Humanism During The Renaissance

Multiple ideas flourished during the European Renaissance which had a strong impact on the world. The Renaissance, occurred in Northern Italy after the Black Plague in 1300s, and was one of the largest periods of growth and development in Western Europe. To understand Humanism, one must first know what Humanism means. Humanism is a world view and a moral philosophy that considers and is centered on human interests or values and stresses on individual’s dignity and worth and capacity for self-realization through reason. The prospect of Humanism first thrived in the 14th century in Italy, and later spread north in the 15th century. Humanism was a way of thinking that was popular and influenced much of Italian culture. The ideas and concepts of – Petrarch’s developed Classical Humanism directly influenced the scholastic education, art, and religion during the Renaissance, ultimately leading to new theologies and …show more content…
Petrarchan humanism spread through Italy, largely as a lay, upper-class, and elitist movement. Shrinking borders of Byzantine pushed Byzantine Greek-speaking and reading intellectuals to refuge in Italy, taking with them Greek classical texts. This caused a shift from Roman scholars to Greek. The Renaissance scholars used these classical texts in new ways with a new emphasis to recapture ancient perspectives and values, creating an awareness of cultural gaps. The major surviving works of Athenian dramatists, the dialogues of Plato. Prior to the invention of print, such manuscripts could be owned and studied by only a very few, very privileged men. Now printers in Venice and other European cities rushed to produce cheap editions of these texts as well as Greek grammars and glossaries that could facilitate reading them. Due to this so many men were engaged in the study of Plato that an informal “Platonic Academy” had formed in