from medieval to renaissance

8/3/2019 From Medieval to Renaissance

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From Medieval to Renaissance

The Medieval and Renaissance ages may seem like an odd combination of eras. Despite

many differences, both eras focus on God and spirituality. They address the issue of God in very

different ways but it lies central in them both. They also go well together in the matter of

progression like every other stylistic period, the Renaissance developed from cultural seeds

planted and roots strongly embedded in the period that came before it. (Ferris 91) The events

and styles of the Medieval shape those of the Renaissance. The never ending search for the true,

good, and beautiful unites these two time periods in a shared experience even though they used

different methods of discovery.

The focus of the middle ages was directly on God. The cathedrals, the art, the music, and

even the philosophy were all intended for his glory. Perhaps stemming from the idea of the

lowliness of man in comparison to God the Medieval were constantly trying to reach God. The

cathedrals were built in the architectural style called Gothic raised elaborately decorated walls

and towering spires toward heaven. (Ferris 74) Gregorian chant is a monophonic style of music

which uses simple melodies. Like most other art forms of the time the purpose of plainchant is

to draw attention away from itself, directly to God. (Ferris 79) The idea of intermingling God

into everything didnt stop at the arts but crossed over into what had in previous eras been

largely pre-Christianity territory, philosophy. Thomas Aquinas, in the thirteenth century, held

that there was no wall of separation between theology and philosophy, (Kirk211) He in his

rediscovery of Aristotle and study of Averroes united some of the principles of the two with

Christian religion.

In all other eras we have discussed the literary legacy they left behind. Medieval

literature had a very big focus on chivalry. The symbolic trinity, reminiscent of the holy trinity,


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of loyalty to the king, courtly love to the unattainable queen, and duty of the knight, the code of

honor, and the quests were perfect fuel to inspire authors towards a romanticized view. There

were many romantic dramas, stories, and poems abounded, written in the flowery language of

the age of chivalry. (Ferris 82) The knights of the medieval era are idealized in many ways

through writings but their heroism was real. The world of that time was a dangerous place. And

while the knights motives were often not as pure as depicted in the fictional works based on the

era they were trained to die for the safety of their people. And that is respectable whether they

are fighting fictional dragons or real warring factions. The age of chivalry was an age of

wonders. Where did the actual begin and the imaginary end? No man knew. (Kirk205)

While the focus of the medieval era was certainly on the divine they did make progress in

the realm of politics. They adopted and adapted the natural law as presented by the romans. They

used a version of common law as well. Much like the roman common law The common law is

founded upon custom and precedent, (Kirk, 184) They also established a new order of sorts to

deal with corrupt leadership and abuse of power. The Magna Charta established the principle of

the supremacy of law. It made it clear that even the king is bound by the law. (Kirk195)

The Renaissance was an entirely different era than that of the medieval. While the

medieval age had isolated areas of culture the renaissance introduced the world of arts and

luxury to the masses. A number of factors lead to this influx of culture. Man had moved from a

depraving view of himself into an appreciation for all the potential of humanity. Some theories

express the idea that the more elevated view of man reflects a trending away from God and the

faith that so dominated middle ages. Kirks view is that after the medieval ages reached the

height of spirituality over the rest of the centurythe Age of faith would dissolve. (Kirk 221)

Other views have a more positive spiritual outlook. This era can be described as one of Christian


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buy in, in similar fashion to Greece, and held competitions for who would design certain aspects

of the Duomo. One competition they held was to see who would design the dome itself. The

winner of this competition was also a true renaissance man. Brunelleschi possessed skills as a

goldsmith, intellectual, scientist, in addition to those of an architect. His unique octagonal dome

design won out. It stood without wooden supports due to the fact that Brunelleschi made the

angle of the dome as steep as its form permitted. (Johnson 211) Extremely well received, the

dome inspired even more acclaim with the addition of the lantern. As Johnson so aptly put it

They loved it which is lucky since the opinion of the public carried a tremendous amount of

clout. (Johnson 211) The Duomo has more to offer than merely a skyline dominating dome and

bell tower though there are many intricate details. One such detail is the doors crafted by

goldsmith and sculptor, Ghiberti. He worked on the doors over the course of decades resulting in

art unlike everything else that has happened in art. Each door consists of smaller panels

depicting biblical stories in a frieze like style. The truth of God displayed through the beauty of

art. Ghiberti claimed he always put art before the quest after lucre and Johnson affirms this to

be true. (Johnson 233)

In fact a majority of the art from this age has a religious influence. While the discovery of

Greek artifacts provoked a new way of looking at art, history, and humanity in the minds of the

people they had a stable religion to combine those ideas with. The statues Madonna with the

Child and two Angels were bronze cast and reflected a combination of techniques, styles, and

theology from different eras. A majority of sculptor and painting during the time was actually

ornamentation for lavish Cathedrals, like the Duomo. The works of Raphael also resonate

strongly with the medieval styles as he longed to believe in the supernatural with all the

absolute credulity of the medieval world. (Johnson 275) In The Sistine Madonna he elevates


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her, literally, above the world. This is something he decided against in his other works on the

subject of Madonna but the tact and grace with which he does it here it makes an important

statement. It is a technique he uses again in his Transfiguration, a large work that almost cost

him his reputation as sensible. He died shortly thereafter and Johnson speaks of his death as

the biggest single loss in arts history. (Johnson 276) Finally the epitome of a renaissance man,

Leonardo da Vinci, is discussed. As a man of many interests Leonardos priorities were

unclear. (Johnson 277) His works theMona Lisa and Last Supperare recognized by most

everyone. Even some of the sketches from one of his many journals have achieved household

recognition. And despite his complex personal life and reputation as someone who never finished

anything he will likely be considered one of the greatest artists of all time for as long as someone

is around to classify things.

Music also developed during this time. Polyphonic music is a type of music with multiple

harmonies. While this style of music was introduced in the medieval times it became extremely

popular during the renaissance So prevalent and so magnificent was Polyphonic music that this

period is known as the Golden age of Polyphony. (Ferris 97) And while a large majority of their

music, like their art, was based on God and for the purpose of religion Secular music, both

vocal and instrumental, became increasingly appreciated throughout the Renaissance. (Ferris

116)

A lot happened over the course of those two eras. There are numerous important things

that have not even been hinted at left in both eras and perhaps my fascination with the Duomo

came through a bit too strongly, and yet we still see so much truth in the discovery and praising

of God, beauty in the arts, and good in the unique blend of the two.

from medieval to renaissance

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