What were some of the elements of Medieval culture and how do they differ from the Renaissance culture?
In the Medieval era, the role of the church is very strong. Church lands cover extensive areas, as once a piece of land is given to the church (e.g., in a will), it never comes out. There is basically only one church in the West, centred in Rome (the Orthodox church existed in the East before the Renaissance). Churches run most schools, and education rests with the Church.
Later, non-church education took place. Many schools were still run by the Church, but secular education took place. The Reformation happened in Renaissance times, which led to the loss of church ownership of land (particularly in England, but elsewhere in Europe as well).
Feudal reforms took place as well, as Monarchs began ceding powers to others. Landowners became more powerful, and the centres of wealth moved downward into lower levels of society.
February 28th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
In the Medieval era, the role of the church is very strong. Church lands cover extensive areas, as once a piece of land is given to the church (e.g., in a will), it never comes out. There is basically only one church in the West, centred in Rome (the Orthodox church existed in the East before the Renaissance). Churches run most schools, and education rests with the Church.
Later, non-church education took place. Many schools were still run by the Church, but secular education took place. The Reformation happened in Renaissance times, which led to the loss of church ownership of land (particularly in England, but elsewhere in Europe as well).
Feudal reforms took place as well, as Monarchs began ceding powers to others. Landowners became more powerful, and the centres of wealth moved downward into lower levels of society.
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February 28th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
You know, you could’ve gotten more answers if you google it yourself instead of asking here.
Here, I’ll help you as a start. These are from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediaeval
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance
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February 28th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
That is far too broad of a question to ask here. You will never get the full answer with one question. There were far too many differences in culture between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
An earlier answer talked about the church and secular difference. Another difference was the level to which bloodline mattered.
In the Middle Ages, "changing your stars" was next to impossible. If you were born a noble, you were a noble and at the top. If you were born a peasant, there you stayed, unless you did something extraordinary, and it had to be something -really- extraordinary.
During the Renaissance, guilds began to take over control of many things. The requirement of being a noble was no longer there when it came to riches. One could become rich by pure hard work, such as training in seamstress work, then becoming a Master/Mistress, then having apprentices, then starting a seamstressing guild, and trading and selling the best wares.
Laws about who could wear what were evidence of the breaking down of the feudal system. In the Middle Ages, only certain people (nobles, mostly) could war certain colours, fabrics, and styles of clothing. For example, silk was for those of noble blood. Even if a lower class person could obtain silk, to wear it carried a fine that was not worth the risk.
In the Renaissance, sumptuary laws broke down, and the common people were, if they had the money, now able to wear whatever fabrics, colours, and types of clothing as they got their hands on. if a commoner obtained a fine purple silk gown, then they could wear it. Want to wear that black satin gown with the obsidian gems threaded into it? In the Middle Ages, this might have been restricted to knights and higher, but in the Renaissance, anyone could wear it.
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Another difference was in the way of education. As was said, in the Middle Ages, all schools were run by the Church. Students mandatorily learned religion beside secular subjects. In the Renaissance, secular schools began to form, and students did not have to learn just what the Church said they must. Students began to study non-Church philosophy.
Women also gained more rights in the Renaissance, with more going to college, holding government positions, and running guilds. In the Middle Ages, most women were mothers and homemakers, the most they could readily acheive was a position as an assistant to a man, such as a nurse to a doctor, a secretary-like position for an official (if the girl was lucky enough to be born in a family that had the money to send a girl to school), or some such. In the Renaissance, women gained leadership positions, not just positions of assistance.
Everything changed, from art to science to education to government. There is far too much to write down in a single answer, and you could read volumes of books without learning about all the differences. My suggestion would be to ask a similar question about a particular subject. For example, you could ask about the differences in the Church between the Middle Ages and the Renaiisance, or about education, or about women’s rights…choose one subject to get started, and read lots of books on that subject. If you don’t understand a particular fact about that subject, ask for some explanation here, but make your question narrower, asking about something particular.
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