Humanism and Printing in the Renaissance?

Question

How did the revival of humanism and the revolution in printing make the Renaissance possible?

Answer 1

The Renaissance was really a return to ancient Greek and Roman ideas and literature.  People in the Renaissance basically thought that the Middle Ages had been a dark period without much culture.  But the Renaissance was also a time when a middle class began to develop.  The invention of the printing press increased the rate of literacy, as books were read by middle class merchants.

These merchants had made money through business ventures.  So, they had social power without being born into the land-owning aristocracy or having a high position in the church.  Renaissance artists like Shakespeare retold stories that were already well-known to the audience.  And that was part of what made Shakespeare great.  Everyone knew the story, so it was the skill with which he told it that mattered.  Without the rise of the middle class and the rise in literacy, Shakespeare would not have had an audience at the Globe Theater in London.

I could go on, but I don't want to bore you.  But one more thing.  Rich merchants like the de Medicis in Florence spent huge amounts of money on art, making the Italian painting of the Renaissance possible.  

All of these artworks celebrated the ability of human beings to create knowledge, as did many books published at the time.  Before the Renaissance, knowledge came ONLY from the Bible for many people, and only priests and aristocrats could actually read the Bible.