Download AP European History Study Guide: The

AP European History
Study Guide: The Renaissance
College Board Overview (The content below is taken from the Course and Exam
Description created by the College Board)
The world view of European intellectuals shifted from one based on ecclesiastical and
classical authority to one based primarily on inquiry and observation of the natural
world
Renaissance intellectuals and artists revived classical motifs in the fine arts and classical
values in literature and education. Intellectuals – later called humanists – employed
new methods of textual criticism based on a deep knowledge of Greek and Latin, and
revived classical ideas that made human beings the measure of all things. Artists
formulated new styles based on ancient models. The humanists remained Christians
while promoting ancient philosophical ideas that challenged traditional Christian views.
Artists and architects such as Brunelleschi, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and
Raphael glorified human potential and the human form in the visual arts, basing their
art on classical models while using new techniques of painting and drawing, such as
geometric perspective. The invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century
accelerated the development and dissemination of these new attitudes, notably in
Europe north of the Alps (the northern Renaissance).
The unexpected encounter with the Western hemisphere [exploration] at the end of the
15th century further undermined knowledge derived from classical and biblical
authorities. The explorations produced new knowledge of geography and the world’s
peoples through direct observation, and this seemed to give credence to new approaches
to knowledge more generally.
Key Concepts
The World view of European intellectuals shifted from one based on
ecclesiastical and classical authority to one based primarily on inquiry and
observation of the natural world.
I.
A revival of classical texts led to new methods of scholarship and new values
in both society and religion.
a. Italian Renaissance humanists promoted a revival in classical literature
and created new philological approaches to ancient texts. Some
Renaissance humanists furthered the values of secularism and
individualism.
b. Humanist revival of Greek and Roman texts, spread by the printing press
challenged the institutional power of universities and the Roman catholic
II.
III.
Church and shifted the focus of education away from the theology toward
the study of the classical texts
c. Admiration for Greek and Roman political institutions supported a revival
of civic humanist culture in the Italian city-states and produced secular
models for individual and political behavior.
The invention of printing promoted the dissemination of new ideas.
a. The invention of the printing press in the 1450s aided in spreading the
Renaissance beyond Italy and encouraged the growth of vernacular
literature, which would eventually contribute to the development of nation
cultures.
b. Protestant reformers would use the press to disseminate their ideas, which
spurred religious reform and helped it to become widely established.
The visual arts incorporated the new ideas of the Renaissance and were used
to promote personal, political and religious goals.
a. Princes and popes, concerned with enhancing their prestige,
commissioned paintings and architectural works based on classical styles
and often employing the newly invented technique of geometric
perspective.
b. A human-centered naturalism that considered individuals and everyday
life appropriate objects of artistic representation was encouraged through
the patronage of both princes and commercial elites.
c. Mannerist and Baroque artists employed distortion, drama, and illusion in
works commissioned by monarchies, city-states and the church for public
buildings to promote their stature and power.
Causes
The decline of feudalism
Growing wealth gained through increased trade and banking
The weakening of the Church
The revival of the Classics – the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome
The Fall of Constantinople
Main Ideas
The development of Humanism (a philosophy or world view with an emphasis on the abilities,
accomplishments and value of human beings and their place in the world)
The growth of secularism
The growth of liberal education
Civic Humanism
Materialism
The idea of the universal man
An emphasis on geometry, symmetry and order
An emphasis on the individual and his talents, achievements and merits
Patronage of the arts
A continuation of the medieval social structure – including the subordination of women
Terms
Renaissance
humanism
secularism
Humanists
Christian Humanists
Greco-Roman
Classical
Italian Renaissance
Northern Renaissance
Italian City –States
Indiviualism
Perspective
liberal arts
Bourgeoisie/burghers
civic humanism
High Renaissance
sfumato
chiarrusco
oligarchy
balance of power
Venacular
People
Michelangelo
Raphael
Filippo Brunelleschi
Leonardo da Vinci
Niccoló Machiavelli – The Prince
Petrarch (pre-1450)
Lorenzo Valla
Marsilio Ficino
Pico della Mirandola – Oration on the
Dignity of Man
Leonardo Bruni
Leon Battista Alberti
Jean Bodin
Baldassare Castiglione – The Book of
the
Francesco Guicciardini
Donato di Donatello
Jan van Eyck
Albrecht Dürer
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Rembrandt
Pope Julius II
Medici Family
Jacob Burckhardt
Pico della Mirandola and Oration on the
Dignity of Man
Giotto
Botticelli
Johannes Gutenberg
Review Questions
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9.
What are the characteristics of the Renaissance?
How did we get the term “Renaissance”?
Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?
What were the social changes that characterized Renaissance life? What were
alternations in the economic system, class structure and family life? What
was education like? What was life like for women and children?
Who were the Medicis? What was their role in the Renaissance?
According to Castiglione, what are the basic attributes of the Renaissance
courtier? How did the values of this courtier influence the development of a
modern aristocratic class in Western Europe?
What was a “city-state”? How was it like/unlike a country?
What were Machiavelli’s theories of statecraft? How did his theories differ
from the published works of political theorists before him?
Define and describe Renaissance humanism. How did it reach into all
branches of politics, learning and the arts?
10. What was different about Gutenberg’s printing press?
11. What impact did the invention of the printing press have on Europe?
12. What was a liberal education? What courses did it include? Why was it
considered so important?
13. What was “civic humanism”?
14. List the basic beliefs of the Neo-Platonists. How did their beliefs differ from
the civic humanists?
15. Describe the new artistic techniques were introduced during the Renaissance?
16. What characteristics differentiated Renaissance art from art of the Middle
Ages?
17. Who were the major artists of the period? What are some works associated
with each artist?
18. How did the philosophy and the art of the Renaissance reinforce each other?
19. How did the Renaissance change from the early Renaissance to the High
Renaissance and the Italian Renaissance to the Northern Renaissance?
20. How was music changing during the Renaissance?
21. How did the status of the artist change during the Renaissance?
22. When did the Renaissance take place? The Early Renaissance? The High
Renaissance? The Northern Renaissance? Which artists are associated with
each period