The Renaissance: Who? What? The Renaissance: Who? What? When? How?When? How?

Renaissance—1350 to 1600 In some ways, continuation of Middle

Ages Beginning of modern times Development of new attitudes about

themselves and world Began in city-states of Italy Classical ruins reminded people of

Rome Trade with Byzantine Empire

reminded Italian of Greece

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I. Humanism—What is I. Humanism—What is it?it?

Italian scholars’ interest in classical learning led to a new intellectual movement known as humanism, which focused on secular (worldly) themes rather than on religious ideas

Humanists believed that education could help people improve themselves and opened schools that taught the humanities—Greek, Latin, history, and philosophy

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Humanism (cont)Humanism (cont) Scholars believed classical beliefs

could improve their society Among the most important beliefs

was individualism—an emphasis on the dignity and worth of the individual person

The idea of human improvement sought improvement through many activities such as sports, politics, and the arts

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Humanism (cont)Humanism (cont) As the Renaissance developed,

writers also focused on the topics of individual ambition and success

Through their teaching and writing, humanists reawakened the educated public to new ideas that reshaped European civilization

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II. Education and II. Education and LiteratureLiterature

A. New forms of literature—Who?/ Francesco Petrarch (PEE*trahrk) wrote

“sonnets” or short poems that expressed his love for a woman who died of the Black Plague

/ Giovanni Boccaccio, in the work “Decameron” described young people who tell stories to divert their attention from the plague’s horrors

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Education and Education and Literature (cont)Literature (cont)

Some writers focused on individual ambition/ Baldassare Castiglione

(bahl*dahs*SAHR*ray kahs*steel*YOHN*ay) “The Book of the Courtier” Gave advice to men and women Men were to be skilled in many activities Women were to be graceful, attractive, and

courteous

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Education and Education and Literature (cont)Literature (cont)

Niccolo Machiavelli/ Wrote “The Prince”/ Analyzed the politics of the Renaissance/ Use force and deceit to hold power/ Appealed to a power-hungry

Renaissance/ Influenced thoughts and actions of later

politicians / Highly controversial

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Education and Education and Literature Literature

Machiavelli--three views/ Amoral theorist of “realpolitik”,

disdainful of morality and Christianity, interested only in acquiring power as an end in itself

/ Italian patriot, who viewed tyranny as the only way to rid Italy of its foreign conquerors

/ A rulers good intentions do not guarantee good results; actions must be judged by their consequences, not by their intrinsic moral quality. To preserve the state, actions must be taken which are not loyal, charitable, human, or religious 9

FlorenceFlorence The birthplace of the Italian

Renaissance Originally a republic Controlled by Medici (Meh*duh*chee)

family, a prominent banking family Fostered humanism among scholars/

artists Cosimo de Medici ended worker

uprisings by imposing a heavier income tax on the rich, using it to fixing city service problems

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Florence Florence Lorenzo de’ Medici ruled Florence

1469-1492/ Used wealth to support artists,

philosophers, and writers and support public festivals

/ Became known as “the Magnificent”

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RomeRome During 1500s, Rome emerged as the

leading renaissance city The pope and the cardinals made up

the wealthiest class To increase their prestige, the popes

rebuilt the ancient city Architects built magnificent

structures and artist created paintings and sculptures

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The Northern The Northern RenaissanceRenaissance

Chapter 16Section 2

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Main IdeaMain Idea The Renaissance spread from Italy to

northern Europe

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OverviewOverview During the late 1400s, Renaissance

art and humanist ideas—plus interests I the classics—began to move north to France, England, the Netherlands, and other European countries

The people of the northern Renaissance adapted the ideas of the Italian Renaissance to their own individual tastes, values, and needs

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Spreading IdeasSpreading Ideas Italian traders, appreciating wealth

and success, set an example for northern merchants

Wealthy merchants, new to wealth, began to spend money on education, houses, and material goods

Europeans began to study in Italy with the masters. Thus a new middle class was emerging

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Spreading Ideas (cont)Spreading Ideas (cont) Printing press aided the spread of

knowledge German engravers invent moveable

type, set into models, and inked Johannes Gutenberg printed

complete Bible/ Books now published faster and cheaper/ Humanist texts could now be produced

as fast as the ideas

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Spreading Ideas Spreading Ideas Ideas were not merely transplanted

in the north, people adapted them to their own use, concepts, needs, and traditions

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Christian HumanismChristian Humanism The Renaissance in northern Europe

had more religious tone/ Christian humanists wanted reforms in

Catholic Church Restore simple piety Humanist learning and the Bible were best

ways to achieve changes

The Most famous Christian humanist was Desiderius Erasmus

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Christian Humanism Christian Humanism (cont)(cont)

Desiderius Erasmus (dehz*ih*DEER*ee*uhs*ih*RAZ*muhs)/ Inspired colleagues to study older

versions of Bible—written in Greek and Hebrew

/ Exhibited biting humor to make people look at society more critically

/ Wrote, The Praise of Folly, to attack the wealth of the Renaissance popes “Scarce any kind of men live more (devoted

to pleasure) or with less trouble….To work miracles is…not in fashion now…”

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Northern European Northern European PaintersPainters

Relied more on medieval than classical style/ Jan and Hubert van Eyck, Flemish

painters, painted scenes from the Bible Developed the technique of painting with oils Oils offered richer colors and allowed for

changes on the canvas Oils spread to italy

/ Pieter Bruehel combined Italian technique with homeland traditions

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The English The English RenaissanceRenaissance

Renaissance didn’t spread to England until 1485, after the War of the Roses/ The Tudors defeated the Yorks/ Tudor King Henry VII invited Renaissance

scholars to England/ English humanists expressed interest in

social issues Thomas More wrote Utopia, a book critical of

society and about a society where all citizens are prosperous and equal

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The English The English Renaissance (cont)Renaissance (cont)

Known for drama Willaim Shakespeare and Christopher

Marlowe/ Drew ideas from medieval legends,

classical mythology, and the histories of England, Denmark, and Rome

/ Shakespeare dealt with universal qualities like jealousy, ambition, love, and despair

/ He was so effective that his plays are still relevant today

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