“Mention the Renaissance, and most of us will think automatically of the genius of Brunelleschi, Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci. Indeed for many Leonardo is the Renaissance, the man himself synonymous with the idea of the polymath whose interests and knowledge know no bounds. There is however more to the Renaissance than beautiful pictures…Leonardo’s own career alerts us to this in his work as inventor, and technical advisor for the military ambitions of the Dukes of Milan (“Looking at the Renaissance” np).” The other aspects of the Renaissance can be quite interesting. Two of the most interesting parts are the inventors and inventions that were featured in this time period. Both of these features made the Renaissance a time of great growth, resulting in new technological inventions, exposure of great minds, and the invention of what is perhaps the most important piece of technology in ages; the printing press.
Many of the inventions of the Renaissance have had some impact in the tools and technology that we use today. A strong example of this is the telescope, invented by Galileo in 1609. The telescope had a huge impact on its time because it created a large stir among the public, and because medical scholars were able to use the microscope to make new discoveries in the middle of the seventeenth century (Wallace 435). Galileo kept improving upon his telescope, eventually producing a telescope of thirty power. However, all of this success didn’t come without controversy. According to Carl Watner, in his article “Businessmen versus Neocheaters”, “In 1610, Galileo turned one of his telescopes up into the heavens. That took both courage and imagination. To the churchmen and mystics of his day, to spy out the shape of God’s territory was not only useless and presumptuous, but conducive to blasphemy. To these neocheaters, Galileo was no more than ‘a theological Peeping Tom'” (np).
In the early 1600s, two brothers, Hans and Zacharias Janssen of Holland, combined two lenses to produce a compound microscope (Watner np). However, according to William Wallace in his article “Scientific Instruments”, there is indirect evidence that before 1624 it was Galileo had adapted the telescope to make the first compound microscope that would make a fly appear as large as a hen (435). Although the microscope was a revolutionary invention, many of the reasons that made Galileo’s critics not want to look through a telescope made them suspicious of the microscope. Without a science of optics to explain chromatic and spherical aberration, people were wary of optical illusions. It was not uncommon for mystics to claim that “any device standing between the senses and the object to be sensed could only mislead God-given faculties” (Watner np)
Most instruments from the Renaissance were in the fields of physical or natural sciences and to medicine. One tool in the field of medicine was the thermometer. Although the thermometer had already been thought of by Galileo, it was perfected by physician, Santorio Santorre. One way that Santorre improved the thermometer was by equipping a scale to the thermometer whose extreme points were determined by the temperatures of snow for the low end and a candle flame for the high end (Wallace 435). However, these thermometers still had problems. According to Carl Watner in his article “Businessmen versus Neocheaters”, unless two thermometers were identical in construction, their readings would not agree. Even more confusion was caused by the fact that there were many different scales used for measuring temperature. It wouldn’t be until the 1700s that’ these problems would be fixed by Gabriel Fahrenheit, who used thermometers filled with mercury instead of a glass bulb filled with a liquid that was attached to a tube to get a more accurate reading (np).
One of the reasons that there were so many revolutionary inventions in the Renaissance, was because, in this time period, there were many geniuses that were also great inventors. One of the most well known inventors of the Renaissance is Leonardo da Vinci. Although Leonardo was a great artist, he still found it difficult to make a living off of his art. So, Leonardo took his drawing skills in another direction. He began designing military gear and weapons. And despite hating war and calling it “beastly madness”, Leonardo was hired by the Duke of Milan to create weapons and fortifications. Some of the weapons he included were missiles, machine guns, grenades, and even a modern style-tank (“Renaissance Man” np).
One of Leonardo’s fascinations was flight. He created plans for several flying machines and a hang glider. In a PBS TV special, the hang glider was successfully constructed and flown (Leonardo’s Dream Machines np). Leonardo’s plans also included coming up with the parachute and machines he called ornitotteri. One of the most ambitious plans called for a man to be strapped onto enormous wings extending forty feet each. A courageous individual, probably da Vinci himself, was to secretly jump off the palace roof, flapping them, and land in the cathedral square (Gani 272). Of course, many of these plans that involved flying were unsuccessful.
However, Leonardo’s greatest weapon in his invention utility belt was water. Electricity hadn’t been invented yet, so water was the best source of power. Leonardo studied water, and created many ideas of how to put it to use. He made plans for a steam powered cannon, waterwheels, and many industrial machines that ran on water. However, when it came to his plans for a breathing device, that would allow the user to explore underwater, he refused to reveal them. He said that men would likely use it for “evil in war” (Renaissance Man np).
Another prominent inventor of the Renaissance is Galileo. Inventor of the telescope, Galileo caused quite a storm when he started making statements about the skies. By observing Jupiter with his telescope, he publicly announced, with sympathy, that he agreed with Copernicus’ theory of a heliocentric universe (Watner np). In addition Galileo did many experiments involving pendulums and the physics that is involved with them.
