European History: The Renaissance

                                               The Renaissance

The world 'Renaissance' has been used both in extensive and narrow form.In extensive form it implies all those important movements of 15th and 16th centuries which changed the medieval outlooks into the modern one, but in narrow sense it means a new spirit in learning. Ferguisson Bruun has thus described Renaissance.
Renaissance denotes revival or rebirth but in history it has been referred to as rebirth of culture and civilization.Hence Scheville, a prominant scholar of history writes,"The Renaissance was not a sharp break with the Middle Ages.It was worldly movement and included all the intellectual changes that were visible at the close of the middle european period and at the commencement of the Modern times."
The Renaissance invoked the spirit of enquiry and knowledge among the mankind.So far,people used to follow the commands of the Pope like blind fellows but with the advent of Renaissance,people woke up from the slumber of ignorance. Thetcher has also remarked in this connection,"The Renaissance had taught the importance of the individual,had urged the need of criticism and enquiry and weakened the respect for long established authority".
A famous historian has also said that "Renaissance was that great transitional movement of Europe which swept away medieval unprogressive economic system and internationalism,and their place substituted scepticism,individualism,materialism,emancipation,self expression,a more sound economic system and nationalism."

Causes of Renaissance
The following factors contributed to the advent of Renaissance:
Fall of Constantinople-During the medieval period Constantinople was the centre of Christianity and fine arts .In 1453 Ottoman Turks achieved victory over Constantinople and forced the Christian scholars to flee to European countries where they not only spread their education and literature among the people of Europe but also impressed the European scholars by their knowledge and learning.
Hayes also comments about the contact between the Greek and the Christian scholars."By coming into contact with the Greek scholars the European gradually got interested in Greek and Roman literature.By patient labour they executed the culture of antiquity added to their meagre medieval stock of knowledge."

Influence on Literature-The scholars who fled from Constantinople and settled in Italy, soon had contact with the other scholars of the country . They studied their books and translated them into their own language so that the general masses who were ignorant of Latin and Greek could understand them.Among the contemporary scholars the names of Petrarch,Dante,Chaucer,Martin Luther and Erasmus need special mention.They made a great contribution to the rise of intellectual renaissance. Owing to the inspiration of these great scholars the darkness and dogmatism disappeared and a spirit of enquiry developed among the people.

Influence of Religious War-Medieval age was popularly known for religious war.Various warriors used to fight in the name of religion.As a result of religious wars, the Europeans came in contact with different races.It brought a change the geographical knowledge and social living.Three religious wars were fought between the Muslims and the Christians in order to establish control over Jerusalem,for which the christians of various had to take part in the religious wars.Thus they came in contact with other countries.It increased their knowledge and widened their mental outlook . It is said that the use of paper,cotton and ammunition was the outcome of these religious wars.

Invention of Printing Press-In the beginning of modern era Printing Press and paper were invented.It made the books cheap in Europe.After these invention,Bible and some other books of ancient Greek and Roman literature were translated into  English,French and German languages,so the people could be able to go through Bible and the works of Plato and Aristotle.During the Medieval period the education was confined only to the Priests,hence the people used to accept whatever was uttered by the priests without any hitch.But in the modern era with the expansion of education the ignorance disappeared and people began to accept only those commands of the Pope and the priests which they found perfectly in accordance with their own wisdom.