The not-so-glamorous portion of the European Renaissance
Unfortunately, while there was so much going on in the Renaissance related to art, science, music and architecture, there was also the death of anywhere between 1/4 and 1/2 of Europe's population during this time.
Otherwise known as "The Black Death," it reached Italy in 1348 and spread on from there. It was a plague, also known as an epidemic, that played out over a period of three years all through Europe.
Fear spread through the people as more people fell victim to the plague and as we know, fear in large doses can make people do some crazy things. Groups of people began living together, completely separate from all other people in an attempt to avoid contracting the deadly disease.
I'll avoid the details of the diseases and symptoms and skip right onto the affects that it had on the arts and culture.
Since this disease did now know social classes, it affected the rich and poor alike, shoemakers and scholars both. Scholars from Universities such as Cambridge died in large groups. Not only did scholars die, however. Priests and members of the church and clergy were also killed off. With no one to continue studies or to hear confessions, big holes began to form in the culture.
As for the arts, the death and destruction that we saw in real life began to work its way into the art works of the time. We see this in the Danse Macabre or the Dance of Death. The theme shows skeletons worked in with people in their daily lives.
Often, the current events and feelings affect the art of the time, and the Renaissance was no exception to this rule.
Source:
Knox. E.L.S. The black death. Retrieved November, 2007 from: http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/plague/