The Renaissance Period

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Renaissance Period The Renaissance was a great cultural movement that began in Italy during the early 1400’s. It spread to England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and other countries in the late 1400’s and ended in the 1700’s. It is one of the most beautiful, names in history(Wikipedia 1). It is beautiful because it shows an awakening of awareness. During this period of time, the modern world was born as Gutenberg perfected printing, Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas, Copernicus found that the earth revolved around the sun, Martin Luther founded a new religion, the use of the cannon and the harquebus ended chivalry and da Vinci and Michelangelo created a new form of art. This period in time marked the rebirth of humanism, and the revival of cultural achievements for their own sake in all forms of art, including music. The word "Renaissance" in itself is defined as a "rebirth"or a "reconstruction". During this time, artists and musicians produced works that displayed more artistic freedom and individualism. This creativity allowed artists to abandon the stricter ways of the Medieval Era. Their art forms rediscovered the ancient Greek ideals. The great masters of the Renaissance were revered in their own lifetimes (rather than after their deaths), which was different from most of their Medieval predecessors. With the new printing techniques, music and musical ideas were able to be preserved and distributed to the people. In the terms used in the Renaissance itself, Humanism represented a shift from the "contemplative life" to the "active life." In the Middle Ages, great value had often been attached to the life of contemplation and religious devotion, away from the world (though this ideal applied to only a small number of people). In the Renaissance, the highest cultural values were usually associated with active involvement in public life, in
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