1. Middle Ages; people had a sense of place, community was important. Renaissance; People wanted more out of life, individualism was emphasized. In both periods, social classess existed, but they were less rigid in the Renaissance.
2. Middle Ages; Feudalism. Renaissance; Rise of towns and cities. Both; universities, the only difference being the curriculum.
3. Middles Ages; Pessimism, God was to be feared and everything you did was a sin. Man was an abomination who could never do anything right. Renaissance; Man could become godlike through education. Man was the highlight of God's creations. Both; Religion was still important, the main difference being how God was viewed.
4. Middle Ages; Art was primarily religious in nature, stylized, figures were fully clothed, and work was never signed. Renaissance; Art was still religious, but there was also a lot of secular themes as well, realism & tromp l'oeil, nudity, humanism, and the artists signed their work.
5. Middle Ages; Static times, not much changed. Renaissance; Dynamic, rebirth of classical learning, many advancements in technology and medicine. Both; Latin continued to be the language of choice for scholars.
6. Middle Ages; Roman Catholic Church was dominant force in the lives of the people. Renaissance; Roman Catholic Church's power was questioned, especially during the Reformation. Both; even after the Ref, religion (whether it be Catholic or Protestant) was a major thing in the lives of most people.
7. MIddle Ages; The only literate and educated people were the clergy. Renaissance; after the invention of the movable type printing press by Johannes Gutenburg, literature became less expensive and more availible. Hence, more people became literate. Both; Educated people were looked upon favorably, and while in the Ren more people could read than in the MA, it was mostly still