jjares reviewed The Renaissance: Explore the Astonishing Rebirth of European History From Beginning to End on + 3383 more book reviews
This ebook, about the Renaissance, talks about the various expressions of the era, particularly art and architecture. I really cannot imagine a book talking about this very important change in human history without some photos, to show the new artistry. Yet, there were none, except the cover.
There were some interesting things that I learned in this brief book.
Before the Renaissance, life was dictated by a caste-system along feudal lines. Essentially, a person was born, worked, and died. Period. Life was brief and colorless.
The 'Baroque period' (highly decorated buildings with ornate details), of the later Renaissance years, was a reaction to the grim, plainness of the Protestant Reformation (from the earlier Renaissance).
In ancient times, when they did not understand a phenomenon, they created myths and legends about it. During the early Renaissance, thinkers and scientists started to question everything and looked for scientific answers, a way of proving their ideas (with science or mathematics).
Nicolaus Copernicus lived in Northern Poland, which was called Prussia at the time. Although he and Galileo believed in the same things solarly-speaking, Copernicus was not subjected to the Inquisition, as Galileo was.
The study of science caused the bonds between the populace and the Church to be strained. The Church believed the Bible was correct and complete, while science searched for logic and reason to explain phenomena. Once Guttenburg made Bibles available to the population at large, people started to think in new ways about God. This also strained their relationship with the Church.
With the invention of the astrolabe (tool mariners use), they could tell time.
Petrarch, an Italian priest, taught people of the Renaissance that there was no contradiction between the secular life and one's spiritual life. 3.5 stars
There were some interesting things that I learned in this brief book.
Before the Renaissance, life was dictated by a caste-system along feudal lines. Essentially, a person was born, worked, and died. Period. Life was brief and colorless.
The 'Baroque period' (highly decorated buildings with ornate details), of the later Renaissance years, was a reaction to the grim, plainness of the Protestant Reformation (from the earlier Renaissance).
In ancient times, when they did not understand a phenomenon, they created myths and legends about it. During the early Renaissance, thinkers and scientists started to question everything and looked for scientific answers, a way of proving their ideas (with science or mathematics).
Nicolaus Copernicus lived in Northern Poland, which was called Prussia at the time. Although he and Galileo believed in the same things solarly-speaking, Copernicus was not subjected to the Inquisition, as Galileo was.
The study of science caused the bonds between the populace and the Church to be strained. The Church believed the Bible was correct and complete, while science searched for logic and reason to explain phenomena. Once Guttenburg made Bibles available to the population at large, people started to think in new ways about God. This also strained their relationship with the Church.
With the invention of the astrolabe (tool mariners use), they could tell time.
Petrarch, an Italian priest, taught people of the Renaissance that there was no contradiction between the secular life and one's spiritual life. 3.5 stars
