From the early 14 th century the Renaissance caused an unique renewal of Western culture. It always astonished me how quickly this deep cultural change took place all over Western Europe. Several causes that certainly have contributed to this astounding development have been proposed. I wonder however if the enormous decimation of the population by the pestilence of the Plague (the Black Death) that ravaged Western Europe several times in the course of the 14 th century, might be one of the root causes. My feeling is that these catastrophic epidemics destroyed so much of the suffocating Middle Age social structures, that "breathing space" became available for entirely new cultural and scientific thinking. More or less like new plants and trees immediately shoot up in a wood where the old trees have been destroyed by a storm or a fire. Until now I did not find any references that support this idea. What do you think of it? Does anyone know references?
Louis Harmsen
2006-08-31
06:42:03
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6 answers
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Anonymous