Pope Sixtus IV, 1477, builder of the Sistine Chapel. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe in which there was a Renaissance dances belong to the broad group of Historical dances While we know that people danced in Europe long before the Renaissance, the first Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600 Renaissance painting bridges the period of European art history between the art of the Middle Ages and Baroque art. Renaissance philosophy was the period of the History of philosophy in Europe that falls roughly between the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment During the Renaissance, the rediscovery of ancient scientific texts was accelerated after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, and the invention of Printing Renaissance technology is the set of European artifacts and customs spanning roughly the 14th through the 16th century Early Modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of Gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century French Renaissance is a recent term used to describe a cultural and artistic movement in France from the late 15th century to the early 17th century The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th The Renaissance in the Low Countries is the cultural period that roughly corresponds to the 16th century in the Low Countries. The Northern Renaissance is the term used to describe the Renaissance in Northern Europe, or more broadly in Europe outside Italy. The Renaissance in Poland (Odrodzenie literally 'Rebirth' lasted from the late 15th century to the late 16th century and is widely considered to be the Golden Age of Polish culture This article is about the Spanish Renaissance of the 15th-16th centuries Pope Sixtus IV ( July 21, 1414 &ndash August 12, 1484) born Francesco Della Rovere, was Pope from 1471 to 1484 Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina is the best-known Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope in Vatican City. Fresco by Melozzo da Forlì in the Vatican Palace. Melozzo da Forlì (c 1438 - November 8, 1494) was an Italian Renaissance painter near the Umbrian school, the first who practised

Renaissance Literature refers to the period in European literature, which began in Italy during the 15th century and spread around Europe through the 17th century. European literature refers to the Literature of Europe. European literature includes literature in many Languages; among the most important of the modern Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar The impact of the Renaissance varied across the continent; countries that were predominantly Catholic or Protestant experienced the Renaissance differently compared to areas where the Orthodox Church was dominant as reflecting on its culture, as well as those areas of Europe under Islamic rule. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to The Eastern Orthodox Church: the Eastern Christian churches of Byzantine For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation.

The creation of the printing press encouraged authors to write in the local vernacular rather than in Greek or Latin classical languages, widening the reading audience and promoting the spread of Renaissance ideas. A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium (such as paper or cloth thereby transferring an image Vernacular refers to the Native language of a country or a locality Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. A classical language, is a language with a Literature that is "classical"&mdashie "it should be ancient it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly

Authors of the Renaissance

Among the famous authors of the literary movement of the Renaissance are:

• Dante (Divine Comedy) (arguably a legacy of the Medieval era)
• Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (Oration on the Dignity of Man)
• Erasmus (In Praise of Folly)
• Sir Thomas More (Utopia)
• Boccaccio (On Famous Women, Decameron)
• Machiavelli (The Prince)
• Castiglione (The Book of the Courtier)
• Montaigne (Essais)
• Cervantes (Don Quixote)
• Luís de Camões (The Lusiads)
• Shakespeare

The theme of justice

Within Renaissance literature, there seems to be an underlying theme of justice; however, individual characters are not exemplary figures of justice themselves. The Divine Comedy Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola ( February 24, 1463 - November 17, 1494) was an Italian Renaissance Philosopher. The Praise of Folly ( Greek title Morias Enkomion (Μωρίας Εγκώμιον, Latin: Stultitiae Laus, sometimes translated as Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535 from 1935 Saint Thomas More, was an English Lawyer, author and statesman who in his lifetime gained De Optimo Republicae Statu deque Nova Insula Utopia (translated On the Best State of a Republic and on the New Island of Utopia) or more simply On Famous Women ( Latin: De mulieribus claris) is one of two such collections of biographies of famous people written by Giovanni Boccaccio, the Florentine The Decameron (subtitle Prencipe Galeotto) is a collection of 100 Novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in Il Principe ( The Prince) is a political Treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist Baldasare Castiglione, count of Novellata ( December 15, 1478 &ndash February 28, 1529) was an Italian Courtier, The Book of the Courtier (Il Cortegiano was written by Baldassare Castiglione over the course of many years beginning in 1508 and published in 1528 just Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (French miʃɛl ekɛm də mɔ̃tɛɲ ( February 28 1533 &ndash September 13 1592) was one of the most influential writers Essays is the title of a book written by Michel de Montaigne that was first published in 1580. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( in modern Spanish; September 29, 1547 &ndash April 22, 1616) was a Spanish Novelist es '''''Don Quixote''''' (, see spelling and pronunciation below fully titled es '''''El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha''''' ("The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Luís Vaz de Camões (luˈiʃ vaʃ dɨ kaˈmõĩʃ sometimes rendered in English from old Portuguese as Camoens) (c Os Lusíadas, pron. uʃ lu'ziɐdɐʃ (usually known by the title The Lusiads in English is a Portuguese epic poem William Shakespeare ( baptised Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, believed that instead of seeking personal revenge, true justice could only be obtained through a body of jurors who were willing and capable of distributing justice to individuals. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Thus the characters in Renaissance literature typically defy Aristotelian views of virtue by having little respect for others.