However, one could say that Johann Gutenburg was one of the strongest inventors of the Renaissance. It would be safe to say that the Renaissance would not be what it was, if it wasn’t for the printing press. Invented by Johann Gutenburg, a German, in the 1450s. The printing press allowed the Renaissance to spread because it made new ideas available to a much larger audience (“The Printing Press” np). Although all the technology needed to make printed text was already available, Gutenberg emerged as the person who was able to put together all the work of his predecessors, to develop new techniques, and to invent the method that laid the foundation for all future printing (“History of Printing” np).
Some of the challenges that Gutenberg had to overcome were creating a machine that would be able to reproduce characters. Also he had to figure out how to use movable type. And finally he had to have paper to write his words on. Luckily, all of these had already been invented by the Chinese. All that was left was for Gutenberg to put all the elements together and to create a machine that could produce printed text.
It is not known what what his press looked like in its final form, but some say that it was an adaptation of a wooden cheese or wine press. With his modified equipment, Gutenberg began his first project; the 42-line Bible. For many years this was supposed to be the first printed book. But because the book had few flaws, we now know that there were other attempts before the printing of the 42-line Bible. The art of printing began to spread rapidly, and soon, there was a press in every country in Europe. This greatly improved the ability to spread ideas, and that is one of the reasons that the Renaissance was able to flourish so much. One strange part about paper in the Renaissance, was that even though the printing was very efficient, throughout the entire Renaissance, paper was still made by hand, with only one sheet being able to be produced at a time (“History of Printing” np).
The Renaissance was a very interesting period. This is because of the new technological inventions, great inventors, and the invention of the printing press. It could be said that these were the reasons that the Renaissance was able to make such a great impact in history. Clearly, it is evident that the Renaissance is not just about art, music, and dance. But instead, it was much more.
Works Cited
Gani, Martin. “Leonardo Lives On.” World and I Nov. 2002: 272. Discusses how the author notices that Leonardo da Vinci’s work is still alive today. And it can be seen in many places. Woven into the article are tidbits of Leonardo’s life, and his plans. It begins by telling about The Last Supper and Leonardo as an artist. It then moves on to tell about the inventions of Leonardo and how the author sees them popping up in our lives today. This is a great article, because it gives the facts and also, gives some humorous, but also valuable commentary by the author.
“History of Printing.” Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Scholastic Lib. 16 Dec. 2007 . Provides an in-depth look at the history of printing. It begins by talking about how many aspects of printing had been developed earlier, but it wasn’t until Gutenberg combined all of these elements into the printing press. The article then progresses to give an overview on the life of Gutenberg. Moving on, the article goes outside of the Renaissance period, and starts to talk about modern printing. A highly recommended article for the history of the printing press, and some background information on Gutenberg.
Leonardo’s Dream Machines. PBS. Oct. 2005.
“Looking at the Renaissance.” The Open University. 16 Dec. 2007 . Provides a guide to follow along with the TV series “Renaissance Secrets 2”. The article talks about defining the Renaissance, not by using a regular definition, but by looking at a number of philosophers in the Renaissance and also by looking at all of the aspects of the Renaissance including innovations of the time period, rather than just art and music. The article also provides other internal links, that also serve as a guide to further define the term Renaissance, such as “Economic and political context” and “Religious context”. When reading the article, the reader will discover many little known facts regarding the Renaissance. All of this makes this web site a great place to go for reliable information, and the more intricate facts of the Renaissance.
“Renaissance Man.” Museum of Science. 2007. 16 Dec. 2007 . A very helpful article that describes the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci. Offers some diagrams to aid the reading. In the article, it discusses how Leonardo used his drawing skills to make a living. First, by giving the story of how he was hired by the Duke of Milan to create weapons. Then it goes on to talk about how talented Leonardo was as an engineer, because of his great drawing skills. Finally the article talks about Leonardo’s lesser known inventions, such as a steam cannon, many different waterwheels, and many useful industrial machines powered by flowing water. This article, is a good stop for information on Leonardo da Vinci and all of the inventions that he has created.
Sedivy, Mr. “The Printing Press.” Mr. Sedivy’s Highlands Ranch History. Highlands Ranch High School. 16 Dec. 2007 .
Ibid. “The Printing Press.” Mr. Sedivy’s Highlands Ranch History. Highlands Ranch High School. 16 Dec. 2007 .
Wallace, William A. “Scientific Instruments.” Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1999. 435.
Watner, Carl. “Businessmen versus Neocheaters.” Neo-Tech. 2007. 27 Nov. 2007 . Provides a list of inventions that were created during the Renaissance period. Such inventions include: the clock, the compass, spectacles, the microscope and many others. Also provides a great deal on information, including: how the object was invented, who the inventor was, and the public’s reaction, on the telescope, barometer and thermometer. A very good source for general and background information on all of the above inventions.
