The Renaissance And A Literal Translation Means Rebirth Essay

The term Renaissance in a literal translation means rebirth. Fitting as the Renaissance was a cultural and academic movement emphasizing the rediscover of texts and philosophy from the ancient Greek and Roman empires. While no one date marks the absolute beginning or end of the Renaissance, it is generally agreed to have been birthed by a gradual influx of ideas, pushed along with Johannes Guttenberg’s invention of the printing press in 1436. The 1400’s is characterized by a resurgence of knowledge based on classical Latin literature, traced to Francesco Petrarch and the rise of humanist understanding. The new thinking associated with the Renaissance and humanist movement brought out many classic writers such as Thomas More and Lorenzo Valla to discuss the topic of free will. Followed with the combination of the newfound humanist thinking, along with social commentaries, allowed for religious figures such as Martin Luther to lead the Protestant reformation, encountering distaste in the current state of the Catholic community he decided to create a new, less corrupt religion. The skeptic aspect of humanism allowed for discussion on analysis of critical tenets of Christianity such as free will, ultimately leading to Luther’s reformation of the Catholic Church. The first substantial movement in the Renaissance was the humanist movement led by Francesco Petrarch that began in the early 1400’s. Throughout the Middle Ages little was taught and that of which was taught emphasized