Download Text Questions

World History
Name:___________________________ Period:_____
Text Questions: Chapter 17, Sections 1-2
Chapter 17, Section 1: Italy – Birthplace of the Italian Renaissance
1. On page 470 under Interact with History there is a painting by Jan van Eyck called The Madonna and
the Chancellor Rolin. Review the picture and the text explaining the picture and then answer the
following questions:
a. What is one way that the painting reflects art or architecture from the times of the ancient
Greeks and Romans (classical civilization)?
b. What is one way that the painting reflects a style or technique that did NOT exist during the
classical era? In other words, what is new?
2. What did the survivors of the Middle Ages feel compelled to do after all that they had suffered?
3. What did the survivors begin questioning and why?
4. Renaissance means rebirth. What was the Italian Renaissance a rebirth of?
5. What era in time did the scholars of the Italian Renaissance specifically look to for inspiration?
6. Did the Italian Renaissance ultimately just repeat what had been done in the past or did they do
something different?
1
7. What 3 factors contributed to the Italian Renaissance beginning in Italy?
a. _____________________
b. _____________________
c. _____________________
8. How did city states play such an important role in starting the Italian Renaissance?
9. What role did the merchants play in the city states?
10. How does the emergence of the powerful merchant class reflect the ideals of the Renaissance?
11. What was a powerful city state at the time that was effectively controlled by the Medici Family?
12. How did the Medici family make their money?
13. Describe Cosimo de Medici.
14. Describe Lorenzo de Medici aka "Lorenzo the Magnificent."
2
15. Watch the video about Lorenzo the Magnificent. Who were some of the suspected rivals who may
have been behind the attempted assassination of Lorenzo?
16. Did the Medici Family’s power exist only in Florence? Give evidence that it did not.
17. What exactly were the sources from Ancient Greece and Rome that helped inspire the Italian
Renaissance?
18. In studying the classical texts, what do scholars during the Italian Renaissance eventually develop?
19. On page 472, under Classical and Worldly Values, take notes on the sections listed below. Use bullet
points and do not write in complete sentences.
Classics Lead to Humanism
3
Worldly Pleasures
Patrons of the Arts
Renaissance Man
Renaissance Woman
20. Read the primary source about the Renaissance Man. What characteristics does a Renaissance Man
have according to Castiglione?
4
21. The most common subject of medieval art was what? Why was this subject chosen?
22. Explain how the use of religious subjects changed during the Italian Renaissance.
23. Read the “Analyzing Art” section. Explain the technique of perspective invented during the Italian
Renaissance.
24. How does the painting of portraits of important persons of the day reflect Renaissance ideals?
25. Why does Michelangelo qualify as a “Renaissance Man”?
26. Why does Leonardo da Vinci qualify as a “Renaissance Man”?
27. What does it mean to write in the “vernacular”?
28. How did the literature of the Italian Renaissance reflect Renaissance ideals?
29. Who was Francesco Petrarch and what did he do?
30. What was Machiavelli’s underlying premise in his work The Prince?
5