Was the Renaissance over glorified
The elimination of at least half of all Europeans was a tragic event, but the Black Death brought about one of the greatest eras of all time: the Renaissance. It was an improvement from the state of the Middle Ages which was often called the “Dark Ages” and it was by no means an over glorified period of time. The Renaissance, meaning ‘rebirth’ originated in Northern Italy and that’s where the majority of the changes took place. There was a decline of the feudal system during this time and individualism began to thrive. With the mind developing, education became much more vital in society than it previously had been. The educated population that began to grow found new means of trade and expanded their territory. Careers such as banking and merchandizing became vital to improve the state of the economy. With the newfound wealth that was created by these occupations, many people invested into culture in a significant way. Numerous changes were made to Europe during the Renaissance. Not all the individuals benefited from these changes but over all the state of society became better off with their new mode of thought, especially compared to the previous state it was in during the Middle Ages. The beneficial changes that took place were exceptional and advantageous to help set up modern western civilisation.
After the devastation of the Black Death, Italy’s ideal location along the Mediterranean Sea opened up opportunities for trade. As a result, Italy began to see an economic rise take place, which gradually spread all over Europe. Members of the middle class became capitalist entrepreneurs. Others became merchants who indirectly helped to boost the economy by learning the art of trade. Also banking became a popular profession for the educated. These people became to be known as the ‘bourgeois’. It was only the wealth that inspired the business people to come forth and succeed as they did, but in doing so they indirectly helped the destruction of the feudal system because the individual in general played much more of a role in society. The riches they had acquired through their work led them to retain a more substantial portion of the wealth then the middle class previously had. The bourgeois also gained political strength due to their work as they were keeping the economy alive, so they should have had a say on how the country was operated. Throughout the Renaissance more and more members of the bourgeois began to emerge into society. As they did, the nobility resented them more as they became less important. It was a time when “a servant may easily become a king” (Aeneas Sylvius) if they had the ability to. Such opportunities mainly arose from the business world. The people who took the role in the careers of merchants had to be educated and that can be seen with only 12 percent of them being illiterate (Manchester, 96) because it became to be a very complex occupation. Many transactions took [next page]