英语论文 The significance of the Renaissance

ThesignificanceoftheRenaissanceTheRenaissancewasaculturalmovementthatfollowedtheMiddleAgesandprecededtheReformation,spanningroughlythe14ththroughthe16thcentury.Asaculturalmovement,itencompassedarevivaloflearningbasedonclassicalsourcesandhumanism,arts,classics,andChristianityratherthananentirehistoricalage.Renaissance’means‘rebirth’inFrenchandduringthistimeEuropeleftbehindthemindsetoftheMiddleAgesandcreatedthebeginningsofthemodernworld.Itwasa“rebirth”ofcertainclassicalideasthathadlongbeenlosttoWesternEurope.Itwasthe“rebirth”ofcultureandknowledge;itwasasignificantchangefromtheignoranceoftheMiddleAges.Renaissance’sinfluencescanbeseenclearlyintheworksofsuchrenaissancemenasMachiavelli,LeonardoDaVinci,CopernicusandGalileotonameafew.BeforetheRenaissance,Europewasinthedarkagewhichlastedmorethan1000years.Therenaissanceisaperiodthatbeganafterthedarkages,whichwasatimewherenosignificantinventionsweremade,noartwascreated,andallindividualismwassuppressed.TheCatholicChurchhadprettymuchoutlawedeverythingbutpayingtithes.ThemainsignificanceoftheRenaissancewastherevivalofancientlearninglostordestroyedduringthebarbarianraidsoftheDarkAgesorbannedbytheCatholicChurchduringtheMiddleAgesinEurope.PrimarilytheteachingsofAncientGreekssuchasSocratesandPlatogavenewinsightsintothepoliticalprocessesofthetime,aswellaslogic,andtheAncientGreekmathematiciansprovidedaframeworkforfurtherscientificstudies,i.e.astronomyandanatomy.TheRenaissancewassoimportancebecausewasthebeginningpointofhumanisticviews,thegreatpeopleoftheRenaissancewerewhatinspiredtheenlightenment,whichcameduringthemid-1700's.TheRenaissancewaswhenweashumansstartedhavingmoreconfidenceinourselves.Inaddition,thecreationofnewtechniquesinart,poetry,music,andarchitectureledinturntoaradicalchangeinthestyleandsubstanceoftheartsandletters.DuringthisperiodArtistsbegantomasteranduselinearperspectiveintheirpaintings.Insculptureitwasthedevelopmentofthefree-standingstatue,equestrianmonumentandportraitbust.Thenewfounddevelopmentinartistspaintingportraitbusts,landscapeandstill-lifepaintingoccursinthistime.Artistsusedlinearperspectiveintheirpaintings,therevivalofclassicaltime,GreekandRomanmythologywasinspirationformany.MichelangeloanddaVincistudiedthehumanbodytomaketheirartsmorerealistic.Itwasalsothefirstfornewarttechniquesliketheuseofoilpainting,woodcuts,copperplates,andthefirstprintedbook.Artistswereabletopaintpeopleinarealisticthree-dimensionalmanner.Anewkindofbrilliantarchitecturealsostartedduringthisperiod.ThecivilizationsofGreeceandRomewererediscovered,inspiringaninterestinClassicallearningwhichchallengedmedievalbeliefsandideas.Thepopulationwasbecomingwealthierwhichledtoanincreaseintradeandtravelandthespreadofnewideas.Theriseinprosperityalsogeneratedaninterestineducation,supportedtheflourishingoftheartsandpromotedscientificdiscoveriesandnewinventions.Perhapsthemostimportantofthesewastheprintingpresswhichallowedthedistributionofinformationtoamuchwideraudiencethaneverbefore,furtherfuellingtheclamorformoreknowledge.Atthistimeimportantuniversitiesweresetup,includingoneatPaduawhichhadalargemedicalfacultywhereanatomy,thestudyofthebody,wastaught.Theystudiedanatomyandcarriedoutdissectionstounderstandtheworkingsofthebodyinordertocreateamorerealisticportrayalofthehumanfigure.Allinall,RenaissancewasviewedasabridgebetweentheMiddleAgesandtheModernera.