Download “To what extent and in what ways may the Renaissance be regarded

“To what extent and in what ways
may the Renaissance be regarded
as a turning point in Western
intellectual and cultural
tradition?”
Question #2, 1977
Kim Smith
AP European History
The Renaissance may be regarded as a turning
point in Western intellectual and cultural tradition
through its science, philosophy, art, and social
behavior and manners. First, the Renaissance
provided a spirit of experimentation, curiosity and
objectivity in science, which set the template for
current research efforts today. Second, the
Renaissance gave birth to new and more modern
forms of art and artists. The renowned names of
Da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo and the art
they developed left a lasting impression of this
period in history. The Roman Catholic Church
became less influential in the daily lives of people
and man became more secular. In the area of
social behavior, finally, Castiglione in the Courtier
provided a code of behavior that was adopted by
people of that time. These are just some of the
elements that show how the Renaissance was the
cornerstone of today’s modern Western world.
I. Changes in Intellectual
Tradition
A. The Renaissance and the
Scientific Revolution
 1.
Scientists of the
Renaissance tried to
emphasized concrete
experience over abstract
theory
 2.
Dissections
of human
corpses
provided for
the study of
human
anatomy
 3.
Da Gama and
Christopher Columbus
contributed to discoveries
in navigation
 4.
Copernicus introduced
the theory of a heliocentric
universe, or the sun as the
center of the universe
B.
Philosophy /
Politics
2. Humanism
3. Niccolo Machiavelli and The
Prince (1513)
4. Bruni
II. Changes in Cultural
Traditions:
 A.
Famous Artists from
the Italian Renaissance
1. Brunelleschi
B. Art in the Northern
Renaissance
 1.
Albrecht Durer
C. Renaissance vs. Middle Ages
Art
More secular than spiritual
 Better sense of depth and
perspective
 Linear perspective, chiaroscuro
 Study of human anatomy helped
painters show people in
distinctive and living attitudes
 Less symbolic, more a portrayal
of concrete realities

D. Social Behavior and
Manners
 1.
Castolioni and the Courtier
Unlike the Middle Ages, the
Renaissance promoted
etiquette and “courtesy”, the
kind of behavior suited for
princely courts
E. Schooling and Education
Middle Ages vs. Renaissance
 Different
age
 Universities
groups, levels in
professional
separate classes
training in
w/own teacher
theology,
medicine, law  Latin principle
subject w/many
 Chaotic,
new purposes
repetitious
 Scholasticism
The extent in which the Renaissance might be regarded
as a turning point in Western tradition is the substructure
of the Western world today. The modern ideas of
science, politics, art, and social behavior were molded out
of the complex speculations of the Renaissance. Without
the secular uprising from the Renaissance, the treasured
creations of Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci would
never have been discovered. By embracing the curiosity
of the scientists and exploring human anatomy and the
natural world, Europe would never have discovered
America or medicines to one deadly diseases. Machiavelli
won admiration of Napoleon and Francis Bacon for his
fascinating textbook of pragmatic politics. Castolioni and
hit Courtier were the cornerstone of the respectable
modern man. The Renaissance was a critical turning
point in intellectual and cultural society of the Western
tradition.