Renaissance literature by country

The Decameron, the short story collection by the Italian author Boccaccio - with its frame tale of nobles fleeing the plague and telling each other stories - had an enormous impact on French writers. The Decameron (subtitle Prencipe Galeotto) is a collection of 100 Novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in

Genres

The literary movement produced Latin and vernacular poetry, history, and prose fiction inspired by classical models. Latin poetry was a major part of Latin literature during the height of the Latin language. Vernacular literature is Literature written in the Vernacular - the speech of the "common people" A humanistic curriculum dominated grammar schools and expanded its position into almost all of the universities of the time. Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal A grammar school is one of several different types of School in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries

For the period, as with The Canterbury Tales and the Decameron, part of the attraction of the dialogued short story and the frame tale (with its fictional speakers discussing each other's stories) lies in their "performability" by someone reading out loud to a non-literate public and in their grab-bag and (frequently) digressive structure: these tales are capable of taking on all kinds of material, both sophisticated and vulgar. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in Prose, the rest in verse) A frame story (also frame tale, frame narrative, etc is a narrative technique whereby an introductory main story is composed at least in part for the purpose of

New forms spread by the Renaissance included the sonnet. The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in Lyric poetry from Europe.

Role of women in Renaissance literature

Women played minor but steadily growing role in Renaissance literature. They were still limited by society because of their gender but, nevertheless, some women did publish books.

The theory of the “Great Chain of Being” in Renaissance literature

The Great Chain of Being was a popularly held idea during the Renaissance period. The “chain” consists of four categories:

1. angels are at the top
2. humans second
3. beasts and plants next
4. and inanimate objects last.

According to this theory, more matter equals less spirit and vice versa. Therefore, as angels are created of the least amount of matter, they possess the most spirit. Beasts and inanimate objects possess little spirit because they have so much matter.

It was also believed that beings within their category were not meant to move up or down. If they began to acquire more and more reason, it was possible for them to move up, however, they were meant to remain at their natural level of being where one’s instincts prevail. For example, humans would not degrade themselves to beasts, nor would they exalt themselves to angels because they were created to be humans; and this would be going against all natural instincts.

A brief chronology of Renaissance literature

Many historians recognize the beginning of the Renaissance Period as 6 April 1341 when Francesco Petrarch was crowned Poet Laureate. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus Francesco Petrarca ( July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374) known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar This period included revelations in art, philosophy, and science, all which contributed to development of the literature. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning " Knowledge " or "knowing" is the effort to discover, and increase human understanding Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter This was a time of rebirth because many of the principles exposed during the classical time period in ancient Greece and Rome were the basis of Renaissance literature.

In the mid-fifteenth century, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg ( 1398 &ndash February 3, 1468) was a German Goldsmith and printer who is credited As a result, multiples of texts were made, therefore making the literature more accessible to Europeans. ^[1]

Citations

See also

• Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature
• Swedish reformation and Renaissance literature
• Early Modern literature

External links

• 16th Century Renaissance Literature
• 17th Century Literature
• The French Literature
• Scottish Literature
• Hungarian literature
• Polish Literature
• Catalan Literature
• The Decameron
• Petrarch 1
• Petrarch 2
• Printing Press
• The Fall of Rome