Medieval and Renaissance: What's the Difference?

For many years I saw the Renaissance as an era within the Middle Ages. Later, I changed my view to an understanding that the Renaissance was a separate era than Medieval Times and was very adamant about supporting that view. I often emphasized that the Protestant Reformation was not Medieval but post-Medieval. More recently, I have changed my view again to the belief that the Renaissance should actually be understood as part of the Middle Ages.

Now before I expound on why I believe the Renaissance is actually Medieval, we have to first understand when the Middle Ages began and ended. Over the years, various scholars have had different views about the timeline to the history of the Medieval World. Perhaps most common,is the claim that the Middle Ages began with the gradual fall of the city of Rome in the 5th century and ended just before the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. Thus, a common timeline for the Middle Ages is that it lasted roughly 400-1500 A. D. . Such a view is not without those that differ however, as some see the Middle Ages as only beginning as late as the 7th century or later, and ending only in the sixteenth century at the latest. Frequently, Christopher Columbus's coming to the New World or Luther's Ninety-Five Thesis are seen as the end of the Middle Ages. Others see the Middle Ages not as ending until Henry VIII severed ways with Rome in the sixteenth century.

One rather consistent view would be to say the Middle Ages began with the emergence of Christianity under Emperor Constantine in the fourth century and ended with the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the fifteenth century. This view is quite plausible as it ties the history of the Middle Ages to a consistent beginning and end to the Byzantine Empire. 

To make matters more confusing, some see the Middle Ages as originating in England later than some other countries. Also, the same is said for the English Renaissance that it began roughly a century after the Italian Renaissance had started.

Concerning literature too is another issue. English Literature by Benjamin W. Griffith consider the Anglo-Saxon work, Beowulf, to be ancient English Literature. However, Beowulf is included in the Nortan Anthology of the Middle Ages. Perhaps England's timeline of history does not totally correspond to that of Italy or Greece in relation to the Medieval Era? It is certainly something to think about.

No doubt, England probably tended to be a little bit slower in catching up with its times than did other places in Europe. The Petrarachan Sonnet certainly laid the foundations for the Shakespearean Sonnet. Dante also had influence on Chaucer. Many of the opposition to the Catholic Church concerning theological issues in the Middle Ages originated with the French and Italian Waldensians before it did many of the reformers in England.

While we may not all agree on when the Middle Ages began or ended in England, it does seem that that Medieval Times came later to England than it did to some other countries. The same is true true for the English Renaissance.

It is my personal opinion that the Middle Ages began as early as the fourth century. What we to remember though, is that Medieval Times and the Age of Chivalry are not exactly interchangeable. Knighthood certainly didn't exist in the days of Saint Patrick for example. I personally believe the fourth century is a good origin of the Middle Ages mostly because the rise of Christianity which seems to have brought on an entirely new era in history.

But if the Middle Ages began in the fourth century, when did it end? This one maybe a little more complicated. Like C. S. Lewis, I consider the Renaissance to not really be a separate era of that of Medieval England*1.  As the Protestant Reformation took place just shortly after the English Renaissance began, I also do believe that the early part of the Protestant Reformation should also be understood as Medieval. 

While some place the Middle Ages and Renaissance as ending as late as 1700, I wonder if such a date is stretching them a little too far. While I believe the early Renaissance to be still Medieval, perhaps the latter part of it we should then understand to be a separate era.

In my opinion, the Middle Ages probably ended around the time of the Protestant Reformation. However, I think if we examine history we will find that Protestantism was not entirely a new movement but based upon many ideas from Medieval Theologians like Wycliffe or William of Ockham. While some may not see Luther as Medieval, I would probably stretch the Middle Ages to around the early seventeenth century, at which point the Reformation had mostly succeeded, and America was being gradually settled by the English. Perhaps Medieval aside, we can stretch the Renaissance then until the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, if not later.

C. S. Lewis became the chair of Medieval and Reinsurance Literature near the end of his life. Lewis frequently refers to Edmund Spenser in his works. He was also famous for a line, ''The Renaissance  never happened.'' He understood the English literature of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to actually be Medieval. Because of this, I think we can faithfully and fairly assume, that Lewis would have also considered the early parts of the Protestant Reformation to still be Medieval (at least, those concerning England). For more on Lewis's view on this subject, check out Mcgrath's book mentioned below.

So if the early Renaissance era was actually Medieval, how did it come to be understood as such? Further what about the ''Dark Ages? '' These topics will be discussed soon. 

In the book, The Bright Ages, several views on Medieval history are suggested. Medievalists have significantly differed from each other in the dating of the Medieval timeline. While I feel accepting of the 400-1500 A. D. system, I also can see various other dates as to the beginning and end of the Middle Ages. For example, The Bright Ages talks about some who even believe the Middle Ages ended as late as the nineteenth century! 


Further Sources: The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages by Norman F. Cantor, C. S. Lewis: A Life by Alister Mcgrath, The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Middle Ages by Stephen Greenblatt, The Barron's Guide to English Literature by Benjamin W. Griffith.

*1- https://www.jstor.org/stable/26814235