Most important facts about the Renaissance and Reformation?

Question: Most important facts about the Renaissance and Reformation!?
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Renaissance
The Black Death
One theory that has been advanced is that the devastation caused by the Black Death in Florence (and elsewhere in Europe) resulted in a shift in the world view of people in 14th century Italy!. Italy was particularly badly hit by the plague, and it has been speculated that the familiarity with death that this brought thinkers to dwell more on their lives on Earth, rather than on spirituality and the afterlife!. It has also been argued that the Black Death prompted a new wave of piety, manifested in the sponsorship of religious works of art!. However, this does not fully explain why the Renaissance occurred specifically in Italy in the 14th century!. The Black Death was a pandemic that affected all of Europe in the ways described, not only Italy!. The Renaissance's emergence in Italy was most likely the result of the complex interaction of the above factors
Cultural conditions in Florence

Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence and patron of arts!.It has long been a matter of debate why the Renaissance began in Florence, and not elsewhere in Italy!. Scholars have noted several features unique to Florentine cultural life which may have caused such a cultural movement!. Many have emphasized the role played by the Medici family in patronizing and stimulating the arts!. Lorenzo de' Medici devoted huge sums to commissioning works from Florence's leading artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Michelangelo Buonarroti!.

The Renaissance was certainly already underway before Lorenzo came to power; indeed, before the Medici family itself achieved hegemony in Florentine society!. Some historians have postulated that Florence was the birthplace of the Renaissance as a result of luck, i!.e!. because "Great Men" were born there by chance!. Da Vinci, Botticelli and Michelangelo were all born in Tuscany!. Arguing that such chance seems improbable, other historians have contended that these "Great Men" were only able to rise to prominence because of the prevailing cultural conditions at the time!.

Art
One of the distinguishing features of Renaissance art was its development of highly realistic linear perspective!. Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) is credited with first treating a painting as a window into space, but it was not until the writings of architects Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) and Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472) that perspective was formalized as an artistic technique!.The development of perspective was part of a wider trend towards realism in the arts (for more, see Renaissance Classicism)!.To that end, painters also developed other techniques, studying light, shadow, and, famously in the case of Leonardo da Vinci, human anatomy!. Underlying these changes in artistic method was a renewed desire to depict the beauty of nature, and to unravel the axioms of aesthetics, with the works of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael representing artistic pinnacles that were to be much imitated by other artists!.[30] Other notable artists include Sandro Boticceli, working for the Medici in Florence, Donatello another Florentine and Titian in Venice, among others!.

Concurrently, in the Netherlands, a particularly vibrant artistic culture developed, the work of Hugo van der Goes and Jan van Eyck having particular influence on the development of painting in Italy, both technically with the introduction of oil paint and canvas, and stylistically in terms of naturalism in representation!. (for more, see Renaissance in the Netherlands)!. Later, the work of Pieter Brueghel the Elder would inspire artists to depict themes of everyday life!.

In architecture, Filippo Brunelleschi was foremost in studying the remains of ancient Classical buildings, and with rediscovered knowledge from the 1st century writer Vitruvius and the flourishing discipline of mathematics, formulated the Renaissance style which emulated but most importantly improved on classical forms!. Brunelleschi's major feat of engineering was the building of the dome of Florence Cathedral!.[32] The first building to demonstrate this is claimed to be the church of St!. Andrew built by Alberti in Mantua!. The outstanding architectural work of the High Renaissance was the rebuilding of St!. Peter's Basilica, combining the skills of Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael, Sangallo and Maderno!.

The Roman orders types of columns are used: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite!. These can either be structural, supporting an arcade or architrave, or purely decorative, set against a wall in the form of pilasters!. During the Renaissance, architects aimed to use columns, pilasters, and entablatures as an integrated system!. One of the first buildings to use pilasters as an integrated system was in the Old Sacristy (1421–1440) by Filippo Brunelleschi!.

