Essays

This is an essay that I composed for my personalized Comparative Civilizations 12 course. My appologies, the images which you see reference to in the citations are not featured in this post.

RENAISSANCE: REKINDELING THE PAST; SPARKING THE FUTURE

An Illustrated Essay by Bradley A. Clements


The word “Renaissance”, meaning a re-birth or re-vitalization, was first used to describe the Italian Renaissance of the 15th and 16th Centuries in Europe. The word has since come to be most commonly associated with any period of great cultural, intellectual, scientific and social prosperity arising from a suddenly renewed interest in the past. Under this definition it can be said that many notable renaissances have occurred around the world throughout the course of history, bearing comparable characteristics in their nature, rise, and aftermath.
While the word may have been first used in the context of the Italian Renaissance, the concept of a renaissance is far older. The first discernable periods of renaissance may be said to have been in the mid to late 700’s and 800’s A.D., with the emergence of the Carolingian, Macedonian, and Islamic Renaissances. However, it would seem that in ancient times the world lived in a virtually constant state of renaissance, of flourishing culture looking back at the past. Rather than only during the great state of revolution that were the later renaissances, ancient peoples always looked for identity and justification from the past. For example, conquerors often claimed a symbolic – if not actual – lineage from a previous notable general, as King Pyrus of Epirus who, in his war against the Romans in defense of the Tarentines, proclaimed himself a “latter day Alexander the Great” (1). Alexander the Great of Macedon, conqueror of the Persians, had in turn claimed a symbolic succession from Agamemnon of Mycenae who had led the Greek invasion of Ilium. The ancient value of heritage seems only to have been broken by occasional periods of revolution. The reinstatement of the traditional Egyptian polytheistic religion by Pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1336 B.C. after the Amarna Period of Akhenaten’s reign (2), the Athenian Golden Age brought about by Pericles in 448 B.C. after the two sackings of the city during the Persian Wars (3), or Augustus Caesar’s era of cultural excellence in the Roman Empire from 27 B.C to 14 A.D. following the Roman Civil War (4), could all be said to have been cultural and political renaissances. They were, however, merely returning to norms which had not been long dormant, and which had certainly not been forgotten.
Through an observation of some of the many renaissances of history, it can be seen that the genesis of a renaissance hinges very much around politics, often backed by a newly invigorated economy, inspiration from the outside world, and new innovations in communications technology. It must be realized, though, that these components merely act as the match which lights the fuse of a pre-existing creative culture.
The Islamic Golden Age of circa 700 – 1200/1600, as an example, was a renaissance which began and flourished under the encouragement of the Abbasid Caliphate. The caliphate supported the founding of many centers of learning, including the world’s oldest universities and the largest libraries which the world had ever seen, many of which were open to the public. In these places the texts of the ancient Iraqis, Romans, Chinese, Indians, Persians, Greeks, Byzantines, and North Africans were archived, translated into Arabic, and studied passionately. Due to the impressive size, wealth, and power of the Islamic Empire, commerce flourished and soon replaced warfare (5). With this new development the Empire became stable, prosperous, and the cross-roads of the world. These conditions provided an ideal breeding-ground for art and learning, with a broad base of wealthy patrons and available inspiration. Despite all other catalysts, the explosion of learning could not have become as wide-spread as it did without one new piece of communications technology: paper. Knowledge of the secrets of papermaking was revealed by Chinese prisoners in 751 A.D. (6), and allowed for a much easier, transportable, and more affordable medium to communicate information and ideas.
The Islamic Golden Age provides a fine example, and is nearly stereotypical when speaking of the birth of a renaissance. The Carolingian Renaissance, during Charlemagne’s reign of the Frankish Empire from 771 to 814 A.D. (7), was similarly inspired by the monarch and made possible by the stability of the empire which he had forged (5). The Italian Renaissance itself was based largely upon a stable commerce-based economy which empowered the arising middle class to give their patronage to the arts; based upon new innovations in communications technology, most notably in the form of the printing press; and based upon the competitive encouragement of political and religious leaders, perhaps the most famous example being the Medicis. The Elizabethan Era, England’s cultural renaissance during the rule of Queen Elizabeth I from 1558 to 1603, has come to be known by the name of the monarch who inspired it. The First Hawaiian Renaissance, from 1874 to 1891, came about due to the interests of traditional Hawaiian culture held by King Kalakaua (8), and more recent attempts to bring about renaissances, such as the Urban Renaissance in the United Kingdom (9), have been driven largely by government incentives.
Although many very diverse renaissances have occurred throughout history, they can all be defined as renaissances by specific characteristics of their nature which they hold in common. Note that many field-specific renaissances have happened over the course of history, such as the revival of Greek, Gothic and Tudor architecture and classical styles of painting and literature, but these cannot rightly be considered to be renaissances in the application of the term to an era of history in general. The most notable aspect of a substantial renaissance is in the arts and learning, often followed closely by science, religion, and many other attributes of society. While cultural developments occurred to varying degrees in different renaissances, the areas of development were often essentially the same.
