Renaissance

B

The Arts

The recovery and study of the classics entailed the creation of new disciplines—classical philology and archaeology, numismatics, and epigraphy—and critically affected the development of older ones. In art, the decisive break with medieval tradition occurred in Florence around 1420 when linear perspective was scientifically understood, which made it possible to represent three-dimensional space convincingly on a flat surface. The works of the architect Filippo Brunelleschi and the painter Masaccio are dazzling examples of the uses of this technique.

Donatello, who is considered the founder of modern sculpture, created the bronze David, the first life-size nude since antiquity. From the mid-15th century on, classical form was rejoined with classical subject matter, and mythological motifs derived from literary sources adorned palaces, walls, furniture, and plates. The ancient practice of striking medals to commemorate eminent figures such as the Florentine statesman Cosimo de' Medici was reintroduced by Pisanello. Portraits of notable figures, emphasizing individual characteristics, were painted by Piero della Francesca, Andrea Mantegna, and Sandro Botticelli. The Renaissance ideals of harmony and proportion culminated in the works of Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo in the 16th century.

C

Science and Technology

Progress was also made in medicine and anatomy, especially after the first translation of many ancient works of Hippocrates and Galen in the 15th and 16th centuries. Some of the most advanced Greek treatises on mathematics were translated in the 16th century, and advances made beyond the ancients included the solution of cubic equations and the innovative astronomy of Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler. By the end of the 16th century, Galileo had taken the crucial step of applying mathematical models to the subject matter of physics. Geography was transformed by new empirical knowledge derived from explorations beyond Europe and from the first translations of the ancient works of Ptolemy and Strabo.

In the field of technology, the invention of printing in the 15th century began to revolutionize the dissemination of knowledge. Printing increased the quantity of books, helped eliminate errors, gave scholars identical texts with which to work, and turned intellectual endeavour into a collaborative rather than a solitary activity. The use of gunpowder transformed warfare between 1450 and 1550. Artillery proved devastatingly effective against the stone walls of castles and towns. The medieval army, led by cavalry and supported by bowmen, was gradually replaced by one made up of foot soldiers carrying portable firearms and masses of troops with pikes; such forces were the first standing armies of Europe.

D

Politics

In law the tendency was to challenge the abstract dialectical method of the medieval jurists with a philological and historical interpretation of the sources of Roman Law. As for political thought, the medieval proposition that the preservation of liberty, law, and justice constitutes the central aim of political life was challenged but not overthrown by Renaissance theorists. They contended that the central task of government was to maintain security and peace. Machiavelli maintained that the creative force ( virtù) of the ruler was the key to the preservation of both his own position and the well-being of his subjects—an idea consonant with contemporary politics.

Italian city-states were transformed during the Renaissance from communes to territorial states, each of which sought to expand at the expense of others. Territorial unification also took place in Spain, France, and England. The process was aided by modern diplomacy, which took its place beside the new warfare when the Italian city-states established resident embassies at foreign courts. By the 16th century, the institution of permanent embassies spread northwards to France, England, and the Holy Roman Empire.

E

Religion

Renaissance churchmen, particularly in the higher echelons, modelled their behaviour on the mores and ethics of lay society. The activities of popes, cardinals, and bishops were scarcely distinguishable from those of secular merchants and political figures. At the same time, Christianity remained a vital and essential element of Renaissance culture. Preachers such as San Bernardino of Siena, and theologians and prelates such as Sant'Antonino of Florence, attracted large audiences and were revered. In addition many humanists were concerned with theological questions and applied the new philological and historical scholarship to the study and interpretation of the early Church fathers. The humanist approach to theology and scripture may be traced from the Italian scholar and poet Petrarch to the Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus: it made a powerful impact on Roman Catholics and Protestants.

IV

Evaluation

Some medievalists contend that the inflated eloquence and vapid Neo-Classicism of much humanist writing undermine the claim that the Renaissance was a turning point in Western civilization. Although these contentions are valid to some degree, the Renaissance clearly was a time in which long-standing beliefs were tested; it was a period of intellectual ferment, preparing the ground for the thinkers and scientists of the 17th century, who were far more original than the Renaissance humanists. The Renaissance idea that humankind rules nature is akin to Sir Francis Bacon's concept of human dominance over nature's elements, which initiated the development of modern science and technology. Medieval notions of republicanism and liberty, preserved and defended with classical precedents by Renaissance thinkers, had an indelible impact on the course of English constitutional theory and may have been a source for the conception of government espoused by the Founding Fathers of American constitutionalism. Above all, however, the Renaissance has bequeathed monuments of artistic beauty that stand as perennial definitions of Western culture. See also Renaissance Art and Architecture.