Download What was the Renaissance?

Part I: Introduction to the Renaissance
Renaissance
Part II: The Northern Renaissance
World History
PART I
What was the Renaissance?
 A time of creativity and change in many areas in
politics, social issues, economic issues, and in culture
 People changed the way they saw themselves and
they way they viewed the world
What was the Renaissance?
 Revival in learning about Greece and Rome,
which leads to people exploring the
unexplored
 Latin was preserved in the Church & by educated
people
 Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americans in 1492
 Nicolaus Copernicus revolutionized the way people
thought about the world (Father of Astronomy).
Italian City-States
 The Renaissance began in Italy and then
spread north to the rest of Europe. Italy was
the birthplace of the Renaissance for several
reasons.
ITALIAN CITY-STATES
 Why Italy?
 New interest as culture in ancient Rome
 Italy’s cities survived the Middle Ages
In the North: Florence, Milan, Venice, and Genoa
In the Center: Naples
 Wealthy merchants in these city-states contributed to
the rebirth through political and economic means
Stressed education, individual achievement,
and the arts.
Dominated politics
Florence and the Medici Family
 Symbol of the Renaissance
 Produced gifted poets, architects,
scholars, and scientists
 Medici, a family in Florence,
became successful in the banking
business, wool and mining
 Most powerful family in Europe
 Had political and cultural say
 Cosimo de’Medici came to control
the government in 1434
 Family members continued to rule
the city without a crown
Classical and Worldly Values
 Humanism
 An intellectual movement that focused on
human potential and achievements
 Returned subjects taught by the ancient Greeks
and Romans
 Secular
 Adopted a worldly view than spiritual view
 Patrons
 One who financially supported artists
The Renaissance Man and
Woman
 Baldassare Castiglione wrote in his book entitled
Book of the Courtier about the manners, skills, and
learning a man and a woman should have:
 Men: athletic, but not overactive, good at
games, but not a gambler, plays a musical
instrument and knows literature and history, but
not arrogant
 Women: graceful and kind, lively, but reserved,
and outer beauty, but inner goodness
Renaissance and Art &
Architecture
 Art was very realistic
and used the rule of
shading and
perspective, giving
painting a threedimensional look
Renaissance Writers Change
Literature
 Poets, artists, politicians, and
scholars mingled among each
other
 “How to” books sprung up to help
ambitious men and women who
wanted to rise in the Renaissance
world
 Writers wrote in the vernacular
instead of Latin
 Famous writers include
 Niccolo Machiavelli
 Vittoria Colonna
PART II
Northern Renaissance Begins
Population began to rise after the Black Death
The Hundred Years’ War ended between
France and England causing many cities to
grow rapidly
Urban merchants became wealthy &
sponsored artists
Italy versus Northern Europe
 Compare & Contrast
 Italy was controlled by wealthy families in city-states that
were not unified
VS
 England & France were unified under powerful
monarchs
 Results
 Ideas of Italian Renaissance spread North
 Ideas focused on realism and human dignity
What is a Northern Humanist?
Stressed education while focusing on
religious themes
Wanted to redefine formal education
(funded co-ed schools)
Famous Humanists
 Erasmus
 Wrote in the vernacular
(example: Bible)
 Spoke out against the
corruption in the church
and called for reform
 Thomas More
 Stressed equality
(education)
 Justice is used to end
crime
 Utopia: A perfect/ideal
society
Today’s Vernacular
 Translate:
Gold and silver, of which money is made,
are so treated…that no one values them
more highly than their true nature deserves.
Who does not see that they are far inferior
to iron in usefulness since without iron
mortals cannot live any more than without
fire and water? –Thomas More, Utopia
 My Translation:
Gold and silver look nice, but iron is more
useful and more valuable. Do not worry
about money, worry about what is useful for
society.
Your Utopia
What is your
Utopia? Define
your Utopia.
The Printing Revolution
 Johann Gutenberg
 Improved movable type
 Printed the first Bible
using the improved
printing press
 Why do you think the
Bible was the first book
printed with movable
type?
Many Europeans
were religious
Communication Revolutions
 Changes:
 Printed books
 Cheaper books
 More people learned to read
 Readers gained a broad range of knowledge
Medicine, law, astrology, and mining
 Contributed to religious turmoil (WHY)
 Information once available to a small percentage
could now spread to vast numbers of people
Communication Revolutions
 List modern-day communication revolutions…
 How would you compare the contrast the impact
of the printing press with the impact of the Internet?
Information is easier to access
Changes affect society
More ways to access information today
Internet spreads information faster
Legacy: Changes in the Arts
 Changes in the Arts
Paintings and sculptures portrayed
individuals and nature in more realistic ways
Works were created that were secular and
religious
Writers used the vernacular to express their
ideas
Arts praised individual achievement
Legacy: Changes in Society
 Changes in Society
 Information more available and inexpensive by the
printing press
 Increased desire for learning and rise of literacy
 Legal proceedings made laws clear so people could
understand their rights
 Christian Humanists attempt to reform society
 People question political and religious practices