Changes

The Renaissance

The term means ‘re-birth’. The renaissance was an effort to imitate the lost world of ancient Greece and Rome. The Italian, artists, writers and thinkers who all participated in the Renaissance, sought to create works that were the equal of the ancients, whom they regarded as the pinnacle of civilisation<ref>Burke, Peter. The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999, p. 6.#.</ref> . The Renaissance unlike the Middle Ages, stressed the individual, reason, beauty and secular values. This outlook became known as Humanism and has had a profound impact on European society . The Renaissance not only produced great works of art but also resulted in dramatic change in the views of Europeans and a decisive move away from the world of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance was in many ways to lay the groundwork for the rise of the modern world and especially ‘individualism and a secular outlook’<ref>Ibid, p.9 #.</ref>.

The Renaissance was able to occur because of the unique conditions that prevailed in Italy in the period from 1400 to 1500.

Economic Decline

Until 1500 Italy was at the centre of the Mediterranean world and its vast network of trade routes. Italian traders made vast profits by acting as middlemen in the trade between the Muslim and Christian worlds. Furthermore, the Italian clothing industry exported its goods all over the Mediterranean <ref> ibid, p. 134 #.</ref>.The riches made enabled the elite to fund the work of great artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. However, after Columbus discovered America, the Mediterranean economy went into a steep decline . New trade routes were established in the Atlantic and the trade of the Mediterranean dropped off. This led to less money being spent on art in Italy <ref> Lopez, Robert Sabatino, The Three Ages of the Italian Renaissance Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1970., p. 89 #.</ref>. Although, the Pope’s still continued to be great patrons of the arts . The relative decline in the Italian economy, because of changing trade routes, because of the Discovery of America, led to less money being spent on the arts and education. This had a negative impact on the Renaissance and fewer great works of art and literature <ref> ibid, p. 98 #.</ref> .

Spanish Domination

The Italian city-states were very rich but also vulnerable to their larger neighbours. The kingdoms of Europe were becoming national states, with a unified government and standing armies. By the 16th century, the Italian city-states looked much weaker that large kingdoms such as France. In the 1490s, the French invaded Italy, in order to conquer the kingdom of Naples. The Spanish Monarchy refused to allow the French to dominate southern Italy <ref> ibid, p 67 #.</ref>.

The French army eventually retreated from the Kingdom of Naples after a plague decimated the army. However, their invasion was to result in several decades of war, between France and Spain, for the control of first Naples and later Italy. Over the following decades, Italy became a battleground for the first time in centuries <ref> ibid, 112 #.</ref> . This was to have a negative impact on the Renaissance. In 1527, the Spanish army sacked Rome and caused widespread loss of life and devastation . Eventually, the Spanish, under Phillip II, established Spanish domination in Italy. The Italian city-states were still technically independent, but they were under de-facto Spanish control. The Spanish control resulted in a loss of political and individual freedom and this dealt a blow to the Renaissance as increasingly artists and thinkers were unable to create the worked they wanted or to freely express their own ideas and opinions .

Sack of Rome 1527 .

Counter-Reformation

The Reformation began in Germany and soon Protestant Churches were being established throughout Northern Europe. This cause a crisis in the Catholic Church in Italy and throughout Europe. Many feared that Italy would even turn Protestant. This caused a change in direction in the Catholic Church and led it to change its direction . In response to the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church engaged in a series of reforms and other measures. These sought to make sure that Protestant teachings did not become popular. The response of the Catholic Church became known as the Counter-Reformation. One of the most important aspects of the Counter-Reformation was the increasing role of the Inquisition in Italian Society. Any person, believed to be sympathetic to Protestant ideas was arrested as a heretic by the Inquisition. The Inquisition also arrested those who have opinions and views that were contrary to the teachings of the Church <ref>Mullett, Michael A. "The Catholic Reformation (Routledge, London 1999), p. 56 #.</ref>.

The Counter-Reformation was to have a dramatic impact on artists, writers and scientists’ in Italy. No longer could they discuss or express their views freely. They were afraid to create any daring works, in case that they offended the Catholic Church. In order to ensure that they did not come to the attention of the Inquisition, they made sure that their works were suitably Catholic.

The result of the Counter-Reformation was that Italian artists worked in an environment that was repressive . This led to Italy, falling behind the rest of Europe, intellectually and artistically . It should still be remembered that Italy still produced great artists and thinkers such as Galileo, but they were far fewer and less original. The old humanist tradition, of the Renaissance, was abandoned, during the Counter-Reformation <ref> ibid, p. 141 #</ref>.

Conclusion

The Renaissance was one of the most important historical epochs, it produced a culture that created great works of art and provided the world, with the humanist view of life, which encouraged individualism and the use of reason. However, economic decline meant that there was less money for the arts and learning. The Spanish came to dominate the city-states and this meant that artists had less freedom of expression. Finally, the Counter-Reformation by enforcing Catholic Orthodoxy meant that artists, thinkers and writers were afraid to be as daring or original as they had been in the past <ref> ibid, p. 134 #</ref>. These factors led to the end of the Renaissance.