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Renaissance Humanism is a movement that started in Italy in the 14th century, and swept through the entire continent of Europe over the next 200 years. Renaissance Humanism developed as a response to the Middle Ages. This was a grim time in Europe. The Bubonic Plague terrorized Asia and Europe in the mid-1300s, eventually killing more than 20 million people. The dominant, governmental system of the time, feudalism, was not exactly centered around human rights and freedoms, given that it was designed to ensure that many working poor people swore fealty to a few wealthy rulers.
But what is renaissance humanism? The term renaissance humanism refers to the critical study of classic texts in order to determine what it means to be human. This is a radical shift because before this movement, even nonreligious texts were read through the constraints of religion. However, in the 14th century, the works of three writers were considered key in bringing the notion of what it means to be human into the forefront of human consciousness. These men are Petrarch, Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), and they are widely considered to be the fathers of renaissance humanism.
Renaissance humanists were interested in learning what it means to be a human being, and how to live a virtuous life, and participate in society. They sought the answers to these questions by studying ancient literature and art. Renaissance humanists were also interested in using language well, especially Latin. They encouraged non-religious studies, and emphasized the power that education had in creating citizens capable of performing civic duties. Renaissance humanists believed that artists, poets and writers ,were able to lead humanity toward a better way of living. This is due to renaissance humanists' belief in creativity, critical analysis and observation. This movement also reflected a strong belief in each individual person's moral autonomy, and it rejected scholasticism, which was a popular dogmatic philosophy taught at the time.
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Try it nowDante, Petrarch and Boccaccio each contributed to the development of humanist ideology before the movement even began. Dante's most famous work, ''The Divine Comedy'' (written around 1319), was about salvation and hell. However, it shifted the focus onto man's autonomy and humanity's role in the universe that God created. Petrarch facilitated the start of humanism in two ways: first, though he was a religious man, he was critical of some aspects of the Catholic Church in his work. Second, Petrarch found many ancient manuscripts that placed humanity, rather than religion at its center, including the work of ancient Roman philosopher, Cicero. He believed that the time he lived in was sandwiched between the past and modernity. He thought that by studying ancient manuscripts and allowing writers and poets to lead education, a golden age of politics and thoughts could be achieved. Giovanni Boccaccio also searched for previously-lost classical manuscripts. He also created early works like his ''Decameron.'' This work is comprised of ten detailed accounts of human experiences that were compiled between 1348 and 1353. Later, humanists also looked toward his work ''Ancestry of the Pagan Gods.''
Before the Renaissance era began people lived lives that were rigid and limited. The church was at the center of art and culture, at that time, and the feudalist political system meant that people lived and died in their feudal lands. One of the reasons that renaissance humanism was able to take hold and spread among people was through increased interaction due to events like the Crusades, and via trade routes like the Silk Road before the renaissance formally began. At the same time, events like the end of the Hundred Years' War in 1453 also allowed for Renaissance ideas to spread beyond Italy and through France and England. Furthermore, the Black Death with its astronomical death toll caused many Europeans to question their religious beliefs as their prayers went unanswered during the 14th century.
As with any movement, renaissance humanism shares some specific facets. Renaissance humanism was characterized by:
It's also worth noting that the Renaissance marked a period of increased art patronage. Wealthy Florentine citizens like the Medici family backed many artists of the time, seeing it as participation in an artistic revolution. Many wealthy merchants would commission works of art to hang as markers of success.
There are many important works of humanism that have impacted western art and thought for more than half a millennium. One doesn't need a comprehensive art education to be familiar with the work of Italian inventor, painter and architect Leonardo da Vinci, who lived from 1452-1519. His painting The Mona Lisa, hangs in the Louvre in Paris to this day. The idea that ''the ends justify the means'' is from The Prince, written by Italian renaissance writer and diplomat Niccolo Machiavelli, who lived from 1469 to 1527. Italian artist Sandrito Botticelli painted The Birth of Venus, around 1485. Michelangelo (1475-1564) isn't just the name of a Ninja Turtle; he was an Italian artist who painted The Sistine Chapel, and sculpted famed statue, and study of the human form David. Likewise, Italian renaissance artist Donatello contributed a sculpted rendition of the Bible's David some time between 1430 and 1440, but his was made from bronze. The School of Athens was painted by Italian painter Rafael around 1510.
As renaissance humanism spread throughout Europe, it inspired poets, artists, and writers from different countries. The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffery Chaucer (1343-1400), remains a staple of English Literature classes. ''Paradise Lost,'' by John Milton (1608-1674) is another renaissance humanist poem that remains a part of the present-day literary cannon. History's most famous surviving playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) lived during renaissance humanism's later years. His plays and sonnets have continued to inspire modern-day artists, like the 2021 film West Side Story, which is based on Shakespeare's most famous play, ''Romeo and Juliet.''
