Question

Explain the term Renaissance.

Answer 1

1. The Italian city-states were centers of cultural activities since the fourteenth century.
2. With the coming of scholars and artists from Constantinople, there was a surge of enthusiasm and interest in studying classical literature and art of Greeks and Romans.
3. This creative upsurge was reflected in their writings, art, architecture, and music.
4. This cultural fluorescence is known as the renaissance.
5. The origin of the word renaissance is from the Italian word ‘renascita’ meaning rebirth.
6. It is called the renaissance because there was a rebirth or revival of classical Greek and Latin literature.
7. Many scholars in Italy went in search of manuscripts of classical literature.
8. Greek scholar Manuel Chrysoloras who taught Greek classics in Italy, Guarino and Giovanni Aurispa, to name just a few, visited Constantinople several times to collect Greek manuscripts.
9. Later they printed what they collected.