Renaissance literature
Encyclopedia
Renaissance Literature refers to the period in European literature
that began in Italy
during the 14th century and spread around Europe
through the 17th century. The impact of the Renaissance
varied across the continent; countries that were predominantly Catholic
or Protestant experienced the Renaissance differently compared to areas where the Orthodox Church was dominant as reflecting on its culture, as well as those areas of Europe under Islamic rule.
The creation of the printing press
by Johannes Gutenberg encouraged authors to write in the local vernacular
rather than in Greek
or Latin classical language
s, widening the reading audience and promoting the spread of Renaissance ideas.
European literature
European literature refers to the literature of Europe.European literature includes literature in many languages; among the most important of the modern written works are those in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Czech and Russian and works by the...
that began in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the 14th century and spread around Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
through the 17th century. The impact of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
varied across the continent; countries that were predominantly Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
or Protestant experienced the Renaissance differently compared to areas where the Orthodox Church was dominant as reflecting on its culture, as well as those areas of Europe under Islamic rule.
The creation of the printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
by Johannes Gutenberg encouraged authors to write in the local vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
rather than in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
or Latin classical language
Classical language
A classical language is a language with a literature that is classical. According to UC Berkeley linguist George L. Hart, it should be ancient, it should be an independent tradition that arose mostly on its own, not as an offshoot of another tradition, and it must have a large and extremely rich...
s, widening the reading audience and promoting the spread of Renaissance ideas.
See also
- Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literatureDutch Renaissance and Golden Age literatureDutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature is the literature written in the Dutch language in the Low Countries from around 1550 to around 1700...
- Elizabethan literatureElizabethan literatureThe term Elizabethan literature refers to the English literature produced during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I .The Elizabethan era saw a great flourishing of literature, especially in the field of drama...
- French Renaissance literatureFrench Renaissance literatureFor more information on historical developments in this period see: Renaissance, History of France, and Early Modern France.For information on French art and music of the period, see French Renaissance....
- Spanish Renaissance literatureSpanish Renaissance literatureSpanish Renaissance literature is the literature written in Spain during the Renaissance.-Introduction:The political, religious, literary, and war relations between Italy and Spain since the second half of the 15th century caused a remarkable cultural interchange between these two countries...
- Italian Renaissance literature
Literature by century
- 14th century in literature14th century in literatureSee also: 14th century in poetry, 13th century in literature, other events of the 14th century, 15th century in literature, list of years in literature.-Events:*c.1330 - Production of the Macclesfield Psalter.*1331 - Production of the Nuremberg Mahzor....
- 15th century in literature15th century in literatureSee also: 15th century in poetry, 14th century in literature, other events of the 15th century, 16th century in literature, list of years in literature.-Events:* 1403 - The Yongle Encyclopedia is commissioned in China....
- 16th century in literature16th century in literatureSee also: 16th century in poetry, 15th century in literature, other events of the 16th century, 17th century in literature, list of years in literature.-Events:1508...
- 17th century in literature17th century in literatureSee also: 17th century in poetry, 16th century in literature*Early Modern literature*other events of the 17th century*18th century in literature, 1700 in literature,and list of years in literature.-Events and trends:...
Poetry by century
- 14th century in poetry14th century in poetry-Works:* Old Hungarian 'Lamentations of Mary', first Hungarian poem, is transcribed at the beginning of the century* Erikskronikan , 1320–1321, Sweden...
- 15th century in poetry15th century in poetry-Works:* Per Raff Lille, Mariaviser , Denmark* Stora rimkronikan , Sweden* 1402–1403 – Christine de Pisan, Le Livre du chemin de long estude, describing a trial of the faults of this world in the "Court of Reason"* 1403 – Christine de Pisan, La Mutacion de Fortune -Europe:* Per Raff...
- 16th century in poetry16th century in poetry-Works published:* Hamzah Fansuri writes in the Malay language.* The compilation of Romances de los Señores de Nueva España, a collection of Aztec poetry .-England:* John Skelton -Works published:* Hamzah Fansuri writes in the Malay language.* The compilation of Romances de los Señores de Nueva...
- 17th century in poetry17th century in poetry-Denmark:* Thomas Kingo, Aandelige Siunge-Koor , hymns, some of which are still sung-Other:* Martin Opitz, Das Buch der Deutschen Poeterey , Germany-Danish poets:* Anders Arrebo...