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The Renaissance: The Dawning of a New Age Essay

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The age known as the Renaissance began in the fourteenth century. The word Renaissance means rebirth, those alive in this era witnessed the dawning of a new age. It began as a literary movement among the educated and upper-class men in northern Italian cities (Wiesner 210). Writers and artists studied Roman models and Petrarch, a Renaissance writer, proposed a liberal arts curriculum in order to recapture the previous glory of Rome. The philosophy of humanism became popular bringing about the curiosity about life and learning, individualism, virtu, secularism, and the classical past. Individualism emphasized the new importance of defining oneself by their own sense of uniqueness and individuality instead of in the context of a group, …show more content…

Education which calls forth, trains, and develops those highest gifts of body and mind which ennoble men” (Wiesner 219). This quotation displays the importance of education for the Renaissance men. Their education is important because he must use it to serve and know God, and to serve the city/state (Wiesner 213). Most Renaissance men are courtiers, those who attend the royal court as a companion or adviser to the king or queen. Castiglione, a 16th century Italian aristocrat and author of The Courtier explain that a courtier must: “stand out from the rest as enterprising, bold and loyal to whomever he serves” (Wiesner 221). Keep in mind, the Renaissance man is a courtier, a refined upper class man; “average” men of Renaissance time period do not have the same characteristics as a Renaissance man. Most Renaissance men were born into their wealth or had a special talent like the artists of the day. The photo source one shows a self-portrait of Albrecht Durer, as a renaissance man. He shows himself as well groomed, with poise posture and hand gestures implying that he is a confident man. His faces looks relaxed, and refined as if he has no current worries. Durer has an iron jaw covered with a beard, broad shoulders, that suggests his strength and the slashes on his jacket sleeves suggest that he has been in battle, exemplifying his bravery. His long curly goldilocks hair depicts his individualism and his

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