Changes

The Renaissance had placed human beings at the center of life and had shown that this world was not just a ‘vale of tears’ but was something that could be meaningful and it was possible for people to live without reference to the divine.<ref>Giustiniani, Vito. "Homo, Humanus, and the Meanings of Humanism", <i>Journal of the History of Ideas 46 </i> (vol. 2, April – June 1985), p 178</ref> The Renaissance or ‘rebirth’ was influenced by the ideas of the ancient past and it drew from Roman and Greek civilization in order to provide a solution to current problems.  The Renaissance was a Pan-European phenomenon and changed the mental worldview of the elites in Europe and indeed the emerging middle class across the continent. The cultural movement was to have a profound impression on people’s worldview. The Renaissance produced the Humanists who were a movement of educationalists and scholars, they sought truth and knowledge by re-examining classical texts and the bible. The Humanists ideas, the growth in textual analysis, and the Northern Renaissance changed the intellectual landscape and encouraged many Church reformers, such as Martin Luther and they later broke with Rome and divided Europe into two confessional camps, Protestantism and Catholicism.

The Renaissance is often seen as a secular and even pagan movement that was in many ways anti-Christian. This was certainly the case in Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, here the humanists were particularly worldly and had little interest in the Church.<ref> Patrick, p 115</ref> Several early Italian humanists, such as Petrarch sought to reform the Church, but his successors were largely secular in outlook and in their concerns. Many humanist were interested in reforming the Church, but in the main the Church and religion was not a major preoccupation of the Italian humanists. However, there were many Renaissances and the movement took many forms in different countries.<ref> Payton, p. 45</ref>.  The ideas of the Italian Renaissance found their way to the North of Europe at a time when there was a receptive audience for them. The ideas of the Renaissance and the works of classical writers were transmitted throughout northern Europe by the new printing press. This led to the Northern Renaissance this is the term given to the cultural flowering, north of the Alps, in German-speaking countries, France, England and elsewhere. The Northern Renaissance was a unique event and although influenced by the Italian Renaissance was different in some crucial regards.<ref> Patrick, p. 123</ref> It also was interested in the ancient past and believed that it offered an alternative view of what life could be and could even provide practical guidance as to how people should live and organize their societies. However, the Northern Europe was much more religious in its concerns than the Italian Renaissance <ref> Chipps Smith, Jeffrey. <i>The Northern Renaissance.</i> (Phaidon Press, 2004), p. 167</ref>.