Essay About Renaissance
The Renaissance was a time when old ideas were reincarnated following the Dark Ages. It was an intense period of social, political, and economic rebirth that greatly impacted Europe. The Renaissance affected Europe socially because of its shift from religion to humanism and the growth in women’s rights. The creation and decline of Feudalism and the Magna Carta influenced the Renaissance politically. The Agricultural Revolution and the Crusades impacted the Renaissance economically.
The Renaissance had a social effect on Europe. With the start of the Renaissance, religion was no longer at the center of human life, and instead, Greco-Roman and humanism ideas were reintroduced and began to influence the arts and sciences. Leonardo da Vinci, for example, painted and sculpted the human body in a realistic way, which was forbidden before. He also studied the human body to make scientific discoveries, as seen by the famous Vitruvian man. Education was revolutionized in the way that it reinforced humanism. The newly rebirthed ideas enhanced mathematics, philosophy, history, geography. New universities were created that promoted these renewed ideas. These new universities allowed for more people to get an education. The Printing Press also allowed this because it made more information available to more people. In addition, the Renaissance saw the expansion of women’s rights. Books began to be written for women. Education was available to women, and women could now enter the public arena as intellectuals. Some women even contributed to the Renaissance, such as Artemisia Gentileschi who was a famous painter.
A political impact was made on Europe during this period as well. The Renaissance saw the start and end of Feudalism in Europe. As invaders, such as the Goths and Vandals, began settling in Europe and the need for protection grew with the arrival of the Vikings from Scandinavia, followed by the Magyars, Feudalism commenced in Europe. In Feudalism, the land was exchanged for military protection, vassals were the tenants of the nobles, and the peasants worked the land in return for military defense. During the Renaissance, Feudalism saw its demise in Europe. This was partly because nobles became weaker and kings repossessed their power, and because a centralized government was established. The Magna Carta was very important to the Renaissance in Europe. It was a famous historical document that established that everyone was subject to the law and it gave rights to individuals, granted justice, and allowed people to have fair trials. The document also limited the power of the monarch, provided written rights, and formed the Parliament, a legislative body.
The Renaissance had many economic aspects that influenced Europe. The Agricultural Revolution, for instance, was vital to the Renaissance in Europe. Europeans learned and adapted agricultural techniques and inventions, such as the 3 field system and the moldboard plow, that greatly increased their crop production. By perfecting the 3 field system, land could remain uncultivated every third year, and the moldboard plow was beneficial to the heavy soils of Europe. With the increase of trade production, more people were able to live in Europe and more money could enter Europe, increasing the continent’s economy. The Crusades, a failed attempt to defend the Christian Middle East, ended up bringing Europe into the major world trade circuits. When the knights traveled to the Middle East, they brought back many trading goods and stimulated demand in Europe for foreign products, like silk and spices. The knights brought goods to European markets and Europe became wealthy because of the increase in trade that resulted from the Crusades.
