Francis Petrarch Leader of the Humanistic Movement and...

Francis Petrarch: Leader of the Humanistic Movement and Father of the Renaissance Before the civic spirit and individuality evident and necessary to the Renaissance came to fruition, there had to have been something to trigger a change in the mentality of the medieval civilization. The medieval manorialism fostered illiteracy and ignorance and a very narrow view of the outside world, people did not question their place, the church, or the need to prepare for the after life. The awakening of the Renaissance came after the dawn of a new Roman Empire way of thinking.. Humanism is the intellectual, literary and scientific movement of the 14th to the 16th centuries without which the Renaissance would never have evolved. Humanism is a†¦show more content†¦By the 11th century Italy dominated commerce in the Mediterranean and Western Europe, this enabled them to amass great wealth and a certain sense of self-confidence. The Italians, through organization and cleverness exploited their advantages, and by the high Middle Ages strong, wealthy and independent c ity-states, unlike the manors of Europe, had evolved. In addition, Italy was consistently exposed to not only the large-scale flow of goods, but also to new ideas and knowledge. It is important to note that although Italy had become independent, the Church still remained powerful and religion continued to be a governing factor. But, pre humanists began to question the teachings of the church and the corruption evident in the Papacy. Many pre Renaissance and Renaissance individuals felt torn between the pious teachings of the church and the earthly pleasures which wealth and independence brought. Until this point, education was scarce and only monastic schools existed, mainly for educating the clergy. The wealthy Italians, dissatisfied with the monastic schools, established independent municipal universities with a secular approach to learning, based on the classics. This was one of the decisive steps away from the church and towards a