THE RENAISSANCE- A RETURN TO THE CLASSICS
The term, „Renaissance‟, which began in the late fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, refers to the period after the Middle Ages. It was a period in which the art of printing, literature, sculpture and architecture reached prominence. The development spread to England in the sixteenth century but reached its height during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. The Renaissance period produced philosophers, artists and scholars who borrowed ideas from the ancient cultures of Greeks and Romans, and this is essentially part of the reasons they are often described as humanists. With their interests in ancient classics of Greek and Romans, they improved their arts, but this was later empowered and enlarged by the invention of printing and other discoveries of the period.
Part of the important changes of the period was the 1492 crossing of the Atlantic by Christopher Columbus from Spain to „discover ‟ a new continent, America. There was also the discovery made by Copernicus in 1543 about the movement of heavenly bodies. His theory explained that the centre was not the earth but the sun which is surrounded by other planets that revolve around it.The Renaissance covers the early Tudor Age (1500 – 1557); Elizabethan Age (1558 – 1603); Jacobean Age (1603 – 1625) ;and the Carolina Age (1625 – 1642).
With the chains of developments in the Renaissance era, literature, particularly the novel genre, flourished greatly. Prior to this period, narratives of different types had existed in parts of Italy, France and Spain before the full-fledged modern novel classics as we know it today. Some of the popular narrative titles before the development of the real novel are: Miguel de Cervantes ‟ Don Quixote (1605); Philip Sidney‟s The Arcadia (1590); Thomas Nashe‟s The Unfortunate Traveller (1594); Aphra Behn‟s Oroonoko (1688); and John Buyan‟s The Pilgrims Progress (1678).
It is believed that Samuel Richardson was the first English novelist, but the beginning of the English novel can be traced to Daniel Defoe (1660 – 1771); Samuel Richardson (1689 – 1761); Henry Folding (1707 – 1754); and Tobias Smollet (1721 – 1771). The novel genre started with the publication of Daniel Defoe‟sRobinson Crusoe (1719) and Moll Flanders (1722);and Jonathan Swift‟s Gulliver’s Travels (1726). There was also Samuel Richardson‟s Pamela or Virtue Rewarded (1740). It was written in the form of letters from a servant girl who was fleeing from the love advances of her master. The letters report her resistance, but at last her master falls in love with her and decides to marry her. After this beautiful creative appearance, Richardson wrote Clarissa Harlowe(1748) and Sir Charles Grandison (1753). Just like his novel, these two were also epistolary novels, that is, they were written in the form of letters. This form of writing enhanced the creativity of the novel genre. Henry Fielding emerged on the literary scene after Richardson with his Joseph Andrews (1742) and Tom Jones (1749). Other novelists became visible too; there was Tobias Smollet, who wrote the novel, The Adventures of Roderick Random(1748) and The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771).Other novelists include Lawrence Stern, who authored Tristrom Shandy (1759), a „mysterious‟ novel in nine volumes; and Horace Walpole, the author of The Castle of Otranto, (1764).
3.2 A NEW WAY OF LIVING
The great discoveries of the Renaissance era transformed the way of life of the people. The economy, culture, politics, education and social status experienced new twists that re-patterned people‟s style of living. The Renaissance spirit influenced England and her people in very many ways.
3.2.1 Cultural Changes
The great changes in the world that led to the birth of the Renaissance also led to the cultural rebirth of England. Italian, Latin and Greek architectural design was imported into the English cultural life. For instance, Inigo Jones,a Welsh architect, who introduced the Proscenium arch stage movable scenery into the English theatre, was the major English theatre structure designer in three centuries. The new theatre structure influence almost affected the William Shakespeare‟s thrust theatre that could accommodate a larger audience.
The culture of drama replaced prose in many important ways; it promoted the culture of extended writing in the English language, with the presence of new words. For example, Thomas More introduced the word, „Utopian‟, which in Greek means, no place, into the English Language. The invention of printing facilitated the proliferation of different kinds of writing, including essays, political pamphlets and travel documents as well as the authorised King James Version of the Holy Bible, and translations were done into Greek, Latin and English for use by English churches. Thus, the language of the Bible influenced every writer in the period, and with the Bible in every Church of England, it became an important part of British culture.
Apart from the Holy Bible, other pamphlets that reveal the social culture of corruption in the capital city of London were written and distributed in public parks and buses. Such writings were usually brief, concise and comic about social crimes and city life; because “cony-catching” pamphlets, as it was called were about the sub-culture of thieves and cheats.
3.2.2 Economic Changes
When Christopher Columbus crossed the Atlantic to discover the Americas in 1492, it opened the doors of England to varieties of foreign goods from the New World, leading to economic changes. The discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo did not just prove that the centre is not the earth but made England the central focus of businesses and business contacts around the world. Ferdinand Magellan‟s sail around the world also changed the economy of England for the better. Soon, London became the capital city of England. All sorts of businesses emerged, there was the growth in the production of pamphlets and short printed texts novels as well as other publications. Sales of weekly newspapers increased. For instance, Britain‟s famous newspaper, The Times began. Paperback publishing had its first major success in Britain with the beginning of Penguin Books.
