GK Trivia – 5: The Renaissance and its relevance today

The current lock down announced as a result of the COVID 19 Pandemic has impelled us to be within the confines of our homes. While, on one hand this is a much needed relaxation, a reprieve from our busy schedules, on the other hand, it can be a punishment for those of us who aren’t used to solitude. However, there’s no denying that it’s during such periods of contemplation that mankind often finds the light within itself and emerges as a stronger and better species. Moments of crises have always led to Enlightenment and Evolution. Has this happened before? Yes, indeed.

Let’s roll back the wheel of time and go to the 14^th century. The Black Death was a global epidemic of Bubonic Plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid 1300s. It originated in China (the parallels start) and was mostly spread by trading ships (the parallels continue). It struck India, Syria, Persia and Egypt and reached Europe via Trading ships. Almost 1/3^rd of Europe’s population, over 20 million people, were killed.

However, as the saying goes, it’s always the darkest before the dawn. Post this horrific period, Europe was reborn through the Ages of Renaissance and Reformation. Renaissance saw the cultural transformation of Europe through the work of geniuses such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Dante, etc. The fall of Constantinople led to many artists migrating to Florence, Italy, which further accelerated the Renaissance. At the same time, Reformation led to a religious evolution of the people. These ultimately ushered in the Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolutions, which  used Reason and Science to understand the world.

A major role in this was played by a gentleman called Johannes Gutenberg. Does the surname ring a bell? Gutenberg was the father of the Printing Press in Europe. He created a printing system that could ensure mass production of printed books which were economically viable for both printers and readers. This led to unrestricted availability of information and revolutionary ideas, transferring power from the literary elite to one and all. In our times, something similar has happened thanks to the Internet. In fact, there’s a website called Project Gutenberg which is a library of free eBooks. You can read a lot of classics of world literature out there.

Hence, it’s clear that History repeats itself. Mankind has gone through similar situations like the one now and has emerged as an evolved species. This will surely happen now too. We just need to keep ourselves motivated, take care of our health and use this time constructively for developing ourselves.

Before signing off, there is an interesting concept we wanted to share with you. Do you remember your nursery rhymes? Many of them actually find their origins in unexpected places. For example, it’s said that Ring a Ring  o’ Roses finds its origin in the Black Death!  A rosy rash was a symbol of the plague and posies of herbs were carried as protection from the same. Similarly, other rhymes have interesting origin stories. But that’s a different story for a different day…