Humanism
 
The Renaissance was an incredibly important turning point
in Western Intellectual and Cultural Tradition. All of
these changes centered around the idea of Humanism -- in
which, people became less "God Centered" and more
"Human-centered". I have narrowed down these changes, and
will discuss in detail, these changes in three major
categories: Political, Education, and the Humanism of Arts.
 
The major pollical changes of the Renaissance were from the
old Feudal System of the Middle Ages into a more flexible
and liberal class system. This was most noticeable in Italy
(particularly in Florence), where the divisions consisted
of the old rich, the new rich nobles, the middle class, and
the lower middle class(The poor didn't count). This created
great conflict between these social divisions. The new rich
consisted of successful merchants, capitalists, and bankers
innovators of new systems of making money. The Humanism
philosophy was also a very popular with the people and many
political leaders rose to high positions with support of
these ideals. Three humanists even became chancellors of
Florence -- they used their rhetorical skills to strongly
rally the people of Florence against their enemies.
 
The great changes in Education of the Renaissance were
inspired at first, by the desire of Humanists to be wise
and to speak eloquently. The idea of useful education for
the people, and very "well rounded" schooling in many
different fields of learning were the new defined goals of
Renaissance education. People all over (Especially in
Florence) revived the Ancient Greek studies of Plato,
Aristotle, and many others. People began seriously
questioning what these people said and re-developed the
"Scientific Theory" in which you didn't just accept
whatever was said to you, but you tested the truth of it.
 
In the area of Humanism and the Arts, Renaissance Artists
no longer were subordinate to the interests and the values
of the Clergy, and were able to create anything of their
"artistic will". Both men and women were now able to
appreciated arts beyond just religious themes. Artists
could also now take advantage of new techniques, such as
oil painting and linear perspective to enhance the quality
of their works. All of the great artists of the time used
became who they were solely because of this new artistic
freedom that the Renaissance brought them. These artists
also created works that were more complex than before.
Taking advantage of this, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci
-- the ultimate example of the Renaissance man working in
all types of educational fields, and Michelangelo who was
possibly the most famous artist and sculptor in history.
 
As you can see, the Renaissance was to great extent and a
major turning point in history from the Middle Ages in just
about every element of the Society. The Renaissance have
truly become the original roots of our culture from the
West. This was was the time when people questioned the
past, and decided to go back to the schools of learning
taking the past of the Greeks into their present to make a
better future.