Renaissance

I never realized how close to us (the modern world) the middle ages were. I guess when you think about all the aspects that characterizes this time period and the suffering endured by the people, it is hard to imagine that is what gave birth to the modernity period that Europe underwent. Classical Scholarship and the study of an early scientific drive. Great achievement such as paper, printing, gun powder were introduced during these middle ages. A big decline in the Feudal systems and the introduction of what is believed to be the introduction in personal protection against abuse by those in power. One aspect that is often overlooked by historians is how the reputation of the Catholic Church sharply declined as it failed to bring stability opening the path for the monarchs of the day and to centralized ruling for developing urban centers, developing the national languages and overhauling the complete set of beliefs of the masses. 

A key factor, and something that is new to me is how the arts specially painting, became a form of art and a commodity in the middle ages. Is really a true development in the arts when we study the growth and importance artist enjoyed, not to mention status. As I came to expect Michelangelo, Masaccio, Leonardo da Vinci. Are at the top of what the Renaissance offered us. 

I mentioned in my previous essay how the Renaissance was broken into three main categories, the start, the high Renaissance and the end of it. I mainly focused on the peak of the period which truly enhanced the period however I want to stress how important and essential is to analyze the three segments as it projects a real treat. The Renaissance period is full of ups and downs, it contains one of the largest recorded wars in the history books, 100 year war between Italy and France, but most importantly is the incredible loss of life and the life expectancy of almost nothing. Children faced a extremely dangerous exposure to disease and sickness, their average life span was of 12 years after birth. 

What really enhanced my knowledge about the period was digging I to different sources, I learned how different historians differ over some events, they mostly debate the political aspects of the period as it fluctuated and exchanged hands constantly. Remember the loyalty of people layered on whom ever could prove to be a benefit for the masses. Right before the middle ages began we know this period as the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages as the names describes was a terrible time to be alive, war, disease, ignorance, and scarcity were  the main characters in the life of many. This is another point highly debated as some side of history says this period for the vast majority of the time is been exaggerated. Another term that became new to me was Humanism. This explains men is the centre of his own universe, when I examine this, I can closely relate it to our way of seeing life in today’s society. The individualism that we praise today is a somehow result of this ancient way of thinking. Humanism became a popular belief, and it was greatly impulsed by the introduction of press and paper. As I mentioned earlier this two inventions allowed for ideas, news and learning to spread faster and further. 

I have been going to a café in Congress Avenue, Austin TX. The name is Medici. During my readings about the Italian Renaissance, Medici is the name of one of the most important families of their time. They ruled Florence for more than 60 years. I know perhaps this personal fact has no historic relevance, however to me was mind blowing to understand that perhaps this world has so much to do with its past than we can possibly comprehend