1. Background
1. The Catholic Church monopolizes all knowledge and education, uses feudal theology to rule people's thoughts, suppresses scientific research, and the culture falls into a low ebb.
2. In order to develop capitalism and pursue enjoyment of life, the emerging bourgeoisie requires a struggle against the church in the ideological field.
2. The rise
1. From the 14th to the 16th century, a new trend of bourgeois culture first burst out in Italy.
2. Many intellectuals relied on the classical culture of ancient Greece and Rome to attack the shackles of the church from all aspects and establish a bourgeois humanistic worldview. What people thought at the time was the "Renaissance" was actually the rise of bourgeois culture.
3. In the late 15th century, it expanded to some other European countries, and the Renaissance reached its climax in the 16th century.
3. Renaissance works and ideas
Renaissance works embody humanistic ideas: advocating individual liberation, opposing medieval asceticism and religious views; advocating scientific culture , oppose obscurantism, get rid of the church's shackles on people's thoughts; affirm human rights, oppose theocracy, abandon all authority and traditional dogma as the basis of theology and scholastic philosophy; support centralization and oppose feudal separatism, this is the main idea of ??humanism. Among them, representative works include: Dante's "Divine Comedy", Boccaccio's "Decameron", Machiavelli's "The Prince", Rabelais's "The Gigantic", etc.
Renaissance art celebrated the beauty of the human body, advocating that the proportions of the human body were the most harmonious in the world, and applied them to architecture. A series of paintings, although still themed with religious stories, Sculptures, but showing scenes of ordinary people, pulling gods to the ground.
Humanists began to study the Bible using the methods of studying classical literature and translated the Bible into the native language, which led to the rise of the religious reform movement.
Humanism praises the world and despises heaven, flaunts reason to replace divine revelation, affirms that "man" is the creator and enjoyer of life in this world, requires literature and art to express people's thoughts and feelings, science to benefit people, and education To develop human personality requires liberating human thoughts, feelings and wisdom from the shackles of theology. It advocates freedom of individuality and therefore plays a very progressive role in historical development.
IV. The Renaissance in Different Categories
(1) Natural Science
1. Astronomy
Polish astronomer Copernicus In 1543, he published "On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres", in which he proposed a heliocentric system that was different from Ptolemy's geocentric system. Italian thinker Bruno declared in books such as "On Infinity, the Universe and the Worlds" and "On Causes, Origins and Unity" that the universe is infinite in space and time, and the sun is only the center of the solar system rather than the universe. Galileo invented the astronomical telescope in 1609, published "The Astral Messenger" in 1610, and "Dialogue Concerning the Two World Systems of Ptolemy and Copernicus" in 1632. The German astronomer Kepler studied the observation data of his teacher, the Danish astronomer Tycho, and proposed the three laws of planetary motion in "New Astronomy" in 1609 and "Harmony of the World" in 1619, and determined the planets. It moves around the sun in an elliptical orbit, and this motion is not unequal.
2. Mathematics
Algebra achieved important development during the Renaissance, and solutions to cubic and quartic equations were discovered. The Italian Cardano published the formula for finding the roots of cubic equations in his book "The Great Art", but the discovery of this formula should actually be attributed to another scholar, Tartaglia. The solution to the quartic equation was discovered by Cardano's student Ferrari and is also recorded in "The Great Art". In his work, Bombelli explained the irreducible case of cubic equations, used imaginary numbers, and improved the algebraic notation popular at the time. Symbolic algebra was established by the French mathematician Veda in the 16th century. He published "Introduction to Analytical Methods" in 1591, which systematically organized algebra and consciously used letters to represent unknown and known numbers for the first time. In another of his works, "On the Identification and Correction of Equations," Weda improved the solution methods of cubic and quartic equations, and also established the relationship between the roots and coefficients of quadratic and cubic equations, which is called Weida in modern times. reach theorem. Trigonometry also achieved great development during the Renaissance. German mathematician Regmontanus's "On the Various Triangles" was the first European work on trigonometry independent of astronomy. The book provides a systematic explanation of plane trigonometry and spherical trigonometry, as well as a very precise table of trigonometric functions. Rheticus, a student of Copernicus, created more sophisticated tables of trigonometric functions based on redefining trigonometric functions.
3. Physics
In terms of physics, Galileo discovered the three laws of falling bodies, projectile bodies and oscillation through many experiments, which gave people a new understanding of the universe. . His student Torricelli proved air pressure through experiments and invented the mercury barometer. French scientist Pascal discovered the law of pressure propagation in liquids and gases. British scientist Boyle discovered the law of gas pressure.
