What was Humanism and how did it develop in Renaissance Italy?
The Renaissance witnessed a desire to move away from the Medieval dominance of Christianity and otherworldly concerns towards an exploration of human values and interests. In the 14th century, Petrarch referred to the Medieval period as the “Dark Ages” and, along with others, promoted a renewed interest in the Greco-Roman past as a model for contemporary learning. This classical revival resulted in a movement referred to as Humanism, which became the dominant world view in Renaissance Florence. It reflected, in part, the revival of the study of the classical curriculum. Included in this study were disciplines such as literature, poetry, grammar, rhetoric, philosophy and moral philosophy, history, science, medicine and the visual arts. During the Renaissance, humanists rediscovered and translated classical texts, making them available to an educated audience. These ideas began to permeate the thought of contemporary thinkers, informing political, religious and artistic ideas. • What was
