Historian Answers Renaissance Questions - Tech Support - WIRED
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Date: 2025-02-27
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Comments and reviews: 20
felixk. 3865
Great video, Im just wondering about one thing: In Germany we were told in school as well as in university not to use Renaissance for the time after the medieval period, but to call it Neuzeit (literal meaning New Age.
Reasoning being, that Reinassance is not a historical (time) period, but merely a school of thought, art, and culture, that, while contributing a lot to kicking off the Neuzeit/New Age, there were other school of thoughts in succession, as well as at the same time, that defined said time period. Like late humanistic thinking overlaped with renaissance thinking for some time, and after renaissance there were for example baroque and enlightenment, which all are encapsulated by the Neuzeit/New Age and which contributed to define that historical (time) period, but are itself, not counted as historical (time) periods.
To paint the picture more clearly, it would be like naming the time period of 1906 to 1921 cubism in a greater historical context.
Yet, this highly educated man seems to equate the expression with a historical time period.
Is this differencation just a linguistic quirk german scholars are hung up on and that does not exist in english, or is it actually tought different
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Great video, Im just wondering about one thing: In Germany we were told in school as well as in university not to use Renaissance for the time after the medieval period, but to call it Neuzeit (literal meaning New Age.
Reasoning being, that Reinassance is not a historical (time) period, but merely a school of thought, art, and culture, that, while contributing a lot to kicking off the Neuzeit/New Age, there were other school of thoughts in succession, as well as at the same time, that defined said time period. Like late humanistic thinking overlaped with renaissance thinking for some time, and after renaissance there were for example baroque and enlightenment, which all are encapsulated by the Neuzeit/New Age and which contributed to define that historical (time) period, but are itself, not counted as historical (time) periods.
To paint the picture more clearly, it would be like naming the time period of 1906 to 1921 cubism in a greater historical context.
Yet, this highly educated man seems to equate the expression with a historical time period.
Is this differencation just a linguistic quirk german scholars are hung up on and that does not exist in english, or is it actually tought different
reply
43herm
Cannibalism in Brazil isn't much unconfirmed. German mercenary Hans Staden was captured by natives and witnessed some cannibalistic rituals, especially to captured members of different tribes, and wrote two books about it.
The most interesting part is how the food individual saw being eaten as an honor, and took part in the ritual by swearing his counterparts would do the same to thar tribe.
Also, how most of the tribe would be trippin balls on a weird beer made of cassava and spit, and how every member of the tribe, including young children, had specific body parts to be eaten (for instance, breastfeeding mothers would spread the victim's blood on their chest and the baby would drink the milk with the blood.
Of course, he isn't the only source, just the most complete one.
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Cannibalism in Brazil isn't much unconfirmed. German mercenary Hans Staden was captured by natives and witnessed some cannibalistic rituals, especially to captured members of different tribes, and wrote two books about it.
The most interesting part is how the food individual saw being eaten as an honor, and took part in the ritual by swearing his counterparts would do the same to thar tribe.
Also, how most of the tribe would be trippin balls on a weird beer made of cassava and spit, and how every member of the tribe, including young children, had specific body parts to be eaten (for instance, breastfeeding mothers would spread the victim's blood on their chest and the baby would drink the milk with the blood.
Of course, he isn't the only source, just the most complete one.
reply
wired
Wondering if it got lost in editing, but he mentioned that there were two reasons the Mona Lisa was famous, and then he only mentioned one (Leonardo’s technique. I’ll give you the other reason.
The second reason is because the Mona Lisa was stolen. A man walked into the Louvre and just took it off the wall. It’s only the size of a piece of paper, and at the time it wasn’t popular or encased in glass. It became a huge headline, skyrocketing the painting into the public eye and causing a huge hunt across Europe. Ever since, it’s held onto that fame.
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Wondering if it got lost in editing, but he mentioned that there were two reasons the Mona Lisa was famous, and then he only mentioned one (Leonardo’s technique. I’ll give you the other reason.
