Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

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432

Renaissance 432-

When the first music was printed in Italy in the late

15th century, new musical styles began to spread

throughout Europe. Nonreligious music became

more common, showing the influence of the

humanist approach to life that characterized

the Renaissance period. Music became more

harmonious and melodic than before. William

Byrd (1543-1623), left, was the first Englishman

to have his music printed in England. He was a

well-known organist, first at Lincoln Cathedral,

and then later at the Queen Elizabeth I Chapel

Royal in London. He was also a composer with more

than 470 works to his name, making him one of the

masters of European Renaissance music.

TECHNoLogy

Renaissance scientists invented or developed

new scientific instruments to help them

in their work. The armillary sphere,

a skeleton sphere with Earth

in the center, was used to

measure the position of

the stars. galileo

invented

the useful

proportional

compass,

which could be

set at any angle.

ITaLy IN THE 15TH CENTuRy was an exciting place. It was here that

educated people began to develop new ideas about the world around

them and rediscovered the arts and learning of ancient greece and Rome.

For a period of about 200 years, which became known as the Renaissance

(rebirth), people made great advances in education, technology, and the

arts. Helped by the invention of printing, the Renaissance gradually spread

from Italy to the rest of Europe. although the Renaissance mainly affected

the wealthy, it had a huge impact on the way that everybody lived and

perceived the world around them. The Renaissance produced great

artists, such as Michelangelo and Raphael. It also produced a new way of

thinking called humanism, as scholars and thinkers such as Erasmus

began to challenge the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

Humanism gave human beings more importance. It meant that

artists such as Leonardo da Vinci began to produce

realistic images instead of symbolic scenes. Scientists

challenged old ideas about the nature of the

universe and conducted pioneering experiments.

CopERNICuS

By observing the

movement of planets

and stars, astronomers

such as Nicolaus Copernicus

(1473-1543) began to

challenge ideas about the

solar system that had been

accepted since the time of the

ancient greeks. Copernicus

was first to suggest that

Earth revolves every

24 hours and that it travels

around the sun once a

year. Many people did not

accept his findings until

many years later.

gaLILEo

galileo galilei (1564-

1642) was an Italian

astronomer and

physicist. He

disproved many of

the ancient greek

thinker aristotle’s

theories, including

the theory that

heavy objects fall

faster than light

ones. He perfected a

refracting telescope

and observed that

Earth and all the

planets of the solar

system revolve

around the sun.

Renaissance

Armillary

sphere

Galileo

at work

Proportional

compass

ERaSMuS

Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536),

a Dutch priest, wanted to reform

the Roman Catholic Church. He

criticized the superstitions of the

clergy and published studies of the

old and New Testaments, giving a

better understanding of the Bible.

a leading humanist, he questioned

the authority of the Church—a

shocking idea at the time.

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