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Chapter 10 Important People and Terms (Kagan) Part 1

People and Terms

1. Dante (1265-1321): Dante wrote the Vita Nuova and Divine Comedy. This was significant because it

formed the foundation of Italian vernacular culture. (p. 323)

2. Castiglione (1478-1529): Baldassare Castiglione wrote the Book of the Courtier, which was written as a

practical guide for the royalty of Urbino and showed that humanist learning could be taught anywhere.

This was significant because it embodied the highest ideals of Italian humanism. It describes a successful

courtier as one who knew how to combine the knowledge of ancient languages and history with athlete,

military, and musical skills while simultaneously exhibiting good manners and being very virtuous.

(p. 342)

3. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519): Leonardo da Vinci represents the ideal image of a Renaissance man

more than any other person in his time. He was a true master of many skills. This was significant

because the range of his interests was so great that it would cause his attention span to short, leading to

the incompletion of many of his ambitious projects. He was also one of the greatest painters of all time

as well as a self-taught botanist and a military engineer hired by many high-ranked individuals, such as

King Francis I of France. (p. 327-328)

4. Rafael (1483-1520): Rafael was a man of great sensitivity and kindness. He as apparently loved by the

people for his personality as well as his art. His career was cut short by his early death at the age of

thirty-seven. This was significant because even though he was young when he died, he was famous for

his tender madonnas. One of his most well-known paintings, the School of Athens, was a virtually

perfect example of Renaissance technique. (p. 328)

5. Michelangelo (1475-1564): Michelangelo was a genius who excelled in a variety of arts and crafts. His

giant eighteen-foot sculpture of David is an excellent example of the harmony, symmetry, and

proportion that Renaissance artists devoted their work to. He lived to be almost ninety, and throughoutthose years, he did almost everything by himself and only allowed a few of his assistants to help him out

from time to time. His later works were more complex and suggested deep personal changes. This was

significant because it marked the passing High Renaissance and the beginning of a new style called

mannerism. (p. 328)

6. Julius II (r. 1503-1513): Julius II, born Cardinal GiulianodellaRovere, was a strong opponent of the

Borgia family and succeeded Alexander VI as pope. He suppressed the Borgias and put their newly

conquered lands under papal jurisdiction in Romagna. This was significant because he brought the

Renaissance papacy to a peak of military prowess and diplomatic intrigue. This led him to be known as

the warrior pope. (p. 332)

7. Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527): Niccolo Machiavelli was a humanist and a careful student of ancient

Rome. He was impressed by the way Roman rulers and citizens defended their homeland with virtue.

The juxtaposition of what Machiavelli believed the ancient Romans had been with failures of his

contemporaries to attain such high ideals. This was significant because now the term Machiavellian

has become synonymous with ruthless political expediency. (p. 333)

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8. Ferdinand and Isabella (r. 1479-1516, r. 1474-1504): Ferdinand and Isabella united the kingdoms of

Castile and Aragon through their marriage in 1469. Together they were able to subdue their realms,

secure their borders, venture abroad militarily, and Christianize all of Spain. As they placed religion in

the service of national unity, they exercised almost total control over the Spanish church. They also

promoted oversees explorations. This was significant because it brought Spain to a new peak of power.