Renaissance In Medieval Europe

4.5 - The Long Essay Question

"Analyze whether the Renaissance was an age of continuity or one of change."

Throughout the Middle Ages, Europe went from prosperity to bankruptcy as the Black Death took its toll on Medieval Europe. However, after the Black Death was eradicated in 1353, Europe began its regrowth and trek back to normalcy. During this rebuilding time after the plague, the Middle Ages quickly turned into the Renaissance Era: a time of growth and rebirth for Europe into the new century. Throughout the years following the Middle Ages, Europe experienced a major cultural shift in perspective, known as humanism, that lead to secular divisions that split the religious throne, technological and cultural advancements that progressed

With humanism beginning to grow substantially across Europe, people began to focus on the advancement and progression of humans into the future rather than the support and worship of a divine being bigger than them. With this, there came a time in the Renaissance where a huge shift in technology and culture became the ethnic norm. As Europe focused on their potential and future, a plethora of discoveries and inventions were made that progressed Europe into the upcoming centuries. Probably the most prestigious and important technological discovery made by Europe at the time was the invention of the printing press. The printing press ultimately reshaped Europe as it allowed people to communicate and promote their ideas, news, and goods across all of Europe more quickly, easily, and efficiently by the power of the press. The printing press made things simpler on humans because before the invention, every paper or letter that needed to be copied had to be reprinted by hand rather than machine, resulting in a slow communication process as well as a much bigger workload for the average European - the printing press solved all of those issues. Also during the Renaissance, the growing influence of humanism lead to the creation of much more artwork as well as creativity within the culture of Europe. As individualism increased by humanism, painters such as Leonardo da Vinci made their mark in the Renaissance with their new style of painting known as “realism,” in which the painter made a picture with a much more real or 3-D impression of the image of humans in paintings. The type of art style, which became popular amongst European painters is derived from the humanistic ideology that spread throughout Europe at the time. Humanism made its impression on the advancement of technology and culture, but it also had a