The Renaissance

The word “renaissance” means “rebirth” in French and was used to denote a phase in the cultural development of Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. The Middle Ages were followed by a more progressive period due to numerous events. The merchants and the owners of the manufactories appeared as a new class. In the 14th century, for the first time in Europe, in some Italian states there arose a new layer of the society which was called bourgeoisie, that is townsfolk.

Columbus discovered America. Vasco da Gama reached the coast of India making his sea voyage. Magellan went round the earth. The world appeared in a new light.

The Copernican system of astronomy shattered the power of the Catholic Church, and the Protestant Church was set up. Printing was invented in Germany in the 15th century. Schools and universities were established in many European countries. Great men appeared in art, science and literature.

It was the rebirth of ancient Greek and Roman art and literature. Ancient culture attracted new writers and artists because it was full of Joy of life and glorified the beauty of man.

The writers and learned men of the Renaissance turned against feudalism and roused in men a wish to know more about the true nature of things in the world. They were called humanists.

Man was placed in the centre of life. He was no longer an evil being. He had a right to live, enjoy himself and be happy on earth. The humanists were greatly interested in sciences, especially in natural science, based on experiment and investigation.

These new ideas first appeared in Italy, then in France and Germany, and shortly afterwards in England and Spain.

The Italian painters and sculptors Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo glorified the beauty of man. The Italian poets Dante, Petrarch and the Italian writer Boccaccio, the French writer Rabelias, the Spanish writer Cervantes, and the English writer Thomas More and the poet Shakespeare helped people to fight for freedom and better future.

The Renaissance was the greatest cultural revolution that mankind had so far experienced. It was a time which called for giants and produced giants - giants in power, thought, passion, character, in universality and learning. There was hardly any man of importance who had not travelled extensively, who did not speak four or five languages.

Indeed, Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, architect, mathematician and engineer. Michelangelo was a sculptor, painter and poet. Machiavelli was a statesman, poet and historian.

The wave of new cultural trends reached England in the 16th century. Many learned men from other countries, for instance the German painter Holbein, and some Italian and French musicians, went to England. In literature England had her own men. One of them was the humanist Thomas More, the first English humanist of the Renaissance.

Thomas More (1478-1535)

He was born in London and educated at Oxford. He was the first English

humanist of the Renaissance. He could write Latin very well. He began life as a lawyer. He was an active-minded man and kept a keen eye on the events of his time. Soon he became the first great writer on social and political subjects in English. The English writings of Thomas More include discussions on political subjects, biographies, poetry.

Thomas More was a Catholic, but fought against the Pope and the king’s absolute power. The priests hated him because of his poetry and discussions on political subjects. Thomas More refused to obey the king as the head of the English Church, therefore he was thrown into the Tower of

London and beheaded there as a traitor.

The work by which Thomas More is best remembered today is Utopia which was written in Latin in the year 1516. It has been translated into all European languages.

Utopia (which in Greek means “nowhere”) is the name of a non-existent island. This work is divided into two books. In the first, the author gives a profound and truthful picture of the people’s sufferings and points out the social evils existing in England at that time. In the second book Thomas More presents his ideal of what future society should be like. It is an ideal republic. Its government is elected. Everybody works. All schooling is free. Man must be healthy and wise, but not rich. Utopia describes a social system built on communist principles. The word “utopia” has become a byword and is used in modern English to denote an unattainable ideal, usually in social and political matters.

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