4. Physiology and Medicine
The Belgian doctor Vesalius published the book "The Structure of the Human Body", challenging Galen's "Trinity" theory. The Spanish doctor Servetus discovered the small circulatory system of blood and proved that blood flows from the right ventricle to the lungs and through a tortuous route to the left ventricle. British anatomist Harvey conducted a large number of animal anatomy experiments and published "On the Movement of Heart" and other treatises, which systematically explained the laws of blood movement and the working principle of the heart. He pointed out that the heart is the center of blood movement and the source of power. This major discovery made him the originator of modern physiology.
5. "The Great Geographic Discovery"
Navigation technology took a revolutionary leap, and explorers from Portugal, Spain, and Italy began a series of long-distance navigation activities. The geographical discoveries of Columbus, Magellan and others provided strong evidence for the theory of a round earth.
6. The rediscovery of printing in Europe, as well as papermaking, compasses, and gunpowder (China’s four great inventions) brought from the East, promoted the rapid spread of scientific ideas.
(2) Literature
Writers from all over the world began to use their own dialects instead of Latin for literary creation, which promoted popular literature and injected a large number of literary works into various languages, including Novels, poems, essays, ballads and dramas, etc.
In Italy, the "Three Literary Heroes" appeared in the early Renaissance. Dante wrote many academic works and poems throughout his life, the most famous of which are "New Life" and "The Divine Comedy". Petrarch is the originator of humanism and is known as the "Father of Humanism". He was the first to issue a call for the revival of classical culture and proposed to oppose "theology" with "humanity". Petrarch mainly composed many beautiful poems, and his representative work is the collection of lyrical sonnets "Songbook". Boccaccio is the founder of Italian national literature, and the collection of short stories "The Decameron" is his masterpiece.
In France, the Renaissance movement clearly formed two factions, one was the aristocratic faction represented by the "Seven Stars Poetry Society", and the other was the democratic faction represented by Rabelais. The "Seven Stars Poetry Society", represented by Longchat and Du Belle, has made outstanding contributions in language and poetry theory. They were the first to put forward the idea of ??unifying the national language and promoted the development of the French national language and national literature. However, they rejected folk poetry and only served a few nobles. Rabelais is an outstanding humanist writer after Boccaccio and a representative of French Renaissance democracy. "The Legend of Giants", which he created over 20 years, is a realist work that interweaves reality and fantasy, and occupies an important position in the history of European literature and education.
In Britain, representatives include Thomas More and Shakespeare. Thomas More is a famous humanist thinker and the founder of utopian socialism. "Utopia", which he wrote in Latin in 1516, was the first work of utopian socialism. Shakespeare is a talented dramatist and poet. Together with Homer, Dante, and Goethe, he is known as the four epoch-making writers in Europe. His works have complete structures, vivid plots, rich and refined language, and outstanding characters. They collectively represent the highest achievements of European Renaissance literature and have a profound impact on the development of European realist literature.
In Spain, the most outstanding representatives are Cervantes and Vega. Cervantes was a realist writer, dramatist and poet. He wrote a large number of poems, plays and novels, among which the satirical novel "Don Quixote" is the most famous, which had a significant impact on the development of European literature. Vega is a dramatist, novelist and poet, the founder of Spanish national drama, and is known as the "Father of Spanish Drama". He is a rare and prolific writer in the world. He wrote more than 2,000 scripts in his lifetime, and more than 600 of them have been handed down to this day, including religious dramas, historical dramas, mythological dramas, sword dramas, pastoral operas and other forms. It profoundly reflects the social reality of Spain and is deeply loved by the masses. The most outstanding masterpiece is "Yangquan Village".
(3) Architecture
Renaissance architecture is an architectural style born with the Renaissance cultural movement in Italy in the 14th century AD. Based on the criticism of the theocratic supremacy of the Middle Ages and the affirmation of humanism, the architect hopes to use classical proportions to reshape the coordinated order of the ideal classical society. Therefore, generally speaking, Renaissance architecture pays attention to order and proportion, with rigorous facade and plan composition as well as column systems inherited from classical architecture.
1. Features
*Study the classical style represented by ancient Greece and Rome, and develop the concept of 'column style'.
* Emphasize that the proportions of buildings, like the proportions of people, reflect the harmony and laws of the universe. This strongly reflects the influence of Pythagoras and Plato tradition.
*Use symmetrical shapes, centralized style
*Restore "nature", use rulers and compasses for drawing, mainly circles and squares
* Opposing Gothic Architecture
2. Famous Architecture and Architects
Fillipo Brunelleschi
From the perspective of time and place, Florence, Italy, can be regarded as the beginning of the Renaissance.
The cathedral built by architect Fillipo Brunelleschi in Florence, Italy, did not use Goethe's form. Instead, it looked very similar to Byzantine's Cathedral of Our Lady. However, it did not use a triangular sail arch, but directly placed the pointed arch in an octagon. on the wall. Finally, a small pavilion on the top that looks dangerous actually plays the role of connecting several parts of the arch and pressing them together with its own weight. In addition, this vault has a wooden roof rather than a Roman stone or concrete roof.
