MIND MAP OF EVENT SIGNIFICANCE
During the Renaissance, the appearance of the world changed drastically. Not only were the great cities and places of that time transformed by new buildings and architectural styles, but the area of the world and knowledge of it was also revolutionized. Geographical space became more apparent and understood, allowing opportunity for vicarious travel, or visiting distance places, and enormously increasing the ability to see them in the mind’s eye through depictions and descriptions.
There were many significant outcomes of the Renaissance. Science and technology, as we know it, did not exist to today’s extent. However, humanist interests fed habits of thought that we may now see as scientific. The legacy of recovered texts and the newly established understanding of Greek provided the essential base for more investigative, questioning, observational attitudes of mind. The discovery of new land and growth of science and technology were like two sides of one coin. As the new land was discovered, technology improved because of the exploration. The last decade of the15th century allowed knowledge to grow dramatically.
Christopher Columbus reached the Caribbean Islands in 1492. John Cabot landed in Newfoundland, North America in 1497. By the 1520’s men had been round the world: Ferdinand Magellan died in the attempt, but one of his ships reached home. (Royal Museums Greenwich). Such voyages were only possible with accurate navigation, a technique that was turning into science and technology. Curiosity increased as new land was discovered. This thirst for new knowledge paralleled the thirst for old knowledge which was humanism. The French historian Michelet characterized the Renaissance as ‘the discovery of the world and of man’. (Age of The Sage).
With new development of navigational instruments went improvements in the design of ships. Nations like England, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal became new maritime nations. Portuguese caravel in the 15th century resulted from the adoption of the Arab lateen sail, which was successfully combined with European square rig. (Technology and Civilization). These technical advances made Europeans eager to search for wealth. The East was considered a “Terrestrial Paradise” according to the Europeans, who brought spices and silk back from India also known as the land of diamonds. (Curious Myths of the Middle Ages/The Terrestrial Paradise).
(Click on images below to view them.)
The increased population, technical advances, and improved transport allowed a fluid supply of money to come in Europe and the Renaissance became an age of manufacture and trade. Local marketers started to buy and sell not only food and drinks, but also goods from further afield. By the end of 16th century, wealthy merchants started to engage in some business transaction. (Trade and Commerce). One factor that complicated economic life was the diversity of weights, measures and currencies all over Europe. (Renaissance). However, this factor has now been improved because in the 21st century traders and merchandisers have adopted to new approaches to running organizations.
As trading increased so did the amount of money. Capitalism got involved with humanism. In Florence, during the 15th century, a new world of finance was born. Europeans adopted the Arabian numerals and world of credit and exchange soon became popular. Money-changers soon were overloaded with work and found it hard to manage time. (Renaissance Era).
This also led to advances in both pure and applied mathematics, especially geometry. Arabic numerals, using the zero and expressing fractions as decimals, replaced Roman numerals as early as the 13th century. (History of Mathematics).
There was also a mystical side of the Renaissance mathematics. Number systems were central to Neo-Platonic thought, and it is probably in this light that we should see Raphael’s portrait of Euclid in the School of Athens, tracing a geometrical figure in the ground. (Boutelle).
“By number a way is had to be searching out and understanding o everything able to be known” –Pico Della Mirandola
(The Renaissance Humanists).
(Watch animation of The School Of Athens below.)
Artists stared to observe more and more, therefore, allowing observation to become a habit. They started to put down the realities of the world as seen. The fertility of art stated to reflect the fertility of nature. Many artists like Michelangelo and Raphael started to use foreshortening, perspective, and many other new techniques. (Renaissance Art). This new form of art, which was influenced by humanism, contained realism and reflected Greek culture, not only contained paintings and drawings, but also architecture. Renaissance architecture demanded a whole new vocabulary of style because of the new concept of decoration designs. It was inspired by ancient Rome. All Renaissance decorations depended on painting, whether it be fresco or on canvas. (Oxford Art Online).
(Click on images below to view them.)
Other forms of art included music and literature. Music became an amusement and it was improved by the higher branches of learning such as arithmetic’s, geometry, and astronomy. The design of instruments, especially keyboards and strings was improved. Composers, such as Orlando Lassus and Josquin des Prez made music complex, personal, and passionate. (Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History). Most music was private, but ensembles of musicians at court were beginning to constitute a recognizably modern orchestra. No solemn occasion, sacred or secular, was complete without a musical element and the council of Trent gave considerable attention to drawing up rules for the setting of religious texts. (Music History).
As for literature, it was influenced by the medieval tradition. One very famous English dramatist, known as William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford, Warwickshire, England. (William Shakespeare). Shakespeare linked the humanist culture and the Italian Renaissance so deep that no other author could compete. In his life time he wrote various plays which were based on Italians stories and had Italian settings. Some of Shakespeare famous plays that are studied in the 21st century include: Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Twelfth night and Hamlet. Shakespeare emphasized on the uniqueness of the individual, his apparent indifference to religious dogma, his endless curiosity about human motivation and character, and his ability to empathize with a wide range of contradictory moral attitudes, all bringing him close to the ideal of the “universal man”. (Shakespeare's Time).