Module2 The Renaissance Background ReadingsPart Two Teaching ResourcesSection 1 Background Readings for Module 2 the Renaissance1. RenaissanceRenaissance marks a transition from the medieval to the modern world. Generally, it refers to the period between the 14th and mid 17th centuries. It first started from Italy and then spread all over Europe. The renaissance, which means “rebirth” or “revival”, is actually a movement stimulated by a series of historical events, such as the rediscovery of ancient Roman and Greek culture, the new discoveries in geography and astrology, the religious reformation and the economic expansion. The Renaissance, therefore, in essence, is a historical period in which the European humanist thinkers and scholars made attempts to get rid of those old feudalist ideas in medieval Europe, to introduce new ideas that expressed the interests of the rising bourgeoisie, and to recover the purity of the early church from the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.Some Renaissance personality’s musicians: Guillaume Dufay was a famous Renaissance composer, who started a new generation of music. One of Dufay’s most famous breakthroughs was to write music for instruments and not just for singing. Guillaume Dufay was also the first composer to use a folk song in the mass. A mass is a group of songs sung to honour God in the Roman Catholic Church. Scientist: Galileo was one of the chief founders of modern science. His greatest achievements were his telescope and the laws of motion. They changed the way people view the universe. In 1610 he went to Florence to continue his studies of the heavens where he found the truth of Copernicus’s theory. In 1632 he published an important ...
