Download Renaissance - Net Start Class

Renaissance & Reformation
Renaissance = “Rebirth” of learning & interest in
classical ideas & culture
 Period from 1350-1600 “A Cultural Awakening”
 Signaled the beginning of Modern Times
 Renaissance first began in Italian city-states
 Italians were still attached to the classical world
 Ancient Roman buildings & ruins were constant
reminders of their heritage
Humanism = A new intellectual movement that focused on
secular, or worldly, themes rather than religious ideas that
dominated Medieval thinkers
 Idea came from studying Ancient Greek and Latin
manuscripts
 Humanism stressed Individualism = People should develop
all of their talents = politics, sports, art, etc…
 Believed education was key to unlock individual talents
Humanist Thinkers
Niccolo Machiavelli = Wrote “The Prince”
 Book about Realistic politics of Renaissance Italy
 According to Machiavelli:
1. Rulers should use Force & Deceit to stay in power
“The Ends Justifies the Means”
* Critics called it sacrilegious & immoral
* Machiavelli defended it as True & Honest about politics
* Available at most public libraries & bookstores
 Humanist thinkers began to challenge long accepted
traditions, assumptions & institutions > The Church
 Through study & investigation of Ancient Knowledge,
Humanists questioned & challenged everything around
them = Knowledge
Italian Cities






Italy did not unify itself like France & England
Italy made up of Rich, Independent City-States
Individual wealth was much more important that
aristocratic titles or bloodline
Social Ladder
1. Merchants & Bankers replace Nobility as #1 social
and political group
2. Artisans & Shopkeepers #2 on social ladder
3. Peasants at bottom of ladder
The wealthiest families in a City-State ruled the city
The 3 leading Renaissance Cities were:
Florence, Rome & Venice
Florence




Ruled by the Medici family beginning in 1400’s
The birthplace of the Italian Renaissance
First Income Tax = Heavier burden of taxes on wealthy
Taxes used to make city improvements: sewers, paved
streets, etc…
Rome




During the 1500s Rome was the leading Renaissance city
Pope & Cardinals lived in the Vatican, wealthiest class
The Popes used their $$$ to rebuild Ancient Rome
* Architecture, churches & Artists flourished in Rome
St. Peter’s Basilica = Largest church in Christian world
was built during this period
Venice




Port city on the Adriatic Sea
Traders and Merchants from all over the world did
business in Venice
$$$ from World Trade
Spent $$$ to modernize city
The Northern Renaissance




Renaissance attitude & Humanist ideas began spreading
North from Italy in the late 1400s
War, Trade & Travel made this cultural diffusion possible
Italian Renaissance ideas were adapted to fit local attitudes
Many Northern thinkers & scholars traveled to Italy to
study with the Italian masters & brought educated ideas
back home & taught others
Printing Press





By the 1400s Germans invented movable type
Letters set in molds, inked & pressed on paper
1456 Johannes Gutenberg printed complete Bible using
movable type (1987 1 of the 42 left sold for $5.4 million)
Books published more quickly for less $$$
Humanist books could meet demands, knowledge spread
more rapidly & more people could afford education
Christian Humanism


Northern Renaissance had a more religious tone, the
opposite of Italy
Christian scholars used Humanist ideas to reform
Catholicism =
1. Eliminate abuses by Church
2. Restore simple beliefs of the early Church
Erasmus


Encouraged the study of Ancient Greek & Hebrew to
understand older versions of the Bible
Wrote “The Praise of Folly”
* Attacked the wealth of the Pope
* Exposed corrupt practices of the Church
* Made fun of the Church
Sir Thomas More = English Humorist

Wrote “Utopia”
* Criticized society of his day by showing what a
perfect, ideal society should look like
* All citizens should be equal & prosperous
* Available at most public libraries & bookstores
William Shakespeare = English Playwright





Drew ideas from Medieval Legends, Classical Mythology
& Ancient History
Dealt with human qualities:
* Jealousy
* Ambition
* Love
* Despair
Realistic look at Human Nature
Audiences today still relate to his plays
More than 420 feature length movies have been made
from his plays making him the most filmed author ever
The Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation
Renaissance values of humanism & Secularism caused
widespread criticism of the Catholic Church & their
extravagance
 Starting around 1500 Europeans began calling for a
Reformation = A change in the ways the Church taught
and practiced Christianity
 Started by Martin Luther = German Monk
* Was going to be a lawyer
* In 1505 nearly struck by lightning
~ Saw it as God trying to punish him
~ Decided then to become a Monk

Martin Luther (cont.)
 Luther read in Romans: “He through faith is righteous
shall live”
 Luther’s Interpretation = A person could be made just, or
good, simply by faith in God’s mercy and love =
Justification by Faith
His ideas brought him into conflict with the Church
Pope Leo X
 Pope at the time of Luther’s Protest
 Was raising $$$ to rebuild St. Peters Basilica in Rome
1. Sold Church positions to his friends
2. Authorized the sale of Indulgences

Indulgences
 Certificates issued by the Church that would reduce or
even cancel punishment for a person’s Sin
 People thought document would assure them Heaven
 Church encouraged people to buy indulgences for dead
relatives to ensure their place in Heaven (Move them
out of Purgatory into Heaven)
Martin Luther and the 95 Theses
 Martin Luther was a Professor & Priest in the German town
of Wittenberg at the time
 He started preaching against the sale of Indulgences & other
corrupt practices of the Church
 October 31, 1517 Luther nailed his 95 Theses to
Wittenberg’s Church = 95 corrupt practices of the Church
 Printed copies of 95 Theses spread all over Germany
 Sales of Indulgenced dropped sharply
 Pope Leo X sent envoys to meet with Martin Luther &
persuade him to withdraw his criticism
 Luther Refused
 1520 Pope Leo X excommunicated Martin Luther
Lutheranism





The first Protestant Faith
Emphasized salvation by faith alone
Bible was the only source of Religious truth
Less Rituals, More Preaching from the Bible
Instead of preaching in Catholics Latin Language
Lutheran services were preached in vernacular = The
People’s language
John Calvin
Started Calvinism in Switzerland
 Agreed with Luther that Good Deeds Do Not bring
Salvation
 Taught Predestination
* God chose before birth who would go to Heaven no
matter what you did during life, fate was predetermined
