Renaissance the rebirth. The Italian artists and intellectuals believing that they broke significantly from the Middle Ages began to speak of a Renaissance or rebirth of a civilization.
Historians such as Jacob Burckhardt proclaimed the 15th century saw a rebirth of ideas. Before this the world had been in a stagnant state but now the Italians had a new understanding. But the scholars proclaimed that the Renaissance was not a new way of seeing the world but rather a revival of learning and emphasis on culture. Prosperity and peace during most of the 15th century encouraged an active cultural climate. The writers and artists were being were being supported by the prosperous citizens.
The Renaissance periods saw the thinkers and artist evolve and start to ask ethical questions such as what is human nature and the relationships between humans and God. These are questions the ethical and philosophical scholars are still pending today. The Middle Ages sometimes saw women play cultural roles but Early Renaissance was almost dominated by male artist, writers and scholars. The Early Renaissance …show more content…
didn't really see the status of women change much but it did see women become better educated.
The political climate was not as fortunate in the Early Renaissance years.
Autocratic rulers, signori, began to accumulate power in contrast to the guilds and middle class that led during the 14th century. The Italian economy was still trying to recuperate from the 13th century plagues and the 14th century wars that continued into the 15th century. By the end of the 15th century Europe had recovered from the plague. The center of commerce shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coast and the Spanish funded trips to discover the New World. The world economy was affected by these trips as new raw materials were being brought back to
Europe.
The Renaissance brought about a change in warfare as diplomacy emerged as a peaceful alternative to warfare. The system of sending diplomats from country to country to negotiate issues owes its existence to the Italian regimes of the Renaissance.
The writers of the Renaissance such as Castiglione and his famous guide to manners have an influence on the rules of civilized behavior today. Machiavelli and his views on human weakness made a huge impact on Western culture. Machiavelli and his thoughts on politics began the great thinkers on their quest to search for answers on policy and politics and are credited with creating the modern political science. Mathews, Roy, and F. DeWitt Platt. The Western Humanities. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2004.