Download Northern Renaissance Writers

The Renaissance
An Intellectual Revolution
The Renaissance Defined
• Renaissance =
REBIRTH
• What was reborn?
• An interest in the CLASSICAL
WORLD
• Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome
The Renaissance
• Where did the
Renaissance
begin?
• Italy (circa 1350)
• Where did the Renaissance flourish?
• Florence, Italy during the 1400’s
The Renaissance
• Why did the Renaissance begin in
Italy?
• Ruins of the ancient world were still
starkly visible in Italy
• “New” ideas reached Italy before
reaching other areas
The Renaissance
• Small city states
competed with
one another for
trade & prestige
• Florence, Genoa, Venice, Milan,
Rome
Renaissance
Italy
The Renaissance
• During the Renaissance
the interest in modeling
classical antiquity led to a new
intellectual movement called
HUMANISM
• Affected literature, art, architecture
education & society
The Renaissance
• Humanism:
• An intellectual
movement that focused on
individuality, human potential &
achievement
• Wanted to use & understand
classical values
Money, Money,
Money?
Renaissance Support
• Who supported the Renaissance?
• Wealthy bankers, Italian nobles &
the Papacy
• Known as PATRONS of the arts
• PATRON – one who provided
financial support for the arts
Italian
Renaissance
Writers
Italian Renaissance Writers
• Petrarch:
• Father of Humanism
• Collector &
translator of ancient
manuscripts
• Promoted the study of classical
Latin & Greek
Italian Renaissance Writers
• Wrote in the
vernacular
• Song Book:
• Most famous work
• A collection of poems about Laura
• (Who was Laura?)
Italian Renaissance Writers
• Machiavelli:
• Wrote The Prince
• Advised rulers on
how to govern
Italian Renaissance Writers
• According to The Prince:
• Primary goal – to keep power
• The ends justify the
means
• Use any means
necessary to achieve
your goal
The Renaissance
Interrupted
The Renaissance Interrupted
• The Italian Renaissance was
interrupted by invasion & wars
• Eventually the ideas of the Italian
Renaissance spread to other nations
• Outside of Italy it was called the
Northern Renaissance
The Northern
Renaissance
The Northern Renaissance
• Factors that aided the spread:
• Wars & fighting
• Trade
• Italian Universities
• The invention of the printing press
(Johannes Gutenberg)
Northern Renaissance Writers
• Thomas More:
• Wrote Utopia
• A “perfect society”
on an imaginary island
• Meant to call attention to inequities
in English society
Northern Renaissance Writers
• Wrote about the depth of human
emotion & the dilemma of trying to
do right in a confusing world
• Fatal Character Flaw:
• A quality (often good) that a
character has in excess
Northern Renaissance Writers
• William Shakespeare:
• English Playwright
• Tragedies,
comedies &
histories