Welcome to the Renaissance Period
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The Renaissance Period
The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century, the Renaissance promoted the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature and art. Some of the greatest thinkers, authors, statesmen, scientists and artists in human history thrived during this era, while global exploration opened up new lands and cultures to European commerce. The Renaissance is credited with bridging the gap between the Middle Ages and modern-day civilization.
There is not an exact date of the beginning of the Renaissance period, but it was rumoured to begin in the period from 1350 until the year 1400.
Starting in Florence, Italy, before spreading out to the rest of the country. Prior to the Renaissance period, in the middle ages, people thought life should and always be hard.
It was a world filled with war and hard work, with citizens working themselves into the ground until they perished. However, by the 1300s, the people of Florence began to think differently. Studying the past lives of the Greeks and Romans, they realised that life could be done in another way, which introduced the new way of thinking called humanism. Using the comforts of life, reawakening art, culture, science, technology, and music to bring more joy into life.
It was a world filled with war and hard work, with citizens working themselves into the ground until they perished. However, by the 1300s, the people of Florence began to think differently.
Studying the past lives of the Greeks and Romans, they realised that life could be done in another way, which introduced the new way of thinking called humanism. Using the comforts of life, reawakening art, culture, science, technology, and music to bring more joy into life.
As Italy was a considerably wealthy country at the time, it was easy for them to extravagantly spend their money on the finer things of life, cultivating humanism quickly. Wealthy merchants hired artisans and craftspeople more frequently. As well as competitions among artists and thinkers occurring more frequently. Art began to flourish, and new thoughts began to emerge. With the entire continent spending more and more money on the fine arts. This began the foundation for the European age of exploration, which soon led to Europe’s global power.
The end of the Renaissance period ties in directly with Florence’s decline.
It first began with the invasion of Florence by France in 1494, as well as Italy, breaking into warfare between its city-states. The introduction of the Renaissance gave birth to many political and intellectual movements, with the era having a large backlash. By the 1550s, many of the artworks and literature that helped developed the Renaissance were banned. And by the mid-1550s, the Renaissance was over completely in Italy. However, it was live alive across Europe, with other country’s growing this era even after Italian’s end.
The Renaissance period cultivated a new change in art, knowledge, and culture.
It changed the way the citizens thought, with first the rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature, and art, as well the new discoveries in travel, invention, and style. This era was important has it changed the way the world thought, with new inventions, styles, and explorations that are still influential and occurring to this day. The term ‘Renaissance Man’ refers to the highly influential people who shaped this period of time. They were masters of invention, engineering, creatively, and travel, with some of there discoveries and inventions still used widely to this day.