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RENAISSANCE, Renaissance means rebirth or revival of interest in the ideas which inspired new, development in the field of thoughts, science, literature and arts., Causes of renaissance, 1. Capture of Constantinople, ➢ It was the capital of the Roman Empire which had valuable, manuscripts of great writers from Greek and Rome., ➢ The Turks attacked and plundered the Roman capital for wealth., ➢ So the great writers left the place and took refuge in the various, countries of Europe., ➢ Italy welcomed these writers and scholarly people and it spread the, knowledge of philosophy, art, science etc., 2. Decline of Feudalism, ➢ This system declined during the later medieval period., ➢ Measures were taken to crush the powers of the Landlords, who, were the kingmakers., ➢ Introduction of gun powder and new weapons by the Turks helped, the king in increasing his power and not to be dependent on, Landlords., ➢ Church became powerful which was also not accepted by many, rulers as the church tried to control the feudatory lords., ➢ So, the powers of the Landlords were crushed and the feudal system, declined., 3. Discovery of new trade routes, ➢ As the Turks captured the sea routs so the Arab traders were not, able to supply goods to the European markets., ➢ This made the European to explore the world and discover new trade, route to the South East Asian countries., ➢ Vasco De Gama sailed across Indian Ocean and reached Calicut, a, coastal town of Kerala in 1498.
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➢ Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese sailor proved that the earth is, round by sailing in one direction for 3 years., ➢ It was Christopher Columbus who sailed to discover a new trade, route to India but reached the island of America., Sprit of enquiry, ➢ A number of scholars developed a spirit of enquiry and a sense of, curiosity among the people. They thought that human beings should, know about the way and how of things., ➢ The crusades brought the people of Europe into contact with the, people of Asia., ➢ It widened their outlook of life., ➢ Development of science created a spirit of enquiry of scientific, learning., ➢ Universities were established such as Oxford, Cambridge etc. It, spread attraction toward education, Invention of Printing Press, ➢ Before the invention of printing press handwritten books were less, and costly., ➢ The invention of printing press made books easily available and at a, cheaper rate due to availability of paper., ➢ As the knowledge increased, education began to spread among the, people and it helped in the growth of knowledge and learning., ➢ As the knowledge increased people started questioning about the, evil practices which were followed in the church and society., Impact of Renaissance on Art, ➢ Art was dominated during the middle age by the church as cathedrals, and church were decorated by the subject regarding Christianity., ➢ Theme of painting was depicted on Bible characters and events., ➢ The artists of renaissance portrayed nature and life with religious, theme.
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➢ Michelangelo was a great painter and sculptor. He is known for his, Fresco painting at Sistine Chapel at Vatican City., ➢ Leonardo Di Vinci was not only an artist but a sculptor, an architect, an engineer, musician, scientist and philosopher. His painting are, great masterpiece like ‘ The Last supper’ and ‘Monalisa’, ➢ Monalisa is a portrait of a lady which is considered as the finest, portrait ever made., Impact on Literature, ➢ The most important impact on literature was the use of Local, language instead of Latin., ➢ There was a change in the theme from the spiritual theme the, people started writing about humanism., ➢ One of the famous writers of this period was William Shakespeare, and he is considered as the greatest of English writers in the, history., ➢ His literary work includes the theme of comedy, romance,, chronicle and tragedy., ➢ The famous books of Shakespeare are Merchant of Venice, Julius, Cesar, Hamlet, Romeo Juliet etc., ➢ Shakespeare utilized his knowledge of Greek and Roman classic, while writing his plays., Impact on Science, ➢ It was during the Renaissance that new learning gave birth to, Science., ➢ One of the important scientists of this period was Copernicus who, proved that the sun is in the centre and not the earth., ➢ A tremendous growth in science helped people to publish, encyclopedia of scientific knowledge., ➢ Galileo invented the telescope and sir Isaac Newton discovered the, law of gravitation.