Comparison Of Italian And Northern Renaissance Movements In Europe

In history class, the introduction of two separate movements during the Renaissance era of Europe has become beneficial. Both Italian and Northern Renaissance movements in Europe have their distinct similarities and differences, which is vital to learning about how the world was shaped centuries ago. Using primary and secondary sources to understand the comparison will be useful. By utilizing the work of Niccolo Machiavelli’s, The Prince and Sir Thomas More’s, Utopia, it will be possible, with the assistance of outside sources, to formulate an analysis comparing both Italian and Northern Renaissance movements. A major priority for the variety of leaders during the Renaissance era of Europe was the ability to control over a specific group of

The best method to gain control is to exert your dominance over people by implementing policies and laws in any way possible, rather than doing nothing. “Nevertheless, he who has relied least on fortune is established the strongest” (Machiavelli, 14). Leaders should either be feared or loved to get support from the people. Leaders are then able to have an influence on a group of individuals as well. Renaissance scholars wanted to transition away from the medieval era of Europe that greatly affected society and life for centuries. The focus on humans and referring to previous scholarly work were some of the methods to change the train of thought. The focus on humanity and the use of classical learning are components of humanism. Both Renaissance and Northern movements both used the concept to indicate the importance of human dignity. Sir Thomas More’s book, Utopia, describes a made-up island that he compares to sixteenth century English society. On the island, all people possess the same dignity.

“. the relation of human persons to virtual culture and the role of networks in the information society and the effects of such culture and networks on our sense of identity and belonging as these are modified by a loosening of the influence of time and place” (Sullivan, “Catholics, Cultures”). Renaissance humanism does not go into detail with promoting national identities. Countries like Italy are already thriving with a variety of different types of city-states. Both Italian and Northern movements have similarities and differences that are easily detected. Each movement had reasons as to why it occurred due to the fact of the situation of the globe at the time. Classical learning by referring to ancient texts from older scholars provided a foundation for people to liberate their mind. This allowed scholars from both movements to make an impact. Focusing on matters including education, politics, and religion proved that individuals were concerned with their current lives. New perspectives were soon formulated by people who wanted to make a