renaissance
...iety that was ready to embrace change. With a time of economic growth and cultural flowering, strive for individual achievement through the attainment of knowledge transpired in the younger societies. During the High Middle Ages, merchant families had prospered and began competing with the old nobility for political rule and wealth. “The political crises which demanded the pope’s attention were, many of them, the same as had shaped and directed the course of his earlier career; many would continue to vex Europe for the rest of the fifteenth century” (Hankins). During the Renaissance however, responsibility would no longer be in the hands of the pope to appoint positions, but rather, those who wanted to take charge and were capable of doing so, could. This method of gaining authority and wealth, through education and hard work, stimulated the social Darwinism and individualism of the time and became known as Machivellian, named after ideologist Niccolo Machiavelli. People began studying literatures of the ancient philosophers and reading works from the classical Greeks and Romans to better one’s understanding of oneself and one’s surrounding environment. Humanists believed in Plato’s axioms on human potential and truth and beauty, and mixed his theories with those of other classical thinkers, and incorporated the Roman Catholic Church as well. Francesco Petrarch, “father of humanism,” placed importance on classical studies and emphasized a conscious return to classical ideals and forms. Because so classical culture had been lost during the Middle Ages, the “movement which introduced Europeans to the whole panoply of classical Greek texts, especially literary texts” (Hooker) was significant for reviving that lost heritage. During the High Middle Ages, women in nunneries learned to read and write, and this continued on into the Renaissance when women of high standing could learn by the humanist teachings. The primary issue for a humanist writer in the 16th century was to find the perfect balance between reverence for the Greco-Roman classics, and a concern for Christianity. Desiderius Erasmuc, a humanist, had encouraged and engaged in the study of the Scriptures. Others like Sir Thomas More, mocked the corrupt clergy and their ignorance with the sale of church indulgences and pardons. The Medici family, who retained their wealth from successful banking, eventually grew to become rulers of the Florentine republic. The reign of Lorenzo de’Medici was characterized by prosperity, wealth, and a love for the arts. What rose from the economic wealth of the High Middle Ages and the opulence of families like the Medici, was an encouragement for self-expression in the arts. With the presence of patrons, artists could find the financial support to create new masterpieces and discover new artistic techniques. During the Middle Ages, artists tried to give their works a spiritual quality, a deeper meaning with religious connotations. The painters and sculptors of this period were not interested in making their creations look lifelike, however, the Renaissance technique of contrasting light and dark were derived from this period, and along with that emerged the use of single-point perspective, which illustrated a more realistic form of art. Advancements in art included the development of oil painting. Similar to the works of ancient Greece or Rome, the artists of the High Renaissance period, s...