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The Renaissance was a cultural movement and
time period in the History of Europe, considered marking the end
of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance is usually considered to have begun in
the 14th century in Italy and the
16th century in northern Europe.
It is also known as "Rinascimento" (in Italian).
Origins of the term
Renaissance is a French word coined by French historian
Jules Michelet and expanded upon by Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt in the 19th century that literally means rebirth. This name has been historically
used in contrast to the Dark Ages, a term coined by Petrarch to refer to what we now call the Middle Ages. Following Petrarch's lead, the term
had long been considered appropriate because during the Renaissance, the literature and culture of the ancient civilizations of
Greece and Rome were adopted by scholars and artists in Italy, and widely disseminated through printing. During the last quarter of the 20th century, however, more and more scholars began to take a view
that the Renaissance was perhaps only one of many such movements. This was in large part due to the work of historians like
Charles H. Haskins, who made convincing cases for a
"Renaissance of the 12th century," as well as by historians arguing for a
"Carolingian renaissance." Both of these concepts are
now accepted by the scholarly community at large; as a result, the present trend among historians is to discuss each so-called
renaissance in more particular terms, e.g., the Italian
Renaissance, the English Renaissance, etc. This terminology is particularly useful because it eliminates the need
for fitting "The Renaissance" into a chronology that previously held that it was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the
Reformation, which was, many argue, patently false. The entire period is now
more often replaced by the term "Early Modern" in the practice of historians. See periodization.
Renaissance can refer to other periods of cultural rebirth; as in the Harlem Renaissance or the San Francisco Renaissance.
Overview
The following article discusses the Renaissance in its most traditional form, as a cultural and scientific rebirth that began
in 14th century Italy, where one of its main centers was Florence, and then spread
throughout Europe. In science, theology, literature and art, the Renaissance began with a rediscovery of and focus on older Greek and Latin texts which had disappeared from the West in the
latter years of the Roman Empire. These texts were largely recovered from
Greek scholars in the Byzantine Empire and in careful inspections
of European monasteries. Towards the end of the Renaissance, scientists
increasingly began to reject Greek (and biblical) sources in favor of new discoveries.
Theologians continued to focus on the Greek, as well as on the relatively new study of Hebrew and Aramaic. The second half of the Renaissance is also
the period of the Reformation.
Rinascimento is also considered as a sort of natural evolution of Italian Umanesimo (Humanism).
Some historians mark the end of the Renaissance as May 6, 1527, when Spanish and German
troops sacked Rome. In music history the end date is usually given as 1600, or even 1620.
Important Renaissance political leaders
- Northern European Renaissance
Important Renaissance religious figures
Important Renaissance authors
Important Renaissance artists
See also: Early Renaissance
paintings, Renaissance Classicism, European art history
Important Renaissance scientists
Important Renaissance philosophers
Renaissance as architecture style
Main article: Renaissance
architecture
Masterpieces of European Renaissance are situated, for example, in Dresden,
Germany.
See also
External links
Alternative perspective
on Renaissance
Alternate use: Renaissance (band)
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