The Italian Renaissance: The Divine Comedy And The Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance, a term used to mark the time period where innovation, art, and learning became increasingly relevant in society. While the exact date of the Italian Renaissance is controversial to some, most believe that the Italian Renaissance started in fourteenth century, and ended roughly around the seventeenth century. As the name states, the Italian Renaissance began in Italy, mainly for two reasons. The first being that Italy became disconnected from major powers, due to the hundreds year war, and the pope when papacy moved to Avignon. This gave Italy freedom and independence which was desperately needed by the people, and allowed for Italy to thrive. During this time, Italy acquired large amounts of money due to trade and …show more content…
Such people like Dante Aligheri, Niccolo` Machiavelli, and Girolamo Savonarola were key components in this respect. Dante Alifgheri was born in Florence, in the year 1285, were he lived a normal life until adulthood. He was exiled when a opposing family took control of Florence, which was extending for the rest of his life. During this time however, he started to work on the influential works that would define him and the Renaissance, one going by the name of "The Divine Comedy". This was his contribution to the Renaissance, as some say this book bridged the gap between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as his writing would be the standard for Italian writing past during the Renaissance. As for Niccolo Machiavelli, he was a jack of all trades, being both a politician and a military tactician, but he was most known for his cruel nature. He was born in Florence, 1469, with a uneventful childhood, but soon joined a section of the military that went on diplomatic missions. Afterwards, he was tried for conspiracy, but was pardoned and went on to a life about literature. His contribution to the Renaissance was due to his book, "The Prince", which described a new way of leading the people through fear, and created the phase "The end justifies the means". The last person, a Girolamo Savonarola, was born at Ferrara in 1474, and started to preach in Florence. He gained many followers as his ideals were prominently anti-Renaissance, stating that the ways of religion and morality were being lost with the Renaissance. As people started to rebel against the the Medici family, Savonarola quickly took control of the city and set up a democratic republic. The people then had a "Bondfire of the Vanities", in which books, art, and other Renaissance related products were burned in the middle of the public square. He soon lost power