{"id":2484,"date":"2018-08-22T03:29:29","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T03:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/?p=2484"},"modified":"2026-03-14T03:42:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T03:42:50","slug":"renaissance-humanism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/renaissance-humanism\/","title":{"rendered":"Renaissance Humanism: A Detailed Summary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Renaissance Humanism was one of the most significant developments during the time of the Renaissance<\/a>. It had a profound impact the lives of the people in the Renaissance and altered the course of history in the centuries that followed. For instance, the ideals of Renaissance Humanism spread out of Italy<\/a> and to the rest of Europe, including: France, England and the Germanic kingdoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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WHAT WAS THE RENAISSANCE?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0Renaissance\u00a0is an important event in European history that stretched from the 14th century to the 17th century.\u00a0 It was preceded by the\u00a0Middle Ages<\/a>\u00a0in Europe and eventually led to the major events of the\u00a0Age of Enlightenment<\/a>.\u00a0 In historical terms the Renaissance is important<\/a> because it led to a major shift in European thought and worldview.\u00a0 The most significant changes that emerged as a result of the Renaissance can be seen in European architecture, art, literature, mathematics, music, philosophy, politics, religion and science.\u00a0 Intellectual thought in these fields flourished during the timeframe of the Renaissance and led to many people questioning long held beliefs about each.\u00a0 This created an environment of discovery and curiosity in which new ideas were constantly being introduced and tested.\u00a0 One such new idea or worldview that developed during the time of the Renaissance was called\u00a0humanism.\u00a0 In order to better understand Renaissance Humanism it is first important to learn about how it developed and the influential people associated with it.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Renaissance\"
‘The School of Athens’ by Raphael. (1511) It is one of the most renown artworks from the time of the Renaissance and Raphael is considered to be one of the most important Renaissance artists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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RENAISSANCE HUMANISM – REDISCOVERY OF ANCIENT TEXTS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As stated above, one of the main features of the Renaissance was the rediscovery by European thinkers of ancient Greek and Roman ideas and texts.  For example, the term \u2018renaissance\u2019 in French means \u2018rebirth\u2019.  This is in relation to the idea that the intellectual culture of the Renaissance was sparked by the rediscovery of these ancient philosophies and ideas which had largely been ignored in Europe throughout the Middle Ages.  Many of these ancient texts were preserved by Islamic and Jewish cultures in the Middle East and were not rediscovered by Europeans until the time of the Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More specifically, famous Italian\u00a0Renaissance scholar<\/a>\u00a0and humanist\u00a0Petrarch<\/a>\u00a0(also known as Francesco Petrarca) is remembered for rediscovering the earlier work of Roman philosopher Cicero.\u00a0 Cicero was born in Italy in 106 BC and died in 43 BC.\u00a0 He is regarded as one of the most masterful writers of his time and the Latin language.\u00a0 Petrarch\u2019s rediscovery in the 14th century of Cicero\u2019s letters is considered to be the spark of the Italian Renaissance and inspired other European scholars to do the same and look to ancient texts.\u00a0 Petrarch considered the ideas present in Cicero\u2019s and other ancient texts as superior to the ideas present in Europe at the time of the Middle Ages.\u00a0 As well, Petrarch is considered to be the founder of the humanist movement during the Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Petrarch<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In general,\u00a0Renaissance Humanism\u00a0was the study of ancient Greek and Roman texts with the goal of promoting new norms and values in society.\u00a0 These norms and views varied from those at the time because they focused\u00a0less heavily on a religious worldview.\u00a0 Instead, Renaissance humanists such as Petrarch used ancient texts to promote a worldview based on logic and reason.\u00a0 This was to be accomplished through the study of the\u00a0\u2018studia humanitatis\u2019, which today is known as the\u00a0humanities and includes topics such as: grammar, history, poetry, and philosophy.\u00a0 Renaissance humanists such as Petrarch promoted the idea that citizens should be educated in these topics in order to allow them to participate in the social and political life of their society.\u00a0 This was a fundamental shift from the feudalistic and religious life that was the reality for most people in the Europe in the Middle Ages.\u00a0 As such, Petrarch\u2019s actions are considered to be important to the emergence and growth of the overall Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Petrarch\"
