The European Renaissance and its impact on history

The European renaissance between the XIV-XVII centuries was a time of great cultural, intellectual and scientific advances: from the European discoveries of other continents to transport routes, new views on mathematics and astronomy, to the invention of the printing press. Also, that period was characterized by the change of ideas and the realization of many masterpieces of architecture, art and literature, as well as a movement towards political and religious freedoms. The focus on political and religious freedoms helped create the Reformation Movement that caused divisions within the powerful Catholic Church, causing many Europeans to convert to the Protestant faith.

Stefania Tutino, professor of history at the University of California, says that the Reformation and the Renaissance were two parallel movements, but intertwined with each other.

"The first concerned the theological nature and ecclesiastical structure of the true Church of Christ. While, the second with the renewal of some main cultural, intellectual and artistic principles, in light of the fact that what made sense in the Middle Ages was no longer appropriate, useful or inspiring for a society that had experienced many changes", she says.

According to Tutinos, scientific advances, including 15th-16th century alternatives to traditional Aristotelian physics and cosmology, as well as technological innovations – such as the printing press – were very important innovative factors.

"Both the Renaissance and the Reformation arose from the realization that the old medieval order was no longer sustainable, while scientific discoveries and technological innovations were some of the elements that made it clear how inadequate the old structures were," she adds.

The Renaissance included an intellectual movement known as Humanism. Among its many principles, humanism promoted the idea that humans are at the center of their universe and that they should embrace human achievement in education, the classical arts, literature, and science.

As part of this philosophy, scholars, authors, political leaders, and others attempted to revive the study of the Greek and Latin classics.

"Many humanists began to apply these principles to the study of the Bible, and consequently also to the political, cultural, liturgical and theological principles according to which the hierarchy of the Catholic Church guided its flock," Tutino points out.

In the process, some humanists found many aspects to criticize, and some of their criticisms echoed those of Martin Luther and other early Protestant leaders.

However, Tutino underlines, while the goals of the Humanism and Reformation movements were fundamentally different, "there were also areas where they coincided".

Ada Palmer – associate professor of early modern European history at the University of Chicago – says the humanist movement expanded the range of ideas people were thinking about.

"The movement started as an interest in reading the texts of ancient Greece and Rome, because Europe - especially Italy - had been so destroyed by wars and had become so desperate and unstable that people really wanted a solution," she says.

Because ancient Rome was powerful and sustained long periods of power and unity, it was believed that re-reading ancient books from that period could teach people how to replicate Rome's success.

"Therefore, they began to search for ancient texts and translate, read and copy them, until the antiquities became a reference that symbolized political power and ambition. Very soon, people in good economic condition tried to have a library of the works of the ancient classics, as a way to show their power," says Palmer.

But as the goal of increasing stability failed, one of the unintended effects of the movement was a new demand for books, prompting Gutenberg to invent the printing press.

"Meanwhile, this meant that there were many more ideas about the big questions of how the world works, how it was created, what actions are good and bad, how religion works, etc. They also studied more ancient Greek and realized that the old translations of the Bible and other texts had been wrong in many places. Therefore, they started making their own translations and corrections", adds the historian.

Palmer says that the Reformation was the culmination of long and slow processes that had begun before the Renaissance, including the corruption of the Catholic Church. In her next book on the Renaissance, she describes a "prisoner's dilemma".

"The corruption of the Pope or the bishops was a great advantage in politics. Whoever did this would win a given conflict. Therefore, no one had the luxury of not bribing the Pope, because if someone else did, then he was doomed to lose," Palmer points out.

Frustrated by bribery and other church corruptions, including indulgences that allowed citizens to buy forgiveness of sins, the German monk Martin Luther wrote in 1517 the "95 Theses" which he is said to have hung on the door of the church at the University of Wittenberg in Saxony.

"The gradual accumulation of corruption meant that indulgences were the final straw," Palmer points out.

The press allowed theses to be widely and rapidly disseminated throughout Europe. And although he was labeled a heretic by the Church and excommunicated by Pope Leo X in 1521, Luther's words influenced many.

"He found the right moment to be the first famous preacher. It also took advantage of the right political situation for the governments of the region, who saw his move as a great excuse to do something they wanted to do themselves: get out of the great dilemma of the papal prisoners," explains Palmer.

In this way, the intellectual movements of the Renaissance led to the Reformation by stimulating the demand for books and encouraging people to read more and think about how to reform the present.

This included re-reading the Bible, as did Luther who founded the Lutheran Church and translated the New Testament into German. His translation played a role in the beginning of the division of the Catholic Church into the faithful of the pope and the Protestants - those who protested against the rules of the Catholic Church.

Around the same time, in 1534, King Henry VIII caused further division within the Catholic Church when he became head of the Church of England after Pope Clement VII refused to allow him to divorce Catherine of Aragon. /Source: History Channel/In Albanian from: Bota.al/