Similarities and Differences of Italian and Northern Renaissance

The Renaissance was the time when people had taken up and resumed civilization for they believed that after a long interruption, they had been awakened from the so called dark time, which refers to the Middle Ages. It was a new era in thought and feelings which had led to many developments and changes, particularly in arts. Renaissance had started in Italy which also had spread almost all over Europe. Since the renaissance in Italy was a bit different from the renaissance in North Europe, historians decided to separate it into two namely, the Italian Renaissance and Northern European Renaissance. Both had many similar changes during this period but they also differ in many things such as in arts, literature, architectures and beliefs. Life in Italy during the renaissance period was very different compared from the Middle Ages because church had only limited influence to the society. Since people, specifically the merchants, had made fortunes. They started to enjoy life by buying luxurious things that will satisfy their needs and wants because they believed that there’s nothing wrong with it. By that time, rich bankers and merchants had started to rule Italy, one of the richest bankers during this time was the Medici Family who had influenced and governed Italy for many years. This had led to a secular conception of life, which means that it was a non-religious experience. People had forgotten the things that money could not buy because they all thought that money was the key to everything, especially to happiness. Meanwhile in Northern Europe, the religious element was still present and strong. Church still had a lot of influence to the people and it was not as secular as in Italy. Italy and North Europe both had enjoyed vigorous town life based on trading and banking but in Northern Europe, people were ruled by Monarchs. They did enjoy their wealth but they did not see it as one of their basic needs and they still had control over themselves. Northern renaissance was more a blend of the old and new, because it still had some connections from the Middle Ages. This connection could be seen through their works, like in arts, late gothic remained present. Northern and Italian Renaissance are similar in some ways, like the developments in their writings. It was the time when artists, painters, and writers had flourished in Europe. Both had followed the writings of the Greek and had favored the revival of classical Latin. Humanism or the literature movement in Renaissance had also begun in Italy and Northern Europe. Writers during this time had started to express their feelings and thoughts through printed books which enabled them to spread their works and influence others. Even though these two were considered as time of changes and development, they also differ in many ways, such as in arts, sculpture, painting, and even in writings. Italians were called as “pagan” humanists, while the Northern Europeans were called Christian humanists. Arts for the Italian renaissance had changed; they preferred to adapt the Greco-Roman principle of designs while the arts for the Northern European remained the same – late gothic designs. In sculptures, many things had changed as well, especially in Italy, people had started to produce portraits of human figures such as heroes, kings and other great leaders.
Italy was referred as “pagan” humanism because generally, people had thought more about themselves than anything else and wrote things about life, social topics, discussion of certain topics and histories. Petrarch, Boccaccio, Salutati, Bruni and Poggio were Italian Humanists. Petrarch was known as the “first man of letters”, he was attracted by life, love, beauty and travel. Boccaccio wrote a book entitled Decameron which is a series tale of tales about human character and behavior. Bruni wrote a history Florence which marked a new achievement in historical writing.
Brilliant writers in Italy such as Castiglione and Machiavelli also flourished. They were famous for their masterpieces. Castiglione influenced the young men on how to act as a “gentleman” through his book entitled Book of the Courtier. While Machiavelli, who wrote the book The Prince believed that a great leader should only act on their political interest. On the other hand, Northern Europeans were Christian humanists, who studied the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible. One of the most famous humanists and most notable writer was Erasmus of Rotterdam. He had prepared new Greek and Latin editions of the New Testament for he hoped that people might have better understanding of Christ’s new teaching. He wrote the book Praise of Folly which criticized the ambitions and wrong doings of the church. He also wrote the Handbook of A Christian Knight and On a Civility in Children. Erasmus was indeed a great writer and a great man. Writers in Northern Europe who contributed to early science were Copernicus, Regiomantanus, Nicholas of Cusa, Behaim and Schöner and Paracelsus. Copernicus believed that the earth moved about the sun. Regiomantanus laid the foundations of mathematical conceptions of the universe. Nicholas of Cusa was a churchman whose mystical philosophy had entered into the later development of mathematics and science. The Europe’s best two cartographers who had the same mathematical interests were Behaim and Schöner. Lastly, Paracelsus undertook to revolutionize medicine in the University of Basel. These writers had helped in the development in science and math. Although Italian and Northern European Renaissance differ in many things, these renaissances were still a period of progress and changes. And this period had created many talented individuals which also influenced other the people around them. Thus, renaissance was indeed a rebirth.