What caused the “end” to the Middle Ages?
Well, the so-called ‘Renaissance’ in the 15th-16th centuries is generally considered to be the end of the Middle Ages. This was the age when people became obsessed with classical culture and learning, and believed that classical styles in art, architecture, literature etc were the only ones worth imitating. The heavy Baroque style of architecture replaced the exquisite Gothic style. This was a time when centralised powers were greatly strengthened and consolidated, and kings and other rulers greatly increased their power and influence. Standards of living for the common people generally declined. Enclosures meant that many people were thrown off the lands they and their families had worked for centuries, and became homeless. The destruction of the monasteries in England led to great hardship for the common people, who had looked to the monasteries for education, care when sick and old etc.
The end of the Middle Ages was heralded by the beginning of the renaissance, which came after the collapse of feudalism. After feudalism had collapsed, there was much greater freedom and this allowed the development of the discoveries and other acheivements made during the renaissance. The reasons why feudalism collapsed, and the Renaissance sprang up in its place are: The Peasants’ Revolts From the 13th century onwards, there were several revolts dotted around Europe. The notable example is the Peasants Revolt of 1381 in Britain, which, led by Jack Straw and John Ball, very nearly succeeded. Although most revolts were unsuccessful, it showed to the lords and kings that the peasants had the capability to uprise against them. To appease the peasants, in the case of the 1381 revolt at least, the king did actually abolish the “poll tax” that the peasants were protesting against, and some lords began to comply to the wishes for better conditions and pay that were put to them by the peasant
Plague and feudalism characterized the middle ages; they did not contribute to their end. If not for the actual causes of the end of the middle ages, feudalism would have continued indefinitely. The decline of the Church’s power was a not a cause, but a consequence of the end of the middle ages. The actual end of the middle ages came about as a result of the rise of small city-states, the rise of an educated, free-thinking merchant class, and the re-introduction of certain political and economic concepts that came into Western Europe as a result of the fall of Constantinople. Of those, it was the increasing wealth and prestige of the merchant class that contributed most to making the enlightenment and reformation possible.
The Renaissance marked the end of the Middle Ages, it was caused by inventions and discoveries like heliocentricity, the discovery of the Americas and other trade routes, which went against the beliefs of Christianity, and weakened the power of the Church (as did the wars of religion.) In the meantime, Latin was no longer the official languages of certain European countries, making literatiure available to everyone. (look up Humanism in the 14 and 1500s.) Books were published placing man at the center of human interest (replacing God) and the philosophy of the day was that man was perfectable though education and knowledge. The rulers of most European countries played a big role in the spread of humanism, like Francois Ier and Charles Quint in France, supporters of the arts (built many castles and welcomed Leonardo Da Vinci to France) Francois Ier and his sister were avid writers themselves. Printing press was invented, making literature more available. The post was quicker, which help
