The Renaissance Group

Question:

creynolds884
creynolds884
Student
High School - 9th Grade

What was the Renaissance and what caused it?

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Posted by creynolds884 on Wednesday September 17, 2008 at 9:39 AM and tagged with causes, definition, renaissance, renaissance period, the renaissance.

Answers:


  1. robertwilliam

    eNotes Editor

    The Renaissance (from the French word meaning "re-birth") was a cultural movement spanning (depending on which cultural historians you believe) from the 14th to the 17th centuries.

    I'm not sure you could say something caused the Renaissance as such, but the "re-birth" which gives the period its name is the re-birth of classical culture, which was rediscovered and re-examined during the period. Artists, writers, sculptors, musicians and architects began to look back to Greek and Roman times, and seek out ideas and inspiration from ancient texts.

    The changes in the Renaissance were social and political as well as intellectual, primarily because of an emphasis on secular, rational understanding of the world beginning to displace the previous emphasis on religious or spiritual understanding.

    Lastly, it's probably also worth pointing out that some historians question the usefulness of the term 'Renaissance', and ask whether the cultural phenomenon it described ever really occurred.

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/topics/renaissance

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    Posted by robertwilliam on Wednesday September 17, 2008 at 9:56 AM

  2. creynolds884
    creynolds884 Student
    High School - 9th Grade

    Thank you.

    Well, my history teacher seems to think that there were 'causes'.

    That really help me.

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    Posted by creynolds884 on Wednesday September 17, 2008 at 10:47 AM

  3. kbabyy
    kbabyy Student
    High School - 10th Grade

    who knows and who cares... lol

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    Posted by kbabyy on Thursday October 22, 2009 at 8:13 AM