Every year for as long as I can remember, my family has come together one weekend and frequented the Texas Renaissance Festival. Thus, even though I have just about the world’s worst sense of direction, by this point in my existence I can easily navigate the large, open-air park with its winding roads for each “country” and its hundreds of small shops. This year, like most every year, the park held thousands of people, a number that only grew as the day went on, with families and large groups of friends cycling in and out of its crowded gates. With the multitudes of people chatting amongst themselves, the hundreds of individual vendors yelling their catchy chants to sell their wares, and the powerful smells of all the food, the Renaissance Festival can almost be an overwhelming experience. Closest to the entrance and thus first on my family and my to-do list is a small concert venue in the “Spain” section of the festival. My family and I sat on the small, worn stone benches and listened to the band Saxon Moon, which performs Anglo-Saxon and Celtic styled music on various instruments. They’re energetic and their sound is quite unique, so although their music may not be the Top 40 Hits, it’s enjoyable. Over the years, my mum has purchased quite a few of their CDs, so I had heard many of the songs before- making the experience a nostalgic one. Next up, and arguably most importantly, we had to find food. The culinary options at the Renaissance Festival are numerous and all delicious, so I struggled in making a decision. I ultimately settled on Fish ‘n Chips from England and stole a few pieces of “Bloomin’ Onion”- a large, fried onion opened up like a flower- from my dad. Luckily there were several hours of walking on the horizon to compensate for all the fried food! After our hunger was sufficiently sated and we stuffed ourselves, we were left to wander around the park. Excitingly, for the first time in my 18 years of attending the Renaissance Festival, I convinced my mum to allow me to get a henna tattoo. I chose a small moon and star symbol and laid out my wrist on the pile of oriental-style pillows on the artist’s bench. The henna refused to dry properly, so I was forced to walk around the festival most of
The Italian Renaissance was one of the most colorful, vital, and exciting times in history. Renaissance eventually comes from the French word "Renaistre," meaning "to be born again." The Renaissance was a revival or a rebirth of cultural awareness and learning among art, law, language, literature, philosophy, science, and mathematics. This period took place between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Renaissance in Italy flourished in the 15th century and spread throughout most of Europe in the 16th century.
The cultural rebirth that occurred in Europe from the 14th century through mid-1600s was called the Renaissance based on the rediscovery of the literature of Greece and Rome. The Reformation occurred, modern times are often considered to have begun with the Renaissance. Some major figures were Galileo, Shakespeare, da Vinci, and Michelangelo. This led to the scientific revolution, with its emphasis on science which led to new Universities. Which led to the Industrial Revolution. (PDF William Shakespeare, Galileo, Michelangelo, da Vinci)
Nyctophobia; the fear of the dark. However, it’s not exactly the fear of darkness itself, but rather, what could be lurking within it. Now, the Dark Ages weren’t actually “dark”, but it was a time of rapid decline in Europe in which historians don’t have much information. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe was thrown into a never ending battle of hardships. From the Black Plague to the loss of beloved heroes and heroines, the country really was left in the dark, until a flicker of hope emerged offering a new beginning: the Renaissance. The Renaissance lasted from the 14th to the 17th century and was an era of “rebirth” in European history. During this period, culture throughout Europe underwent a dramatic reformation where classic
The shift between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was characterized by great socio-economic, political, and religious changes. Politically, the feudal system of the Middle Ages was exchanged for a more stable centralized republic/monarchy system that gave the people more freedom and input. Religiously, secularism became more important as stability gave people a chance to concern themselves with the “here and now” rather than simply the “hereafter.” Socially, there was a shift from dogma and unshakeable belief to humanism and the ability to interpret things for oneself. The Middle Ages began around 400 CE and lasted until 1400 CE while the Renaissance began around 1200 and continued until 1600. The 200 years that overlap between
Have you seen those weird music festival T-shirts that people wear and wonder what someone could possibly want to wear that for? While they’re sometimes meant to catch attention of people so they may want to look up the festival, it also serves as a reminder for many amazing memories for the two or three-day event. For a long time now music has changed people’s lives in many ways. It has brought people to fame and lifted many out of depressions. But, to those who haven’t experienced a festival, or even live music in general, you have been missing out an amazing social experience like no other. From the kings of festivals like Woodstock or Coachella to the lesser known ones like Rock on the Range (Hard rock/metal based) and Day for Night (variety) there are hundreds to pick from. One of my favorites is Carolina Rebellion which takes place right in this state.
