Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy
Alex Johnson, grade 9
Essay
Renaissance Era
The Renaissance Era was a bright light of change after the Dark Ages. Many things changed
during the Renaissance Era, for example: Exploration, Art, Science, Weaponry, and Sports. With
changes like these, England became not only advanced as a society but also a dominant world
power. Artists such a Leonardo Da Vinci, and play writers like William Shakespeare marveled
the public and inspired the imagination of Renaissance Europe. The time between 1485 and 1625
shaped the future of not only Europe, but the entire world.
The Renaissance period did not only change things on a cultural level, but also on a sports and
athletics level. During the Dark Ages, tournaments were the main activity for the common folk.
These tournaments were a variety of activities such as jousting, fencing, or fighting. Usually
these tournaments were fought or played to the death. The Renaissance Era brought a new
popular sport to the table, this sport is table games. Table games include chess, cards, and
checkers. Unlike the tournaments of the Dark Ages, these sports were not fought to the death,
and were peaceful and quiet. Another change in sports is the change from survival skill games to
athletic games. Survival skill games were games which the participant used his or her survival
skills to win a contest. These games included fencing and archery. However, in the Renaissance
Era games were more focused on the athletic ability of the participant, not just his or her survival
skills. Common athletic sports were tennis and game ball (football). The Dark Ages didn't play
sports for fun either. When you win a game, your ranking in society increases, and when you
lose a game, your ranking in society decreases. Games were taken gravely serious. Then came
the Renaissance, games in the Renaissance were played for fun and to have a good time. Unlike
the Dark Ages, games played during the Renaissance Era were focused on having fun and being
together with friends and family. Not dueling to death or increasing in your social class.
Getting the word out about who won the latest contest or exploring to find new land wouldn't be
possible without the inventions made during the Renaissance Era. Ships were finally able to
move away from the coast line with the help of the compass. Usually ships stayed were they
could see the coast line so they wouldn't get lost. The compass helped discover the America's and
make many other sea discoveries. This invention is so important that we still use it today.
Another important invention is the invention of the water closet or bathroom. Before this
invention people did have bathrooms, but it wasn't an automatic disposal bathroom. During the
Dark Ages, people had to dispose of their "waste" manually by dumping it somewhere. With this
new invention, people did not have to dispose of their "waste" manually, water came down from
a holding container and whisked away the "waste". This was the beginning of the modern day
bathroom. Even the bathroom cannot compare to this next invention, it is called the printing
press. A brilliant man by the name of Johann Gutenberg created this world changing invention
and helped pave the path for the modern day printer. With the help of the printing press
newspapers were made by the hundreds and books were published faster than ever before. The
Bible was one of these books and was printed in the local language so commoners could read it.
This invention helped the Bible be spread all around Europe. Without the help of these
inventions the world as we know it would not be the same today.
To protect the fabulous new inventions of the Renaissance, weapons were modified to have
more durability in battle and in fencing tournaments. One change in a weapon was the change of
the spear. The spear averaged to be 5 to 9 feet long with a sharp pointed rock or piece of metal at
the end of the shaft. These spears changed into pikes. Pikes are 15 to 20 feet long pieces of wood
that can reach the enemy with ease. Pikes also had a pointed object at the end of their shaft too.
Armies changed to pikes so that they could reach the enemy, but still be a good length away to
avoid harm. Another major change in weaponry is not the shape or size of the weapon but the
price. A sword during the Dark Ages cost as much as a modern day Ferrari. A Ferrari is
$233,000; most peasants could not afford a dagger much less a sword. Then the Renaissance
came, and swords were cheap and bountiful. Everyone in the army was equipped with a sword,
and it wasn't unusual for every villager to have a sword either. Because of the atrocious prices for
weaponry, the weapon a person carried during the Dark Ages determined his or her ranking in
society. If you were a slave you could not carry any weapon of any kind. Only if you were a
"free man" were you allowed to carry a weapon. The mark of a "free man" is a spear, but the
mark of a high status person was a sword. The Renaissance Era changed all that. A sword was a
common weapon for anyone; slave, commoner, or noble, the sword was used by all for selfdefense. The Renaissance changed how weapons were used, shaped, cost, and valued.
With all these changes made during the Renaissance Era, this time period was one for the ages.
The Renaissance changed how sports and games were played. It changed the fields of
exploration, home life, and public news. Lastly, the Renaissance changed how weapons were
made, cost, and valued. All these changes added up to make England a dominant world power.
The Renaissance not only changed England, but changed the world.