Late Middle Ages And Early Renaissance example essay topic

The Era of the Renaissance "Renaissance" is inspired by programs from The Western Tradition Medieval Life [ web ] In the feudal structure of the Middle Ages, the nobles who lived in the country provided the king with protection in exchange for land. Peasants worked the land for the nobles, for which they received protection and their own small parcels of land. These rural peasants worked from sunup to sundown, but even the nobles had few creature comforts. In feudal cities, where there was a small middle-class population, life was a little easier and individuals had the freedom to pursue whatever trade or industry they liked. In the late Middle Ages, when the threat of invasion from barbarians had lessened, people left the country for towns and cities so they could engage in more profitable pursuits. The Plague Begins Life in the city was soon to change drastically.

During the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance (1350-1450) the bubonic plague, also called the "Black Death", devastated one half of the population of Europe. The plague, which was almost always fatal, spread most rapidly in cities, where people were in close contact with each other. The only way to avoid the disease was to leave the city for the country. This solution was, unfortunately, available only to those wealthy enough to make the trip. The Plague's Effect on the Economy The population decrease caused by the plague led to an economic depression. Merchants and trades people had fewer people to whom they could sell their wares.

Products therefore accumulated, and the merchants and traders suffered a loss in income. Economic hardship spread throughout the community as those who dealt with the merchants -- bankers, suppliers, and shippers -- also lost revenue. As incidence of the plague decreased in the late fifteenth century, populations swelled, creating a new demand for goods and services. A new middle class began to emerge as bankers, merchants, and trades people once again had a market for their goods and services. In the feudal structure of the Middle Ages, the nobles who lived in the country provided the king with protection in exchange for land. Tools developed in the Middle Ages for exploration continued to be used during the Renaissance.

One of these was the astrolabe, a portable device used by sailors to help them find their way. By measuring the distance of the sun and stars above the horizon, the astrolabe helped determine latitude, an important tool in navigation. Another tool, the magnetic compass, which had been invented in the twelfth century, was improved upon during the Renaissance. Maps, too, became more reliable as Portuguese map makers, called cartographers, incorporated information provided by travelers and explorers into their work. Shipbuilding also improved during the Renaissance, as large ships called galleons became common. These ships were powered by sail rather than by men using oars.

The Beginning of Trade Although navigation was still an imprecise science, sailors were able to go farther than they had before. This was important because as the economy of the Renaissance continued to improve, there were ever-increasing demands for imported goods and new places to export local products. (For traders, sailing proved to be a better option than traveling by land, as the network of roads that crisscrossed Europe was poor, and the few good roads that did exist were frequented by thieves.) The Renaissance sailor first took to the seas to supply Europeans with the many Asian spices they demanded. Peppercorns, nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon all came from lands to the east. Also from the East came precious gems and fine silk, a fabric especially sought after for women's clothing. These trading voyages were often paid for by investors.

When Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1445, he forever changed the lives of people in Europe and, eventually, all over the world. Previously, bookmaking entailed copying all the words and illustrations by hand. Often the copying had been done onto parchment, animal skin that had been scraped until it was clean, smooth, and thin. The labor that went into creating them made each book very expensive. Because Gutenberg's press could produce books quickly and with relatively little effort, bookmaking became much less expensive, allowing more people to buy reading material. The Demand for Books Grows In the Middle Ages, books had been costly and education rare; only the clergy had been regular readers and owners of books.

Most books had been written in Latin, considered the language of scholarship. In the Renaissance, the educated middle classes, who could now afford books, demanded works in their own languages. Furthermore, readers wanted a greater variety of books. Almanacs, travel books, chivalry romances, and poetry were all published at this time. Simultaneously, a means of printing music was also invented, The recovery of ancient manuscripts showed the humanists how the Greeks and Romans employed mathematics to give structure to their art.

The relationship between these two studies is most evident in architecture, where numerical ratios were used in building design. A ratio is nothing more than a relationship between two quantities. For example, a building that is 100 feet wide and 50 feet tall has a ratio between its width and its height of 2: 1 (100: 50 = 2: 1). Proportions in Architecture One of the most interesting proportions used by Renaissance artists, the golden mean, [... web... ] had also been used by the ancient Greeks in art and architecture. Often found in nature in the shape of a leaf or the spiral of a shell, the golden mean is thought to add harmonious composition to buildings and other structures.

The humanists also used the writings of Vitruvius, a Roman architect, to guide them in their architectural designs. Vitruvius extolled the virtues of proportion and symmetry in architecture, and he explained how the human body represented the beauty of proportion in nature. Renaissance architects, especially those in Italy, also went to the ruins of ancient buildings to measure them and learn how proportion and symmetry were applied in real structures. The result of these studies was a new philosophy of beauty in building.