As an example, the Italian Renaissance is recognized as one of the most remarkable periods in all of art history. More artists are recorded to have worked during the Renaissance than during any other period in European history (5), and innumerable striking and innovative works were created. But a few examples of works of art include the largest masonry dome ever erected, Brunelleschi’s Duomo in Florence (10); the Mona Lisa, the renowned portrait by Leonardo da Vinci, and the riveting Statue of David by Michelangelo. Revival of the classical ideals of realism and humanism led to studies in form and the discovery of perspective in the visual arts. Musical experimentation with the use of polyphony, discovered during the 12th Century Renaissance, resulted in awe inspiring motets by such composers as Josquin Desprez, Thomas Tallis, Orlando Gibbons, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and Claudio Monteverdi, becoming the basis for all of Western Classical music (11). Literature reached new bounds. New works, such as Miguel de Cervantes’ ‘Don Quixote’, were created building upon the form of the novel which had been experimented with by the ancient Greeks, and the novella which had been the form of Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th Century work, ‘The Decameron’. Poets and playwrights, such as William Shakespeare, made popular their antiquarian forms of literature. They perfected the use of rhyme and rhythm which had been resurrected during the 12th Century Renaissance, and the form of the sonnet which had been invented by Giacomo da Lentini in the 13th Century and immortalized by Francesco Petrarca in the 14th Century (12). Even the “lesser” arts, such as the martial arts, were revolutionized. The rapier evolved, a long thin sword adapted to the ancient Roman style of swordplay which was based upon thrusting. This new style of fencing took Europe by storm with many competing schools springing up across the continent, such as those of Capo Ferro, Agrippa, and Morrozzo. Not only were these many art forms growing and changing tremendously, they were also experiencing a demand that may not have been seen before or since. “Renaissance Men”, as they were called, although members of both genders were deserving of the name, were idealistic individuals which a passionate interest in a myriad of fields. Members of all of the courts of Europe were expected to fulfill these standards and be accomplished in all of the arts, as well as be courteous, tasteful, philosophical, and honorable, as outlined in such works as ‘The Book of the Courtier’ by Baldassare Castiglione.
New breakthroughs were made in the sciences of medicine, astronomy, mathematics, alchemy, and physics, despite the disapproval of the Catholic Church. Humanism led to a greater desire to find explanations through logic, science, and reasoning, rather than through the blind faith of the Church which had more or less governed Europe’s thinking for the past millennium. New philosophies emerged which criticized the Church to varying degrees. This eventually led to the Reformation which saw the rise of counter-Catholic dioceses such as the Lutheran Church and Calvinism, interpretations of Christianity which sought the original striped-down version of the religion.
The conclusion of a renaissance can be as abrupt or as gradual as its rising. An observation of the tendencies of various renaissances can lead us to believe that the more substantial the renaissance the more prolonged its outward transition and the more enduring its legacy. Historians still differ in opinion as to when between 1200 and 1600 A.D. the great Islamic Golden Age can be said to have ended (5). Only circa dates can be given for the period of the Italian Renaissance, partially because it ended at different times in different parts of Europe, but also because it melded so seamlessly into the Baroque. Other renaissances seem only to have endured under their protectorate, such as the Elizabethan, Hawaiian, and Carolingian renaissances, all of which ended with the reign of the monarch who initiated them. This is likely to have more to do with the surrounding circumstances than with the content of the renaissance, but it is notable.
Renaissances being periods of such cultural potency, it is not surprising to see that their legacies are long-enduring indeed. The 12th Century Renaissance, while little known today, saw the rise of today’s judicial and educational systems (13). In true renaissance nature, these innovations were inspired by the ancient Romans and Arabs, but were re-introduced and re-interpreted by the Renaissance scholars in a way which has made them immortal. The architecture of the 12th Century, the science and mathematics of the Greeks and Arabs, the religion that was first championed by Charlemagne in the Carolingian Era and the branches of it which emerged from the Reformation, the art of Michelangelo, the inventions of Da Vinci, the philosophies of Socrates, the language of Shakespeare, the politics of Castiglione and Machiavelli: the products of renaissances surround us each and every day.
One could say that history is a pendulum which is eternally swinging from extreme to extreme. Using this analogy, the centre of the swing is the Renaissance: the place that is in balance between the two worlds of faith and reason, nature and order, past and future. The Renaissance is the place of looking back and moving forward. In the words of one who lived during a renaissance, John of Salisbury in his ‘Metalogicon’ of 1159 A.D. (13):

“Our own generation enjoys the legacy bequeathed to it by that which preceded it. We frequently know more, not because we have moved ahead by our own natural ability, but because we are supported by the menial strength of others, and possess riches that we have inherited from our forefathers. Bernard of Clairvaux used to compare us to punt dwarfs perched on the shoulders of giants. He pointed out that we see more and farther than our predecessors, not because we have keener vision or greater height, but because we are lifted up and borne aloft on their gigantic stature.”



Reference Citations

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11. Holister, Robert. “Viderunt Omnes”, Lecture.

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Image Sources*

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* in order of presentation.

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