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The Renaissance

Essay by   •  June 29, 2011  •  Essay  •  1,265 Words (6 Pages)  •  1,571 Views

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There have been many historical events that have affected the societies we live in today. One of these historical events would be known as the renaissance, as it set a new way of life within the people of Europe. In relation to its time it also set a new stepping stone towards the areas of arts, literature and a open minded view on life as it helped change the perspective of people from the middle ages . Though the renaissance is classified today as a major event in history, there were many sub events before it that helped contributed its dominance after the Middle Ages. One major event would be the fall of the Roman Empire, as it divided Europe, and the rise of the Byzantine Empire. Within that time period scholars became more prone to find themselves through Greco roman text. This help rediscovery the ways in which artistic and philosophical values were viewed and helped revive through Europe the aspects of the Greco roman world. The findings of the Greco roman text also helped give Europe a sense of culture, as it was split without a true face during the Middle Ages. In relation to the renaissance the upbringing of the Greco Roman world in a way helped birth the renaissance. Though the Greco-Roman world gave a stepping stone towards the renaissance, one must first understand the era before it, being the Middle ages, and see what truly led to the rebirth of Europe.

The middle ages can be classified as a time between civilized hoariness and the triumph of early modern times. During the early Middle Ages the fall of the Roman Empire established the change of society which affected all of Europe. With the fall of the Roman Empire, a hostile takeover by barbarians increased, invading the entire old world, leaving the people of the old world helpless as they were forced to follow cultures of their masters and owners. In relation to geography North Africa and the Middle East became Islamic, after being a part of the Eastern Roman Empire. Later, the establishment of the feudal system in Europe allowed a return to systemic agriculture. With the forming of the feudal system there was a sustained urbanization in Northern and Western Europe which gave way to the peak of the middle ages. The high middle ages brought about the church, centralizing all of the educated clergy towards the teaching of the poor. The ideas of Christianity spread through Europe like wildfire which contributed to the clergy, being the only educated in writing and reading, to spread the word of god to all the people of Europe. In doing this they gave all the people of Europe a sense of rules that were meant to be followed to be accepted by god. As the clergy gave people a system to follow, they also allowed them to appreciate and explore the lost arts and forms of writing within the Greco-Roman world.

The return of the Greco-Roman could be described as a sub section of the high middle ages moving forward towards the decline of the middle ages. The Greco-Roman World refers to the geographical regions and countries that were directly influenced by the language, culture, government and religion of the ancient Greeks and Romans. During the middle ages, Europe lacked a face, as it was forced to change under the nomadic lifestyle many people choose to take. Within the arts of the Greco-Roman world the people of Europe were now being able to appreciate the works in front of them. The people of the middle ages saw the Greco- Roman world as the height of human potential, were at that time people were intellectual and more prone to self realization. Viewing the middle ages, as a dark time, many people wanted to revive the concept of the Greco-Roman era, to escape the barbarous inhuman lifestyle they were subjected to during the Middle Ages. With that in mind the people of Europe become humanist, where they researched the old text to find themselves then express how they felt in their own form of art, literature, philosophy

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