Renaissance Research Paper

The Renaissance was the period in European history spanning from the 1300’s to the 1600’s. This era was a bridge between the middle ages and early modern era. . It is called this, because Renaissance means “a rebirth” in French, and this was a period when scholars revived an interest in classical ideas. Although there were many different renewals of ancient culture during the Medieval period, the Renaissance is incredibly unique in the sense that the people made a self-conscious and deliberate push to move away from the medieval ways of thought. This realization began with the teachings of Francesco Petrarch. Francesco Petrarch strongly believed in the concept of humanism, with a focus on the education of man. Petrarch’s works and accomplishments
Humanist scholars shifted their focus from solely religious pursuits, as had been the norm in the Middle Ages, to broaden their knowledge of the humanities in history, language, arts and literature. As the Renaissance traveled north in the 1400’s, it evolved and changed into Christian Humanism. While the Italian humanists were all faithful believers, they branched out their study to include secular ideas such as business and history. The Christian Humanists, focused on religion and criticized the corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church. This in-depth scholarship led many Christian humanists, such as Desiderius Erasmus and Thomas More, to question discrepancies and corruptions in the Catholic
The Civic humanists promoted the idea of living a ‘vida activa’, an active life. They did this through using one’s learning for the advancement of the state and contributing to the public. Thomas More references the civic humanist idea of vita activa in Utopia numerous times. When ‘More’ and Giles first speak with Hythloday, they recognize his intelligence. Therefore, they encourage Hythloday to use his social and political knowledge for public service by becoming a royal councilor. As ‘More’ states, “I think if you could bring yourself to devote your intelligence and energy to public affairs, you would be doing something worthy of your noble and truly philosophical nature.” This is in line with the Civic Humanist attitude of trying to maximize one’s virtu, perfection of abilities, and leave an impression on society. However, Hythleday rejects their suggestion to work in government with the assertion that he would not be an effective advisor, because rulers would not listen to him. They would instead side with the ones who attempt to find their favor, their selfish counselors who, “by their fawnings and flatteries endeavor to fix their own interests.” He would prefer a ‘vida completiva,’ a life of learning solely for the sake of accumulating pure knowledge, for he would not be forced to bend any of his ideas to make them more appealing to a ruler. In contrast, the active