The Time Before the Renaissance

-


 The Renaissance was a time period of rebirth, but how did we get there? 

    5 individual societies aided in the influence of the Renaissance, those being Ancient Greece, the Romans, Christianity, Islam, and the Middle Ages. 

The Greeks

The Acropolis of Athens 
Built between 447 and 432 BCE

  I really did not know much about this time  period leading up to the Renaissance, but was interested to learn. The first thing that caught my eye during my research, was the beautiful and elaborate way of Greek architecture. The architecture was said to be focused on being beautiful during this time, which they accomplished. They also always considered religion into the structures, "Greeks builders determined that the columns would look more grand if they were constructed to be sightly narrowed at the column top compared to the bottom.  This created an affect of taller, grander design 'implied by the Gods'" (Han et al). I found it fascinating, regarding the thought and precision into these Greek architectural designs. 

The Romans

    Something I was not aware of regarding the Roman Empire, was their strong influence of language. Latin was the first language used for the Romans and was used as a foundation for many other languages. Romans wanted to spread the Latin language and "Once that process was started, the Latin varieties evolved so differently from each other they became new languages" (Language). These languages are now known as, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian. I had no idea the influence that Latin had on these languages all because of the Romans. 
Map of Language trends
 
In all honesty, I have not been exposed to much information about these 5 societies before the renaissance. I have definitely gone briefly over the basic concepts in classes like world history, but it has been a few years since then. However, the one thing I did remember was the Greek and Roman architecture and sculptures. In an Art History class I took, we looked at some of the architecture done by the Greeks because of the beauty and rich history behind them. However, after my research I feel much more exposed to the details of this time before the great rebirth. 

To learn more about the time before the Renaissance click here. 


Works Cited

“Christianity from Judaism to Constantine: Crash Course World History #11.” YouTube, 5 Apr. 2012, youtu.be/TG55ErfdaeY. 

Han, Ray, et al. “Greek Structures.” Human Structures in History, 12 Jan. 2017, humanstructuresinhistory.wordpress.com/greek-structures/. 

“Language Evolution: How One Language Became Five Languages.” The Great Courses Daily, 19 Sept. 2019, www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/language-evolution-one-language-became-five-languages/. 

Mark, Joshua J. “Acropolis.” World History Encyclopedia, World History Encyclopedia, 31 Jan. 2022, www.worldhistory.org/Acropolis/. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Modern Take on Machiavelli's The Prince

-
Image
 After reading The Prince  by Niccolo Machiavelli and then reading the many opinionated articles following the text, I choose to examine Erica Benner's article title "From Machiavelli's Prince: A New Reading". The main idea presented by Benner is the idea that Machiavelli was trying to restore good moral standards in politics or overall ruling. Benner states, "Machiavelli's Prince , I suggest, is a masterwork with ironic writing with a moral purpose" (Benner 300). She explains the two ideas Machiavelli is trying to get across, one being the idea of warning people of power of the danger of asserting total dictatorship over people who value their freedom. Benner then goes into the idea of Machiavelli., teaching ordinary citizens to reconginice the early warning signs of control-hungry behavior in their leaders, and to impress on them the need to establish political and military orders that can keep tyranny at bay" (Benner 301). The overall message I t...
Read more

Musical Development of the 16th Century

-
Image
Reading  Madrigal Music by composer Jacques Arcadelt  During the 16th century, the Renaissance produced major musical development through sacred and secular music.       Sacred music generally involved the musical form of the motet or mass, while secular music involved the rise of instrumental music and dance music using madrigals. Secular music was intended for a non religious audience, while the sacred music serves a specific religious purpose.       When describing the new styles arising in the Northern renaissance, many of these new styles were expanded upon many of the musical forms developed in the early Renaissance and High Middle Ages. "Composers also continued to write madrigals (songs for three or more solo voices based generally on secular poems).. This increasing complexity produced a significant change in character of madrigals, which were especially popular in Elizabethan England"(Cunnigham). The advancement of the ma...
Read more

Working Stiff by Ruth Kempster

-
Image
     I went and visited the Crocker Art Museum located in Sacramento, California. I was surprised with how many beautiful pieces of art were presented from so many different era's and locations.    After consideration, I choose to research and analyze the painting titled Working Stiff   by Ruth Miller Kempster. Miller was an American artist, born in 1904 and passed away in 1978. This painting was done with oil on the canvas, created in 1934. The subject of this painting involves the height of the Great Depression. The museum label stated, "Dominating the composition is a young man with a downward gaze. His strong, once-working hands, now seem to have little to do" (Crocker). This man in the painting is seemingly unemployed and exhausted from the toll the great depression provided.  Working Stiff By Ruth Miller Kempster  Crocker Art  Museum        I choos...
Read more