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Renaissance
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Pope Sixtus IV, 1477, builder of the Sistine Chapel. Fresco by Melozzo da Forlì in the Vatican Palace.

Renaissance Literature refers to the period in European literature, which began in Italy during the 15th 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 Johann Gutenberg encouraged authors to write in the local vernacular rather than in Greek or Latin classical languages, widening the reading audience and promoting the spread of Renaissance ideas. A prime example of the writings of the time are the works of William Shakespeare, who was fundamental in the spread of Renaissance ideas.

Authors of the Renaissance

Among the famous authors of the literary movement of the Renaissance are:

• Dante (Divine Comedy) (arguably a legacy of the Medieval era)
• Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (Oration on the Dignity of Man)
• Erasmus (In Praise of Folly)
• Sir Thomas More (Utopia)
• Boccaccio (On Famous Women, Decameron)
• Machiavelli (The Prince)
• Castiglione (The Book of the Courtier)
• Montaigne (Essais)
• Cervantes (Don Quixote)
• Luís de Camões (The Lusiads)
• William Shakespeare (Hamlet)

A brief chronology of Renaissance literature

Many historians recognize the beginning of the Renaissance Period as 6 April 1341 when Francesco Petrarch was crowned Poet Laureate. This period included revolutions in art, philosophy, and science, all which contributed to development of new forms of literature. This was a time of rebirth because many of the principles exposed during the classical time period in ancient Greece and Rome were the basis of Renaissance literature.

In the mid-fifteenth century, Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. As a result, copies of texts were made, therefore making the literature more accessible to Europeans.¹

Citations

See also

• Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature
• Swedish reformation and Renaissance literature
• Early Modern literature

External links

• 16th Century Renaissance Literature
• 17th Century Literature
• The French Literature
• Scottish Literature
• Hungarian literature
• Polish Literature
• Catalan Literature
• The Decameron
• Petrarch 1
• Petrarch 2
• Printing Press
• The Fall of Rome