Gothic spires and decorations imitating movement towards heaven were replaced by elegant symmetry demonstrating the intellect of man. making music available at a reasonable cost. As the demand for books grew, the book trade began to flourish throughout Europe, and industries related to it, such as papermaking, thrived as well. The result of all of this was a more literate populace and a stronger economy. Humanism Emerges [... web Books also helped to spread awareness of a new philosophy that emerged when Renaissance scholars known as humanists returned to the works of ancient writers.

Previously, during the Middle Ages, scholars had been guided by the teachings of the church, and people had concerned themselves with actions leading to heavenly rewards. The writings of ancient, pagan Greece and Rome, called the "classics", had been greatly ignored. To study the classics, humanists learned to read Greek and ancient Latin, and they sought out manuscripts that had lain undisturbed for nearly 2,000 years. The humanists rediscovered writings on scientific matters, government, rhetoric, philosophy, and art. They were influenced by the knowledge of these ancient civilizations and by the emphasis placed on man, his intellect, and his life on Earth The Renaissance was a rebirth that occurred throughout most of Europe. However, the changes that we associate with the Renaissance first occurred in the Italian city of Florence and continued to be more pervasive there than anywhere else.

The city's economy and its writers, painters, architects, and philosophers all made Florence a model of Renaissance culture. Fifteenth-century Florence was an exciting place to be. In 1425 the city had a population of 60,000 and was a self-governed, independent city-state. Twelve artist guilds that regulated the trades were the basis of Florence's commercial success.

Members of the guilds, who were wealthy and held positions in government, were some of Florence's most influential people in society and politics. Because of its strong economy and a political philosophy that was dedicated to the welfare of the city, Florence thrived. The most powerful guilds were those that represented textile workers. Much of Florence's wealth was dependent on the manufacture or trade of cloth, primarily wool.

Wool of superior quality was often purchased unfinished and untreated from England and Iberia. Florentine textile workers then cleaned, carded, spun, dyed, and wove the wool into cloth of excellent quality. They sold the finished material in Italy, northern European cities, and even in eastern countries. Other textile experts purchased inferior cloth from northern cities and refinished it to create a superior product.

Because Florence was not a port city like Venice, sea trade was not a primary source of its income. Banking, however, was. Many families of Florence, beginning in the thirteenth century, were successful bankers. The Florentine gold coin known as the florin was of such reliable purity that it was the standard coinage throughout Europe.

Florentine bankers were known throughout Europe as well, for they established banking houses in other important cities such as London, Geneva, and Bruges (Belgium). The Palazzo Vecchio, constructed in 1299, was the home of the Florentine guilds. Then, as well as today, it functioned as the seat of municipal government and the heart of Florentine culture. It was here that the city's 5,000 guild members, who had the power of the vote, gathered to discuss and determine city issues. In addition to textile workers and bankers, the guild members included masons and builders, sculptors, lawyers, and solicitors. Humanism is a type of intellectual and philosophical thought that focuses on the value, worth, capacities and bodies of human people.

Many people coined the term "humanism". Cicero and Varro described their teaching method as humanitas and, building from that influence, Petrarch used the term humanism us to describe the intellectual freedom of humankind. During the Renaissance, the newfound interest and study of Classical culture, art and philosophy led to a secular interest in the intellectual and physical possibilities of humanity. This phenomenon is largely due to the renewal of education and study that occurred during this time and the result of this education, which was fresh confidence that human beings are able to decide for themselves the best course of action, instead of having it decided for them by governmental or religious authorities. Humanism is largely responsible for the decline of Papal power that occurred at this time and the increase of secular authority such as that of the Emperors and wealthy families. According to orthodox theology of the Middle Ages, human beings were born with sin and remained sinful until intervention by religion and The Church.

Humanism, as is stated by Pico della Mirandola in his work Oratio de digitate hominid, offered an alternative to mankind, stating that men and women may choose to act morally and correctly on their own. This did not mean that religion and humanism were mutually exclusive, however. Humanist thought contributed to religious faith with the enhancement of theological and historical study. One of the most important effects of humanism upon Western Culture is in the realm of art.

In addition to the new freedom of expression to show nudity in art, art now attempted to answer questions and represent the human condition in visual terms. Technically, artists were also free to depict people as they really look (or the way they would ideally appear), much the way that Classical artists did. The goal of the Renaissance artist was to show the (physically) perfect human, the culmination of all human potential towards greatness. Artistic, literary and philosophical Renaissance humanism is also responsible for the increased and renewed scientific interest and desire for experimentation that took place at this time. Scientific thinkers, such as Galileo Galilei and his contemporaries, reread and reexamined Greek and Roman scientific texts and gained a new appreciation and understanding of scientific matters. In addition, due to the new concern with humanity, there was an increased interest in preventing illness and death and thus, also an increased interest in medicines.