The second reason is because the Mona Lisa was stolen. A man walked into the Louvre and just took it off the wall. It’s only the size of a piece of paper, and at the time it wasn’t popular or encased in glass. It became a huge headline, skyrocketing the painting into the public eye and causing a huge hunt across Europe. Ever since, it’s held onto that fame.
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DanBanan69
The only reason Mona Lisa is so famous is because of the publicity. I was at the Louvre in 2018. The building is filled to the brim with exquisite paintings of all kinds, but only the Mona Lisa had people crowding in front of it. I have no doubt it's a technical achievement, but there's no reason why that particular painting should have AAA movie star levels of fame, when there are so many other quality paintings out there. I guess if you can get famous on TikTok for smacking your lips, I shouldn't be surprised.
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The only reason Mona Lisa is so famous is because of the publicity. I was at the Louvre in 2018. The building is filled to the brim with exquisite paintings of all kinds, but only the Mona Lisa had people crowding in front of it. I have no doubt it's a technical achievement, but there's no reason why that particular painting should have AAA movie star levels of fame, when there are so many other quality paintings out there. I guess if you can get famous on TikTok for smacking your lips, I shouldn't be surprised.
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wired
Amazing video as always! Super informative and as always, it’s great to see someone talk about the topics they truly love. I’m interested to know how each expert is selected to answer these questions! I have a couple of professors who would love to partake in something like this! Especially since they specialize in underrepresented art historical mediums and time periods!
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Amazing video as always! Super informative and as always, it’s great to see someone talk about the topics they truly love. I’m interested to know how each expert is selected to answer these questions! I have a couple of professors who would love to partake in something like this! Especially since they specialize in underrepresented art historical mediums and time periods!
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Ms. Murchison
This is an excellent video! I learned a lot, and I particularly enjoyed how Prof. Bevilacqua explains that you can't really give a specific date for the beginning of the Renaissance, and then proceeds to give us some dates. : ) As a history professor, I completely understand and support both halves of that answer. : )
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This is an excellent video! I learned a lot, and I particularly enjoyed how Prof. Bevilacqua explains that you can't really give a specific date for the beginning of the Renaissance, and then proceeds to give us some dates. : ) As a history professor, I completely understand and support both halves of that answer. : )
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GrinderCB
I had a history professor in college teach that the sacking of Constantinople in 1453 by the Turks precipitated the Renaissance. When Constantinople fell, the scholars and clerics there fled into western Europe, thus ending the Middle Ages there when art and science received a boost.
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I had a history professor in college teach that the sacking of Constantinople in 1453 by the Turks precipitated the Renaissance. When Constantinople fell, the scholars and clerics there fled into western Europe, thus ending the Middle Ages there when art and science received a boost.
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wired
The Mona Lisa question is the same as why are The Beatles popular is about context, as someone who's young, I never listened to the Beatles much or liked their music, but I recognize their importance to what music has become, da Vinci did the same for Renaissance art.
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The Mona Lisa question is the same as why are The Beatles popular is about context, as someone who's young, I never listened to the Beatles much or liked their music, but I recognize their importance to what music has become, da Vinci did the same for Renaissance art.
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skybluskyblueify
Next time he is back someone should ask about Paracelsus and his effect on the Renaissance since eventually he was always on the move so may have played a role in in a lot of countries. Weird guy had some good ideas and some convoluted and way-out there.
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Next time he is back someone should ask about Paracelsus and his effect on the Renaissance since eventually he was always on the move so may have played a role in in a lot of countries. Weird guy had some good ideas and some convoluted and way-out there.
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neskire
He did not mention that the Mona Lisa truly became famous when the painting was stolen in 1911 by an Italian who worked at the Louvre. Newspapers around the world published images of the stolen artwork. Pablo Picasso was even interrogated as a possible suspect.
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He did not mention that the Mona Lisa truly became famous when the painting was stolen in 1911 by an Italian who worked at the Louvre. Newspapers around the world published images of the stolen artwork. Pablo Picasso was even interrogated as a possible suspect.
