Dialectics: Medieval vs Renaissance Thinking

Reading King Lear and studying history sparked my curiosity to really nail down the differences between medieval and renaissance thinking, and what makes them so thoroughly different. I'll run through main points of thinking and the two can have at it.

Religion:
In the middle ages, religion was the highest form of law. It controlled politics, and many wanted to create a unified Europe under Christian rule. This was also (unfortunately) the time of the inquisition, and they weren't too nice to those who believed differently. In the renaissance, however, skepticism was on the rise. Not hard to believe, since many popes were corrupt, the state became superior to the church, and the reformation was in full swing. It's harder to have full confidence in your powerful church when the facade of its superiority is crumbling and people are pointing out its flaws.

Literature:
During the medieval period, books were hand-written and largely patronized by the church. Since most of the subjects were religiously based, there was little criticism or provoking literature. Not only was this true, but it was largely written in Latin and the vast majority of people were illiterate. The literacy rate improved slightly in the renaissance, but they also began to translate things into other languages and write about secular topics. The printing press allowed for mass distribution of literature and the authors tended to go back to their Greek and Roman roots.

Family:
In medieval times, there was virtually no divorce (since that's a no-no in the Catholic church) and marriage was lots of times arranged for economical purposes. Later, during the renaissance, people started to marry for love, and divorce became a little more popular, though most people stayed married.

Women's Status:
Going along with the shift to love-based marriages, in the medieval times there was a relative sexual equality, where in the renaissance period there was a huge double standard. The woman was supposed to make herself desirable to the man, and prostitution became more rampant. Their legal status was crap, and only the highly educated could be considered even a little important.

Politics:
In the middle ages, the church and politics were intertwined, with the church governing everything, but in the renaissance period the state became separate, with the "new monarchs" asserting their rule over the state churches.


So there we go. What's the big difference? In the middle ages, they looked for a man who was an expert in one subject. In the renaissance, they wanted a man with virtu, or a man who was well-rounded. Their polar-opposite thinking not only allows for some cool debate (though we're a little to late to hear the REAL thing) but it creates a nice dynamic in King Lear.