Florentine Art and Architecture Florence, like many cities of the Renaissance, had been built over many years and so was home to numerous churches, public buildings, and houses constructed with Romanesque or Gothic architecture. Therefore, when a revival of classical styles became popular, new edifices in the classical style were built alongside or added to buildings of older styles. The concept of the dome first emerged during the Renaissance in the form of an architectural marvel that tops the Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral of Florence. The construction of the dome marks the beginning of Renaissance architecture; the cathedral and its dome together represent early Renaissance style -- one that blends old and new designs. Arnulfo di Cambio began the building in a Gothic style in 1294. In 1418, architect Filippo Brunelleschi received a commission to build the dome.

He traveled to Rome with the sculptor Donatello to study architecture; there, the two artists investigated various Roman ruins to learn about the design and proportion of buildings, as well as the construction of arches and columns. Although Brunelleschi never duplicated classical features, he borrowed ideas from the ancient ruins and incorporated them into the design of his dome. Art Outside and Inside Many Florentine structures that outwardly exemplify architecture from earlier times also house interiors, paintings, and sculptures typical of the Renaissance. An example is the church of Santa Croce.

On the outside, Santa Croce is an example of Gothic architecture, but the chapel inside is Renaissance in design, due to Brunelleschi's careful use of proportions. The interior of the church of Santa Croce houses important works of Renaissance art. These include the tomb of Florentine chancellor and humanist Leonardo Bruni, created by Bernardo Rossellini, and two works by Donatello: The Annunciation and his wooden Crucifix. The Bard i Chapel, named for a family of wealthy Florentine bankers, is decorated with frescoes by Giotto that tell stories of Saint Francis. Giotto's works are an important bridge from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance, particularly because his characters express emotion. At the cathedral of San Marco, the upper floor contains monks' cells decorated with Fra Angelico frescoes.

Angelico's representation of the Annunciation -- perhaps his best known work -- is located at the top of the staircase. In it, the Virgin Mary and the angel are in an arcade, a popular Renaissance architectural structure that features a series of arches supported by columns. The tops -- or capitals -- that crown the columns of the arcade are classical in design. Angelico used linear perspective and a vanishing point to achieve the realistic appearance of the space.

Michelangelo and Botticelli Michelangelo web Several of the greatest artists of the age studied or worked in Florence, including Michelangelo and Botticelli. Michelangelo began to study painting in Florence with Ghirlandaio and later learned sculpture under the patronage of Lorenzo the Magnificent. It was for the Florence cathedral that Michelangelo created his famous sculpture of David. The Renaissance aesthetic is apparent in the careful and accurate depiction of the human body and its representation as a nude. The painter Botticelli was a friend of both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and the principal painter of the Medici family. His works represent Renaissance style in his use of classical subject matter and in the effect of motion that he achieves.

It was for the home of a Medici that he created his two most famous works: Primavera and The Birth of Venus. In both works Botticelli uses figures from antiquity, such as the goddess Venus and the three Graces. He balances his figures in nearly symmetrical groupings, yet never loses a feeling of motion and lightness. Renaissance style in art, exemplified in works from Florentine artists, flourished largely because of the patronage, or financial support, of wealthy citizens and the church.

By purchasing numerous works of art, Renaissance men and women provided a livelihood for many painters, sculptors, and architects. It was also the Renaissance humanist desire to imitate and revive the beauty of ancient Greece, and to have that beauty surround them in their daily lives, that produced the wealth of superb art that is one of the hallmarks of Renaissance culture. Florentine Life The humanist movement was strong in Florence. Cosimo de Medici, Florence's wealthiest and most influential citizen, studied the works of ancient authors and collected manuscripts of classical writings. His delight in discussing humanist issues led him to organize the Plato Academy, where intellectuals would gather to discuss ideas concerning the classics. The academy continued even after Cosimo's death.

The Florentines enjoyed many pleasurable diversions from business and intellectual life. Lorenzo de Medici, Cosimo's grandson who was known as "The Magnificent", influenced the types of entertainment held and often sponsored the activities. Mystery plays, based on the theme of the Passion (the sufferings of Jesus), were regularly staged for the enjoyment and edification of the citizens. To celebrate the feast day of Saint John, Florence's patron saint, Florentines held a horse race that ran throughout the city. And festivals held during the season before Lent -- called Carnival -- were grand productions, especially in the late fifteenth century. Savonarola and Spiritual Concerns Although the humanist movement in Florence was very strong, Florentines were also concerned about their spiritual lives.

Thus, amidst their prosperity, a preacher named Savonarola was able to change the thinking of many citizens. Savonarola was concerned about what he considered abuses by the church and about people's excessive interest in material goods. He preached against the accumulation of worldly possessions and called for a "bonfire of the vanities" in which people were to burn "immoral" paintings, cosmetics, and such entertainment-related items as musical instruments and playing cards. Savonarola was successful in convincing many Florentines to return to a more spiritual way of life.

However, his condemnation of church abuses of wealth led to his downfall. The Pope restricted Savonarola from preaching; when he continued to do so, he was excommunicated. Soon after, Florentines turned against him for what they saw as his role in an unfavorable political climate. He was publicly executed in 1498. Leonardo da Vinci web.