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THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS

Em. Macron, Rediscovering the Path to Europe

» Contents of this Chapter

Meaning of the Renaissance   * Revival of Learning in Italy   * Paper and Printing   * Revival of Art in Italy   * Revival of Learning and Art beyond Italy   * The Renaissance in Literature   * The Renaissance in Education   * The Scientific Renaissance   * The Economic Renaissance

 

MEANING OF THE RENAISSANCE

LATER PERIOD OF THE MIDDLE AGES

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, covering the later period of the Middle Ages, are commonly known as those of the Renaissance. This French word means Rebirth or Revival. It is a convenient term for all the changes in society, law, and government, in science, philosophy, and religion, in literature and art which gradually transformed medieval civilization into that of modern times.

LIMITS OF THE RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance, just because of its transitional character, cannot be exactly dated. Some Renaissance movements started before 1300 A.D. For instance, the study of Roman law, as a substitute for Germanic customs, began toward the close of the eleventh century. The rise of European cities, with all that they meant for industry and commerce, belonged to about the same time. Other Renaissance movements, again, extended beyond 1500 A.D. Among these were the expansion of geographical knowledge, resulting from the discovery of the New World, and the revolt against the Papacy, known as the Protestant Reformation. The Middle Ages, in fact, came to an end at different times in different fields of human activity.

Next Page of this Chapter

Cf. Jacob Burckhardt's, The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy

THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents

url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp

IN PRINT

Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy