RENAISSANCE: CHARACTERISTICS, CONTEXT, STAGES, POLITICS - HISTORY - 2025

The Renaissance was a period in European history that directly preceded the Middle Ages. It is characterized by a surge in interest in classical texts and the rediscovery of artistic inspiration that characterized the great civilizations of antiquity.

The Renaissance period is considered the first stage of the modern era in the history of mankind. It was characterized by a unique artistic movement, which emerged mainly in Italy, and which had influences on several generations of artists, reaching even today.

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In addition to the artistic influences of the Renaissance, a new vision of man also emerged. Renaissance philosophers created a new concept of humanism; the new vision of man was reflected in art, politics and the social and human sciences.

The resurgence of Greek and Roman ideas led to a cultural revolution, which occurred at different time periods throughout Europe. The first manifestation of the Renaissance occurred with the writings of Dante, in Italy.

In addition to interest in Greece and Rome, there was the discovery and exploration of new continents, the decline of the feudal system, the growth of trade, and innovations such as paper, printing, the compass, and gunpowder.

For modern thinkers, the Renaissance is a return to the classical mode of learning and knowledge, after a long period of cultural decline and stagnation.

This period is best known for the artistic developments and contributions of such figures as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, both of whom inspired Renaissance man.

Origin: historical and cultural context

The origin of the Renaissance cannot be located at a specific point in history. In fact, there is no particular event that caused the Renaissance to begin. This originated after several events occurred in the High Middle Ages.

These events caused a series of changes in the thinking of humanity, which were catalysts for the cultural change that occurred in the Renaissance.

In fact, the philosophers of the Renaissance - at the beginning of the 15th century - were the ones who coined the term "Middle Ages". The purpose of this new term was to create a definition about the period that comprised the end of Greco-Roman culture and its rediscovery.

The philosophers who conceptualized about this idea thought that they themselves were taking part in this rediscovery, although they did not give it the name "Renaissance."

Changes in the Middle Ages

During the last stage of the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church and the Roman Empire were unable to create a stability between the spiritual life and the material life of people. This caused the general thinking to change, unleashing new ideas that culminated in the Renaissance.

In addition, European city-states began to gain more importance throughout the entire continent. Monarchies became the most popular systems of government and countries began to identify with a particular language and not with several, as was done for a long time.

Many kings preferred the use of a single language in the country, as was the case with Edward III in England, who separated the use of French among the nobility to use only English.

Humanism

Humanism was the main form of cultural expression that the Renaissance had. However, it is important to note that this had many forms, but humanism acquires great importance because it was the first strong idea that characterized the Renaissance movement.

This movement was started by laymen, literate and intellectually prepared. This was different from most intellectual movements that started in the Middle Ages, which were mainly promoted by priests or men of the Church.

Humanistic thought arose primarily in Italy. Two of the thinkers who are most associated with humanism are Dante and Petrarch. They, although not the main developers of the idea, are considered the two most important predecessors of those who came after.

Francisco Petrarca is credited with having started the Renaissance thought movement after discovering the lost letters of Marco Tulio Cícero. On the other hand, Dante created one of the most important literary texts in the history of the humanist movement: The Divine Comedy.

The most important thinkers of the humanist movement were originally from Constantinople for the most part.

These lawyers emigrated to Italy after the city fell into enemy hands, which is why many historians consider the fall of Constantinople as the starting point of the Renaissance movement.

Humanistic attributes

Humanism had a number of important characteristics that shaped this movement during the Renaissance. As the main tool, Renaissance humanism was based on collecting all the achievements of human beings and their manifestations to use them as the main object of study.

Through these objects of study, humanism emphasized the dignity of human beings. In societies where death rates were particularly high, this movement put a philosophical twist on these beliefs.

In this way, humanism sought to "reborn" the spirit of human beings, as well as a knowledge that was considered lost.

Ancient Roman and Greek texts had been forgotten over time; During the Renaissance period, these texts began to be rediscovered and from them the humanist movement was generated.

Renaissance Features

Florence is the cradle of the Renaissance movement.

Humanism

Humanism can be defined as the renewed emphasis given to life in this world, in contrast to the spiritual and afterlife associated with the Middle Ages.

The humanists of the Renaissance took great interest in the dignity of man and in his possibilities for life in this world. The human being was appreciated as a social creature who could maintain a meaningful existence associated with other social beings.

Humanism represented a change from the contemplative life to the active life. In the Middle Ages, great value had been placed on religious contemplation and devotion.

In the Renaissance, the highest cultural values ​​were generally associated with active participation in public life, morality, politics, and military action in the service of the state.

The concept of "Renaissance man" refers to one who actively participates in the public sphere, but who possesses knowledge and skills in various areas of knowledge.

Religious values ​​continued to coexist with the new secular values. This association allowed humanism not to be frowned upon by the Church and the spread of this way of thinking to take place rapidly throughout Europe.

Religion

In the Renaissance, it was about understanding man through the relationship of man and God. The enthusiasm for classical ideas did not necessarily imply an abandonment of Christianity.