And in the Closter of the Franciscan Friary in Santa Sroce, the Chapel he built for the Pazzi Family really used the spinnaker arch. This time the lower plane was a square, and the upper part was a spinnaker arch. With the addition of round arches, a craft that had been lost for centuries was finally revived. This dome combined with the Basilika's plan became the standard for centuries to come.
Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti
Fillipo combines the role of a traditional medieval craftsman, truly represents the Renaissance architect, and truly The person who raised the construction of Renaissance architecture to a theoretical level was Leon Battista Alberti, whose On Architecture was published in 1485. (It is worth mentioning here that Gutenberg invented printing, which made cultural exchanges faster. This is an important factor in cultural dissemination.) In this book, he reflects the discussion from the perspective of a Renaissance humanist Architectural possibilities. He proposed that basic collection systems such as circles and squares should be reorganized proportionally based on Euclid's mathematical principles to find the golden section of beauty in architecture. He used a variety of column types in the construction of Palazzo Rucellai, and these columns have carefully considered proportions. The top of the palace also has original deep eaves, which even cover the roof, so that the appearance of the building remains completely square.
Bramante
Donato Bramante is the person who pushed this ancient rationalist spirit to the extreme. He did his best to consider every architectural proportion. , you can see this almost perfect proportion in his Tempietto of San Pietro. In the future, many public buildings and religious buildings, such as St. Peter's Church, the Pantheon in Paris, and even the White House, all have Bramante's shadow.
Arguably the largest work of the Renaissance is St. Peter's Church, which took more than a century to build. The list of architects is like a who's who of the Renaissance. This beginning, or skeleton, was completed by Bramante. Then came Raphael, Peruzzi, Sangallo the Younger, Michelangelo, Vignola, Della Porta, Fontana and Maderna.
Michelangelo
Michelangelo was not a professional architect, but a great sculptor. It is precisely because of this that he avoided the drawbacks of his contemporaries who were too obsessed with proportions and refined architecture from a sculptor's unique three-dimensional perspective. He used various techniques, such as destroying balance, or using long narrow walkways or colonnades, to achieve a touching architectural effect, but he was not very concerned about whether he conformed to strict classical proportions. Among them, the giant column used in St. Peter's Basilica was obtained by raising the ordinary column several times higher. This creative use of classical motifs introduced the Renaissance into later Mannerism.
Palladio (Palladio)
The leader of vicenca is Palladio. He is a serious classicist. His distillation of classicism makes this master's works always unique. It is as pure as a diamond. It embodies the mathematical precision of Renaissance architecture and the control of centralized plan. Looking further, we can see that under this strict aesthetic system, the main body of the building has been squeezed into a very peripheral corner, and the building has completely become a conceptual carrier in Palladio's hands.
5. National Characteristics of the Renaissance
(1) Italy and its representative figures
Representative figures:
Poets: Dante, Petrarch;
Writers: Boccaccio, Machiavelli;
Painters: Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael Er, Titian;
Sculptor: Michelangelo; Architect: Brunelleschi;
Musicians: Palestrina, Lasso, etc. .
(2) Spain and its representative figures
The Spanish Renaissance entered the "golden age" in the second half of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, with remarkable achievements in novels and dramas.
Representative figures: writer Cervantes, dramatist Lobo de Vega
(3) Germany and its representative figures
In Germany: the main Achievements are reflected in religious reform, peasant wars, satire, and scientific and technological inventions.
Representative figures: Martin Luther, Dürer, etc.
(4) France and its representative figures
In France: free thinking and skeptical thinking are quite developed.
Representative figures: essayist: Montaigne, novelist: Rabelais, etc.
(5) Britain and its representative figures
In Britain: poetry and drama flourished unprecedentedly.
Representative figures: Writer Shakespeare, etc.
6. The Significance of the Renaissance
For a long time, the Renaissance was considered to be simply the restoration of classical culture. In fact, the Renaissance did not really want to "restore" classical culture, but used it to criticize the culture and system of the time in order to establish a new culture and create public opinion for the establishment of a new social system.
The Renaissance was a period of gradual development without clear dividing lines or events. But the Renaissance changed people's thinking at that time, leading to the religious reform and fierce religious wars. The later Enlightenment took the Renaissance as its model. Historians in the 19th century believed that subsequent scientific development, geographical discoveries, and the birth of nation-states all originated from the Renaissance. The Renaissance was the watershed between the Middle Ages and modern times in the "Dark Ages" and the premise of public opinion for the bourgeois revolution. The Renaissance was a prelude to freeing Europe from the shackles of decadent feudal religion and expanding to the world.
Its main manifestations are:
1. The Renaissance is a great change in the ideological and cultural field and has great vitality.
2. It gave birth to modern science and promoted the progress of human science and civilization.