Italian Renissance and the Reformation Essay example

The European Renaissance was a turning point in the way people saw art, literature, and architecture. These new views soon led to the Reformation, or the reforming of the Catholic Church. These changes led Europe out of the middle ages and into modern times. The Renaissance began after Europe began recovering from the Black Death. Anyone who had survived was just happy to be alive and started focusing more on material things, rather than religious ones. Another reason the focus shifted from religious thoughts was because of the Great Schism. People began second guessing their rulers and religious leaders and became more secular. One important city involved in the Renaissance was Florence, which would come to be known as the cultural†¦show more content†¦A nobleman also had to perform military duties and was also expected to gain a classical education. After the nobles, came the peasants and the townspeople. Peasants during the Middle Ages were expected to pay for land with labor, but later, these land owners began expecting currency instead. The townspeople during the Renaissance mainly consisted of merchants and artisans. These townspeople had a social class of their own that consisted of the patricians at the top, the burghers in the middle who provided services, and the unskilled workers at the bottom. These new social classes of the Renaissance would help lead to the popularity of a more secular way of thinking. The Renaissance also came with the popularity of arranged marriages. These marriages were usually arranged to strengthen a family business by the wife’s family paying the husband’s family a dowry, or sum of money. The husband’s job in the family was to make decisions on his children’s lives, manage all of the finances, and even decide when his sons were mature enough to go live on their own. The wife’s job was to keep up the household. These changes in the way a family was started and kept up help different family’s unite and create better businesses. One new movement that emerged from the Italian Renaissance was humanism. This was a new way of seeingShow MoreRelatedItalian Renissance and the Reformation1233 Words   |  5 Pagesauthors began to deal with general questions of the soul. Dante wrote about the soul’s journey to salvation. Petrarch, another renowned author from Italy, began to write epics and sonnets; he later became known as the â€Å"Father of The Italian Renaissance†. Aside from the Italian peak of literature, there was also a sudden interest in classical art. Previously, all artwork was pertaining to religion. However there were some creators who dared to oppose the status quo. Michelangelo, a famous sculptor, painterRead MoreItalian Renissance and the Reformation1005 Words   |  5 Pages The Renaissance and Reformation were two very important periods of time in European history that included change in culture and religion. The Renaissance happened before the reformation. The Renaissance was the rebirth of art, literature, and architecture. The reformation focused mainly on reforming the Catholic Church from its evil ways. Out of the Catholic Church came the protestant church. There were many different characteristics of the Renaissance. The main one is that society had a secular