What do we mean by the Renaissance? Various answers suggest themselves according to the point of view we choose for the moment to adopt. The institutional historian fixes his attention on the birth of a new political consciousness with the decline of the medieval idea of the Papacy and the Empire and the spread of the sentiment of nationality throughout Europe. The historian of society is mainly concerned with the birth of new social conditions accompanying the breaking up of the regime of feudalism and chivalry, the growth of commerce, and the beginnings of modern industrialism. The scientist emphasizes the rediscovery of nature, the opening up of the world by maritime exploration, the founding of astronomy, anatomy, physiology, medicine, and the establishment of the true scientific method. For the historian of thought the principal interest of the Renaissance lies in the abandonment of the old theological scholasticism and the rise of the spirit of free rational inquiry. To the student of religious evolution, the Renaissance suggests the Reformation; to the lover of art and literature, the recovery of the masterpieces of pagan antiquity and the rebirth of the classic world.Contents: I. The Renaissance in General. II. The Age of Discovery and Invention. III. The Revival of Learning. IV. The Renaissance in Religion – The Reformation. V. The Renaissance in Science and Philosophy. VI. The Renaissance in Education. VII. The Renaissance in Art. VIII. The Renaissance in Literature.
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