The Turning Point of Humanism in the Renaissance
Vitruvian Man (1490) by Leonardo da Vinci
Humanism began during the 15th century once European scholars made a rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman texts. These scholars became Humanist and believed that the classic Latin and Greek philosophies constituted was a sufficient way to live both morally and effectively. For the first time since the Middle Ages, Humanists proposed a more well-rounded education that placed the emphasis not only on intellectual learning, but also on physical and moral development. Unlike in the Middle Ages, Humanism in the Renaissance represent progress for Europe. God and religion was no longer the main focus, humans were. Many changes occurred due to Humanism’s turning point, which affected education, politics, and art.
The greatest changes in education during the Renaissance were motivated by the aspirations of Humanists to become intelligent and to speak articulately. Italy evolved as the center for new humanist education and attracted many students from various countries. The ideas of Italian Humanism had spread into many parts of Western Europe before the close of the 15th century. The Humanists’ emphasis for education was focused on grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry and moral philosophy, logic, natural philosophy, medicine, law and theology, using classical texts, and the studies of said subjects from the Ancient Greek studies of Plato, Aristotle, and many others. Sir Thomas More writes, "One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated."
Humanism's early years, education was restricted to only aristocrats and rich men. But, with the advent of the printing press both the Greek and Roman texts became much more available to wider audiences which increased the growth rate and popularity of Humanism. "Books have led some to learning and others to madness." Describes Francesco PetrarcaIn.
The main political alterations of the Renaissance were an important turning point from the Feudal System of the Middle Ages into a more flexible and liberal class system. The Humanistic philosophy was correspondingly a very popular impetus with the masses of common people, and numerous political leaders rose to high positions with the reinforcement of these ideas. Humanistic politicians began to utilize their rhetorical skills to convince people to agree with them. And a multitude of these political figures used their positions of power and influence to help support the spread of Humanist concepts. For instance, Coluccio Salutati (1331-1406) and Leonardo Bruni (1369-1444), became chancellors (leaders) of Florence, Italy. This was partly due to their ability to use Latin in their speeches, a style which became popular as part of the effort to mimic the writings of antiquity, before it was believed to be even more essential that one write in the language so that a wider audience and common people could easily understand.
The origins of any particular regional Humanism are of course strongly influenced by the particular history of that region. One can say that Humanism is established in the past. And one can say that the Humanism of the countries of Northern Europe was differently influenced by their past, than the countries of Southern Europe. Therefor the contrast between Italian and Northern Humanism is, in great part, due to their differing histories. Since the Humanism movement took longer to reach Northern Europe, its arrival and approval overlapped with the Reformation. Occasionally Northern Humanism is identified with Christian Humanism. Christian Humanism attempted to use the scholarly systems of Humanism and apply them to the teachings of the Bible while overlooking previous medieval interpretations. The Humanists began to read biblical texts in their original Greek and Hebrew and discovered dissimilarity among the sources. These discoveries of these dissimilarities led to additional questions about the Catholic Church’s guidelines and practices. In turn, these questions added increased attention to this aspect of Humanism and therefor attracted even more support for the reform movement. Of course, Humanism was continuously at the risk of being classified as heretical. However, Humanists did not necessarily object to the idea of Christianity, and in fact, many humanists practiced a religion. Kurt Vonnegut explains, “Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.”
In the area of Humanism and the Arts, Renaissance Artists were free to create anything they pleased; no longer were they subjected to the interests and the ideals of the Clergy. For the first time, men and women were able to admire and enjoy art that captured humans instead of godly figures. In addition, art became gradually more secular. Art did not become fully secular but some themes of art concentrated more on humans that God. Essentially, the Humanistic attitude was a refocus of values; society started migrating away from the Catholic-driven concepts of the Middle Ages, and into classical ancient Greek and Roman art and philosophy. Even though artists were still frequently appointed by the Church, and paintings still depicted biblical scenes, there was a new emphasis on humans.
The greatest changes in education during the Renaissance were motivated by the aspirations of Humanists to become intelligent and to speak articulately. Italy evolved as the center for new humanist education and attracted many students from various countries. The ideas of Italian Humanism had spread into many parts of Western Europe before the close of the 15th century. The Humanists’ emphasis for education was focused on grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry and moral philosophy, logic, natural philosophy, medicine, law and theology, using classical texts, and the studies of said subjects from the Ancient Greek studies of Plato, Aristotle, and many others. Sir Thomas More writes, "One of the greatest problems of our time is that many are schooled but few are educated."
Humanism's early years, education was restricted to only aristocrats and rich men. But, with the advent of the printing press both the Greek and Roman texts became much more available to wider audiences which increased the growth rate and popularity of Humanism. "Books have led some to learning and others to madness." Describes Francesco PetrarcaIn.
The main political alterations of the Renaissance were an important turning point from the Feudal System of the Middle Ages into a more flexible and liberal class system. The Humanistic philosophy was correspondingly a very popular impetus with the masses of common people, and numerous political leaders rose to high positions with the reinforcement of these ideas. Humanistic politicians began to utilize their rhetorical skills to convince people to agree with them. And a multitude of these political figures used their positions of power and influence to help support the spread of Humanist concepts. For instance, Coluccio Salutati (1331-1406) and Leonardo Bruni (1369-1444), became chancellors (leaders) of Florence, Italy. This was partly due to their ability to use Latin in their speeches, a style which became popular as part of the effort to mimic the writings of antiquity, before it was believed to be even more essential that one write in the language so that a wider audience and common people could easily understand.
The origins of any particular regional Humanism are of course strongly influenced by the particular history of that region. One can say that Humanism is established in the past. And one can say that the Humanism of the countries of Northern Europe was differently influenced by their past, than the countries of Southern Europe. Therefor the contrast between Italian and Northern Humanism is, in great part, due to their differing histories. Since the Humanism movement took longer to reach Northern Europe, its arrival and approval overlapped with the Reformation. Occasionally Northern Humanism is identified with Christian Humanism. Christian Humanism attempted to use the scholarly systems of Humanism and apply them to the teachings of the Bible while overlooking previous medieval interpretations. The Humanists began to read biblical texts in their original Greek and Hebrew and discovered dissimilarity among the sources. These discoveries of these dissimilarities led to additional questions about the Catholic Church’s guidelines and practices. In turn, these questions added increased attention to this aspect of Humanism and therefor attracted even more support for the reform movement. Of course, Humanism was continuously at the risk of being classified as heretical. However, Humanists did not necessarily object to the idea of Christianity, and in fact, many humanists practiced a religion. Kurt Vonnegut explains, “Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectation of rewards or punishment after you are dead.”
In the area of Humanism and the Arts, Renaissance Artists were free to create anything they pleased; no longer were they subjected to the interests and the ideals of the Clergy. For the first time, men and women were able to admire and enjoy art that captured humans instead of godly figures. In addition, art became gradually more secular. Art did not become fully secular but some themes of art concentrated more on humans that God. Essentially, the Humanistic attitude was a refocus of values; society started migrating away from the Catholic-driven concepts of the Middle Ages, and into classical ancient Greek and Roman art and philosophy. Even though artists were still frequently appointed by the Church, and paintings still depicted biblical scenes, there was a new emphasis on humans.
"For humanism also appeals to man as man. It seeks to liberate the universal qualities of human nature from the narrow limitations of blood and soil and class and to create a common language and a common culture in which men can realize their common humanity."
Christopher Dawson