The Reformation - Essay Example

It had no lasting influence unlike other European countries except the fact that it strengthened the Roman Catholic Church1. However, sometimes the Reformation is described as the Northern Renaissance. This description has been given to the Reformation in the views of many of the historians. The Northern Renaissance is the Renaissance in northern Europe. It was by the late 15th century that the ideas of the Italian Renaissance humanism spread across Europe and influenced many national and localized movements such as the French Renaissance, German Renaissance and others.

Each of these had their own different characteristics and strengths. Italian art and artists such as Leonardo Di Vinci were commissioned and great palaces were built to import the art. It was also believed that the Northern Renaissance was closely linked to the Protestant Reformation and to the series of external and internal conflicts that existed between the various Protestant groups and the Roman Catholic Church. These had a lasting impact on the Renaissance. Despite the link between the Northern Renaissance and the Reformation, many researchers have found the differences between them that hinder the connection link between them.

The Northern Renaissance was seen as the rebirth of the Greek and Roman civilization2. The Renaissance first begun in the states of Italy and many of the intellectuals suggested that the era after the fall of the Roman Empire till their own times was the Dark Ages, or the Middle Ages. However, this was not true, in fact the irony of the Renaissance, the cultural and intellectual achievements owed a lot to the medieval world. There were many gains in literature, art, philosophy and political thoughts, and individualism was seen as people wanted to receive personal credit fir what they did rather than praising God for everything.

As the education spread throughout the Europe and the printing press was introduced in the mid-fifteenth century, the Renaissance spread throughout the Europe and was now called the Northern Renaissance. The Northern Renaissance was mainly interested in the religious concerns and this is what leads to the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation had aimed to correct the problems associated with the Catholic Church and sparked the religious civil war for over a century. It was mainly a spiritual and religious revolution3.

There were many ideas that emanated in the Italian Renaissance which influenced the Reformation. The Italian Renaissance encouraged the concept of individual and the search for beauty and knowledge. Various forms were used to spread the Renaissance throughout Europe which included letters, writings and several other kinds of practices. This way, the Northern Renaissance was seen to have been influenced by the relationship of the individual with God. The values were built upon the importance of learning and staying connected to the personal relationship with God.

Eventually, with further teachings and ideas, a religious sect arose which applied the humanist values to the religious life. And thus, gradually the Northern Renaissance gave a rise to the Reformation. Petrarch, Erasmus and Luther’s lives are best descriptions of the adoption of Renaissance into the Reformation. Petrarch insisted the learning of Greek and Roman manuscripts. He portrayed the value and worth of a man through his portraits and letters. Furthermore, his travels allowed the ideas to spread throughout Europe.

An example is his description of the Renaissance as the