Without a doubt, there was an increase in the number of art pieces, both visual and literary, that dealt with secular themes. However, the learning was aimed at a better understanding of God as a tool for acquiring salvation.

Religious Renaissance art was created to inspire reverence and awe. However, this can also be seen as a network of ideas aimed at guaranteeing salvation.

Within Catholicism, salvation could come to be acquired through a combination of faith and good works that bought time out of purgatory.

Protestantism brought a revolutionary change to the Catholic institution. The changes generated included a reinterpretation of the New Testament through thinkers such as Martin Luther.

Under this new conception, there were no intermediaries between man and God and there was no purgatory from which to escape. These new Renaissance values ​​brought with them a massive destruction of religious art in Protestant countries.

Mathematics, science and technology

During the Renaissance, humanity was reunited with classical Greek studies in the fields of astronomy, anatomy, medicine, geography, alchemistry, mathematics, and architecture.

One of the greatest scientific discoveries in this period came from the Polish mathematician and astronomer Nicholas Copernicus. In 1530, he published his theory of a heliocentric solar system where the Earth was replaced by the Sun as the center of this dynamic.

Empiricism began to take over the reins of scientific thought. Scientists were guided by experience and experimentation, and they began to investigate the natural world through observation. This was the first indication of an incipient divergence between science and religion.

Renaissance man began to recognize these two areas as fields independent of each other. This created a conflict between the scientists and the Church to the point where they came to be prosecuted by the institution.

Science production began to be demonized or treated as gossip and many were even arrested for expressing their ideas.

Galileo Galilei was the most persecuted scientist of the Renaissance for the experiments he carried out. He conducted research that supported the idea of ​​new celestial objects and that of a heliocentric system. The Church forced him to spend the last nine years of his life in his home under arrest.

Art and literature

The origins of Renaissance art can be traced back to Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. During this period Italian artists and scholars found themselves inspired by the ideas and developments of classical Roman culture.

Writers such as Petrarca and Giovanni Boccaccio took a fresh look at Greece and Rome, reviving their language, values, and intellectual traditions.

The Catholic Church remained the main sponsor of the arts during the Renaissance, through popes and other prelates to convents, monasteries, and other religious organizations.

However, works of art began to be commissioned also by the civil government, the courts, and wealthy families. In Florence much of the artistic production was commissioned by merchant families, most notably the Medici.

The masters Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael, dominated the scene from the late 15th century to the early 16th century. These artists came from all walks of life, usually studying as apprentices before being admitted as professionals and working under the tutelage of a more experienced teacher.

In addition to sacred images, many of these works illustrated domestic themes such as marriage, birth, and daily life.

Exploration and trade

Tools developed during the Middle Ages for exploration were used during the Renaissance. One of these was the astrolabe, a portable device used by sailors to find their way.

By measuring the distance from the sun and the stars on the horizon, the astrolabe helped determine latitude, an important tool in navigation. Another widely used element was the magnetic compass, which was invented in the 12th century and was improved in the Renaissance.

Maps became more reliable as Portuguese cartographers incorporated information collected by travelers and explorers into their work. Shipbuilding improved with the construction of galleons that were powered by the wind rather than by human power.

While navigation was still imprecise, the sailors were able to go further than they had ever been. This was important since it allowed an improvement of the Renaissance economy due to a growing demand for imported products and new places for the export of local products.

Traders looked to the seas as their first choice in their quest to satisfy the demand for Asian spices. The East was also a place of production of priceless gems and silks for the wealthiest classes.

Music

Music was an essential part of civic, religious, and court life. The rich exchange of ideas in Europe, as well as the political, economic and religious events of this period led to important changes in the style of composition, methods of dissemination, new musical genres, and the development of new instruments for performance.

The most important music of the early Renaissance was that composed for the use of the Church. However, by the 16th century the patronage expanded to include Protestant churches, courts, and wealthy people in society.

The humanists of the sixteenth century studied Greek treatises on music and discussed its close relationship with poetry, along with how it could affect the feelings of the listener.

Inspired by this classical world, Renaissance composers managed to put words together with music in quite a dramatic setting.

Stages (Art)

Three Renaissance Artists: Titian, Botticelli and da Vinci

Trecento (Early Renaissance)

Trecento, in Italian, refers to the word "Thousand Three Hundred", which represents the Renaissance movement of the fourteenth century. This period was characterized by the emergence of unprecedented creativity, which gave rise to Pre-Renaissance painting.

The Trecento was also the period in which the new sculptures and architectural structures of the Renaissance originated.

This stage, in the history of art, is considered as the transitional period between the Gothic art of the Middle Ages and the art of the Renaissance. This stage precedes the Quattrocento and the Cinquecento.

The painting of this stage, spearheaded by the schools of Giotto and Duccio de Buoninsegna, was strikingly similar to ancient Roman art. In fact, the art style was pretty much the same, with a few "Renaissance" changes.

Sculpture also had a great boom, led by the art of Giovanni Pisano. Architecture, on the other hand, quickly replaced the Gothic structures that were still used in Europe.

Italy adopted Renaissance art long before the rest of Europe (around 200 years before other countries).

