Why Did The Renaissance Happen

The Renaissance was quite possibly one of the greatest periods in European history. Translating literally to “rebirth”, it is defined as a drastic change in the lives of Europeans due to a newfound interest in the classical period of Europe’s history. Prior to this time period, Europe did not resemble at all the superpower we know it as today. A feudal system with a strict hierarchy was in place, in which a King ruled over a large territory of land named his kingdom, lords ruled over sections of that land in exchange for the King’s loyalty, and peasants worked the land. As surplus became available, people became highly skilled, trade between other nations occurred, and Europe transitioned from a system of feudalism to one of flourishing nation
Some say it was destined to happen because specific events that took place, others say it was purely circumstantial and find an event like this very rare. And while there are many reasons that can be attributed to the Renaissance happening, a general well-rounded explanation is that the end of the Black Death, coupled with the works of poets and scholars like Dante Alighieri and Francesco “Petrarch” Petrarca brought upon a shift in society’s focus from the “divine” and “supernatural” to the individual’s life on Earth. A diminishing need for a system of authority, less importance placed on the church, and the emergence of wealthy families making up the ruling class allowed for this cultural movement to flourish. An interesting closing idea to take note of, is that had it not been for the Crusades, Europe most likely wouldn’t have rediscovered it’s past, and the Renaissance would have ceased to exist, which is probably the only real positive outcome of those horrible
Humanism, the main philosophy emphasized during the Renaissance, can be defined as the focus on the individual and it’s achievements, morals and ethics, and uniqueness. Renaissance humanism focuses on the lives of ancient Greeks and Romans and how their society viewed themselves. There were many important figures whose ideas shaped Renaissance humanism. One of the most important figures was Francesco Petrarca, better known as Petrarch, a famous scholar and poet. Petrarch was born on July 20th, 1304 in Arezzo, Tuscany. He was a very talented writer who gained popularity through his work Africa written in the early/mid 14th century about the Roman general Scipio Africanus. Petrarch was so talented that he was the first writer to be named poet laureate since ancient Roman times. Although his most famous works were his poetry, his contribution to humanism was the several works he wrote glorifying ancient Rome, as well as the discovery and translation of Roman literature. Petrarch, while traveling around Europe to uncover it’s past discovered many great works from the classical times, such as a segment of Titus Livius’ History of Rome, a very popular work at the time it was created, as well as letters found in a monastery written by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Petrarch’s glorification of Rome can be seen in his own works like De Viris Illustribus