The Renaissance

Among all the inventions of this time, there are too many to explain in full detail. The invention of gunpowder revolutionized warfare. Cannons could now demolish castles in a matter of minutes, causing the invention of the star-shaped fortress. This fortress was able to either roll the cannonballs along its edges or even deflect them completely. Even though early age guns were very slow to reload, and not much of a danger due to this, they still opened a path to the guns we have today. Explorers began map making of continents, such as Blaeus 1630 map of Africa. The creation of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, helped increase production and distribution of books, and thus pushed for the use of vernacular language, allowing languages other than Latin to be used openly. These are just a few more of the grand expansions of scientific achievement.

The end of the Medieval period meant a new era for science and religion to grow. Religion and science seemed to fight for power. Religion wanted to be in control of what the world did and did not know, while science felt the world deserved immediate answers, and everything around us should be taken apart and examined for full understanding. The Renaissance brought us scientific advancements, great art and chance to continue interest in revolutionizing the world. Religion did seem to lose some influence, but it still held much of its power. Something to consider is why did religion itself not make the attempt to understand the universe more? I suppose those few men who dared draw attention to themselves are truly to be thanked for revolutionizing the world during the Renaissance.