The Humanist View of History

Humanists believed they were bringing back true civilization after what they saw as centuries of darkness. They thought a dark age had started after the Roman Empire fell. Later scholars also thought a new era began in Europe from the 14th century onwards. They used terms like “Middle Ages” and “medieval period” for the thousand years after Rome’s fall.

They saw this time as when the Church had total control over people’s thoughts, wiping out Greek and Roman knowledge. Humanists called the period from the 15th century onwards “modern.” They split the Middle Ages into early, late, and dark ages.

But now, historians are questioning this division. With more research, they’re seeing that each century had its own cultural richness. It doesn’t seem right to call any period the “Dark Ages” anymore.

Class 11 History Chapter 5 Notes: Studying the humanist view of history means understanding how people see the past. Humanism says that humans are really important in history. It focuses on things like human achievements, ideas, and the way people lived.

Instead of religion or money, humanism looks at how people’s actions and thoughts shaped history. Important people like Petrarch, Erasmus, and Pico della Mirandola promoted these ideas during the Renaissance, when people rediscovered old Greek and Roman writings. Today, humanism still affects how we study history by encouraging us to think deeply about people’s lives and experiences in the past.

In this article, You will get to know about the Humanism, Humanist View of History and much more about it.