13th Century American Renaissance Humanism

The most prominent development in the fourteenth century was creation of vernacular literature. Vernacular languages shortly became as used as much, if not more, than Latin.

Thus, it was unsurprising to find that Pope Sixtus IV built a library that still remains as one of the richest repositories holding ancient, medieval documents. This movement of humanism was largely praise because the viewed humanity through a Christian lens as Renaissance humanists strongly believed that men and woman were made in the image and likeness of God. For example, Pico Mirandola represented man as one in possession of great dignity in his essay, ‘On the Dignity of Man’. Further, Renaissance humanism caused individuals to become increasingly self-conscious about their current lifestyles and their realization of human potential. Humanism heavily influenced much of the Renaissance culture, causing people to depend upon intellect its role in humanity breakthroughs.

Arguably the greatest and longest impacting movement brought about by the forward thinkers of the Renaissance was humanism. Humanism was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized the human potential to attain excellence through direct study of the literature, art, and civilization of the classical Greek and Roman societies (Merriam-Webster). The scholars and believers in humanism sought to change the course of society away from the narrow pedantry of medieval scholasticism and utilitarianism. Humanism was a basic desire for every citizen to be able to speak with eloquence and read and write with clarity, so that common citizens were capable of engaging in the civic life of their communities (Gray). The movement also emphasized the value of a human being as well as the importance of rational thought rather than blind faith in spiritualism or superstition. It also pushed people to explore human desires and pleasures while also enriching their minds. The influential nature of humanism was far reaching and most notable for its effects on Renaissance art, literature, and philosophy.

The era of 1300-1500 are always referred to as the late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance. The Western Civilization has continuous evolved to what it has become today. The fall of the Roman Empire is a large part of the Western Civilization history.

The author of this book quickly and polemically describes the period from 400 A.D. to 1400 A.D. as the "Dark Ages" even though this term is not used in scholarly research. He claims that the decline in living standards are not only due to crumbling political institutions and infrastructure but to disease, isolation, and religious oppression. Manchester describes just how the medieval mindset emphasizes just how savage medieval people were and how they imposed horrific punishments on one another. Christians butchers one each other during mass. This author claims that this was not civilization but it was a shadow of the Roman empire. There are some movements that destroyed the medieval mindset and the first one was the Renaissance, where new art and ideas were widely

From art brought on by the Medici family, to literature produced by some of the most well-known and renowned authors, concepts of humanism emerged. This then resulted in a more positive outlook on life during the Italian Renaissance. Moreover, Francesco Petrarch, the “Father of Humanism,” paved the way for successful eras in Florence, the epicenter of the Renaissance. The conditions of Rome as described by both Baldassare Castiglione and Dante Alighieri crucially inspired the artistic and literary Renaissance of Italy. Reviving Rome lead to a faith in humans, allowing revolutions to build off of the past, as opposed to starting from the beginning. Obviously key factors as demonstrated by the infamous writers Baldassare Castiglione and Dante Alighieri forever and crucially impacted western

Northern Renaissance humanists placed more emphasis on early Christian history and works than their Italian counterparts. They studied the Holy Scriptures and the works of several early church fathers, such as Augustine and Jerome. They believed that the Christian church was much simpler than the church of their time. They were also noted for their reform program, in which they believed that they need to change the humans in order to improve society. Erasmus, a famous humanist, wrote that he “would [prefer] that even the lowliest women read the Gospels and the Pauline Epistles.” (Spielvogel 337). His quote reflected the attitude of many Christian humanists at that time. Christian humanists support the use of education since they believed

During the 1400 to 1500s, Europe had new developments due to numerous reasons. First of all, there was a revival of classics from the Greco-Roman era. These texts were pre-Christianity, thus talking about human’s lives in the here and now verses talking about their lives in the afterlife. This eventually led to the development of humanism, where people appreciated their lives. The more texts, the better they felt and the more they wanted to learn. People wanted to become educated in various subjects. Additionally, they saw what Rome was like and wanted to be better than Rome. With that, they also wanted to find trade routes and new land because they wanted to learn more. The revival of the classics allowed people to study the old maps created

