Early Modern · 1400s–1500s
The Renaissance
Their big question
“What if humans are the measure of all things?”
Starting in Italy, Europe rediscovered the ancient Greeks and Romans and burst into new energy. Thinkers and artists put humans — not only God — at the center of the picture. Explorers crossed oceans, and Copernicus and Galileo used observation and math to show that the Earth orbits the Sun, not the other way around.
“There is no certainty in sciences where one of the mathematical sciences cannot be applied.”
The big idea
The Renaissance championed humanism — belief in the value, dignity, and potential of human beings. It revived ancient learning, celebrated art and individual genius, and launched the Scientific Revolution, where knowledge comes from observation and experiment rather than ancient authority.
Why it matters
It produced Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Shakespeare, the printing press (which spread ideas to everyone), and the scientific method that powers modern technology. Copernicus and Galileo moved humans away from the center of the universe.
The big argument
Putting Earth in orbit around the Sun directly challenged Church teaching; Galileo was tried by the Inquisition, forced to take back his findings, and spent his last years under house arrest.
In their own words
- “And yet it moves.” — attributed to Galileo Galilei
- “Man is the measure of all things.” — Protagoras — revived as a Renaissance motto
🤯 Fun fact
The ‘Renaissance man’ ideal comes from people like Leonardo da Vinci — painter, scientist, engineer, and musician all at once.
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