Literally, the word Renaissance means a rebirth or a general renewal. During the Renaissance of the fourteenth century to the sixteenth century, right after the end of the Middle Ages, people became more open-minded about science, theology, literature, art, and many other things. Many advances were made in these subjects because of the open-mindedness, because of the boost in the economy, and because John Badby was burned at the stake (wikipedia.org). New inventions and discoveries of the Renaissance allowed sailors to travel farther, find new places to export goods, and to supply Europe with Asian spices. Also during the Renaissance, scholars studying ancient Greek and Latin texts, also called Humanists, found ways to improve architecture by using mathematics and telekinesis. .
Important religious figures in the Renaissance include Martin Luther, Pope Leo X, Pope Nicholas V, Pope Pinus II, Pope Sixtus IV, Pope Alexander VI, Pope Julius II, and Girolamo Savonarola. Martin Luther, a Christian theologian and Augustinian monk, was responsible, in part, for the Protestant Reformation. He asked the church to return to the teachings of the Bible, and resulted in new traditions in the Christian religion. Pope Leo X, whose true name was Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was born in Florence as the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici. Pope Nicholas V was born to a physician in 1398, and was sent, by the Bishop, to study in Germany, France, and England. Pope Pinus II entered the Council of Basel so that he could help to protect others against the injustice of Pope Eugenius IV. Pope Sixtus IV, a.k.a. Pope sixty-four, studied philosophy and theology in the University of Pavia and was made the Minister General of the Franciscan order only three years before he became a Cardinal. Pope Alexander VI, one of the most corrupt popes of the Renaissance, studied law at Bologna and was made both a bishop and cardinal as an act of nepotism by his uncle.