Humanities & Classics 1002
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Renaissance Forum
Humanities & Classics 1002 |
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In Reply to: PLEASE POST YOU FIRST REQUIRED POSTING AS A REPLY TO THIS posted by TOM BACIG on December 13, 1998 at 19:30:06:
The Renaissance was, by definition, a period of rebirth. Old ideas became new and new ideas were as numberous as the stars. One controversy of the changing times was the question of what is the "proper" way inwhich we, as imperfect humans, should worship God. Two writes of the time express both the repressive rules of the Medieval Period and the expressive concepts of the Renaissance.
Thomas a Kempis, in 1440, wrote the Imitation of Christ. He believed that we should recognize our imperfections and surrender our lives to God. Thomas a Kempis believed that we should "despise outward things." He also felt that if you enjoyed life and took pleasure in Earthly things, then you would never sii the kingdom of God. His opinion was that the human race could redeem itself for our many faults by prayer and penance. His were the views held during the Medieval Period.
Pico della Merandola, however, wrote Oration on the Dignity of Man and mere 45 years later. It was a complete turn around from Kempis. Merandola held the opinion that God gave man a free will with the intension that we use it. He wrote, "(as said by God) ... shalt ordain for thyself the limits of thy nature in accordance with thine own free will .... fashion thyself in whatever shape thou shalt prefer." Through this we can interpret that Merandola believed in free will, imagination, self expression, and individualism. He also believed that man was, in God's eyes, "little lower than angels." God had placed us on this earth to rule over all the other creatures.
Both of these views, and many other revolutionary ideas, were expressed in the film "Name of the Rose." The strugle between the two ideas can be witnessed while watching William of Jorge de Burgos, both of which are monks sworn to God. William believes in the benevolence of God while Jorge feels that we must redeem ourselves in God's eyes. To do that we must remain sober at all times. In two seperate scenes we witness the arguement of whether laughter is good or evil.
In the first scene they confront each other in the library.
Jorge: Laughter is a devilish whim which deforms, uh, the lineaments of the face and makes men look like monkeys.
William: Monkeys do not laugh. Laughter is particular to men.
Jorge: As is sin. Christ never laughed.
William: Can we be so sure?
Jorge: There is nothing in the Scriptures to say that he did.
William: And there's nothing in the Scriptures to say that he did not. Why, even the saints have been known to employ comedy, to ridicule the enemies of the Faith.
In the second scene they are in the tower where Jorge hides the comedies writen by Aristotle.
William: But what is so alarming about laughter?
Jorge: Laughter kills fear, and without fear there can be no faith, because without fear of the Devil there is no need of God.
Through the readings and the film we have come to appreciate the tremendous changes which took place in such a short time. The Reanaissance was not only a rebirth of old ideas but a breeding ground for new, controversial thoughts and beliefs.