The Middle Ages was a time in history where everyone was faithful to religion as well as others. Also, in the Middle Ages, people were encouraged to always try their best; they were encouraged to strive for the highest achievement possible and to never give up. The Renaissance, however, was more focused on becoming matured and finding a way to be successful at everything one does. During this era, people strived to become all-sided men, also known as; renaissance men. This means they are not only successful in one type of art but in all types of art, as well as math, science, and literature. The Renaissance was a distinct period in time that was separated from the Middle Ages and began a new era.
The Italian and Northern Europe Renaissances were both an important mark in history by changing the ideals of life, thought, culture, and art of the people’s of this time. In this paper I will explain the motive for change in these cultures, including the similarities and differences of the two cultures.
In recent years the growth of the festival’s attendance has created a problem for many visitors in their ability to find lodging. Resulting in many having to stay in motels and/or bed and breakfasts as far as 60 kilometres away. Readings and musical events sell out within hours after tickets go on sale. Additional readings have been added, but the demand still exceeds the supply.
The Renaissance began in Florence, Italy around the 1500’s to about the 1700’s. Florence, Italy was the mecca of this rebirth because at the time Florence was extremely wealthy and the people of the city had political freedom and those new ideals of the Renaissance were not being condemned in Florence as they were other cities. This was a time where the arts and the logic of one’s own mind was valued rather than criticized, the antiquated medieval ideals no longer matched the needs of those who were living during the early Renaissance. Eventually, a term for this way of thinking arose and was called Humanism, and what humanism is, is an ideology where humans can lead themselves to create a prosperous life and instead of leaning on supernatural forces for answers. Humanists believe that humans have enough logic to create conclusions themselves. This brand-new way of thinking caused a lot of controversy because it did question God’s ability and the church’s power, but the ideas behind it are still heavily used today, even in the 21st century. Humanism in the early Renaissance is important because it called for thinking with reason, it allowed an appreciation for human body and mind, inspired authors and caused a shift in power.
“The rebirth.” “The early modern period.” The Renaissance is alluded to by many names, referring to the great artistic renewal period beginning in the 14th century and ending in the 17th century. Occurring after the Medieval Period, it is often considered to be the bridge to modern day history as we know it. It was period of change, revival, and great augmentation for society. With the Middle Ages coming to an end and with the intellectual decline that had followed, scholars and thinkers alike began to study the ideals of ancient philosophers of the classical world, most prominently the Greeks and Romans, a time of great innovation and high human achievement, the likes of Humanism that hadn’t been seen for centuries.
The 14th, 15th and part of 16th century was a glorious time for Europe, it was the reformation of many old ideas and the formation of many new, this was called the Renaissance. The Renaissance brought many changes to Europe, the economy was greatly boosted by of all the new explorations. The flourishing economy helped to inspire new developments in art and literature. And from that many new beliefs were formed.
The renaissance was a time of great and immeasurable change within all aspects of European life; so much so that it could be seen as beginnings of our modern western society. Leading this revitalization in culture and society in Europe’s historical development were to the two of the most dominant states of renaissance Italy, Florence and Venice. These small city-states were the powerhouses of the time and assisted speeding up the renaissance and helped spur revolutionary developments along the way being the main hubs of influence in the Italian peninsula during the late 13th and early 16th century. Florence could be characterized as a financial centre, with their banking system considered extraordinarily ahead of time; in addition being the main producers of fine elevated their chances to conduct successful trading ventures. Venice was considered one of the largest centers of trade being a coastal city of the shores of the Adriatic Sea, which allowed for prosperous trade with what was then considered the Eastern world; the city was also well known for their quality in ship building as well which likely contributed to them being a large naval power in the region. Now due to fact that both city-states were two different sovereign parts of Italy meant having two different approaches and views on or about a multitude of ideas. To understand the impact of Florence and Venice, the two very influential and affluent republics in renaissance Italy, it is crucial to analyze their over
The gigantic effect that education had on Renaissance society was greatly stimulated by the new development of humanism. Humanism was responsible for the curiosity of many intellects during the Renaissance, which ultimately led to the discoveries and developments that made the Renaissance such a remarkable time. It proposed a different way of thinking, unprecedented by scholars. Without humanism and the educational interest that it brought about, the Renaissance would not be known as the explosion of culture that it is considered today.
The public place, in which I chose to observe fashion, was a community fall festival. This festival occurs once a year and brings people from several communities. I arrived at the festival in early afternoon, around 12:30 pm. The festival was just starting to get crowded. At this time there were mostly families with children present. I observed numerous families with babies in strollers. There were at least twenty “vendor” booths
Would it not be nice if we could go back in time to experience the Renaissance for ourselves? Being able to walk down the streets of Florence, Italy and experience this time period that not only gave rebirth to old values and artistic ways of statement, but also were a period of great individualism. (make this into a sentence…add a subject and a verb to make it flow). Indeed, Renaissance was a period of great individualism based on old traditional values.