What Was The Time Of The Renaissance

1. To what extent is the term Renaissance a valid concept for a distinct period in early modern European history?

Ptolemy, a Roman astronomer came up with the theory that the universe revolved around Earth and all the creatures inhabiting it (Doc. C). This theory, The Geocentric Universe of Ptolemy, was adjusted by most of the people during The Middle Ages. However, much later on, Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer, disagreed with Ptolemy’s theory. With his use of math and reason, he came up with a new theory called The Heliocentric Universe of Copernicus (Doc. C). He said that the universe & Earth itself revolves around the sun. The Church denied this theory because they did not want to be proven wrong. If the Church was wrong about this part of the universe, this would then cause man to wonder what else they could be wrong about, or even lied to them about. This new theory taught men to think for themselves and not to rely on the Church for

These changes indicated that man was not tied to the Church, and that he could think freely for himself. As can be seen, astronomy changed man’s view of man during the Renaissance by showing that the lives of people were not controlled by outside institutions.

During most of the 16th and 17th centuries, it was not easy for scientists to make new discoveries and present them to the world. The Catholic Church, a dominating force during that period, persecuted anyone who would spread ideas and opinions that contradicted what the Bible stated. Both Copernicus and Galileo believed in the heliocentric theory, also called Copernicus theory, which stated that the sun was at the centre of the universe and the earth revolves around it. However, the Catholic Church did not agree with this idea because the Bible stated that the earth was at the centre of the universe and the sun revolved around it, which is the complete opposite. Due to this disagreement, Copernicus and Galileo were threaded by the Catholic Church and

No, I do not believe that the Renaissance was a distinct break or period from the Middle Ages for many reason. For example, One can not date the Renaissance back to a certain year because what some might believe to be the high Middle Ages others consider to be the early Renaissance. One only needs to look at the works of Ghiberti, Brunelleschi,Donatello, and even Petrarch, one of the first humanists, to see that it is extended to the beginning of the 15th century yet has no clear breaking point.

The Renaissance was a time of change and prosperity. The decision was made depending on the difference of two eras. Unlike the Renaissance, the Middle Ages were a thousand years of ignorance and superstition. The Renaissance men were leaders in an era of rebirth and learning looked to the Ancient Greeks and Romans for models of advance. Many historians felt that the Middle Ages and the Renaissance were one era. The debate centers around whether the Renaissance was a unique age or a continuation of the Middle Ages.

During the Middle Ages period people believed in the idea of a Geocentric universe, the Earth was the absolute center of the universe, church had more power and authority than anybody else. People were influenced and thought that everything they do had to be approved by God. Nicolaus Copernicus challenged the theory that insisted that we lived in a Geocentric universe, and that is where our universe literally changed. Church believes started to doubt the theories that church had adopted in early years. The Scientific Revolution opened

Astronomy is the branch of science that deals with celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole. During the Middle Ages, a Roman astronomer named Ptolemy came up with a theory that everything in the solar system revolved around the Earth (Document C). During the Renaissance, a Polish astronomer named Copernicus relied mostly on mathematics, he developed a very different understanding of the universe (Document C). He came up with a theory that everything in the universe revolves around the sun. The ideas of Copernicus were upsetting to the Catholic Church. They were upsetting because they thought the Earth was the biggest planet and that everything should revolve around it. You can see that man's view was changing through astronomy because the way that people saw the universe was

Italy can be looked at as the home of the renaissance and consequently the immergence of great art. Artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Da Vinci, and Raphael are some of the greats and are looked at for standards. But what about the artists whose lives are mysteries, and their works that were influenced by the greats? These artists hold just as much importance in the history of art as do the artist’s whose names can be recalled off the top of an average person’s head. During the sixteenth century things began to change in the art world, and that change was the Baroque. This new style of art brought a revolution to how subject matter was painted, it brought upon “… a radical reconsideration of art and its purposes…” (249) and how artists of all ranks could learn to paint the up and coming style of Baroque.

1. The Medieval understanding of the Universe was a time when things that were more traditional were being viewed as more modern because of scientific studies and observations. The Renaissance was a time that brought on ideas of a natural world. Scientists and philosophers were starting to look into new ideas and proving why the world is the way it is. This brought on a lot of conflict with the church, because they did not like that the new ideas of the natural world were contradicting to what was in the bible.

Galileo Galilei is arguably the most famous proponent of the heliocentric model proposed by Copernicus, and his work provided the foundation for much of modern astronomy and physics. His discoveries of the motion of planets within the solar system not only proved the Copernican theory true, which was a controversial scientific revolution for the time. However, he was ordered to recant his works and denounce the heliocentric system after being convicted of “vehement suspicion of heresy.” This was a detrimental move not only for natural philosophers everywhere, but a poor decision for the church as well, which is evident when the situation is critically analyzed.

By supporting a questioning society, proving their power through patronizing, and discovering their own ways of gaining power, the Medici changed the political ways of the renaissance. Before the renaissance, the church was the most powerful and controlling leader. However, it only had power as long as their followers remained loyal. The Medici were household members with, and big supporters of ,the very intelligent, church-defying Galileo Galilei. Galileo’s completely valid discovery that the Earth travels around the Sun defied the teachings of the Old Testament. Galileo published a book of his discoveries disguised as a fiction novel. This was not the first scientific discovery to defy Bible teachings, however it was the most publicised. This caused society to begin to question the teachings of the Bible, and everything they had been taught. This theme of questioning lead to less loyal followers of the church, and more loyal followers of non-religion based rulers.

In summer of 1609, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) pointed his revolutionary astronomical telescope to the heavens under the starry Venetian sky; his greatly important observations unveiled the mysteries of universe and would end up changing the course of scientific thought forever. Galileo lived in an age where there was much status quo, when scientists and philosophers would accept scientific and religious doctrine that had stood for hundreds, if not thousands, of years instead of challenging the accepted knowledge in favor of intellectual progress. Galileo’s scientific methods lead to significant discoveries explaining key scientific laws, such as the

In 1492 the young Copernicus went to study. He questioned people you had authority. “even though his professors believed that the earth was in in the centre of the universe and did not move, Copernicus began to question those ideas.” (Text 04) Even though those people in authority believed this, he questioned it and eventually proved them wrong. In 1633, 141 years after Copernicus discovered the Heliocentric view. The powerful organisation the “Roman Catholic Church” thought the Geocentric view was correct “the Roman Catholic Church bans the teaching of Heliocentric theories.” (Text 08) The Catholic Church banned the teaching of the Heliocentric view because at the time it seemed to be contrary to the science that they knew of. Since the Church was in a high and powerful position they could ban the view and people would have to believe what they told them to believe in. Authority works with evidence to help people change their

(2) This theory deviated from the popular, Aristotelian belief that the earth, due to its heaviness, comprised the center of the known universe, surrounded by the other heavenly bodies, which moved within crystalline spheres. Beyond these the kingdom of God supposedly existed. The Church supported the Aristotelian view because it placed God's supreme creation, humanity, at the heart of His created world. The Aristotelian theory was given further support by Psalm 104: "Thou didst set the earth on its foundation, so that it should never be shaken." Yet Copernicus found the mathematics supporting the popular view of the universe unsatisfactory, and so he formulated the Heliocentric Theory, freeing the scientists who would follow in his footsteps from a rigid view of the universe. (3)