I recently read "Medieval Horizons," by Ian Mortimer, tracing major aspects of society (religion, war, commerce, liberties in daily life) from 1000 to 1500. The thesis is we forget how different life was in 900 or 1000 vs the 1400s. (Medieval era is commonly defined as between the fall of Rome (400) and the beginning of the Renaissance (1500).)
While I do kinda know the difference between Renaissance and Enlightenment, I asked Chat GPT.
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Yes, you're correct: the Renaissance came first, followed by the Enlightenment. Here's a brief overview of the differences between the two:
Renaissance (14th to 17th Century)
- Time Period: The Renaissance began in the 14th century and lasted until the 17th century.
- Focus: It was a cultural movement that emphasized a revival of classical learning and wisdom from ancient Greece and Rome. The Renaissance saw a renewed interest in art, literature, science, and humanism.
- Key Features:
- Art and Architecture: Flourishing of visual arts with figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Development of perspective in painting and realistic representation.
- Humanism: Focus on the potential and achievements of humans, with an emphasis on secularism alongside religious themes.
- Science and Exploration: Early scientific advancements, and the beginning of European exploration, which expanded the known world.
- Notable Figures: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei, and Machiavelli.
Enlightenment (17th to 19th Century)
- Time Period: The Enlightenment occurred roughly between the late 17th century and the early 19th century.
- Focus: It was an intellectual and philosophical movement that emphasized reason, individualism, skepticism of authority, and the pursuit of knowledge through empirical evidence and scientific methods.
- Key Features:
- Philosophy: Emphasis on reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy, promoting ideals like liberty, progress, tolerance, and the separation of church and state.
- Science: Major advancements in science and the development of the scientific method, with figures like Isaac Newton and René Descartes playing crucial roles.
- Political Thought: Influence on political revolutions, such as the American and French Revolutions, with ideas about democracy, human rights, and the social contract.
- Notable Figures: Voltaire, John Locke, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Summary of the Differences:
- Renaissance focused on the revival of classical learning and culture, leading to developments in art, science, and exploration. It was more of a cultural and artistic movement.
- Enlightenment was more focused on intellectual and philosophical advancements, emphasizing reason, science, and political thought. It laid the groundwork for modern democratic societies.
So, the Renaissance laid the foundation for the Enlightenment, with its rediscovery of classical texts and emphasis on human potential paving the way for the later emphasis on reason and scientific inquiry.
You're absolutely right—terms like "Renaissance" and "Enlightenment" were coined after the periods they describe, much like how "World War I" was only used after the fact. Here's a brief look at when and how these terms came to be used:
Renaissance
- When the Term Came to Be Used: The term "Renaissance," which means "rebirth" in French, began to be used in the 19th century to describe the cultural movement that had occurred in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century. The period was seen as a "rebirth" of classical art, literature, and learning after the so-called "Dark Ages."
- Origins of the Term: The concept of a "rebirth" of classical antiquity was first articulated during the Renaissance itself, with figures like Giorgio Vasari, a 16th-century artist and historian, who used the term "rinascita" to describe the revival of classical learning and art. However, the idea of the Renaissance as a distinct period didn't fully crystallize until later.
- Popularization: The term became widely used in the 19th century, particularly through the work of Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt, who published "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" in 1860. Burckhardt's book was highly influential in shaping modern understanding of the Renaissance.
Enlightenment
- When the Term Came to Be Used: The term "Enlightenment" (or "Aufklärung" in German and "Lumières" in French) began to be used in the late 18th century, towards the end of the period it describes, but it wasn't fully solidified as a historical term until the 19th century.
- Origins of the Term: The term was used by thinkers of the time to describe the intellectual movement they were part of. For example, Immanuel Kant's 1784 essay, "What is Enlightenment?" ("Was ist Aufklärung?"), famously defines the Enlightenment as humanity's emergence from self-imposed immaturity. The idea of an "Enlightenment" was recognized by its contemporaries, but they often referred to it more generally as an "age of reason" or an "age of light."
- Popularization: The term "Enlightenment" became more widely used in the 19th century, especially as historians began to look back on the 18th century as a distinct period of intellectual and philosophical development. The idea of the Enlightenment as a coherent movement was further developed in the 20th century by historians like Peter Gay, who wrote "The Enlightenment: An Interpretation" in the 1960s.
Conclusion:
These terms were indeed coined after the periods they describe, as historians and scholars sought to categorize and understand the distinct cultural and intellectual shifts that had occurred. The Renaissance and Enlightenment were both retrospectively named and defined as distinct eras by later generations looking back at these transformative periods in history.
The German word for "Renaissance" is "Renaissance" as well. Unlike "Aufklärung" for Enlightenment, the term "Renaissance" is borrowed directly from French and is used in the same form in German. So, there's no uniquely German term for it; they simply adopted the original French word.