European

Renaissance Education as the Renaissance became an age of rival of the arts, culture, and business, so were the interests in education. It became an unwritten standard in society that upper class people, rulers, statesmen and even women be educated. What an individual should be educated in depended on their sex and status, or what influential members of society found essential for them to learn. What a man should learned in has changed through time. But, according to Castiglione, writer of The Courtier, a true courtier or Renaissance Man (Doc. 3) should act in a certain manner and be learned in certain subjects some of which are not used now but some are still practiced in polite society. Europe had a very enthusiastic spirit during the Renaissance, they longed for art, history, freedom, progress, and knowledge, but none of their character would have counted for anything notable had not the countries of the Middle East been there to offer the fuel for their fire. Europe had a very enthusiastic spirit during the Renaissance, they longed for art, history, freedom, progress, and knowledge, but none of their character would have counted for anything notable had not the countries of the Middle East been there to offer the fuel for their fire. Were it not for the Muslim tradition of progress and evolution the Europeans would have been left in the primitive dust of ancient Science and Mathematics. Most importantly, the sense of individuality and of expressiveness was made possible by the Muslim's careful preservation of the ancient Greek and Roman literary works which, through historical validity, also gave the Europeans a sense of identity not previously observed under the reign of the Church. Prior to the Renaissance, the philosophies presented by such literature was seen as either heresy or unimportant, but with the coming of individuality and the popularity of art came a demand for a history of a more independent and artistic culture. During the Renaissance, artists tried to recapture the spirit of ancient Greece and Rome art in their own artistic work. Like ancient Greek and Roman art, Renaissance art often focused on religious subject matters. Renaissance painters used aspects of Roman statues and architecture in their paintings. Renaissance thinkers and artists rebelled against this idea, turning their attention to issues of people's responsibilities and duties to society. While artists in the Middle Ages painted human figures that looked stiff and unrealistic for religious purposes, renaissance painters stressed the beauty and majesty of the human body. Some of the most important early Renaissance artists included architect Filippo Brunelleschi, painter Masaccio, and sculptor Donetaello. Brunelleschi was the first architect to revive the Roman style of architecture. He was also the first Renaissance artist to use linear perspective which created the effects of space and depth on a flat surface. Masaccio was well known for his series of religious frescoes he painted in the Branacci Chapel in 1427. Donatello was the famous Renaissance sculptor who made the human body look realistic and dignified. One leading royal patron of education was Lady Margaret Beaufort, the King's mother. She has been described as ``more nearly the typical `man of the Renaissance' than her son,'' and that, even though her ``influence and endowments were ... religious rather than secular, they were outward looking and humanist, never scholastic.'' Lady Margaret was the only woman whose advice the King ever sought or heeded. Margaret was only fourteen when her son Henry was born. She died in 1509, outliving her son by several months. As a child, she was taught reading, writing, and French.