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The chariot, towering, threads the fiery sphere, and rises thence into the lunar reign... Here doubly waxed the paladin's surprise to see that place so large, when viewed at hand; resembling but a little hoop in size, when from the globe surveyed whereon we stand. And that he both his eyes behoved to strain, if he would view Earth's circling seas and land; in that, by reason of the lack of light, their images attained to little height... In 1437, Portugal's Prince Henry "The Navigator", founded the first naval institute of its kind. He believed that the oldest as well as the most up-to-date maps of the known world, and the latest navigation aids, should be available in one place. One of those was a manual which contained "Rules for Observing the North Star." Ships began to be designed for lengthy voyages into unknown seas. In the past, merchants from Venice, Genoa and Milan who had financed overland trips to India and China, had brought back luxury items such as silks and spices. They then sold them at high prices throughout Europe and became extremely rich. These events made the search for new trade routes by sea worthwhile.
Chapter
3 The Renaissance was a time of creative inspiration. The important people of the Renaissance became inspired by ideas from the past, and then they acted on them. Instead of believing everything they were told by those in power, people asked questions and searched for answers. Through this sense of questioning and searching, these thinkers and doers lead the rest of the world to new ideas and discoveries. Some of the great minds of the Renaissance were : LEONARDO DA VINCI (Italy) Leonardo was the most brilliant inventor and one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. Today when we speak about a "renaissance" man or woman, we describe someone who has many talents. Leonardo was not only an inventor and artist, he was an architect, sculptor, musician, astronomer, town planner. He designed engineering projects in the fields of hydraulics, ship building, military, structural and mechanical engineering.
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A
comparison can once again be made with then and now: the fear and
excitement at the thought of Christopher Columbus' voyage into the
uncharted seas, and the thought of our 20th century astronauts venturing
into outer space. A poet of that time, Lodovico Ariosto (1472-1533)
even prophesied the journey to the moon in his epic Orlando
Furioso:
