Skip to main content

The Renaissance

The European Renaissance was a not just a cultural and literary revolution but also a social one. The middle of the fourteenth century saw the beginning of a number of events that would shape the future of the world and how we live. This era of the renaissance saw a complete change in the approach to literature and writing, Science and Technology, Religion and culture. It is only necessary that we take a look at this fascinating period of transformation in the European society.

The Renaissance writers, unlike the European romanticists who preceded them, were more interested in the expression of the classical view than on self-expression. The Renaissance writers found solace in 'imitation' of the classical style of writing and thoughts but were in no way cheap plagiarists. To the renaissance writing consisted of three things: art, imitation and exercise. This Renaissance age, which means 'Rebirth', that lasted for over three centuries from 14 th to the 17 th, saw the revival of 'poetry' that was accused of being an aid for the corruption of the youth in the society by elaborating and glorifying all that is immoral including lust and wantonness. Poetry was seen by the philosophers as an enemy to the social good and so was excluded.The Renaissance Literature glorified war and invasion and praised the courage of defending one's nation. Though these writers prescribed to imitation, they never accepted any thought without careful considerations. Thus mere antiquity did not earn the patronage of these writers.

The Renaissance saw a great deal of religious reformations including the launch and propagation of the Protestantism by Martin Luther King. This marked the beginning of the end of the supreme control that the papacy had over the entire European continent. This led to drastic religious and moral reforms and put the power back in the hands of the people.

Science was probably the biggest beneficiary of the Renaissance revolution in Europe. Almost all important discoveries, to which the modern science vows everything, was made in this little span of three centuries. Renaissance probably gave these scientists the courage that they needed to publish their discoveries which were earlier suppressed by the church, deeming it as heresy and punishing these great men as enemies to Christianity.

Also in this little time were born the Greatest of painters and scupltors the world has seen including Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Boticelli, Caravaggio, Massacio and others. Their works have been regarded as the greatest ever and have been very rarely matched afterwards. 

The concept of 'The Great Chain of Being' was one of the important thoughts of the Renaissance era. In simple words this thought provided that every being in this earth has its own place in the chain and this place depended upon the manifestation of the spirit inside. Thus everyone was expected to play his role according to his place in the chain and deviation from this causes chaos. But Political leaders of some European nations during this era were accused of using this concept to their own selfish ends.

The Renaissance also gave rise to a very important school of thought called 'Humanism'. Humanism shifted the focus from the other world to the present life that a man lives thus putting an end to the over emphasis on religion and rituals for the sake of the after world. This in turn resulted in the growth of the modern political system by making public life more important and fashionable to man. Social involvement was seen as the epitome of a dignified human life rather than futile religious doctrines.

Thus the age of the renaissance can very well be credited for ushering in the modern age and the improvement of the human society.

Labels:

Comments

Rahul Viswanath said…
Dude you come up with amazing posts @ times ..... Good job bud !!!
February 10, 2009 at 8:21 AM
Sruthisagar Yamunan said…
@Towards
Thank you

@Rahul Viswanath
Only at times? :)
Thanks for reading my post here too dude :)
February 10, 2009 at 8:31 AM
Kartz said…
Nice one there, mate... Welcome here!

Peace.
February 10, 2009 at 8:34 PM
Post a Comment

Also read

Why do we crave bookshops when life falls apart? A deep reading of Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

This article reflects on Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum, a gentle novel about burnout, healing, and second chances. Through Yeong-ju and her quiet community, the book reminds you that meaning often returns slowly, through books, people, and ordinary days that begin to feel like home again. Why do so many of us secretly dream of walking away from everything? At some point, usually on a crowded weekday morning or during yet another meeting that could have been an email, you wonder if this is all there is. You did what you were told. You studied, worked hard, built a career, stayed responsible. And yet, instead of contentment, there is exhaustion. Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop begins exactly at this uncomfortable truth. Hwang Bo-reum’s novel does not shout its intentions. It does not promise transformation through grand revelations. Instead, it sits beside you quietly and asks a gentler question. What if the problem is not that you failed, but that you nev...
Post a Comment
Read more

Spill the Tea: Noor and the Silence After Doing Everything right

Noor has done everything she was supposed to do — moved out, built a life, stayed independent. Yet beneath the neat routines and functional success lies a quiet emptiness she cannot name. Part of the Spill the Tea series, this story explores high-functioning loneliness, emotional flatness, and the unsettling fear of living a life that looks complete from the outside. The verandah was brighter than Noor expected. Morning light lay flat across the tiles, showing every faint scuff mark, every water stain from old monsoons. The air smelled of detergent from a neighbour’s washed curtains flapping overhead. On the table, the paneer patties waited in a cardboard bakery box I’d emptied onto a plate. A squeeze bottle of ketchup stood beside it, slightly sticky around the cap. Two cups of tea, steam already thinning. In one corner, a bamboo palm stood in a large terracotta planter. Thin stems. Too many leaves. Trying very hard to look like it belonged indoors. Noor sat down and pulled the chair ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What if You Could undo every regret? An uncomfortable conversation with The Midnight Library

Have you ever replayed your life at night, wondering how things might have turned out differently? The Midnight Library by Matt Haig asks you to sit with that question. Through Nora Seed’s quiet despair and imagined alternatives, the novel explores regret, possibility, depression, and the fragile hope that living at all might be enough. Have you ever wondered if one different choice could have changed everything? You probably have. Most people do. Usually at night. Usually when the world goes quiet and your mind decides to reopen old files you never asked it to keep. The job you did not take. The person you loved too late or too briefly. The version of yourself that felt possible once. You tell yourself that if you had chosen differently, life would feel fuller, cleaner, less heavy. The Midnight Library begins exactly there, in that familiar ache. Not with drama, but with exhaustion. Not with chaos, but with a woman who feels she has quietly failed at everything that mattered. Mat...
Post a Comment
Read more