- The starting point for the Humanism of the Renaissance was Italy.
- This was most likely due to the ongoing presence of a commercial revolution in the Italian city-states of the era.
- At this time, there was a tremendous increase in the number of rich individuals with disposable income that supported a luxurious lifestyle of leisure and arts.
- Another factor which made Italy a natural place for launching the humanist movement was its obvious connection to ancient Rome.
- Humanism was very much an outgrowth of increased interest in the philosophy, literature, and historiography of ancient Greece and Rome, all of which offered a stark contrast to what had been produced under the direction of the Christian Church during the Middle Ages.
- Italians believed they were descendants of Romans therefore they had the need to understand and eventually imitate.
- It is because of the need to find and translate ancient manuscripts that so many early humanists were deeply involved with libraries, transcription, and linguistics.
- One consequence of the development of humanist philosophy during the Renaissance was the increased emphasis on the importance of education.
- People needed to learn ancient Greek and Latin in order to even begin to understand the ancient manuscripts.
- This, in turn, led to further education in the arts and philosophies which went along with those manuscripts — and finally the ancient sciences which had for so long been neglected by Christian scholars.
- The humanists rediscovered writings on scientific matters, government, rhetoric, philosophy, and art.
- They were influenced by the knowledge of these ancient civilizations and by the emphasis placed on man, his intellect, and his life on Earth.
- As a result, there was a burst of scientific and technological development during the Renaissance unlike anything seen in Europe for centuries.