The Contributions to Education During the Renaissance Period

Rediscovering the Greeks

Although the Western Roman Empire had decayed and fallen, the Eastern Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, endured into the 15th century when its capital of Constantinople finally fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. When these Muslims closed the schools and libraries there, the Byzantine scholars and artists moved West, bringing with them Greek manuscripts, arts and traditions which had long been lost to the West. With the re-introduction of Greek literature, Western Europe had access to valuable scholarship at a time when it was best able to study these new texts, especially in Italy. Interest in acquiring and studying old Greek scholarship resulted not only from the novelty of the works, but also the European desire to re-acquire formerly lost wisdom.

Before the rediscovery of the Greeks, few realized their importance or their influence upon modern civilization. Though Western European scholars were aware of these early thinkers, few of their works had been found. Aristotle, for instance, was thought to be a simple mathematician. The introduction of his philosophical works spurred a resurgent interest in philosophy, and his thought so impressed Thomas Aquinas that his philosophical works refer to Aristotle simply as "The Philosopher."

With new advances in philosophy and mathematics, European thinkers had a much stronger springboard for further advances in the sciences, and Galileo Galilei was one of the first to take advantage. Among his many contributions, he developed new theories of physics, involving density, momentum and even the gravitational and orbital relationship of objects in space. By experimenting in the scientific method, Galilieo demonstrated that natural phenomena could be explained scientifically through the perfection of new principles in science, physics and astronomy.

One of the most defining elements of Renaissance thought were the principles of Humanism introduced by Desiderius Erasmus. This thinker, inspired by the philosophy of Aristotle, posited that human morals could be better understood and followed when founded and bolstered by higher education. According to humanists, practical and scientific studies were of primal importance in order to better engage people into society, where they could read, write and contribute in an educated way.