Arches are semi-circular or (in the Mannerist style) segmental, are often used in arcades, supported on piers or columns with capitals!. There may be a section of entablature between the capital and the springing of the arch!. Alberti was one of the first to use the arch on a monumental!. Renaissance vaults do not have ribs!. They are semi-circular or segmental and on a square plan, unlike the Gothic vault which is frequently rectangular!.

Science
The upheavals occurring in the arts and humanities were mirrored by a dynamic period of change in the sciences!. Some have seen this flurry of activity as a "scientific revolution," heralding the beginning of the modern age!. Others have seen it merely as an acceleration of a continuous process stretching from the ancient world to the present day!. Regardless, there is general agreement that the Renaissance saw significant changes in the way the universe was viewed and the methods with which philosophers sought to explain natural phenomena!.

Science and art were very much intermingled in the early Renaissance, with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci making observational drawings of anatomy and nature!. Yet the most significant development of the era was not a specific discovery, but rather a process for discovery, the scientific method!. This revolutionary new way of learning about the world focused on empirical evidence, the importance of mathematics, and discarding the Aristotelian "final cause" in favor of a mechanical philosophy!. Early and influential proponents of these ideas included Copernicus and Galileo!.

The new scientific method led to great contributions in the fields of astronomy, physics, biology, and anatomy!. With the publication of Vesalius's De humani corporis fabrica, a new confidence was placed in the role of dissection, observation, and a mechanistic view of anatomy!.

REFORMATION
Humanis to Protestanism
The frustrated reformism of the humanists, ushered in by the Renaissance, contributed to a growing impatience among reformers!. Erasmus and later figures like Martin Luther and Zwingli would emerge from this debate and eventually contribute to another major schism of Christendom!. The crisis of theology beginning with William of Ockham in the fourteenth century was occurring in conjunction with the new burgher discontent!. Since the breakdown of the philosophical foundations of scholasticism, the new nominalism did not bode well for an institutional church legitimized as an intermediary between man and God!. New thinking favored the notion that no religious doctrine can be supported by philosophical arguments, eroding the old alliance between reason and faith of the medieval period laid out by Thomas Aquinas!.

ErasmusThe major individualistic reform movements that revolted against medieval scholasticism and the institutions that underpinned it were: humanism, devotionalism, (see for example, the Brothers of the Common Life and Jan Standonck) and the observatine tradition!. In Germany, "the modern way" or devotionalism caught on in the universities, requiring a redefinition of God, who was no longer a rational governing principle but an arbitrary, unknowable will that cannot be limited!. God was now an unknowable absolute ruler, and religion would be more fervent and emotional!. Thus, the ensuing revival of Augustinian theology, stating that man cannot be saved by his own efforts but only by the grace of God, would erode the legitimacy of the rigid institutions of the church meant to provide a channel for man to do good works and get into heaven!. Humanism, however, was more of an educational reform movement with origins in the Renaissance's revival of classical learning and thought!. A revolt against Aristotelian logic, it placed great emphasis on reforming individuals through eloquence as opposed to reason!. The European Renaissance laid the foundation for the Northern humanists in its reinforcement of the traditional use of Latin as the great unifying cultural language!.

The polarization of the scholarly community in Germany over the Reuchlin (1455–1522) affair, attacked by the elite clergy for his study of Hebrew and Jewish texts, brought Luther fully in line with the humanist educational reforms who favored academic freedom!. At the same time, the impact of the Renaissance would soon backfire against traditional Catholicism, ushering in an age of reform and a repudiation of much of medieval Latin tradition!. Led by Erasmus, the humanists condemned various forms of corruption within the Church, forms of corruption that might not have been any more prevalent than during the medieval zenith of the church!. Erasmus held that true religion was a matter of inward devotion rather than outward symbols of ceremony and ritual!. Going back to ancient texts, scriptures, from this viewpoint the greatest culmination of the ancient tradition, are the guides to life!. Favoring moral reforms and de-emphasizing didactic ritual, Erasmus laid the groundwork for Luther!.

