Download Name: Date: :___ The Renaissance Objective: Students will

Name:________________________
Date:________________Period:___
The Renaissance
Objective: Students will examine the reasons for and contributions of the Renaissance,
I.
Before you read: Answer the questions using complete sentences.
1.
What was life like in Europe during the Middle Ages?
2.
How did the Crusades lead to Europeans wanting to learn more about the rest of the
world?
II.
While you read
Read the selection. When you are finished, answer the questions and complete the
chart.
Achievement of the
What impact it had then
What impact it has now
Renaissance
New Trade Routes
Life in Cities
Humanism
Art and Sculpture
Literature
Printing Press
Lateen Sail
View the power point presentation.
III: After reading.
Answer the questions below using complete sentences.
1.
How did the Crusades help lead to the Renaissance?
2.
What new idea or invention that came out of the Renaissance do you think was the
most important? Why do you think so?
3.
Compare what life was like during the Middle Ages to what you think life in Europe
may have been like after the Renaissanc
The Renaissance
The Renaissance was a great cultural movement that began in Italy during the early 1300's. It spread
to England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and other countries in the late 1400's and ended
about 1600. The French word Renaissance comes from the Latin word renascor and means “rebirth”.
The Renaissance was made possible by a number of factors. After the Crusades, Europeans wanted
many of the goods that the crusaders brought back from the Middle East such as sugar, spices, and
silks. People in the late Middle Ages had more money then those who came before them. They wanted
to spend this on new luxury goods.
Traders were also looking for new items to introduce to Europe. This desire to bring new goods to
Europe opened up the opportunity to find new trade routes that would make it easier for traders to
bring back new products. This in turn would make the traders even more money. Men like Christopher
Columbus were a part of this quest for new trade routes. Europeans did not want to pay high prices
for Italian goods so people began looking for closer routes to their trading destinations. They tried
sailing around Africa, sailing west (which lead to the “discovery” of the Americas) and later sailing
around the tip of South America.
In addition to having more money to spend on new goods, people of the late Middle Ages also had more
free time. Improvements in farming allowed for people to grow more food in the same amount of
space. Because of this, people could now enjoy art and learning.
During the Renaissance, many European scholars and artists, especially in Italy, studied the learning
and art of ancient Greece and Rome. They wanted to recapture the spirit of the Greek and Roman
cultures in their own artistic, literary, and philosophic works.
The Renaissance overlapped the end of a period in European history called the Middle Ages, which
began in the 400's. The leaders of the Renaissance rejected many of the attitudes and ideas of the
Middle Ages. For example, religious authorities in the Middle Ages taught that cities were dangerous,
wicked places that distracted people from the important task of saving their souls. Renaissance
thinkers commonly saw cities as places where people could exercise such civic virtues as justice,
devotion to the common good, courage, and self-sacrifice.
Humanism was the most significant intellectual movement of the Renaissance. It blended concern for
the history and actions of human beings with religious concerns. The humanists were scholars and
artists who studied subjects that they believed would help them better understand the problems of
humanity. These subjects included history, literature, and philosophy. The humanists shared the view
that the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome had achieved greatness in the arts and sciences,
government, and military affairs and thus could serve as models. They believed that modern people
should understand and appreciate classical life to learn how to conduct their lives. Humanists focused
more on the earthly life than a heavenly one.
Medieval artists painted human figures that looked stiff and unrealistic and which often served
symbolic purposes or aimed to instruct. But Renaissance artists stressed the beauty of the human
body. They tried to capture the dignity and majesty of human beings in lifelike paintings and
sculptures. They believed that people could relate more easily to realistic art, and thus the artwork
could more strongly influence its viewers.
During the Renaissance, literature and the written word became more and more popular. Books were
published on a wide variety of subjects and included both fiction and nonfiction. Some stories, like
Don Quixote are still best sellers today. Shakespeare lived and wrote his plays and sonnets during the
Renaissance.
There were many new inventions during the Renaissance. The movable printing press made it possible
to produce many books, newspapers, and pamphlets at the same time. This made spreading Renaissance
ideas easier and helped lead to higher literacy rates among the European population. In additions, the
Lateen sail allowed ships to sail against the wind, increasing the speed at which traders could reach
their destinations. This lead to bigger ships and better map making.