The Word Renaissance: Meaning, History, & Cultural Impact

SUMMARY

• Meaning and Origin: “Renaissance” means “rebirth” in French and was popularized by 19th-century historians to describe the revival of classical antiquity in 14th-century Italy.
• Cultural Impact: The Renaissance (14th-17th centuries) marked a period of significant advancements in art, science, and philosophy, spreading from Italy across Europe.
• Modern Usage: The term now broadly refers to any cultural revival, such as the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and Beyoncé’s 2022 album “Renaissance.”

The word “Renaissance” usually refers to the European “High Renaissance.” This Renaissance began in Italy in the 14th century and spread to the rest of Europe. It was a cultural rebirth of classical art, classical forms, ancient Greek philosophy, and architectural styles of the ancient world. This classical influence led to a scientific revolution that changed the intellectual landscape of Western Europe. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to Modernity, and the Renaissance spirit has shaped the modern world. But what exactly does the word Renaissance mean, and how is it used today?

In its literal translation, the word “Renaissance” comes from the French language, meaning “rebirth.” French 19th-century historian Jules Michelet was one of the first to use this term to describe the art of Italy and beyond in his iconic text, Renaissance, 1855. He argued that 14th-century Italy had “rebirthed” classical antiquity through its emphasis on beauty, elegance, and a deep understanding of the human form. The 19th-century Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt also developed similar theories in his influential essay The Civilization of Renaissance Italy, 1860. Both historians popularised the term “Renaissance,” which is so commonly used today.

As the influence of Renaissance ideas spread to other parts of Europe, we hear of a French Renaissance, a German Renaissance, a Northern Renaissance as influence spread to Northern Europe, and so forth. But these were all part of a larger European Renaissance that started in Italy.

This was not the only period of European history that has since been referred to as a Renaissance. The reign of Charlemagne as king of the Carolingian Empire in the 8th century is often described as the start of an early Carolingian Renaissance. Historian Kenneth Cark called it a Renaissance in the 1960s, while Lynn Thorndike suggested that it was better called a “Pre-Renaissance.” Scholars also recognize an Ottonian Renaissance in the 10th and 11th centuries under the Saxon Holy Roman Emperors Otto I, II, and III, invigorated by renewed contact with Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

A “Rebirth” of Classical Antiquity in the Middle Ages

The word Renaissance is closely tied today to a “rebirth” or revival of classical antiquity. This association suggests, of course, that death must have taken place before it, allowing a form of cultural awakening to emerge. Writers such as Michelet and Burckhardt saw the Middle Ages, the period before the Renaissance, as a significant cultural decline dominated by strict religion, war, famine, and disease. The rediscovery of ancient culture and artifacts through the scholars Francesco Petrarch and Dante Alighieri at the end of the Middle Ages allowed for this subsequent rebirth of antiquity.

The Italian scholar Petrarch coined the term “Dark Ages” during the Renaissance to distinguish the period after the fall of the Roman Empire, which saw social and political structures decline, from his own “enlightened” age.

The word Renaissance adopted by Michelet and Burckhardt shares similarities with the Italian word Rinascita, which translates as “rebirth” or “renewal.” Long before Michelet and Burckhardt, the first writer to make use of this word in relation to the Renaissance period was the Italian 16th-century writer Giorgio Vasari, in his 1550 book Le vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects). The structure of Vasari’s text chimes with much of the literature that is still published about the Italian Renaissance today.

Renaissance Art: A Revitalization

While the literal translation of the word “Renaissance” means “rebirth,” we can also consider how the term applies more generally to the incredible revitalization of the arts that happened during the 14th century, which Vasari referred to in his 1550 publication. Renaissance masters made significant breakthroughs, such as an increased understanding of human anatomy and the discovery of linear perspective, achieving levels of realism that had never been seen before in art.

It is hard to imagine how masterworks such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, 1509, or Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, 1508-12, would have been possible without this increased depth of knowledge and understanding about space and the human body that surpassed that of the ancient Romans and Greeks. The Catholic Church commissioned many works from the artistic community, and as a result, many works of Renaissance art, like the Sistine Chapel, explore religious themes.

Key Figures of the Renaissance & the Renaissance Man

With the Renaissance came many great artists, scientists, and thinkers. Some key figures of the movement included Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Galileo. With more opportunities than ever before to showcase their talents, women also played a key part in the development of this period of rebirth. Although the women artists and thinkers of the Renaissance were not as well-known as the men, and are still considered more obscure today, women such as Ambrosius Benson and Lavinia Fontana made a name for themselves and created stunning works that are unparalleled in many aspects.

While the start of the Renaissance is often linked to Italy in general, it is often linked more specifically to the city of Florence and even the Medici family. The Medici were an extremely wealthy Florentine family famous as patrons of the arts. Their patronage of leading artists was a major factor in enabling the early Renaissance. Lorenzo de Medici was especially well-known as the patron of Botticelli and Michelangelo.

Another key factor was the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century, and the printing of material in vernacular languages and not just Latin. This allowed for the wide dissemination of new ideas and the spread of humanist thought across the continent.

In addition to the Renaissance itself, we also hear of Renaissance men. This is a term used for men who are talented in many different fields. The most famous examples from the Renaissance itself are Leonardo da Vinci, who was an artist, philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, and Michelangelo, who was a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.

While the word Renaissance is most commonly associated with the historical period from the 14th to the 17th centuries, many of us also use the word “Renaissance” to refer more generally to any form of revival. Interestingly, the Cambridge Dictionary describes the word’s meaning as a “new growth or interest in something, especially art, literature, or music,” while the Oxford Dictionary calls a Renaissance “a situation when there is new interest in a particular subject, a form of art, etc. following a period when it was not very popular.”

The Harlem Renaissance: A 20th-Century Cultural Revival

During the 1920s in New York City, a new type of cultural Renaissance emerged with the Harlem Renaissance. This cultural revival followed the Great Migration of African Americans from the South in the 1910s and early 1920s. In New York City, Black Americans expressed their newfound creative freedom through literature, music, the arts, and civil rights activism. Key figures of this artistic and social flourishing included W.E.B. Du Bois, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Zora Neale Hurston, and Aaron Douglas. Although this movement occurred many years after the original Renaissance, the artistic expansion in 1920s New York City shared similar characteristics of a cultural revival.

The Renaissance in Popular Culture: Beyoncé and Beyond

With the term Renaissance referring to almost any form of cultural or artistic rebirth, there are many opportunities today and in the future for a modern Renaissance. One prominent example of the term’s use in popular culture is with Beyoncé’s 2022 studio album Renaissance. The release of this album followed a worldwide period of cultural change during the pandemic, and it was considered by many publications, including Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, to be a touchpoint of artistic revival. In essence, the term Renaissance has proven itself over time to encapsulate the ability of the arts to shape and embody the spirit of a cultural era.

Originally published: January 20, 2020. Last update: February 14, 2025 by Jessica Suess.