To What Extent Was the Advent of Renaissance Architecture in Britain a Essay

To What Extent Was the Advent of Renaissance Architecture in Britain a Result of the Stuart Court and Monarchy - Essay Example The renaissance took place at different times in different parts of the world. Whenever Renaissance is mentioned, it must be remembered that it has to do with the conscious revival of certain aspects of the cultures of ancient Greek and ancient Roman societies. In terms of timeframe and order of occurrence, renaissance architecture came after Gothic literature. Some of the distinguishing features of renaissance architecture (like classical architecture) include precision of measurement and proportion and symmetry. All these features also took place during the British Renaissance. Renaissance got to Britain during the reign of Elizabeth I. Its advent in Britain can be said to have been influenced by Stuart courts and Monarchy. One must not however fail to realize that although renaissance Britain was the rebirth of classical culture, the purposes of the architecture peculiar to both of them are for different reasons. One of the most memorable attributes of the Stuart monarchy is that they brought to Britain, during their reign, influences from all over Europe and even influences from outside Europe. The implication of this is that, when one wants to consider their influence on British Architecture, it means indirectly that one is to consider the influence of other cultures on British Architecture. When the Stuarts were ruling Britain, the country became a floodgate for the architectural designs that were started in other parts of the world. In actuality, renaissance was not to the British. The rebirth that took place in Britain was only the direct consequence of the events that had taken place and happened earlier in Italy and France. In the first place, if there was never the Greek or Roman civilization, there would never have been anything like Renaissance in any part of the world, let alone in Britain. 1 The essence of all that has been aforementioned is that if the Stuarts rulers had not been so friendly to the arts or if they had not welcomed the architectu ral designs from other parts of the world, the notion of renaissance Britain may not have been possible in the first instance. 3 Some of the influences that the Stuarts took on include those from the Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy. Then, the influence of other climes was so much that in a single building the building designs of more than one country can be combined. For example, the design of the French and the Italians may be combined in the British Renaissance Architecture design style and this is due to the fact that the Stuarts actually combined the designs of the French and the Italians in moulding the British Renaissance Architecture into what it became. The influence of the Stuart monarchy may be said to be most eminent during the Elizabethan period which marked the beginning of Renaissance in Britain. The round arch which was one of the ensigns of the architecture that emerged during the reign of the Stuart monarchy also resurfaced during the Elizabethan period.1 Yet it does not negate the fact that the Elizabethan period itself had features that were self-generated. One of the features of the architecture of the Elizabethans that shows that not all the architectural structures of the period were a direct influence of the Stuart monarchy is the fact that most windows and doors during the period were round-headed. On the other hand, as it was during