The Renaissance: A Cultural Movement from Italy to Western Europe

The Renaissance was an artistic-cultural movement that, from Italy, spread throughout Western Europe from the 15th century. It was the cultural manifestation of a change in the European mentality that went from a theocentric world view, typical of the medieval period, to an anthropocentric one. This change, manifested in the humanist philosophical current, is considered the beginning of the Modern Age.

Principles:

• Anthropocentrism: They rejected theocentric mentality which revolved around God. They believed humans were the centre of the universe.
• Classical antiquity: They studied Greek and Latin texts and were inspired by the philosophers of antiquity.
• Scientific curiosity: They were interested in science and technological progress.

Origin:

During the 14th century, humanism developed only in Italy where classical civilization left a greater legacy. During the 15th century, it spread from three different regions in Italy: Florence, Rome, and Naples.

Spread:

From the late 15th century, humanist ideas spread through Europe thanks to:

• The use of Romance languages.
• The invention of the printing press (Johannes Gutenberg-1490).
• Schools and universities (translated ancient texts...)

It spread first to the following countries:

• England: During the regency of Henry VII, Thomas More became an important figure. He was an English lawyer who criticized the society of his time and proposed a new model of social organization in his book UTOPIA (1516).
• The Netherlands: The humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam wrote The Praise of Folly which is considered to be the best representation of Christian humanism and a satirical attack on superstitions, other traditions of European society, and on the Western Church.
• Spain: Cardinal Cisneros founded the University of Alcalá de Henares in 1499, which became the center of humanism during the reign of Carlos I.