Photo of a statue of Petrarch on the Uffizi Palace, in Florence, Italy. (Creative Commons CC 4.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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RENAISSANCE HUMANISM – HOW IT SPREAD DURING THE RENAISSANCE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As time passed through the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, the ideals of Renaissance Humanism spread out of Italy and to the rest of Europe, including: France, England and the Germanic kingdoms.\u00a0 For example, Erasmus<\/a> (or Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus) was a Dutch humanist that played a significant role during the Renaissance in Europe.\u00a0 He is the most famous Christian<\/a> humanist of the Renaissance and is considered by many to be \u2018the greatest scholar of the Northern Renaissance\u2019.\u00a0 He lived from 1466 until 1536 and was a lifelong supporter of the Catholic Church.\u00a0 With that said, he often argued against abuses carried out by the church and instead promoted a focus on traditional faith.\u00a0 For example, during the events of the\u00a0Protestant Reformation<\/a>\u00a0in Europe he continued to support the authority of the pope and argued instead for reform.\u00a0 He is most famous for his work as a writer and the translations he provided of ancient works, including the\u00a0Bible<\/a>.\u00a0 For example, he is credited with writing new Latin and Greek versions of the Bible.\u00a0 He also translated the works of other notable ancient scholars, including: Cicero and Aristotle.\u00a0 Erasmus is an important Renaissance Humanist because he promoted ancient Greek and Roman knowledge and its importance.\u200b<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Erasmus\"
‘Erasmus’ Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. (1523)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Italian Renaissance and humanist values also spread to France in the 15th century.\u00a0 For example, Guillaume Bud\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0was a French scholar and humanist who lived from 1467 until 1540.\u00a0 He is most famous for writing extensively about the importance of ancient writing on matters related to law and finance.\u00a0 For instance, he argued against using interpretations of ancient texts and instead suggested that the original Greek or Roman texts should be studied and used alone.\u00a0 Furthermore, he was the royal secretary to King Francis I of France, who was vitally important to the establishment of the Renaissance in France.\u00a0 Francis I is credited with sparking the French Renaissance because he was a patron of the arts and inspired several prominent Italian artists to come to France.\u00a0 The best example of this is when\u00a0Leonardo da Vinci<\/a>\u00a0went to France and brought with him the famous\u00a0Mona Lisa<\/a>\u00a0painting.\u00a0 The Mona Lisa remains in France to this day in the Louvre Museum in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Guillaume
Portrait of Guillaume Bud\u00e9 by Jean Clouet. (1536)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another important figure in the French Renaissance was writer and philosopher\u00a0Michel de Montaigne<\/a>.\u00a0 He lived from 1533 until 1592 and is credited with popularizing the essay as a writing style.\u00a0 He had a profound influence on writers that followed him, including: Francis Bacon,\u00a0Jean-Jacques Rousseau<\/a>, Friedrich Nietzsche, and even William Shakespeare.\u00a0 Born in France, Montaigne used his essay writing style to question ideas in a logical manner and promoted the notion of self-awareness.\u00a0 This focus on logic and questioning made him an influential humanist in France during the Renaissance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, the Renaissance Humanism was the study of ancient Greek and Roman texts with the goal of promoting new norms and values in society.  These norms and views varied from those at the time because they focused less heavily on a religious worldview.  Instead, Renaissance humanists used ancient texts to promote a worldview based on logic and reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Michel
‘Portrait of Michel de Montaigne’ by an unknown artist. (1570s)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Renaissance Humanism was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized the study of classical texts. It focused on subjects like literature, philosophy, history, and art. This article details the history and importance of Renaissance Humanism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6474,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":18,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[15,82],"class_list":["post-2484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-renaissance","tag-history","tag-renaissance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2484"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6531,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2484\/revisions\/6531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crunchlearning.com\/website_ec2cbfb0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}