Quattrocento (High Renaissance)

The Quattrocento refers to all Renaissance art that was created during the 15th century. Like its predecessor, it encompasses architectural creations, sculptures and paintings.

This stage coincides with the Renaissance movement in Florence, so the term is used to define Renaissance art in Italy. During this period, high enthusiasm was found in the development of ancient forms found in Greek and Roman cities many centuries ago.

The fifteenth century had as its main exponent painting, which evolved from international Gothic painting and Byzantine art to develop a unique new style that characterized the movement.

Panel paintings and frescoes began to be used on a large scale, unlike the creation of smaller works that characterized the Trecento.

Sculpture, on the other hand, had little variation during this period. This was due to the fact that the sculpture of Trecento was completely linked to Gothic art. This art, on the other hand, was much more developed than painting.

Architects and artists like Brunellesci spearheaded the architectural renaissance of the Quattrocento, thanks to the rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek texts. Among these texts emerged the most important book by Vetruvio (De Architectura), one of Rome's most prominent architects.

Cinquecento (Late Renaissance)

The Cinquecento is the last stage of the Renaissance, which refers to all the works of art produced in the 16th century. During this stage, Renaissance art advanced even further.

During this stage, the basic artistic concepts that served to give rise to the movement known as Mannerism were developed.

The first three decades of the 16th century are considered the peak of Renaissance art, so the Cinquecento is the period when the movement was most popular in Italy and Europe.

During this stage, the Catholic Church (particularly the Pope) sought to re-establish various religious paintings and works throughout Rome. A number of prominent artists were hired to carry out this development, causing a significant increase in the number of works of art created in the country. This caused a Renaissance boom in Rome.

Through the paintings, sculptures, and architectural pieces created around this time, Rome and the Vatican were embellished with Renaissance works at various religious sites throughout the city.

The movement nearly bankrupted the Church, but art in general was the main beneficiary. Venetian painting also developed during this period, influencing Italian art for almost 100 years.

Politics

The Renaissance not only brought artistic changes. One of the most important new ideas of thought was the change in politics. It is considered that, during this time, the main characteristic was the separation of the Church and the government in a definitive way.

Until then, the Church strongly influenced government decisions. Although the Church itself did not lose all its importance, it was decided to exclude the religious movement from government actions.

These governments were mainly principalities and monarchies, but there were also republics and oligarchies.

Governments and new policies were highly influenced by the emerging humanist movement. The new value to the word of the people caused that democracy was given much more importance, as people began to value their contribution to society.

Class system

Humanism also influenced the class system of societies, which caused an alteration in the political organization.

Common civilians began to realize that it was possible to scale between different social classes, so that governmental systems based on hereditary power began to decline. It is possible to determine the Renaissance as the stage that initiated the general change of the world towards the republics.

Other changes

Invasions between countries began to decline during the Renaissance. Many local societies began to demand absolute dominance of their region, which caused strong independent city-states to be created.

Many monarchical families established their dominion in diverse lands, particularly as regards the northern part of the European continent.

The changes that occurred during Renaissance politics were not a direct transition to modern democracies. However, important lessons were learned in governments that allowed for further advancement in the various political systems worldwide.

The various kings and dukes began to lose their influence in areas they used to control, causing a lack of regional stability in many areas of Europe.

It is important to note that many of the Renaissance government systems, regardless of their origin (principalities, monarchies, republics…), were openly criticized for their actions during the Renaissance.

In addition, internal problems between the State and the Church increased throughout Europe, as the states wanted to exercise greater control over the land, which the Church traditionally did.

Renaissance heritage today

The Renaissance left a large number of important works that influenced artists for several centuries, including the most recent stage of mankind. Many of the Renaissance creations had unique characteristics that went down in art history.

Paintings such as The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, by Leonardo Da Vinci, became emblems of Renaissance art that influence many artists today. On the other hand, sculptures such as David y Piedad, by Michelangelo, are part of the cultural heritage that the Renaissance left on humanity.

The Renaissance, at an intellectual level, allows human beings to understand that the past should not be forgotten, and that many of its aspects can be key to the development of new ideas in modernity.

In addition, some Renaissance actions had an impact on the course of history and allowed the world to reach the state in which it is today.

The rediscovery of traditional ideas during the Renaissance period caused a boom in new thinking. For example, Christopher Columbus was part of the Renaissance movement and largely thanks to him, the European culture collided with the American.

Prominent figures

See articles:

Philosophers of the Renaissance.

Renaissance artists.

The outstanding characters of the Renaissance.

Literature

See main article: Renaissance Literature.

Custom

See main article: Renaissance customs.

Plays

See: Literary works and painting works.

Inventions

See article: Outstanding inventions of the Renaissance.

References

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6. Why is the Renaissance Important ?, Italian Renaissance Website, (nd). Taken from italianrenaissance.org
7. Renaissance Politics, Cosmo Learning Online, (nd). Taken from cosmolearning.com
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13. Arkenberg, Rebecca. Music in the Renaissance. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. October 2002. metmuseum.org.