Historical Background:  The Beginnings of the Renaissance in Italy (1350’s to 1620’s) 

The Beginnings:  During the Medieval period (Middle Ages), Europeans suffered from both war and plague.  Those who survived wanted to enjoy life.  As a result, they questioned the Roman Catholic Church, which taught Christians to endure suffering to get a heavenly reward.  They also questioned medieval society especially feudalism, which blocked social advancement.  Educated people gradually began to reject medieval values and look to the Classical (Greek and Romans) past for ideas.  There was a spirit of intellectual adventure that not just for scholars (educated, those who study) but for all.  During the feudal period education was mainly provided by the church, and focused on religious ideas.   The ideas of this 15th century period were carried far and wide by the printing press.  Due to the increase in the speed of making books it was now possible for more people to receive an education.  While more people did receive an education the majority of people did not.  Another main development was the focus on Humanism,  humanism is a philosophy that focuses on developing the potential of an individual.  Humanism is also a focus on human matters rather than religious.  The idea of Humanism was not new at all, in fact it had originated from the ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.  These new developments led to the idea of a “Renaissance Man”  someone who is skilled in many areas such as art, science, math, writing, etc.  With a value on a higher level of education and the creation of the first universities in Europe the Renaissance scholars collected and revived many texts that were lost from Ancient Rome and Greece.  This new time period was later called the Renaissance or rebirth. (Gutenberg Printing Press shown on right.)

What is Humanism in terms of the Renaissance?

-this was the basis for the whole entire movement of changes during the Renaissance.

-the goal was for individuals to develop an understanding of "classical literature" in the case of the Renaissance this was writing from ancient Rome and Greece.

-during the time period the ideal person would be well versed in art, politics, science, math, literature, etc.

-it was a "Rebirth" of focusing on the potential of an individual since ancient times (ex. Socrates in Ancient Greece  would walk around discussing the purpose of life and developing his philosophy on the meaning of life.  His ideas had little or nothing to do with religion, instead he focused on what he wanted to do.   This was the essence of the Renaissance, people like Da Vinci, Gentileschi, and Machiavelli did not exist during the Middle Ages.  During the Middle Ages these ideas had become lost.  It was a time period known as the "Dark Ages"  people had to focus on what they needed to do to survive, and there was not time to focus on "What they wanted to do."