Middle_Ages_vs._Reniassance

Time Periods: Middle Ages Vs. Renaissance Humanism is very important, as it has shaped our lives. Myths, archetypes, and aesthetic experiences have shaped the way we live today. There are many similarities and differences amongst the different time periods, but the time periods that fascinate me the most are the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In the Middle Ages, people focused more on religion and spirituality whereas, in the Renaissance, the focus was more secular: right here and now as humans on earth. Three of the most notable changes during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance include architecture, art, and philosophy. Each change made an impact on how the time periods are viewed today. To begin the Middle Ages was a time period in European history that took place between 500 and 900 A.D. The Middle Ages brought many advances from the earlier centuries. Although it brought many advances from the earlier centuries, the Middle Ages were very static and not much changed. Humanists believed the Middle Ages were a time of turmoil. The Renaissance on the other hand provided changes in the way people view themselves, had a revival of learning, and there was an arrival of several groups of people with similar beliefs. The Middle Ages include Ranesque Art, which took place during the 10th century to the middle of the 12th century. It also included Gothic Art, which took place from the middle of the 12th century to the 15th century. Romanesque sculptures, fresco painting, metalwork, and manuscript illumination, which the monks performed, are all examples of Gothic art. Gothic art was also represented by gothic sculptures, stained glass and panel paintings that were dominated by Christian religious themes. The art was primarily religious in nature. It was also stylized, the figures were fully clothed, and the artist never signed the artwork. An example of Romanesque art is Basilica of Paray-le-Monial, which was from France. An example of Gothic Art is the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (Janaro and Altshuler, 2009, pg.128). The word Renaissance meaning "rebirth" started in Italy during the 12th and 13th centuries and continued through the 16th century. It was a time where towns and cities became very popular. The Renaissance people witnessed the revival of classical art, literature, philosophy, architecture, and learning. It spawned renewed studies of great work from ancient Greco Roman civilizations. The Renaissance time period also produced the finest artistic and intellectual achievements in the history of Western Humanities (Dowling, 2005). The Renaissance people showed how people saw themselves in society compared to the Middle Ages. Individualism became very big during the time of the Renaissance. People in the Middle Ages saw themselves as part of a race, family or other general group. They never believed that their personal achievements held any significance until the Renaissance emerged. Throughout the 12th century in Italian history, people’s thoughts changed as they saw themselves as individuals, and they valued their personal attributes. The Renaissance included Renaissance art, mannerism, and reformation art. All of the Renaissance art took place late in the 13th century into the early 17th century. Many artist created there works of art by using oil paint which enhanced the color and intensity of the picture. The works of art were very religious, but there were also many secular themes as well. The secular themes included realism; tromp l’oeil, nudity, and humanism. Artists were also very big into signing there art. During the Renaissance, three types of art that were very popular, this included paintings, sculptures, and architecture. An example of a painting comes from Leonardo da Vinci. A couple of his popular paintings were Mona Lisa and The Last Supper (Janaro and Altshuler, 2009, pg. 132). An example of a sculpture from a popular man during the Renaissance is Michelangelo’s Pieta and David (Janaro and Altshuler, 2009). The final example comes from the category architecture, which is Fillippo Brunelleschi’s Santo Spirito Firenze (Janaro and Altshuler, 2009, pg. 135). During the Middle Ages, politics were viewed entirely through the lens of their own Christian faith. These people were very superstitious and ignorant thinkers. People from the Middle Ages had a sense of place and their community was very important to them. Feudalism was very important during the Middle Ages, which had three primary elements that included lords, vassals, and fiefs. During this time period god was feared and everything you did was a sin. Man was an abomination who could never do anything right. During the Renaissance, people were not very literate or educated. The only educated and literate people during the middle ages were the clergy (Dowling, 2006). Now that we have seen how things were done in the Middle Ages, we will take a look at the Renaissance era. The Renaissance people viewed politics in a nonreligious natural way. The French philosopher Voltaire an early enlightenment thinker, gave credit to the Renaissance people for liberating the mind from superstition and ignorance. The towns and cities really grew, which brought on a new emphasis in education. This became possible after the invention of the movable type printing press by Johannes Gutenburg, causing literature to become less expensive making it more available (Annenberg, 1997-2010). Individuals were well rounded and not bound to any one discipline. The Humanities studied during this time include grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, ethics, and the great works of classical antiquity. Science was also very important as it focused on the restoration of the natural knowledge of the ancients. Humanism was very dominant. It meant that humans were rational beings. A man could become godlike through education, as the highlight of God’s creation was man. The Catholic Church suffered a decline in influence and prestige and the Roman Catholic Church’s power was questioned, especially during the reformation. Throughout the above paragraphs, I have described three of the most notable changes during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, which included architecture, art, and philosophy. Although both the Middle Ages and Renaissance were different from each other, their changes helped to develop what they are today. References: Janaro R. P. and Altschuler T. C. (2009). The art of being: the humanities as a technique for living. Ninth edition. New York: Pearson Education, Inc. Dowling, Mike. (2009). The renaissance. Retrieved June 28, 2010, from http://www.mrdowling.com Dowling, Mike. (2009). Mr. dowling's feudalism page. Retrieved June 28, 2010, from http://www.mrdowling.com/604-feudalism.html Annenberg Media. (1997-2010). Renaissance: Printing and thinking. Retrieved June 30, 2010, from http://www.annenbergmedia.org/interactives/renaissance/printing.html