5.2.2 What was the Renaissance? During the Renaissance, the study of classical texts and artefacts combined with innovation to create a period of great cultural change. It was a period of cultural expression and renewed intellectual curiosity that challenged some existing beliefs and values, particularly in religion and politics. A new movement called Humanism stressed the dignity of human beings and the importance of reason and inquiry in learning. The works of writers such as Petrarch and Vasari suggest that the writers and artists of the time felt that they were part of a new direction in art and literature. With the benefit of historical perspective, historians have argued that the social changes and cultural expression of the Renaissance developed from trends formed during the medieval period. Contact with other societies brought new ideas to Europe. The Crusades of the eleventh century brought Europeans into contact with exotic goods, such as spices from the East, and classical texts from Greece and Rome that were preserved by the Byzantine and Arab civilisations. Several universities were established in the medieval era that continued the study of ancient texts, including Bologna in 1088, Oxford in 1096, Cambridge in 1209, Padua in 1222 and Naples in 1224. Many individuals who contributed to the Renaissance studied at these universities.
SOURCE2 A view of the city of modern-day Florence, Italy. Filippo Brunelleschi’s great fifteenth-century dome of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore towers above the city.
SkillBuilder discussion Historical questions
1. What might the construction of such an impressive structure in Florence tell us about the city’s role in the Renaissance? 2. Why do you think Brunelleschi’s dome was considered an important achievement during the fifteenth century?
Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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