Was the Renaissance an age of progress and advancement?

Answer 1

Certainly, educated people of the Renaissance regarded their age as an age of progress and advancement; they were very self congratulatory on that score. And most historians since that time have agreed with them; perhaps this was because it is easier to agree with people who talk a lot than with those who do not say much. Personally, I think of the Renaissance as a time that is no more progressive then the Middle Ages, and in which there was comparatively little advancement aside from the works of a very few great geniuses. But other times have had their geniuses, too.

I will suggest a little experiment for anyone who wants to satisfy their own curiosity. I am leaving two links below to articles in Wikipedia. One is on medieval technology, and one on Renaissance technology. If you look at them, please remember a few things. First, the Middle Ages were 1000 years long, and the Renaissance were about 200 to 250. Second, they overlap to some extent, so the listings of developments both include some of the same things; the blast furnace and the printing press are listed in both. Also, there were important inventions left off the lists; my favorite medieval invention is the chimney, before which there were no fireplaces. And finally, the lists include both inventions and imported technology, but remember that advancement can come in the form of either. Now, if you look at these lists, ask yourself whether the advancements of Renaissance technology are more important than those of medieval technology, taking into account the difference in the time involved.

There are a lot of things people today like to find disparaging about the Middle Ages, and from which the Renaissance seems to be a cure, but the disparaging things said about the Middle Ages turn out not to be true, and the Renaissance is clearly in some respects a time of backsliding. Look at the article at the link on bathing, and you discover that people in the Middle Ages kept themselves clean, but people of the Renaissance relied on perfume. Look at the article at the link on witch hunts, and tell me whether the Renaissance or the Middle Ages was more superstitious. There is also a related question for those curious about the contention that medieval people were all illiterate except the clergy: "What is the Evolution of education in the Middle Ages?"

I could go on about the disparaging things said about the Middle Ages, that people think were cured by the Renaissance, but suffice it to say, if you are going to believe anything, believe what you can find by serious research and forget the rest.