Renaissance Timeline

Johannes Gutenberg

1400

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg was a German man who is credited with the creation of the movable printing press. With this invention, it became much easier to mass produce books, including the Bible written in different languages. This spread literacy and religion during the Renaissance. His birth and death dates are unknown, but estimated during the 14th-15th centuries.

Humanism

1400

Humanism during the Renaissance was focused on respecting past beauty and values from civilizations such as the Greeks and Romans. Since Humanism was practiced by religious followers, there was a want for keeping Christianity as, ideally, "pure". Humanism was shown throughout the Renaissance's entirety - the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.

Perspective

1400

Perspective was reintroduced in Renaissance art through mathematic studies in how far away objects are. Artists had to learn how to illustrate an object's distance, and this can be shown in Leonard da Vinci's "Last Supper" painting. Jesus and other individuals are standing behind a table with the background holding perspective. Perspective helped to achieve absolute realism.

Sale of Indulgences

1400

In the Catholic church during the Renaissance, "indulgences" were seen as a way to reduce one's suffering for their sins after death. These indulgences were paid through currency to the church and challenged by Martin Luther during the Protestant Reformation. The sale of indulgences has gone on since the tenth century but was very debated during the Renaissance.

Printing Revolution

1440

The Printing Revolution began when Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press. This printing press made books more accessible for everyone through its easier production. In comparison to forty, handmade pages per day, the printing press could make 3,600 pages.

Lorenzo de' Medici Birth

Jan 1, 1449

Lorenzo de' Medici was an avid patron of the arts during the Renaissance and the ruler of the Florence Republic. He was very supportive of individuals who were making their impact during the Renaissance and respected scholars, artists, and poets alike. He was a very powerful politician and diplomat during his time.

Leonardo da Vinci Birth

Apr 15, 1452

Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps the most well-known man of the Renaissance. He was a very well-rounded individual and was seen as the ideal "Renaissance Man" for his advancements in art, science, and technology. He painted the most renowned portrait of all time, the "Mona Lisa".

Erasmus Birth

Oct 28, 1466

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus or "Erasmus" was a philosopher and scholar during the Renaissance and is credited for his classical scholarship in Christianity. His beliefs were based in piety and that every individual has the potential for self improvement. He was also a firm believer of humanism and translated works such as the Bible into Greek and Latin.

Nicholas Copernicus Birth

Feb 19, 1473

Nicholas Copernicus or "Copernicus" was a mathematician and astronomer during the Renaissance. He was famous for his model of the universe that placed the sun at the middle with planets revolving around it rather than the Earth being in center.

Michelangelo Birth

Mar 6, 1475

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, better known as "Michelangelo" was another artist from the Renaissance who created paintings and sculptures based around religious ideals. He was also an architect and a poet, but most recognize his works done in the Sistine Chapel as well his "David" sculpture.

Raphael Birth

Apr 6, 1483

Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino or "Raphael" was also a renowned artist during the Renaissance, though perhaps not as well-known as that of da Vinci or Michelangelo. His style was seen as calm and gentle in his paintings rather than being intense with values, and he also worked in the Vatican. One of his best works is "The School of Athens" depicting many different Greek philosophers.

Martin Luther Birth

Nov 10, 1483

Martin Luther was a key figure in the Protestant Reformation. He was a German professor in theology as well as a composer, priest, and monk. He was known for his rejections towards certain teachings in Roman Catholicism. He had controversial views towards indulgencies.

King Henry VIII Birth

Jun 28, 1491

Henry VIII, the King of England in the 16th century was known for his multiple marriages (6). He divorced his first wife despite the sin of terminating a marriage in Roman Catholicism. His second wife was beheaded, his third wife passed, his fourth wife was also divorced, his fifth wife beheaded, and his sixth (final) wife surviving. His marriages were for the sake of politics, the title, and conceiving an heir.

Heliocentric Theory

1508

The Heliocentric Theory, which was debated during the Renaissance, claims that the sun is at the center of the solar system rather than the Earth (Geocentrism Theory). Educated astronomers such as Copernicus and Galileo believed in this theory and hoped to prove it to those who were still set on the Geocentrism Theory.

Inquisition

1542

The Inquisition during the Renaissance era, also known as "The Roman Inquisition" was a set of institutions whose goal was to fight against heresy in the midst of the Protestant Reformation. Their aim was to eradicate the spread of Protestantism and keep the Roman Catholic's original teachings in place.

Council of Trent

1545

The Council of Trent was the council that represented the Catholic church during the time of the Protestant Reformation. The Council of Trent is said to be the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation. This council was used to make decisions regarding the church in the face of the Reformation's protests.

Scientific Method

1561

The Scientific Method was first patented by Sir Francis Bacon despite its usage in ancient times. This method includes a logical way of making predictions and proving those predictions through observations, research, hypotheses, and experimentation. Many scientists during the Renaissance practiced the Scientific Method.

William Shakespeare Birth

1564

William Shakespeare was a masterful poet, playwright, and actor during the Renaissance and created many plays that we still recognize today. He is very important in literature with his extensive vocabulary and creativity.

Galileo Birth

Feb 15, 1564

Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei or "Galileo" was an astronomer, physicist, and engineer during the Renaissance. Fathering many different factors of the Renaissance's math and sciences, Galileo discovered properties of motion and space such as discovering the four Galilean moons of Jupiter: IO, Ganymede, Europa, and Callisto.

Isaac Newton

Jan 4, 1643

Isaac Newton or just "Newton" was perhaps once of the most renowned figures in the Renaissance for his contributions towards mathematics and physics. Newton was a key factor in the scientific revolution and he had many discoveries such as work in calculus and his three laws of motion.