Middle Ages and Renaissance

Middle Ages and Renaissance are two periods in the history of civilizations, each with
their own differences and particularities.
Middle Ages begin in 476 along with disintegration of the Roman Empire and ends with
Columbus's discovery of America by some scholars, while others consider fall of Constantinople
in 1453 as the end of this era.
Period of Renaissance is usually considered to be the period after 1350 when re-emerged
interests in ancient culture and art. Renaissance is inseparable from humanism, the movement
that is based on man and individuality, as opposed to the middle century, which was directed
toward God and the beyond.
In the middle Ages, as is well known, the Church had absolute dominance in all social
activities in Europe. After the Crusades, Church came out as the axle of the medieval world. So
teaching, learning and education (scholarship and learning) were under the patronage of the
Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, most educated people had primary education in theology
(Orme 138). In addition to theologians in the early middle Ages, the education could be obtained
only by the wealthiest members of society who were able to afford it.
As far as the Renaissance go, teaching and learning were different perceived. It all starts
with Petrarch and Boccaccio, who emphasized the return to ancient roots and education that
prevailed in ancient times. They were not as much scholars as they were educators
(Britannica.com). Schools became more accessible to citizens and education as a process began
to experience a boom with the invention of the printing machine.
Given that the Church was the dominant patron of all social spheres, it was also reflected
in art and architecture. Therefore, the central place in medieval art and architecture is occupied
by ideas of God, Devil, heaven or hell (Davies 370). Art and architecture since the 11th century
were moved from churches and monasteries in the cities. Also, some of the most important
churches and monasteries were built in this period, with use of dominating Gothic style, which
was filled with performances from Scripture.
Renaissance over emphasizes the beauty of art and architecture and also is trying to
present artistic splendor. They wanted to incorporate antique philosophy through their art and
architecture into society (Haughton 229). As for the architecture, the whole movement of
humanity and grandeur of architecture in the Renaissance was based on ancient motifs and
details. It can be said that for the first time we observe developing religious architecture and
secular architecture. The church no longer dominates in all social spheres, so artists come out of

the churches and monasteries, establish their professional association and grouped into guilds.
This is beginning of development of civil society.
Given the fact that the Church influenced the social trends and because she was the main
organizer of the schools in the Middle Ages, the official language was Latin (Fasolt 364) and it
was not hard to establish dominance over the society in whole. Also, Church was dominant in
political sense. During the middle Ages, there was no distinction between public and private, the
Church ruled the entire living space. The Pope was the spiritual leader of Europe, obeyed by all
rulers. It is interesting that the Church emerged from the Crusades as the most powerful
economic institutions in Europe.
The Renaissance brings something new, people wanted to limit as much as possible the
power of feudal lords and monarchs. So in the north of Italy appears first National Democratic
Assembly, known as the Signoria (Lordship) (Britannica.com). Slowly began separation of
religious and social.
In the end, we can summarize with the impression that the Renaissance brought a kind of
social liberation of the middle Ages. She brought a freedom of thought, speech, of religion. Of
course, all of this is accompanied by wars and the Church's refusal to give up hers position.

Bibliography
Nicholas Orme, Journal of the Libertarian Studies, Volume 21, (Fall 2007): 137 140, Book
Review, New Heaven, Conn: Yale University Press, 2006.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/527967/classical-scholarship/29295/Laterempire#29296
Elton Davies, Arts and cultures of man (San Francisco: International Textbook and Co, 1972.
370.
Haughton Neil, Perceptions of beauty in Renaissance art, Journal of cosmetic dermatology 3,
229 233, Blackwell publishing LTD 2004.
Constantin Fasolt, Religious authorithy and ecclesiastical governance. Chapter 18, 364 371.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/543822/signoria