Chapter 12

Section 1

Objectives:

• Describe the beginning of the Renaissance• Identify prominent Italian Renaissance families• Evaluate the development of Milan, Venice,

and Florence.

The Italian Renaissance

• The word renaissance means rebirth.• Renaissance Italy was a largely urban

society.–Within urban society a secular, or

worldly, viewpoint emerged as increasing wealth created new possibility for material things.

• The Renaissance was an age of recovery.– Recovery from events such as the

plague and the decline of the church.

• A new view on humans emerged as the Italian Renaissance began to emphasize individual ability.– Leonardo da Vinci; painter, sculptor,

architect, inventor, and mathematician.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

The Italian States

• Italy failed to develop a central state, but three strong cities emerged.–Milan– Venice– Florence

• Prospered because of trade

Milan

• During the 14th century, the Visconti family took control of Milan

• Last ruler died in 1447, and Francesco Sforza conquered the city with a band of mercenaries.–Mercenaries are soldiers who sold their

services to the highest bidder.

Francesco Sforza

Venice

• Venice was an important link between Asia and western Europe.

• Leader was elected, called a Doge.– In reality, a small group of merchant-

aristocrats ran the government.

Florence

–Wealthy merchants led wars that established Florence as a major city.

• In 1434 Cosimo de’ Medici took control of the city.– His grandson Lorenzo dominated

Florence when it was at the cultural center of Italy.

Lorenzo de’Medici

• During the late 1400s Florence experienced an economic decline.

• Girolamo Savonarola began speaking out against the Medici family, and citizens followed him.– People grew tired of Savonarola's

strictness and he was accused of heresy in 1498, and the Medici’s returned to power.

Closure:

• Map Skills Page 377 1 and 2

Objectives

• Explain the Italian wars of the Renaissance• List the roles of social groups within

Renaissance Italy.• Evaluate the contributions of Machiavelli to

society

The Italian Wars

• Attracted by the riches of Italy, French king Charles VIII led an army of 30,000 men into Italy in 1494.– Occupied Naples and Southern Italy

• Northern Italy turned to Spain for help.– For the next 30 years the French and Spanish

made Italy their battleground.

• On May 5, 1527 the war took a turn when Spanish troops invaded Rome demanding to be paid, and Rome was their payment.

Machiavelli

• Niccolo Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, is one of the most influential works on political power.

• Concerns how to acquire and keep political power.– Believed that a princes attitude towards

power must be based on an understanding of human nature.

– Believed humans were self-centered, abandoned morality.

The Nobility

• Although only 2-3% of the populations, aristocrats controlled society.– Expected to fulfill certain ideals.

• The Book of the Courtier, written by Baldassare Castiglione, outlined the rules.– Perfect noble was born, possessed the

skills of a warrior and intellect, and have a certain standard of conduct.

• “I think that the aim of the perfect Courtier is so to win for himself the favor and mind of the prince whom he serves that he may be able to tell him, and always will tell him, the truth about everything he needs to know, without fear or risk of displeasing him; and that when he sees the mind of his prince inclined to a wrong action, he may dare to oppose him… so as to dissuade him of every evil intent and bring him to the path of virtue”- The Book of the Courtier

Baldassare Castiglione by Raphael, c. 1516

• “Employ in everything a certain casualness which conceals art and creates the impression that what is done and said is accomplished without effort and without its being thought about. It is from this, in my opinion, that grace largely derives."

Peasants and Townspeople

• Peasants made up 85-90% of the population, and the bulk of the third estate.– Serfdom continued to decrease, and the

rent system increased.

• Townspeople made up the rest of the third estate- mostly merchants and artisans.

Third Tier- WorkersEarned pitiful salaries Made up 30-40% of the population

Second Tier- Burghers

Shopkeepers, artisans, guild masters and members Provide services to the town

Top Tier- Patricians

Wealth from trade, industry and banking

Dominated communities economically, socially, and politically

Marriage and Family

• Family bond was source of security in a dangerous world.

• To maintain the family, marriages were careful arranged, with a dowry given by the wife’s family to the husband upon marriage.

• The father-husband was completely in charge of the family.– Formally free children in front of a judge, not

at a certain age.

Homework/Class work

• Page 381 1,2, 4-6• Study for Quiz!

Closure:

• What did you learn today?