What Impact Did The Renaissance Have On

The Western World Essay, Research Paper

The Renaissance was significant on the development of Western Europe and the Impact it had was immense. The Renaissance not only influenced the worlds of art, music, and literature, but also the worlds of politics, religion, and society. During the Renaissance, advancements were made in several areas of technology and in thought. The Renaissance was a key in the development of Western Civilization.

The Renaissance is a term that was coined in the 19th century to describe a period in which art and literature flourished in Europe, but there were so many significant changes during this time period that the term Renaissance began to mean all the developments during this time period. The time frame of the Renaissance occurs over several centuries. It began in Italy in the 14th century, and in the 15th century, the period flourished. The 16th century brought an end to the Renaissance with the coming of a crisis in Italy which spread throughout the European Continent(Lurier).

Between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, Europe was in a period of decline. Eventually, Europe, for the most part, had adopted a feudal

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society. There were knights and lords in this period, as well as vassals and serfs. Cities of the great Roman Empire were slums for the most part, and in the country, estates with feudal lords offered protection to local villagers from attack (it is for this that villages developed close to feudal estates). Life was generally hard and not too stable. The Renaissance was a result of this life, almost retaliation more than reaction(Michelet).

As stated above, the Renaissance started in Italy, to get technical, it actually started in the town of Florence. A reason why the Renaissance started in Italy perhaps relates to the fact that Italian city-states survived in Italy perhaps relates to the fact that Italian city-states survived the middle ages for various reasons (the were located strategically, and they were important places of trade). Northern Europe did not fair as well as the Italian city-states(Kagan).

Although the opposite would be true in

The sixteenth and seventeenth centures,

The city-states of Italy survived the

Century and a half between 1300 and 1450

Better than the territorial states of

Northern Europe. This was due to Italy’s

Strategic location between East and West

And its lucrative Eurasian trade. Great

Wealth gave rulers and merchants the

Ability to work their will on both society

And culture. They became patrons of government,

Education, and the arts, always as much for

Self-aggrandizement as out of benevolence, for

Whether a patron was a family, a firm, a

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Government, or the church, their endowments

Enhanced their reputation and power. The

Result of such patronage was a cultural

Renaissance in Italian cities unmatched

Elsewhere(Kagan,Ozment, and Turner

333-334).

The advantage of Italian city-states can be linked to trade. Some cities such as Venice traded without interruption through the middle ages. During this time, economic factors made it possible for traders of these cities to learn applications such as banking and book keeping which, in time would spread all over Europe. The Merchants of the city-states also learned such tactics as creating monopolies. Bankers, such as the Medici family became extremely affluent, and modern banking practices come directly from them. In fact, at one point, the Italian bankers became the bankers of choice for all Europe(Kagan).

The Wealth of the city-states greatly influenced the Renaissance. In the city-states of Italy there was a major influence in power, and how to attain it. Eventually, for the most part, the Merchants controlled the politics of the city-states, and the wealth grew (as did the size of the city-states). For a period, Florence was ruled by a council of six men (later it was made up of eight men) who were elected. This was not democracy, but at least there

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were elections. Constitutions were held by some city-states, thus, the city-states that held constitutions had a constitutional government. This is a development in politics for the time because Kings and Princes ruled most of Europe(Andrea).

Humanism came out of the Italian Renaissance. There are several types of humanism, but the best one of the Renaissance was the one that followed the belief of man being unique; that is to say that everyone is different, and should be treated with dignity. This brought on a growth in education and the arts. Humanism of the Renaissance came mostly from the people who were not of the clergy, and wanted to learn the liberal arts. Writing and poetry became important again, as did art and thought; all of the liberal arts, it was thought, contributed to the achievement of the human race, and its dignity. Humanists studied directly from the original sources. They learned Latin and Greek to do so. In doing this they did not have to rely on what others thought of classical works, which meant that they could come up with their own views on the subjects. The humanists were not only scholars, they were teachers as well; which furthered education in the Italian City S

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