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wired
So many new paintings on my to see in person bucket list. I can't find the name of the painting 13: 57 though, does anyone recognise it Edit: found it! If anyone is interested, it's Portrait of Maria and Tommaso Portinari by Hans Memling and hangs in the Met.
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So many new paintings on my to see in person bucket list. I can't find the name of the painting 13: 57 though, does anyone recognise it Edit: found it! If anyone is interested, it's Portrait of Maria and Tommaso Portinari by Hans Memling and hangs in the Met.
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carlwilliams6977
The comment in the thumbnail says that he literally DGAF which means the commenter is a virgin. Perhaps he's not very attractive himself! It's ironic that people misuse the word literally to sound intelligent, and achieve the opposite result.
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The comment in the thumbnail says that he literally DGAF which means the commenter is a virgin. Perhaps he's not very attractive himself! It's ironic that people misuse the word literally to sound intelligent, and achieve the opposite result.
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XRDeveloper-u1m
A little correction here. Ottoman's called the remainder of the Roman citizens Rum, not themselves. They are still a Christian minority in Turkiye. Rumi, as he said it refers to Mevlana Cellalettin-i Rumi, is a single famous spiritual person.
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A little correction here. Ottoman's called the remainder of the Roman citizens Rum, not themselves. They are still a Christian minority in Turkiye. Rumi, as he said it refers to Mevlana Cellalettin-i Rumi, is a single famous spiritual person.
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DanSmith-j8y
2: 59 The technique he used, but didn't invent. Also, come on, his knowledge of anatomy can't have played a part in her non-smile. People keep repeating these ridiculous ideas as fact, but she's not smiling at all, never mind enigmatically.
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2: 59 The technique he used, but didn't invent. Also, come on, his knowledge of anatomy can't have played a part in her non-smile. People keep repeating these ridiculous ideas as fact, but she's not smiling at all, never mind enigmatically.
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legoman716
I hate it when english-speaking people pronounce Renaissance as Re-ney-sance. The word is french and isn't pronounciation with a y-sound in the middle.
Luckily the expert in this video doesn't pronounce the term in that (incorrect) way
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I hate it when english-speaking people pronounce Renaissance as Re-ney-sance. The word is french and isn't pronounciation with a y-sound in the middle.
Luckily the expert in this video doesn't pronounce the term in that (incorrect) way
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ExtraTrstl
Holy smokes I could listen to that gentleman go on and on and on. He is obviously INCREDIBLY knowledgeable but, more than that, truly passionate about what he does. He handled even silly questions like a pro. What a speaker!
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Holy smokes I could listen to that gentleman go on and on and on. He is obviously INCREDIBLY knowledgeable but, more than that, truly passionate about what he does. He handled even silly questions like a pro. What a speaker!
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OllastirJohns
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A. Filthy. Casual
28: 40 ahh Istanbul. it was Constantinople. Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople. Been a long time now since Constantinople. but. why did Constantinople get the works Well. that's nobody's business but the turks.
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28: 40 ahh Istanbul. it was Constantinople. Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople. Been a long time now since Constantinople. but. why did Constantinople get the works Well. that's nobody's business but the turks.
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tim3line
I know a ton about the Renaissance already but I'm always down to hear more about it. It's definitely one of the coolest era of human history imo. I still like the idea of leading my life like a Renaissance man.
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I know a ton about the Renaissance already but I'm always down to hear more about it. It's definitely one of the coolest era of human history imo. I still like the idea of leading my life like a Renaissance man.
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DanSmith-j8y
9: 46 Leonardo da Vinci of course, everyone knows a painter, a draftsman, and engineer. A painter, at least. Definitely not an engineer. I'm surprised this expert would perpetuate this myth.
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9: 46 Leonardo da Vinci of course, everyone knows a painter, a draftsman, and engineer. A painter, at least. Definitely not an engineer. I'm surprised this expert would perpetuate this myth.
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