The Significance of the Renaissance
The Renaissance meaning “rebirth” was a time for Europe to be reborn (Damrosch 630). It was time to move on from the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages was a time of ignorance in Europe. The Middle Ages revolved around the church and beliefs were centered around superstitions. The people of the Middle Ages had no form of entertainment. They also had no way of bringing about new intelligences to the country. The Middle Ages was a very dark time. It wasn’t until the rebirth of Europe that some light was finally being shined on how much intellect the Europeans actually had to offer.
During the Renaissance period, humanism started to grow. The focus became prominent on the multi-talented man. The church was still a huge focal point but not as much as it was in the Middle Ages. Superstitions were replaced with actual philosophical beliefs. Wisdom began to grow. The Renaissance was becoming completely different from the times they had previously heard of. The quality of life was changing rapidly for the people of this time. It was all becoming so different than ever before.
Ideas and beliefs were becoming so different that I’m sure it was hard for the people of Europe to even keep up. Classical education was making a comeback into their culture. They started using humanism as way for people to focus on learning. Humans were used for more than just society labels, but now, for their intellect. Humanism had finally made its place in the time of the Renaissance culture. People were finally seeing life in a whole different perspective. They started using their own ideas and values for something productive. They no longer felt obligated to only obey the teachings of the church, but to finally put their own stamp on life (Damrosch 638).
As the people of the current time started focusing on humanism, they started drifting from God. They felt they didn’t need God because they had man, which was completely opposite from the Middle Ages. They desired the word of man over God. People of Europe started believing that all men were capable of solving all problems with the help of God. The church during this time started to lose a lot of power and wealth due to the humanistic movement. The church also started to change. It wasn’t just Catholics and Protestants anymore, you had Presbyterians, Quakers, and pre-Christians forming (Damrosch 641).
. The humanistic man was being sought as a God to many people during this time. The humanistic man was very strong in many aspects of life. He excelled intellectually. He was highly educated in philosophy, math, art, and science. He was very predominate during this time period. He was also a man of wealth. During this time period, you had to be born into riches to actually be considered someone of true value. A humanistic Renaissance man was viewed as a role model, teacher, and leader as well.
Renaissance men also started bringing new technologies to the world. They started questioning God and trying to find the answers themselves. They started using scientific measurements to measure time, and even started questioning the true existence of space. Humanities were really being brought to light at this time. Art, literature, science, and math started becoming overwhelmingly popular and important.
The writing of poetry was starting to become extremely entertaining. They started writing poems to be used as a drama. The poets or playwrights of the time didn’t even intend on their poems and plays to be read. They intended on them to be solely acted out. Shakespeare and Christopher Marlow were huge influences on the Renaissance times. They took influences from the Greek times and wrote the best poetry and plays to ever be written (Damrosch 630-649).
. Renaissance times was also a time for new revolutionary methods that would forever change the world. The printing press was created and assembled. It changed how we not only would see the world then, but how we would see the
