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The Renaissance

Introduction

The Renaissance is an era about which there is much disagreement among historians. Some portray it as a significant era of triumph in human development, while others claim that the term is nearly meaningless and the whole concept should be abandoned. What I present in these pages is but one interpretation--one that is mainstream and conservative, though I hesitate to say it is one held by a majority of historians.

The word itself is a useful place to begin: renaissance. It's a French word, though invented by the Italians, and that's only the beginning of the difficulties. Even the etymology is illustrative, however: there is much about the Renaissance that began in Italy but was adopted and adapted by the French and other cultures of northern Europe.

The word means "re-birth", which immediately raises the question of what was reborn. Few bothered to present clear definitions, but the general theme was clear enough: the great age of human accomplishment had been the Roman centuries, most especially the generations around Caesar Augustus. Once Rome fell, humanity entered into a long age of barbarism during which much was either lost or forgotten. In contemporary times--that is, during whatever times the author was writing--civilization is beginning to climb out of the medieval darkness and to recover the ancient arts. Some few of the accomplishments of Rome and Greece are being re-born.

The sentiment, if not the actual word, can be found as early as the early 14th century. The sentiment and the actual word, rinascimento is expressed clearly by a 16th century Italian, Giorgio Vasari, in his book Lives of the Artists. By the time his book appeared, the Renaissance was all but over, and for that reason, perhaps, he was able to give it clear shape and substance.

His book was about painters, sculptors and architects, all Italians. This was the original sense of the word, renaissance: it described a development in the arts. By the 18th century, historians extended to the word to include developments in literature and philosophy, and to expand the term to include all European countries. In the later 19th century, the term was expanded again to embrace developments in politics, economics, and even social relations. The Renaissance had become an era in European history, like the Middle Ages or Ancient Greece.

I like old Giorgio, and I think he hit closest to the mark. The Renaissance, as far as these pages are concerned, is a term properly applied to the visual arts in Italy, running from around 1300 to about 1550. I'll go so far as to include literature and philosophy, with some reservations, but no further.