The Importance Of Humanism During The Renaissance Era

I partially agree with this statement. While the Renaissance Era was a reaction to the narrow and practical way of thinking that was common in the medieval period, it did not reject all aspects of the medieval era. Instead, it embraced and expanded the idea of religion, the relationship one had with their God, and admired pieces of literature from ancient eras. Humanism during the Renaissance worked on reviving cultural and classical literature with the goal of spreading humanities (grammar, poetry, history, and philosophy).
During this time, humanism and religion were actually pretty intertwined. Francesco Petrarcar (or Petrarch), coined the “father of humanism”, was an amazing poet and scholar who inspired many other humanists. He did this …show more content…
Scholar Petrus Paulus Vergerius thought that teachers should use examples of previous well-known scholars and that students should have respect for church ceremonies. In On the Manners of a Gentleman and Liberal Studies, Vergerius discusses liberal education and its importance. He explains that liberal studies “calls forth, trains, and develops those highest gifts of body and of mind which ennoble men”. Vergerius then goes on to state that history takes first place in importance out of the liberal study subjects. This is because it “gives us the concrete examples” that tie into other liberal study subjects and “what men have said and done in the past” (Vergerius …show more content…
Political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli rejected the notion that a king should follow Christian teachings and the belief that Christian morality was in charge of politics. Instead he believed that political rulers should forgo notions of good or evil and focus on strengthening their kingdom. In his novel The Prince, Machiavelli studied politics by using reason. He states that a while it would be nice for a prince to have “all the name qualities that are reputed good, they cannot all be possessed or observed” and that instead “he should be prudent enough to avoid the scandal of those vices which would lose him the state”. He then goes on to debate whether it is better for a prince to “be loved more than feared, or feared more than loved” and examines other great rulers and leaders who accomplished many triumphs while feared by their people (Machiavelli p 310). While he does think it is “laudable for a prince to keep good faith and live with integrity” it does not necessarily mean that they will achieve great things and that “a prudent ruler ought to not keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest” (Machiavelli p 311). This type of political thinking was completely different from the medieval era and very radical for its