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    Superstition During the Renaissance

    Number of Pages: 8

     

    Summary of the research paper:

    In eight pages this paper examines the Renaissance period in terms of the superstition associated with this period in a consideration of beliefs and the presence of ghosts in literature of the time such as appear in several plays of William Shakespeare. Five sources are cited in the bibliography.

    Name of Research Paper File: MM12_PGrnsgh.rtf

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    provides examples of some of the appearances that were eventually recorded in literature. Shakespeare is used as one of the examples. Bibliography lists 5 sources. PGrnsgh.rtf THE RENAISSANCE AND  GHOSTS , November, 2001 properly! Many of the superstitions of the Middle Ages and earlier  carried through to the Renaissance period in Italy and the rest of Europe. For instance, Emperor Frederick II always took his astrologer with him when he traveled. The astrologer and  others fixed the day for the Emperor, determining what he would do and not do on that day. The practice soon spread to the universities and cities. Professors of pseudo-science  were appointed as astrologers to advise people. Even the Popes had their astrologers. Pope Pius II was an exception to this practice. Leo X, on the other hand, consulted with  astrologers (Burckhardt, 1878). Children belonging to the better families in the country always had their horoscopes drawn, often leaving them to spend half their lives waiting for some prediction  to come true. When men had to make an important decision, the stars were consulted (Burckhardt, 1878). Given these common superstitious practices that were adhered to so rigidly,  it should not be surprising that the citizens of the Renaissance also believed an individual who died took on the presence of a spirit, a ghost (Burckhardt, 1878). The faith  in the spirit world was held in Italy as it was in most of the rest of Europe. Put simply, there were ghosts, the reappearnces of deceased persons. The spirits  of bad persons would appear in a rather horrible shape. This was an accepted notion. Although, the spirits of the dead, good or bad, seem to take on a form 

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