Development in information technology with Gutenberg‟s CD-ROM revolutionized the English economy greatly. The Renaissance period also witnessed the presence of the first theatre, which was built in London in 1576; audience paid one penny to see the plays of William Shakespeare.
3.2.3 Political Changes
With the new general re-awakening in the Renaissance, there was an important change in the political and religious experiences of the period. When King Henry VIII separated from the Catholic Church and the Papal authority, he became the head of the Church of England. King Henry VIII‟s daughter, Queen Elizabeth, became the symbol of the Golden age of English political stability between 1558 and 1603. The government of King Henry VIII took over total control of foreign books, closed the monasteries and destroyed many valuable books.
The abuse of power and corruption by the State influenced playwrights of the period including Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson and William Shakespeare to conceive of some of the tyrannical and power-drunk characters in their writings. Niccolo Machiavelli writings, particularly the one titled The Prince, which criticised corrupt politicians, were disapproved of in England because his works were believed to disparage the government of the period.
In the 1620‟s the English society became violent and corrupt as citizens played host to various social vices. The Golden Age of Queen Elizabeth had long past, but the State faced serious socio-economic and political problems, the Puritans no longer see the theatre as a literary form, but as an avenue to promote the social ills of the past. In the 1630s and the 1640s, the political problems of the nation increased, as the Puritans became more powerful. With the overthrow and execution of King Charles 1 in 1649, the Renaissance period of intellectual experimentation and discovery came to an end.
3.3 MARTIN LUTHER AND THE REFORMATION
Martin Luther dedicated himself to the monastery early in life. His activities within the religious movement began when he became a member of the Augustinian friary in Germany in 1505. At a time that the Catholic Church had been overtaken by corruption, there was a need for a new religious movement within the church that would protest the growing corruption within it.
Martin Luther‟s spiritual self-examination began to lead him towards religious despair. He was ordained a priest in 1507, after he got a doctorate in the Theological Faculty of the University of Wittenberg. This gave him the chance to study the hydra headed problems of the church of his time. At Wittenberg, Martin Luther began to question the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. For instance, he noticed a change in his initial understanding of Penance, righteousness and salvation. This was the genesis of the formulation of his doctrine of justification, which opened the way and created a divide between him and the Roman Catholic Church. In the 16th century, excommunication was usually used as a threat to keep followers within the church and punish those who refused to conduct themselves within the laid down rules.
In the 15th century, Martin Luther questioned the primary authority of the Pope who was seen as Christ‟s personal representative on earth, who was addressed as the “Vicar of Christ”. Luther was of the opinion that humanity cannot give salvation, which is a spiritual gift, from God to man; but by faith in Christ Jesus. Salvation was not obtainable by church membership or the works done on earth. He explained that the grace of God was procured for man by the blood and death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
Luther insists that the controversial issue of indulgences would only lead to spiritual crisis. The idea of sin, he argued, referred to man‟s violation of moral rules, the code of conduct decreed by God in his “holy scriptures”. When sin occurred, a form of penance (a sign of repentance) is required to absolve oneself. He was of the opinion that it was the action of penance and the emerging corruption of indulgence that would throw the Catholic Church into protest and unimaginable crises. He condemned the buying and selling of indulgences by the church, as some Christians within the Catholic Church had reduced it to a form of business; kicking against such practice will hinder the construction of St. Peter‟s Basilica in Rome. And, with the appointment of the Dominican friar, John Tetzel, as commissioner for indulgences for Germany, he had the responsibility to raise money for the church through the sale of indulgences.
For urging people to pay for sins yet to be committed, Martin Luther preached in the public against the Commissioner for Indulgence and the Catholic Church. Luther‟s impressive and thought provoking articles against the sales of indulgences became a catalyst for emerging Protestant Reformation. One of such was the „Disputation of Martin Luther and the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences‟ also known as the „Ninety-five Theses‟, a protest document Luther wrote to Archbishop Albrecht in October 1517. Luther‟s thesis questioned the power of the Pope or anyone to remit guilt of sin or “grant anyone the remission of all penalties”. In the second part of the letter, Luther described the payment for pardon as unnecessary, and urged that such money should be used to provide for the families of individual Christians.
The Ninety-five Theses became the contentious voice of the oppressed members of the Catholic Church of Luther‟s time. Rome issued a Papal bull requesting all Christians to acknowledge the Pope‟s authority to grant indulgence. In 1520, the Pope issued the Exurge Domine when Luther did not carry out the Pope ‟s order in the Papal Bull that ordered him to withdraw some 41 theological errors the Church found contentious in his Theses. However, Luther burnt the issued document publicly, with the Catholic Church‟s ecclesiastical Canon Law. Apparently aggrieved, the Pope, Leo X, excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church in 1521.
