Download Unit 10 Notes: European Renaissance

Unit 10 Notes: European Renaissance
Name__________________________________________________ Date_______________ Block_____
Renaissance Spirit
•
Many Europeans who survived the war and plague of the Late Middle Ages wanted to celebrate
life.
•
They questioned institutions like the Church which had seemed powerless to prevent war and
stop disease.
•
Educated people wanted to bring back the life and culture of classical Greece and Rome.
•
This movement started in Northern Italy and caused an explosion of creativity in art, writing and
philosophy that lasted from around 1300 to 1600.
•
This period is called the Renaissance.
•
Renaissance means re-birth.
Economic Foundations of the Renaissance
•
The Crusades led to changing economic conditions in Europe that made the Renaissance
possible.
•
The Crusades created an increased demand for Middle Eastern products in Europe.
•
European demand for products stimulated production of goods to trade in Middle Eastern
markets.
•
More people had the opportunity to become wealthy merchants or artisans.
•
The economic climate in Europe after the Crusades encouraged the use of credit and banking.
•
People needed capital (money) to invest in new businesses.
•
The Church had rules against usury (interest charged on loans) which kept wealth concentrated
in the hands of rich nobles.
•
Northern Italian banks began charging interest on loans and writing letters of credit to merchants
and businesses.
•
This practice of charging interest helped to secularize northern Italy.
•
Letters of credit served to expand the supply of money and expedite trade.
•
New accounting and bookkeeping practices (use of Arabic numerals) were introduced which
made banking easier.
•
Growing wealth in this new European economy was essential to the spread of Renaissance ideas.
What were the economic foundations of the Italian Renaissance?
Northern Italian Cities
•
Wealth accumulated from European trade with the Middle East led to the rise of Italian citystates.
•
Northern Italian cities like Florence, Venice and Genoa had access to trade routes connecting
Europe with Middle Eastern markets.
•
Northern Italian cities served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe.
•
The cities were initially independent city-states governed as republics.
•
Wealthy merchants were active civic leaders.
•
The Medici family in Florence used their wealth to dominate political leadership.
•
They were also patrons (supporters) of Renaissance art and literature.
•
Wealthy patrons sponsored works of art that glorified the Italian cities where they lived.
How did northern Italian cities benefit from their geographic location?
How did Italian city-states achieve importance and develop politically?
Classical Culture and Humanism
•
The Renaissance was marked by renewed interest in the present world and human potential.
•
Renaissance scholars looked down on the art and literature of the Middle Ages.
•
They wanted to return to the learning of the Greeks and Romans.
•
As interest in Classical culture grew, Renaissance scholars searched monasteries for Latin texts
that had been preserved by monks.
•
Greek and Arabic texts also made their way to Europe through contact with Byzantine and
Islamic civilizations.
•
These were translated into Latin.
Humanism
•
Classical scholarship led to the rise of Humanism.
•
Humanism was a philosophy that celebrated the individual and human achievement.
Renaissance Education
•
Humanists popularized the study of subjects common to classical education, such as history,
literature, and philosophy.
•
These subjects are known as the Humanities.
•
Education became increasingly secular.
Humanism and Luxury
•
Humanism was supported by wealthy patrons who wanted to live luxuriously in this life.
•
Humanists suggested that a person could enjoy life without offending God.
•
Renaissance writers introduced the idea that all educated people were expected to create art.
•
The person who excelled in many fields was praised as a universal man or Renaissance man.
How did knowledge of the classical Greeks and Romans foster humanism in the Italian Renaissance?
Italian Renaissance Art
•
The Renaissance produced new ideas that were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and literature.
•
Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation; Renaissance art and literature
focused on individuals and worldly matters, along with Christianity.
Leonardo da Vinci
•
Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, inventor and scientist—a true Renaissance man.
•
Among his many masterpieces, da Vinci painted one of the best known portraits in the world, the
Mona Lisa.
•
Leonardo da Vinci also produced a famous religious painting, The Last Supper.
•
It shows the personalities of Jesus’ disciples through facial expressions.
Michelangelo Buonarroti
•
Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the
Renaissance who had a great influence on the development of Western art.
•
One of Michelangelo’s most famous works was a 17 foot tall sculpture of the most famous
Hebrew king, David.
•
Michelangelo also painted scenes from the book of Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistene Chapel
in Rome.
Petrarch
•
Francesco Petrarch was an Italian scholar and poet in Renaissance Italy. He was one of the
earliest humanists.
•
Petrarch rediscovered Cicero’s letters and he is often called the “Father of Humanism” because
of his scholarship.
Niccolo Machiavelli
•
Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance politician, humanist and writer.
•
He has often been called the founder of modern political science.
•
He observed city-state rulers of his day and produced guidelines for the acquisition and
maintenance of power by absolute rule.
Machiavelli’s The Prince
•
The Prince was Machiavelli’s greatest work. It is an early modern treatise on government.
•
Machiavelli’s political philosophy supported absolute power of the ruler.
•
The Prince maintains that the end justifies the means.
•
Machiavelli advises that one should do good if possible, but do evil when necessary.
What were Machiavelli’s ideas about power?
How did the arts and literature of the Renaissance differ from those of the Middle Ages?
Who were prominent Italian Renaissance artists and writers?
Northern Renaissance
With the rise of trade, travel and literacy, the Italian Renaissance spread to northern Europe.
The Printing Press
•
In around 1440, a German craftsman named Johann Gutenberg, developed a printing press that
incorporated a number of technologies in a new way.
•
Movable type was the key to Gutenberg’s press.
•
The printing press was 500 times more efficient than a copyist.
•
This allowed books to be produced quickly and cheaply.
•
The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books helped disseminate
(spread) ideas.
•
With more books available literacy rates increased.
•
The Gutenberg Bible was the first full sized book printed with movable type.
Northern European Patrons
•
Growing wealth among northern European merchants supported Renaissance ideas.
Northern Versus Italian Renaissance Expression
•
The art and literature changed as people of different cultures adopted Renaissance ideas.
•
Even though people had remained devoted Catholics, the Italian Renaissance had been largely a
secular movement.
•
Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity.
•
Northern Renaissance artists focused on intense realism versus the ideal beauty of Italian artists.
•
Northern Renaissance artists portrayed religious and secular subjects.
•
Albert Durer was a German artist who emphasized realism in his work.
•
Jan van Eyck was the first great Flemish Renaissance painter.
•
Van Eyck used recently developed oil based paints to create subtle color variations and realistic
images.
Northern Renaissance Writers
•
When Italian humanist ideas reached the north, people used them to examine the teachings of
the Church.
•
Christian Humanists focused on reforming society and extending education.
Erasmus
•
Desiderius Erasmus, one of the best known Christian humanists, wrote The Praise of Folly in
1511.
•
The book poked fun at greedy merchants, heartsick lovers, quarrelsome scholars, and pompous
priests.
•
Erasmus believed in a Christianity of the heart, not of ceremony and rules, and that all people
should read the Bible.
Thomas More
•
Sir Thomas More wrote Utopia in 1516.
•
In Utopia, More tried to show a better model of society.
•
The book is about an imaginary land without greed, corruption and war.
How did ideas of the Italian Renaissance change as they were adopted in northern Europe?
Who were important artists and writers of the Northern Renaissance?