In Northern Europe, two men led the renaissance humanist movement. Though influenced by the Italian movement, Dutch Catholic priest and scholar Desiderius Erasmus and German renaissance humanist poet and scholar Conrad Celtes were at the forefront of Northern Europe's renaissance humanism. Erasmus translated ancient Latin and Greek works like in Praise of Folly, which satirized religion, in 1511 and The New Testament in 1516. Erasmus was a proponent of ''the middle way,'' as he called it: a path to link knowledge and faith, as well as christianity and humanism. This would heavily influence the Protestant Reformation later. Renaissance humanism in Northern Europe shifted emphasis away from classical texts and moved it toward ethics, one's place in their community/society, and on studying ordinary life and the natural world.
Once the printing press was invented in the mid-1400s, humanist ideas were able to spread beyond Italy and further into Europe, eventually reaching Erasmus in Rotterdam. Erasmus lived from 1469-1536. During his lifetime, Erasmus contributed richly to the humanist movement by providing new Greek and Latin translations of The New Testament, and by gathering different versions of classical authors' works. He strongly advocated to make education available for everyone, not just a select few. Erasmus was also interested in philology, or the study of written and oral language. This interest would influence later humanists as well, and the elegant use of the Latin language would become a central tenet of the renaissance humanist movement. The printing press made literacy attainable for many people, which led to increased critique of the church, and to increased nonreligious education.
Trade, or more accurately, the market economy was another catalyst for the spread of renaissance humanist works and ideas. During the early renaissance, the Italian merchant class was a prosperous section of society. Trade networks like the Silk Road existed and spread through Europe, Asia and Africa, which allowed for vastly increased interaction among people who would never have met under a feudal system.
Renaissance humanism profoundly shaped modern western society. It laid the groundwork for the separation of church and state. It led to the translation and critical examination of many classical texts, which, itself led to the Protestant Reformation. Perhaps, due to its emphasis on observing natural life, the scientific revolution unfolded alongside humanism. The renaissance polymath Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) radically shifted the place of humanity among the stars by placing the sun at the center of the universe. The scientific revolution would also introduce laws of planetary motion--Copernicus posited that seven planets orbited the sun in a circular motion. Renaissance scientist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) is known as the father of modern science. He spent most of his life under house arrest after standing trial in Rome for believing in a heliocentric (centering around the sun) universe. One more renaissance scholar built on this idea by creating Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) wrote that planets orbit the sun in an ellipses, rather than in a circle. Isaac Newton would later incorporate Kepler's laws into his theory of universal gravitation, making them a part of the Scientific Revolution's theoretical cannon.
Today, many humanist elements survive in the cultural zeitgeist. From Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to West Side Story to individualism, public education and secularism, renaissance humanism's legacy is prevalent in modern-day society.
At its heart, renaissance humanism is based on the idea that individual humans have beauty, worth, virtue and dignity. This idea was able to take hold from the 14th to 16th centuries mainly due to the decline of the Catholic Church. As its power weakened, its stronghold on culture and education, did as well. Italian writers and scholars Petrarch, Dante Alighieri and Giovanni Boccaccio are known as the fathers of renaissance humanism, because of their contributions to the movement's inception. Petrarch revived interests in the classics via ancient Roman philosopher Cicero. Dante wrote ''The Divine Comedy,'' which was humanist in its framing: rather than centering God. ''The Divine Comedy,'' told of a personal journey to salvation. Boccaccio's ''Decameron'is humanist because it teaches that life is to be enjoyed, rather than spent toiling. Desiderius Erasmus is a later renaissance humanist who translated, The New Testament. The renaissance humanist movement has had a long and lasting legacy in arts, politics, education, and religion. It was the precursor to the scientific revolution and the enlightenment.
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Humanism is a movement that started in the 14th century. Its central focus is on the exploration of what it means to be human; how to live a virtuous life; and, how to participate in the public sphere.
Renaissance humanism refers to the movement that took hold in Europe from roughly the 14th-16th centuries. It started in Italy, and spread via trade and the printing press. Renaissance humanism places emphasis on the beauty, and value of a human's individual life.
Renaissance humanism was characterized by a reinvigorated interest in classical texts (read with a critical eye). Education was believed to be good for society, as a whole, so it was promoted during this time. Overall, the renaissance humanist movement placed emphasis on the individual human, their moral responsibilities, and how to lead a virtuous, public life.
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