The Renaissance
The rebirth of art and learning in Europe from the fourteenth century, which revived classical ideas and gave rise to humanism and a new view of the world.
The big idea
Think first
Why did the rediscovery of thousand-year-old Greek and Roman ideas feel like the newest thing in Europe? And why did it begin in a handful of Italian trading cities?
After the long medieval centuries, Europe experienced a great burst of creativity and learning known as the Renaissance, a French word meaning "rebirth". From about the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, Europeans rediscovered the art and ideas of ancient Greece and Rome, developed a new confidence in human ability, and changed the way they saw the world. The Renaissance opened the door to the modern age.
The revival of learning
The Renaissance began in the wealthy trading cities of Italy, above all Florence, and spread across Europe. Scholars rediscovered and studied the classical texts of ancient Greece and Rome, which had been partly forgotten.
This revival of learning was helped in part by wealthy merchant families like the Medici. They became patrons of scholars and artists. Greek scholars also played a role, bringing ancient manuscripts to Italy. People began to study grammar, history, poetry and philosophy with fresh enthusiasm.
Check yourself
Which factor helped the revival of learning take root in Italian cities like Florence?
Humanism
The heart of the Renaissance was a new outlook called humanism. Humanists believed in the value, dignity and potential of the human being. They held that people should develop their talents and take an interest in this world (in art, learning, nature and public life) and not focus only on religion and the afterlife, as in the Middle Ages.
Humanism did not reject faith, but it placed new importance on human reason, achievement and individual worth. This shift in thinking influenced art, science, education and politics, and laid the groundwork for modern attitudes.
Check yourself
A student says the humanists rejected religion entirely. What did humanism actually hold?
Art, science and printing
The Renaissance produced some of the greatest art in history. Masters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo painted and sculpted with new realism, perspective and beauty. They studied anatomy and nature closely. Art celebrated both religious themes and the human form.
The age also advanced science through careful observation, preparing the way for later discoveries. And a single invention spread Renaissance ideas across Europe with astonishing speed: the printing press, developed by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450. Printing made books cheap and plentiful. New ideas in learning, science and religion could now reach far more people than ever before. This fuelled further change.
Check yourself
Why was Gutenberg's printing press so important to the Renaissance?
Key takeaways
- The Renaissance ("rebirth", 14th–16th centuries) began in Italian cities like Florence and revived ancient Greek and Roman learning
- It was funded by merchant patrons (e.g. the Medici)
- Humanism stressed the value, dignity and potential of human beings and an interest in this world (not only religion)
- Great art (Leonardo, Michelangelo) and the printing press (Gutenberg, ~1450) spread the new ideas and opened the modern age
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Review the takeaways above, then mark it done.