Download Renaissance Renaissance Literature refers to the period in

Renaissance
Renaissance Literature refers to the period in European literature that began in Italy
during the 14th century and spread around Europe through the 17th century. The impact
of the Renaissance varied across the continent; countries that were predominantly
Catholic or Protestant experienced the Renaissance differently compared to areas where
the Orthodox Church was dominant as reflecting on its culture, as well as those areas of
Europe under Islamic rule.
The creation of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg encouraged authors to write in
the local vernacular rather than in Greek or Latin classical languages, widening the
reading audience and promoting the spread of Renaissance ideas.
Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature is the literature written in the
Dutch language in the Low Countries from around 1550 to around 1700. This period
saw great political and religious changes as the Reformation spread across Northern and
Western Europe and the Netherlands fought for independence in the Eighty Years' War.
The term Elizabethan literature refers to the English literature produced during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603).
The Elizabethan era saw a great flourishing of literature, especially in the field of
drama. The Italian Renaissance had rediscovered the ancient Greek and Roman theatre,
and this was instrumental in the development of the new drama, which was then
beginning to evolve apart from the old mystery and miracle plays of the Middle Ages.
The Italians were particularly inspired by Seneca (a major tragic playwright and
philosopher, the tutor of Nero) and Plautus (its comic clichés, especially that of the
boasting soldier had a powerful influence on the Renaissance and after). However, the
Italian tragedies embraced a principle contrary to Seneca's ethics: showing blood and
violence on the stage. In Seneca's plays such scenes were only acted by the characters.
But the English playwrights were intrigued by Italian model: a conspicuous community
of Italian actors had settled in London and Giovanni Florio had brought much of the
Italian language and culture to England.
French Renaissance literature is, for the purpose of this article, literature written
in French (Middle French) from the French invasion of Italy in 1494 to 1600, or roughly
the period from the reign of Charles VIII of France to the ascension of Henry IV of
France to the throne. The reigns of Francis I (from 1515 to 1547) and his son Henry II
(from 1547 to 1559) are generally considered the apex of the French Renaissance. After
Henry II's unfortunate death in a joust, the country was ruled by his widow Catherine
de' Medici and her sons Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III, and although the
Renaissance continued to flourish, the French Wars of Religion between Huguenots and
Catholics ravaged the country
Spanish Renaissance literature is the literature written in Spain during the
Renaissance
The political, religious, literary, and war relations between Italy and Spain since the
second half of the 15th century caused a remarkable cultural interchange between these
two countries. The papacy of two illustrated Catalonian, Calixto III (Alfonso de Borja)
and Alejandro VI (Rodrigo de Borja y Oms) narrowed the cultural relations between
Castile, Aragón, Catalonia and Rome. The Spanish literary works of greatest relief were
published or translated in Italy. This happened to the Amadís of Gaula, The Celestina,
Jail of Love, poetic compositions of Jorge Manrique, Íñigo López de Mendoza, marqués
de Santillana and popular productions like romances, carols, etc. The same thing
happened in Spain to Italian works. Among them, the Freed Jerusalem, of Torcuato
Tasso. These Hispanic-Italian relations were very important, since they brought to the
Peninsula the restlessness and tastes that caused our Renaissance.
The Spanish Renaissance begins with the unification of Spain by the Catholic Monarchs
and includes the reigns of Carlos I and Felipe II. Because of that, it is possible to
distinguish two stages:
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Reign of Carlos I: New ideas are received and the Italian Renaissance is
imitated.
Reign of Felipe II: The Spanish Renaissance withdraws into itself and the
religious aspects are accentuated.
With respect to ideology, the Renaissance mentality is characterized by:
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The valuation of the Greco-Latin world, in which a new scale of values for the
individual is looked for.
The man is the center of the universe (anthropocentrism), he is able to dominate
the world and to create his own destiny.
Reason is put in front of feelings, and balance, moderation and harmony prevail.
The new ideal of man is courtesan, capable as a poet and as a soldier.
A new ideal of beauty that describes the world not as it is, but as it should be:
nature, the woman, love.
Italian literature is literature written in the Italian language, particularly within
Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in Italy in other languages
spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian.
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th
and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, in which there was a conscious
revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and
material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance architecture followed Gothic architecture and
was succeeded by Baroque architecture.
The Renaissance style places emphasis on symmetry, proportion, geometry and the
regularity of parts as they are demonstrated in the architecture of classical antiquity and
in particular ancient Roman architecture, of which many examples remained. Orderly
arrangements of columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of semicircular arches,
hemispherical domes, niches and aedicules replaced the more complex proportional
systems and irregular profiles of medieval buildings.
Developed first in Florence, with Filippo Brunelleschi as one of its innovators, the
Renaissance style quickly spread to other Italian cities and then to France, Germany,
England, Russia and elsewhere.
History of science in the Renaissance
During the Renaissance, great advances occurred in geography, astronomy, chemistry,
physics, math, manufacturing, and engineering. The rediscovery of ancient scientific
texts was accelerated after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, and the invention of
printing which would democratize learning and allow a faster propagation of new ideas.
But, at least in its initial period, some see the Renaissance as one of scientific
backwardness. Historians like George Sarton and Lynn Thorndike have criticized how
the Renaissance affected science, arguing that progress was slowed for some amount of
time. Humanists favored human-centered subjects like politics and history over study of
natural philosophy or applied mathematics. Others have focused on the positive
influence of the Renaissance, pointing to factors like the rediscovery of lost or obscure
texts and the increased emphasis on the study of language and the correct reading of
texts.
Marie Boas Hall coined the term Scientific Renaissance to designate the early phase of
the Scientific Revolution. More recently, Peter Dear has argued for a two-phase model
of early modern science: a Scientific Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries,
focused on the restoration of the natural knowledge of the ancients; and a Scientific
Revolution of the 17th century, when scientists shifted from recovery to innovation.
Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, an example of the blend of art and science during
the Renaissance
During and after the Renaissance of the 12th century, Europe experienced an
intellectual revitalization, especially with regard to the investigation of the natural
world. In the 14th century, however, a series of events that would come to be known as
the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages was underway. When the Black Death came, it
brought a sudden end to the previous period of massive scientific change. The plague
killed 25–50% of the people in Europe, especially in the crowded conditions of the
towns, where the heart of innovations lay. Recurrences of the plague and other disasters
caused a continuing decline of population for a century.
Galileo Galilei. Portrait in crayon
by Leoni