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The Renaissance
Overview of the Age
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Italy was the center of trading and a rebirth of a modern philosophy. From coming out of the
Middle Ages, Humanism emerged as a new idea to glorify men’s existence. It was able to
capture men’s ability of creative and the negative of the Church. The culture of the
Renaissance was expressed through art and writing. As Italy became the greatest trading
center in Europe, the rivalry between the states allowed France to break the internal security
of France. As Italy was going through their own issues, in the North, monarchs were
struggling to stay in power. However, in the North, civic humanism existed to reform the
church. Portugal and Spain were the first to set foot on the New World and exploit the
natives. These events of this age developed Europe into a more cultural society with new
values and riches.
Five Big Points
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The growth of the city-states in Italy that allowed the Renaissance to take place in this
particular place. The leadership of the Medici family.
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Humanism as the new way of thinking and achieving reforms. Renaissance art that captured
men’s features by making it more realistic.
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The impact of French invasion in Italy that caused the destruction of its political and
economic life.
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Humanism that existed in the North that was different from the Italian Renaissance.
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The negative and positive effects of discovering the New World.
Hit List and ID’s
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Oligarchy – Group of merchants that ruled the Italian cities. On of these examples was the
Medici family that controlled Florence.
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Grandi – They were the old rich, nobles, and merchants. The highest class in Italy. They
owned land and controlled property.
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Pololo Minuto – They were known as the “little people” that made up 1/3 of the population.
They did not own their own business or have political power.
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Popolo Grosso – They are known as the “fat people”. They were bankers and capitalists that
controlled trade and civic administration.
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Ciompi Revolt – Between 1378 – 1380, the poor in Florence rebelled because of their
miserable life. The three problems they fought against were: feuding between the old and
rich, social anarchy that resulted from the Black Plague, and the collapse of banning the
house of Bardi and Peruzei.
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Cosimo De Medici – He was the wealthiest Florentine that use manipulation on the
constitution and influencing elections. He spent most of his money to make Florence
wealthy.
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Lorenzo De Medici – He ruled Florence by having total power. He was also known as
“Lorenzo the Magnificent”. He kept the balance of power so that social and foreign conflict
would not exist. Lorenzo did this by having podesta to make sure that law and order is
followed by all social classes.
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Signoria – It consisted of six councilors and three judicial magistrates. They possessed life
time position with ceremonial and executive power.
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Condotteri - They were mercenary armies that maintained business activities. They were
untrustworthy and feared by the people.
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Humanism – This movement was the rebirth of modernization and philosophy outside of the
Scripture. It was the rejection of the ideas created my Aristotle and Scholasticism. It was the
study of Latin and Greek.
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Civic Humanism – Was to make reform that were educational and leadership of political
and cultural life. The promotion of virtue and public services of individual.
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Petrarch – He was the “father of humanism”. He was against scholasticism and promoted
classical and Christian values. He wrote Letters to the Ancient Dead.
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Dante – He wrote Vita Nuova and Divine Comedy. He promoted vernacular works.
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Boccaccio – He wrote the Decameron that described the behavior of humans during the
plague.
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Castiglione - He was a diplomatic and a Renaissance writer. He was famous for taking
humanist learning outside of the classroom and applies it to society.
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Lorenzo Valla – He was a humanist and educator. Valla was acknowledged for attacking the
Church by stating that the Donation of Constantine was false. He was a defender of
predestination. He wrote The Elegances of the Latin Language.
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Leonardo da Vinci – He mastered in painting, military engineering, scientific experiments,
anatomy, and botany. Da Vinci is famous for painting Mona Lisa.
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Raphael – He is famous for his madonnas. Raphael’s School of Athens is famous for
exhibiting Plato and Aristotle philosophy.
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Michelangelo – He is famous for making the eighteen foot David and the Sistine Chapel.
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Treaty of Lodi – Italy wanted to avoid invasions from foreigners. The way they tried to
prevent this was by the alliance of Milan, Naples, and Florence against Venice. This treaty
ended in 1491 Naples decided to attack Milan from the help of Florence and Borgia Pope
Alexander VI.
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Alexander VI – he was a corrupted pope that helped gain political careers for his sons,
Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia. His goal was to secure French interests and by doing this, create
an alliance. He annulled the marriage of Louis XII to Charles VIII’s sister. He withdrawn
from the League of Venice and his son became the husband of the sister of King of Navarre.
Cesare gained land and military security from this marriage.
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Louis XI – He ruled France from 1461-1463. He and Maximilian I divided Burundian land.
This was able to double the size of Franc.
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Charles VIII- When Louis XI died, he took throne. Five months in throne, he was able to
cross the Alps and conquer through Florentine and the Papal Sates into Naples.
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Louis XII – He led the invasion in Italy so he can seize Milan which he did in 1499.
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Savonarola – He was leader of Florence that helped made it democratic republic but was
killed.
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Ludovico il Moro – He had power over Milan. He was scared of French invasion so he
joined the League of Venice.
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Julius II – He was known as the “Warrior Pope”. He entered the Holy League. Suppressed
the Borgias and placed their land in Romagna under papal jurisdiction and secured the Papal
States. He requested Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel.
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Emperor Maximilian I – He was the emperor of the Habsburg Empire. He joined the Holy
League to beat the French. Maximilian had to recognize the independence of the Swiss. He
ended the custom of the Pope crowning the king.
