What was the renaissance?

• The renaissance took place from 1500-1600
• The renaissance was a period where people asked questions and found answers and experimented. Inspiration was found in Greek and Roman texts, but people criticised them as well
• The printing press was invented in 1451, meaning ideas could spread faster
• Scientists, doctors, traders and artists all were part of the movement, contributing to many different things
• People didn’t want to accept the answers given to them, so they set out to find out for themselves
• The ideas started and mainly remained in Italy but spread all over Europe
• Because of new drugs that were discovered in the americas, chances of survival improved and people started to have more faith in doctors
• New weapons such as gunpowder introduced new injuries, so new techniques were developed to treat them
• The invention of the printing press meant that knowledge of basic hygiene and sanitation was spread more widely, and there was also a rise in the number of doctors due to this
• The catholic church no longer dictated what doctors could learn or challenge thanks to the forming of new religions such as Protestantism, so progress was very fast
• Medical schools and practice before qualifying meant that doctors would get more accurate results in experiments and treat more safely, because they were no longer following centuries old mistakes
• The introducing of diagrams into medical books meant that even illiterate people coild understand how the body worked to an extent, and gave doctors a clear view of inside the body without dissection