The Spirit of the Renaissance

It was the dawn of a New Age. Historians do not know when the middle ages stopped, but we do know that at a specific time and gradual transformation the New Age began. Medieval castles were created with high walls to keep the world out. And it was that world, which was filled with a consistent voice of the church. Astrology was taught in all the schools, and most of the schools were dedicated to Aristotle. Petrarch was known as the "father of humanism", and in many ways he determined its high moral tone. He believed that learning was the key to living a virtuous life, and that life should be an eternal quest for truth. He was also believed to have constructed the first note of the Renaissance. Leonardo Da Vinci made a map of the insides of a human being. Leonardo believed that the whole world should be analyzed. The Renaissance reached its climax with Shakespeare spreading to Europe. Education changed, students learned how to box, fence, and learned new music. Columbus found a new world. Religious art became humanized. The Greek Gods reappeared into art. It was at the time that Savonarola; whom was a monk, became an extremely religious idealist. Savonarola worked his way to becoming the ruler of Florence. Through his ideas and hypocritical mentality he had all art, fabrics, and other worldly items burned. Savonarola believed that everyone was moving away from the church, and was trying to bring the church back. The city of Florence had realized what an idiot they were to have allowed Savonarola to become ruler of their land, and eventually the citizens of Florence turned on him and burned him alive. Leon Battista Alberti believed that all men should be active in civic life within their city and was one of the greatest architects of his time.

Now comes my favorite part of every essay, my opinion. Although, the movie was an outstanding video of educational proportions; the video somehow was able to get across its meaning. I learned that during the Renaissance it was filled with art, philosophy, religious icons, and let's not forget music. In my opinion I feel that there was no very direct point of the era, it was mainly an era of exploration and learning new things, and expressing ones ideas through music or art. I came to learn that it almost, but not quit, was a step up from the Greeks without the religious aspects of it. There were too many people that tried to put their religious beliefs on other people and tried to rule the land in the name of God. If you did not believe in their ideas you were basically killed. It is a wonder how that time period was able to get past its problems, but on the other hand I learned that they quickly decided that if they did not like you, they would get rid of you.