“Renaissance” Term Essay The word “renaissance” can be applied to a period in European history just after the Middle Age, but it’s meaning may not match the time period it is paired with.
Meaning “rebirth”, the Renaissance was believed to be a rebirth of classical Roman-Greco culture after the middle ages. But many people also argue that the term “renaissance” doesn’t fit the time period. Those people believe that the Renaissance wasn’t a rebirth of the classical times, but rather a more modern civilization that was simply a continuation of development from the Middle Ages.In many ways the term “renaissance” fits, because the Renaissance was a rebirth of classical times.
This was mainly due to the intellectual movement of humanism, which encouraged studying ancient literature and the study of the humanities (history, philosophy, poetry, language, math, and science). The study of humanities made education more secular than it had been in the past and encouraged people to achieve great things in and enjoy their worldly lives rather than just prepare for their afterlife. From the study of ancient literature, many people sought to emulate the great ancient figures of antiquity in both writing and art forms.Michelangelo emulates the ancient Greek emphasis on the beauty of man with his sculpture of the David.
Leonardo Bruni wrote that the great orators of antiquity should be studied to learn how to use expression in writing, a vast vocabulary, and a good writing style. Renaissance writers even wrote in Latin and Greek to better emulate the writing styles of ancient greats. By emulating the classics, Renaissance writers and artists were able to bring back the cultural ideas and views of the ancient Romans and Greeks. In many ways the term “renaissance” doesn’t fit, because the Renaissance was a continuation of developments from the middle ages.For example, in the Middle Ages many modern institutions were formed (like those of law, national cultures, varying languages, the frameworks of law, government, and a modern trade based economy).
Renaissance institutions weren’t just copies of classical institutions but actually more developed versions of medieval institutions. For example, overseas trade was developed during the Crusades in the Middle Ages. Italy then advanced their ships and banking methods in the Renaissance. The Renaissance movement of humanism also started to evelop in the Middle Ages with Petrarch, who is even commonly referred to as the father of humanism. In Petrarch criticizes Middle Age scholars for not studying and sometimes even rejecting the great writers of the past.
He was one of the first people to suggest that education shouldn’t be only based upon religion like it was in the Middle Ages. Scholars in the Middle Ages often disregarded classical works just because non-Catholics wrote them. The term “renaissance” holds some validity for describing its period, but in other ways the term is also erroneous.The Renaissance was the rebirth of classical style in both artwork and literature.
It was also the rebirth of focusing on secular studies and the belief that one should achieve greatness in this life rather than just focusing and making it to the afterlife. The Renaissance also was a continuation of developments from the Middle Ages, like the development of modern institutions and the development of humanism that formed with Petrarch. Thus, the term as some validity for the time period it represents, but it is not a perfect fit.
