Italian Renaissance and the Greco-Roman World Essay Example
The Relationship between the Renaissance and the Greco-Roman World
The term “renaissance”—a French word meaning “rebirth”—refers to the reawakening to the artistic and philosophical ideals of ancient Greece and Rome that took place in Europe, marking the end of the Middle Ages. As Paul Johnson states in his book, The Renaissance: A Short Story, “If the term has any useful meaning at all, it signifies the rediscovery and utilization of ancient virtues, skills, knowledge, and culture.” (Johnson 5) The rediscovery of the ideals of antiquity shaped the lives of people of all socio-economic levels throughout Europe, and its effects can be seen in the literature, art, architecture, and philosophical discourse of the time. It can be argued that in order for a rebirth to take place, Europe must have been in a primitive, destitute state from which it needed to emerge. In the sixth and seventh centuries, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire left Europe divided. In the east, “Romania”—or what would later be referred to as the Byzantine Empire—were the remaining vestiges of the eastern Roman Empire, and was made up of areas of southeast Europe, southwest Asia, and the northeast corner of Africa. And while it is difficult to pinpoint the precise end of the western Roman Empire (De Imperatoribus Romanis…) , the Holy Roman Empire was solidified by the late 900s, and encompassed areas of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and parts of France, Italy and Poland. From this time forward, Western Europe is often described as being in the Middle Ages—a time in between the glory of civilized antiquity and the triumph of early modern times. The ways in which the philosophic and artistic values of antiquity were revived in Western Europe are multiple and varied. One way was the rediscovery of the Greco-Roman texts. Throughout the Middle Ages, the papacy “began ambitious programs for the education and moral improvement of the
The term “renaissance”—a French word meaning “rebirth”—refers to the reawakening to the artistic and philosophical ideals of ancient Greece and Rome that took place in Europe, marking the end of the Middle Ages. As Paul Johnson states in his book, The Renaissance: A Short Story, “If the term has any useful meaning at all, it signifies the rediscovery and utilization of ancient virtues, skills, knowledge, and culture.” (Johnson 5) The rediscovery of the ideals of antiquity shaped the lives of people of all socio-economic levels throughout Europe, and its effects can be seen in the literature, art, architecture, and philosophical discourse of the time. It can be argued that in order for a rebirth to take place, Europe must have been in a primitive, destitute state from which it needed to emerge. In the sixth and seventh centuries, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire left Europe divided. In the east, “Romania”—or what would later be referred to as the Byzantine Empire—were the remaining vestiges of the eastern Roman Empire, and was made up of areas of southeast Europe, southwest Asia, and the northeast corner of Africa. And while it is difficult to pinpoint the precise end of the western Roman Empire (De Imperatoribus Romanis…) , the Holy Roman Empire was solidified by the late 900s, and encompassed areas of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and parts of France, Italy and Poland. From this time forward, Western Europe is often described as being in the Middle Ages—a time in between the glory of civilized antiquity and the triumph of early modern times. The ways in which the philosophic and artistic values of antiquity were revived in Western Europe are multiple and varied. One way was the rediscovery of the Greco-Roman texts. Throughout the Middle Ages, the papacy “began ambitious programs for the education and moral improvement of the