this video is brought to you by captivating history after a series of tragedies known as the crisis of the late middle ages including events such as the great famine and black death came a period of explosive social and cultural development this period left such a mark on the history of europe that it still shapes much of our modern world today known as the renaissance this period takes its name from the french word for rebirth considering the cavalcade of disasters that befell europe after the fall of the roman empire nothing could describe the renaissance better than a complete rebirth of europe considering the darkness it sprung out of you might be wondering just how this miraculous period came about or how long it lasted we're here to answer those questions and a lot more you didn't even know you had about the renaissance this topic comprises hundreds of years of history this video should be considered a crash course of some of the most need to know info about the renaissance we must consider rome first the roman empire was spread throughout europe asia and even parts of africa lasting from around 700 bc to around 1400 a.d over 2 000 years as rome spread far and wide the emperors like caesar exerted relentless control of the local tribes native cultures were weeded out constantly replaced with what the romans believed was a superior way of life the roman focus on infrastructure aided this they paved roads built bridges and enabled free movement of people goods and even ideas all things end though and once rome fell all of those things declined with the empire bit by bit food shortages began famines hit much of europe and small kingdoms that occupied the roman power vacuum watched each other with intense uneasiness while the plague decimated populations it also freed up capital for the aristocracy to invest in fine arts and scholarly pursuits a lot of things were happening in florence around this time even during the plague great efforts were undertaken such as creating the gates of paradise a set of glorious bronze doors set into the florence baptistry hoping they might encourage god to go easy on florence in terms of the plague unfortunately the black death continued to spread the people of florence tried everything from strong perfume to pills made of rose hips to fight the disease as this all went down the dark ages seemed like they might never go away while the dark ages can be said to have begun in italy with the fall of rome we can thank the people of florence for the beginning of the renaissance what's so special about florence though about halfway between rome and milan florence was one of the most robust sites of trade and commerce in europe the old roads that had broken down with the fall of rome were recovered near milan and new routes were established that solidified florence's role as an international power player aiding this consolidation of influence was the reintroduction of a gold-based currency the florin with rome's collapse the most common international currencies had been missing for around 500 years and this new currency brought trade from all over the world the florentines even created a new form of bookkeeping that helped them corner ancient stock markets the wealth pouring into florence created something new and exciting the european middle class these were people with disposable income not burdened with constant labor or deaths young people across florence once again turn their sights to pursuing art and philosophy even the natural sciences painting sculpture glass work poetry architecture and more forms of expression all found a new life in florence around this time the first collections of humanist philosophy were written marking a distinct change in the attitude of people living in this age the idea that you should show faith in people's ability to know right from wrong and make better choices through better education emerged thanks to francesco petrarca a devout catholic who sought to unify the ideas of humanism and christianity his works were so influential and widespread that he was honored as an official poet of rome complete with a laurel wreath as men like petrarch explored the subtler details of human experience others appeared who wielded their own sets of artistic skills people like giotto di bandoni created works such as the life of christ moving the popular styles of paintings away from the byzantine era's sharp angularity toward natural forms and rhythms far away from italy the dutch were experimenting with oil paints dutch artists like jan von ick worked on mixing linseed oil with their pigments instead of fast drying egg whites gorgeous renderings of realism and vibrant color began to be produced with this slow drying medium works like the adoration of the lamb helped cement him as one of the most influential creators of the century the end of the 15th century birthed the careers of some of the very most influential people of the 1400s whose works you may be familiar with born in 1452 leonardo da vinci was provided the perfect set of circumstances to grow into a master artist scientist and excessively talented polymeth the ottomans finally conquered constantinople a year after his birth sending greeks and refugees of war westward into the greater european continent bringing goods and ideas with them a year after that a critical development took place the printing press was used to create the gutenberg bible a mass-produced literary work that opened the door to expanding european literacy to unheard of levels the medici family assumed power in florence with lorenzo the magnificent medici bringing about the highest point of the florentine renaissance da vinci studied in florence under andrea del varaccio and learned sculpture and how to work with precious metals during this golden age a year after lorenzo the magnificent took office da vinci began his professional career which would give rise to some of the most famous artworks of all time the mona lisa the last supper and the vitruvian man all hint at the incredible anatomical and medical illustrations da vinci eventually produced of the main innovations of the 15th century exploration was one of the most important sailors made some of the most groundbreaking discoveries in the last quarter of the 1400s columbus reached the bahamas in 1492. and vasco de gama doing what columbus set out to do by reaching india in 1498. a year later at the turn of the century wars that had broken out near the end of the 1400s saw france conquering milan and bringing a treasure trove of italian art and ideas spilling into france though rome had fallen before the black death the turn of the 16th century saw julius ii ascended to the papacy which heralded the beginning of the roman golden age half a decade later henry viii assumed power in england which set the stage for the reformation a spiritual movement that forever divided the european continent earlier humanist thinking influenced the schism as did the sacking of rome which prevented henry viii's divorce from catherine varga in the mid 16th century tensions caused by the reformation were eased by the ascent of elizabeth tudor to the english throne this brought about england's own golden age which brought about education reforms that saw the enlightenment of the renaissance continue in england who spread her influence to fill some of the power void left by the end of the italian wars and brought europe into a new age the rapid changes taking place over this extended time frame offers many lessons for us early investments in the arts and sciences help to bring europe out of a seemingly endless period of darkness a far more thorough treatise is available if you'd like to learn more about the renaissance check out our book the renaissance a captivating guide to a remarkable period in european history including stories of people such as galileo galilei michelangelo copernicus shakespeare and leonardo da vinci it's available as an ebook paperback and audiobook also grab your free mythology bundle ebook for free while they're still available all links are in the description if you enjoyed the video please hit the like button and subscribe for more videos like this