the French throne in 1337 and left deep cracks in the unity of Europe when it ended in 1453. This very year brought one more turning point in European history when the Roman Empire scattered after Constantine-II lost Constantinople to the Ottomans. This Ottoman conquest enabled the Eastern scholars to expose their knowledge to Europe including a large part of Greek knowledge that they had been exploring for centuries. The authority of Pope scattered, and the Feudal System broken.

Petrarch is credited with starting this era. He was a Humanist who encouraged secular scholars to start their revolutionary struggle of exploring Classical knowledge and producing knowledge and arts for the sake of humanity. Humanism renounced religion partially and started thinking in terms of logic. This caused remarkable scientific and artistic development. The industrial revolution started, and the people started questioning religion through their modes of expression. Secular philosophy replaced the religious orthodoxy during the 16th and 17th century when the era had started all over the continent after originating from Italy. Dante and Petrarch introduced Humanist philosophy early during the 13th century who were later followed by Gianozzo Manetti, Leonardo Bruni,  HYPERLINK "https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marsilio-Ficino" Marsilio Ficino, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Lorenzo Valla, and  HYPERLINK "https://www.britannica.com/biography/Coluccio-Salutati" Coluccio Salutati.

Art reached its zenith during this era that highlighted the Renaissance in the best way. Great artists revolutionized Europe with their matchless creativity. Painting recognized as a proper art rather it gained the status of science which was learned by many commendable intellectuals.  Leon Battista Alberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Andrea Palladio, and  HYPERLINK "https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michelozzo" Michelozzo are significant architects of the Renaissance. In the field of painting, we see great names like Masaccio, the brothers Pietro and  HYPERLINK "https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ambrogio-Lorenzetti" Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Fra Angelico. Sculptors like  Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, Andrea del Verrocchio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Michelangelo brought another revolution to the field of Arts. The sculptors of gods, ancient heroes, and the paintings of Nature attracted a large segment of people.

The scientific development gave birth to printer which activated the masses to start reading literature and actively contributing to the socio-political exercises. The other remarkable contribution of science was the invention of the Steam Engine that caused the total breakup of Feudal System because people started the migration to cities for better earning and thus started urbanization on a large scale. Renaissance caused the monarchies to crumbling after the democratic revolutions broke out in America and France during the second half of the 18th century, followed by the others.

Conclusion

Renaissance, although started in Italy, influenced the whole of Europe and sowed the seeds of the modern world that developed eventually. It started when Europe was groaning under the burden of long wars, plagues, and the elite's exploitation, but it resulted in the form of a world that claims to be the most civilized ever in history. Renaissance was the fruit of misery and an expected result of the exploitation of the masses at the hands of religious and political leadership. Had the Humanist not rebelled against the status quo, we might have been living in a world similar to medieval ages till day. Despite this a lot of development, we still have the exploiters in our social system construction i.e. politicians and elite businessmen whom Marks calls Bourgeoisie. They exploit the poor and marginalize their independence. The other threat to the collective development of humanity are those who promote racism that causes anomie, and those impose wars on the weaker countries that causes Global unrest. I have learned that we must renounce their authority to make this world a better place to live in.