The Reformation spread to other parts of Europe, including Switzerland, freeing many people from the Papal authority and the Church. The Protestant Reformation led to a thirty years war in Europe from 1618.This religious war degenerated into a war of political power and will, but the 1648 Peace of Westphalia ended the religious war in Europe and enthroned religious freedom for Protestants.
3.4 SOME NEGATIVE EVENTS OF THE RENAISSANCE
The Renaissance era is famous for the intellectual and ideological changes that characterised the period, but it also had its own fair share of some negative changes. It is a clear historical fact that the medieval era dovetailed into the Renaissance, therefore it was possible that some of the negative events that were the features of the medieval became the inheritance of the Golden Age.
The sense of freedom enjoyed by all during the Renaissance period encouraged much violence, complex sexual feelings and activities, corruption, as well as elevated criticisms of every aspect of the Renaissance. For instance, the theatre was so criticised that it was closed by the Puritans in 1642. The criticism and generated conflicts also diminished the popularity of the theatre as a form of social entertainment.
Also, the political problems of England increased in the 1630s and 1640s as the Puritans became extremely powerful, and this deepened as the Cavalier group of Pro-Charles 1 moved against the Puritans (the Roundheads). The political conflict that ensued led to the execution of King Charles 1 in 1649.
The Renaissance gradually grounded to a halt from the high Middle Ages. Latin that had flourished greatly from the classical age and became the language of the church was overtaken by the improved English Language and other competing languages.
3.4.1 WITCH HUNTS AGAINST CATHOLICS
The serial developments of the Renaissance period opened the route for the oppression and witch hunts of Catholic priests. The religion and politics changed when King Henry VIII made himself the head of the Church of England, merging church and the State (1529 – 1539). The King or Queen was next to God in the political hierarchy of England. He revealed his hatred for Catholicism and the Pope in Rome by oppressing the Church‟s priests, who were viewed with hostility and treated with disdain in almost all areas of life, the English politics, culture and economy. This action elevated the social status of the Protestants.
For instance, the Protestant land owners compelled the Parliament to approve penal laws to keep the Catholics disorganised and disunited. This generated religious hatred between the Catholics and Protestants, though the motive behind the action was both economic and political. The Attainder Act passed by James 1 in the Irish Parliament in 1689 resettled Ireland in favour of Catholics. The penal laws suppressed the religious culture of the Catholics to hold crown offices or practice law; traders among them could only hire apprentices. They were also excluded from the guilds. They were forbidden to be land owners, nor allowed a lease for a period longer than thirty one years. Some of them who had estate could not have it inherited by their eldest son, except divide the land into small farms among their children. The status of Catholics had diminished considerably; for instance, they owed only 14 percent of the land compared to the 59 percent they had in 1641.The children of Catholics could not attend seminary (home or abroad) and their education was entrusted to the care of Protestant schools. They could not own a house worth five pounds nor owe a gun.
There were strict regulations against priesthood. All archbishops, bishops, vicars- general, deans were all banished from the country. Those who were left behind or returning were charged for treason and sentenced to death by hanging or subjected to quartering. The classless or inferior clergy could only conduct Mass after approval from the government. All unregistered Catholic Priests who were first offenders were branded on the cheek with a large “P”, the penalty was further upgraded to castration of erring priests; though the latter penalty was replaced with branding before it was thrown out by the Lords, for technically involving Catholic leases, not for any humanitarian value.
Even as there are no records that the laws that threatened banishment or death on Catholic clergy were applied in the eighteenth century, the clergies were severely sanctioned. The policy of vengefulness against Catholic Priests reached a more ridiculous height in Ireland while under the political control of England.
SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
State some of the cultural and political changes that took place during the Renaissance era.
4.0 CONCLUSION
In this unit, we have discussed the cultural, economic and political changes that occurred in England during the Renaissance period. We have also identified and explained some of the negative effects of the Renaissance period. You are advised to read over your work again.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, you have learnt:
. The meaning of Renaissance;
. That the transforming changes that took place in Renaissance England were partly social-cultural and political;
. About some of the negative events of the period;
. The significant roles played by Martin Luther in the Reformation trial;
. Some of the forms of injustice and oppression Catholics experienced in Renaissance England.
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1) Discuss the major developments of the Renaissance period.
2) Briefly discuss the negative effects of the Renaissance period.
3) What led to the enmity between the English monarchy and the Catholic Church? How was this eventually resolved?
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Carter Ronald and McRae John (1995). Penguin Guide to English Literature. England: Penguin Group.
Mullett, M. and Scott (Eds.) (1981). Byzantium and the Classical Tradition. Birmingham.
Ralph, Brown (2006). The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century (1660 - 1798). London: Macmillan.
Roberts, J. M. (1996). History of Europe. Malta: Heux.
Selley, G. C. (1962). The Renaissance: Its Nature and Origin. Macmillan.
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