The Renaissance vs. The Dark Ages

Worldliness 🌍

• After the first major outbreak Black Death ended (1347-1349), life expectancies became longer.
• People gained an increased interest in the quality of their lives.
• This lead to wealthier classes, like merchants, patronizing art, creating more opportunity for secular subjects.
• Before the Renaissance, life was centered on afterlife concerns.

Individualism☝

• Creators were allowed to take credit for their work (artists, architects, scientists, etc.).
• Society moved towards valuing individuals and their ambitious goals.
• Dark Ages society, modeled after the Church, rarely emphasized the individual. Christian Europe was taught to attribute nearly everything to God and his designs.

Classical Interests 📜

• Inspired by Petrarch, Greco-Roman texts, art, and literature regained a high level of respect.
• Much of Renaissance artwork and architecture emulated the classical style, while still incorporating religious subjects.
• Greco-Roman ideas were largely overlooked and would have been rejected in the Dark Ages because of their paganism, which was irreconcilable with The Bible.

Learning 📚

• Schooling diversified from the Dark Age canon of language skills and art to encompass classical texts, philosophy, and scientific subjects like astronomy.
• Both Humanists and later Catholic Counter-Reformists (especially orders like the Jesuits) opened universities and other educational centers dedicated to teaching new ideas.
• Schooling also became available to more people, although most still remained illiterate and out of reach.

Additional Resources 👉

• Check out 🎥 information about Dark Ages Europe.
• Watch this 🎥 live stream about the Renaissance.