It would make sense that the “Father of Humanism” would be from Florence, the epicenter of the Italian Renaissance. Much of his work had a modern element because he probed his own feelings in his writings. This would go with the Renaissance theme of the rediscovery of human glory due to the fact that Petrarch often looked within himself. Petrarch was also a devote Christian and believed that they meshed well. Petrarch being a Christian humanist agrees with the first article and with the belief of humanists of returning to the sources. I found it surprising how centralized Petrarch’s beliefs were in Christianity considering he was a humanist during the Italian Renaissance. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wrote during the Northern European Renaissance because they were more faith oriented and were known as Christina humanists. Petrarch criticizes his contemporaries and dialecticians on being ignorant of antiquity. He condemns them for mocking ancient philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and Pythagoras whose works are later glorified during the Renaissance. The fact that these philosophers were later admired and emulated during the Renaissance shows how quickly humanist’s beliefs caught on due to society’s need for culture after the dark Middle

“Man has no greater enemy than himself” according to Petrarch, a poet who lived from 1304-1374, and the inventor of the sonnet. The Renaissance was a time period from 14th to the 17th century, and was the bridge from the Middle Ages to modern history. An Italian scholar, poet, and the father of humanism, Petrarch helped develop a style of poetry known as the sonnet. In addition, Petrarch was relevant to the Renaissance because he inspired Shakespeare and other Renaissance poets as well as modern philosophy and thought.

That being said, one of the earliest and most influential humanist writers was Francesco Petrarch, who also held the title as the founder of humanism. On April 6, 1341, Petrarch was crowned Poet Laureate in the Capitol of Rome, and many historians argue this day as the true beginning of the Renaissance. Petrarch believed that eloquence, ethics, and wisdom were lost during the Middle Ages and was adamant about expressing his hatred for the corruption caused by the people of that period. Petrarch took inspiration from the writings of the ancients, especially Virgil and Cicero. He is a prime example in showing that although humanists still maintained their faith and believed in an afterlife, they felt that their lives on Earth should be rich

Thomas More’s Utopia is a work of ambiguous dualities that forces the reader to question More’s real view on the concept of a utopian society. However, evidence throughout the novel suggests that More did intend Utopia to be the “best state of the commonwealth.” The detailed description of Utopia acts as Mores mode of expressing his humanistic views, commenting on the fundamentals of human nature and the importance of reason and natural law while gracefully combining the two seemingly conflicting ideals of communism and liberalism.

In Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, Thomas More is a man with earnest respect for his fluidity with his flaunts of the public, he lived in the Renaissance era and was a renowned humanist, lawyer and a personal friend of Henry VIII. In the beginning of the book, a letter is sent by More to his friend Peter Giles inquiring about editing and publication of his masterpiece “Utopia”. The first book “Utopia” summarizes a conversation between More and Giles conversing with Hythloday, the man who was enshrouded by the lands of Utopia.

First introduced within Italy in the 13th and 14th century, then spreading across Western Europe, Renaissance humanism was the study of classical antiquity covering ancient Greece and Rome. Humanists believed that this period was one of greatness; They wanted to recapture as much as they could. The term “Renaissance” translates to “rebirth” ; Deriving old literature and art to depict a better understanding of human achievement.

Thomas More writes Utopia, the comedic, fictional travel log about a “no place” society to discuss the various religious, political, and social ideals influenced by humanism. A medieval classically trained humanist, Thomas More is also influenced by the late medieval social, political, and religious movements developing from the Plague and the Hundred Years’ War. In Utopia, More illustrates a humanist society by discussing agriculture in the economy, religion and happiness, and the structure of the government which was ultimately influenced by the late medieval ideals.