Humanism's intellectual anti-clericalism would profoundly influence Luther!. The increasingly wellWww@QuestionHome@Com

Basically, the Renaissance was about the revival of Classical culture, including a much closer study of Latin and Greek, a new reverence for science, and an explosion in artistic techniques and achievements!. The Reformation was about overthrowing the authority of the Catholic Church, which needed to be done, but it was also about religious fanaticism and sparked nearly 125 years of religious warfare and all kinds of mindless persecution, including the witch hysteria The Renaissance was about reason!. The Reformation was about fanaticism and hatred!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Both radically challenged the status quo, which at the time was that the Catholic Church was the center of the world!. The Renaissance unleased an explosion of creativity (we mostly think of art, but also thinking in general), and the Reformation established a "direct line to God" rather than going through Vatican hierarchy!. Europe was never the same after both events, nor was the world!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Easier - Renaissance means 'new birth!.' The term refers to the revival of art and learning that occurred in Europe between the Fourteenth and Sixteenth centuries!. This was an era when educated and talented people rediscovered the arts and learning of ancient Greece and Rome and developed new ideas about their world!.

Harder - The term, Renaissance, comes from the Latin word 'rinascere' that means to be reborn!. The Renaissance was a great cultural movement - - a period of renewal, revival, and growth!. The Renaissance began in Italy during the early 1300's!. By 1600 the cultural revival had spread to France, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and other European countries!.

Many Renaissance scholars and artists studied the art and learning from ancient Greece and Rome, attempting to recapture the spirit of those cultures in their philosophies and their works of art and literature!. Renaissance leaders began to reject many of the attitudes and ideas of the Middle Ages!. For instance during those earlier times, the most important cultural institution was the Church and the important learning was theology, the study of God!. Medieval thinking held that the world was filled with evil temptations!. Renaissance thinkers began to emphasize people's responsibilities and duties to their society, a society that could civilize people rather than make them wicked!.

The changes in thinking during Renaissance happened gradually!. New ideas in art, astronomy, science, literature, mathematics, philosophy, religion, and politics were developed and advanced by a few individuals!. But the influence of the Renaissance impacted and shaped the future, leading to a modern era!.

Idea of the Renaissance by R!. Hooker from World Civilizations, Washington State University
http://www!.wsu!.edu:8080/~dee/REN/IDEA!.HT!.!.!.
This webpage, the starting point for a online publication on the Renaissance, explains the naming of the era and recent thinking on the mislabeling!.
Similar Comprehensive Websites:
2) European Renaissance / Reformation (Links-site) http://www!.execpc!.com/~dboals/rena!.html
3) Renaissance by N!.B!. Mautz from Development of Western Civilization, University of Evansville http://history!.evansville!.net/renaissa!.h!.!.!.

Renaissance from Annenberg Foundation & Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)
http://www!.learner!.org/exhibits/renaissa!.!.!.
Explore the Renaissance and discover the forces that drove this rebirth in Europe and Italy!.

Renaissance: Dawn of a New Age from Mr!. Dowling's Electronic Passport
http://www!.mrdowling!.com/704renaissance!.!.!.!.
Learn many interesting facts about the Renaissance including information on the Protestant reformation, King Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, and lots of links to more resources!.

Renaissance Faire
http://www!.renfaire!.com/
Step back 400 years to a time of romance!. Shakespeare is in the prime of his career!. Sir Francis Drake has circumnavigated the globe!. The New World exists as a boundless frontier!. It is a 'golden age!.'
Related Websites:
2) Life in Elizabethan England: A Compendium of Common Knowledge
http://renaissance!.dm!.net/compendium/hom!.!.!.
3) Women in the Renaissance (Grades 10-12) http://www!.svhe!.pdx!.edu/summerinstitute/!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com