Knowra English Renaissance English Renaissance A period of cultural and intellectual change in England from the late fifteenth through the seventeenth century, marked by renewed classical learning, religious upheaval, and growth in literature and the arts.
William Shakespeare : An English playwright and poet whose works include Hamlet, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet. His plays became the era’s most enduring works for the public stage.
Italian Renaissance : A cultural movement in Italy from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that renewed classical learning and artistic innovation. Italian humanism and art provided influential models for English writers and patrons.
Patronage : The support of artists, writers, and scholars by individuals or institutions with resources and influence. Royal and aristocratic patrons funded works and shaped the careers of English creators.
Elizabeth I : Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603, whose reign followed the English Reformation’s most volatile years. Her court became a major center of patronage and national pageantry.
Early Modern English : The stage of English used from about 1500 to 1700, when grammar, vocabulary, and spelling underwent major change. Renaissance translation, printing, and literature helped establish forms of English still recognizable today.
Christopher Marlowe : An English playwright and poet whose blank-verse tragedies helped shape Elizabethan drama. Tamburlaine and Doctor Faustus expanded the scale and ambition of English tragedy.
Humanism : An intellectual movement that emphasized classical texts, rhetoric, history, and the study of human affairs. Humanist education helped shape English schools, scholarship, and public writing.
Printing press : A machine that uses movable type to reproduce text efficiently and in multiple copies. Printing expanded access to books and helped circulate humanist and religious writing.
Henry VIII : King of England from 1509 to 1547, whose break with Rome established royal supremacy over the English church. His religious policies transformed the institutions and beliefs of Renaissance England.
Scientific Revolution : A period of major change in European understandings of nature, astronomy, and scientific inquiry, beginning in the sixteenth century. English Renaissance scholarship helped prepare institutions and methods later associated with this transformation.
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