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Ferdinand & Isabella – The two couples wanted to secure Christianity in Spain and wanted
to claim the Holy Land. They sponsored Columbus to go to the New World.
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The War of the Roses – After the Hundred Years’ War, England had a dispute between two
families to become the monarch. The two families that were seeking for power were the
House of York and the House of Lancaster.
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Henry VII – He was the first heir to the Tudor dynasty. To end the problems between the
royal families, he married Elizabeth of York. He created the Court of Star Chamber so he
could have control over the nobles. Henry VII on throne was the beginning of making
England the most successful monarchy in Europe.
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Holy Roman Empire – There was lack of political unity because of the division in Germany
and in Italy. This led to many religious conflicts that would lead to the Reformation.
Territories were ruled by princes and by the Reichstag.
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Johann Gutenberg – He was responsible in the fifteenth century for making that printing
press. It allowed books to develop quickly and available to the people. Germany became the
center of the printing press.
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Thomas More – He was the English writer of Utopia that described an ideal society where
surpass conflicts that appeared during this time. He was sentenced to execution by Henry
VIII when he refused to recognize the Act of Succession and Supremacy.
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Erasmus – He was known as the “prince of the humanists” in the north. He was for
educational and religious reforms. He published Colloquies which attacked religious
superstitions. Erasmus the best way to reform Christianity was to follow the Scripture. He
was not a big fan of Scholasticism. He wrote the New Testament in Greek and edited other
works that was put in to the Index of Forbidden Books.
Key Events
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1347 – 1350 – From the aftermath of the Black Death, 1/3 of Europe’s population was gone.
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1300 – 1450 – Italy remained standing while countries like Britain and France were still
recovering from the Hundred’s Years War. Italy’s geographical location allowed them to
trade with countries in the east.
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1378 – The Ciompi Revolt amongst the poor that wanted better life from the Black Death and
political struggles.
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1454 – 1455 – Treaty of Lodi that made an alliance with Milan, Naples, and Florence against
Venice and the Papal States. This ended when the French invasion occurred.
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1455 - 1485 - The War of the Roses which the two royal families fought for power; the
English Houses of York and Houses of Lancaster. The Tudor family would become crowned
in 1485.
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1479 - The Spanish Inquisition was when the Jews and Muslims in Spain were watched.
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1494 – When Milan was attacked my Florence, Naples, and the Borgia Pope Alexander VI.
Foreign invasion began when Ludovico il Moro asked help from France. However, France
just wanted to gain territories from this aid.
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1495 – Charles VIII was able to send his troops to Italy to control Florence, the Papal States,
and Naples.
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1495 – The League of Venice created by Ferdinand of Aragon to prevent terror from France.
Venice, the Papal Stated, and Maximilian joined also.
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1499 – Louis XII begins the second invasion in Italy by France by invading Milan.
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1500 – The Borgias take over Romagna.
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1512 - 1513 – France is defeated by the Holy League that consists of Pope Julius II,
Ferdinand of Aragon, Emperor Maximilian I, and Venice.
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1515 – Francis I of France led the third invasion in Italy.
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1516 – The victory of France leads to the Concordat of Bologna. It made the French clergy
subordinate to the French king. However it made the pope have control over the church
councils.
Intellectual Movements and Historical Trends
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Renaissance – This Renaissance brought the past back to light and improved situations that
were occurring at this time. In Italy and in the north, people went back to Greek and Latin.
The vernacular became the common language that everyone could communicate with. People
that were able to make money had the time to make the society and culture better.
Educational and religious reforms were put in effect. With new minds that were more
modern, unlike the Medieval times, people able to view themselves as an individual with
abilities. This was expressed through art and literature. The Italian Renaissance was able to
spread through the north from the invention of the printing press. The north was more into
combining religion and education together to make society better.
Changes in Political Ideology
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Rivalry for Power – During this period, it shows the struggle for power between countries
and one’s country alone. In Italy, French invasion led many to fight fro territories. Countries
like Spain were afraid that the French would try to attack their own political life so they
began to mobilize. In Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella tried to suspend the political lives of
Muslims and Jews by watching over them and taking their lands. In England, the rivalry
between the two royal families to gain political control led only one family to stand.
Changes in Economic Structure
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Voyages to the New World and Africa – Portugal and Spain helped Europe have a different
taste of culture when they exploit the Americas and Africa. They made colonies where they
collected gold, silver, and spice. They took Africans and put them in labor to work as slaves.
Columbus’s voyages allowed the production of goods to increase and lower the inflation.
Places like France was able to make a production in silk and in the Habsburg Empire had
mines. In Florence, had the richest bank in Europe. However, these wealth and greed brought
a great division between the poor.
Thematic Essay #1
The influence of visual arts and famous literary figures in the Italian Renaissance.
Introduction
The Italian Renaissance was influenced by expressing one’s thoughts through art and writing. Art
and literature made society more secular towards religion, politics, and the social life of people.
From the Renaissance Humanism, people began to view themselves as worthy and escaping from the
comfort of God. Three influential people that were part of this movement were Albrecht Durer,
Desiderius Erasmus, and Niccolo Machiavelli. Durer painted the Self Portrait where he painted an
image of himself looking like Christ. Erasmus attacked the Catholic Church by rewriting the works
of the Church fathers. Machiavelli expressed what it takes to rule a country with effectiveness
through his literature The Prince. Regardless of their own way of contributing to the Renaissance,
they were impacted society in every possible way.
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Albrecht Durer was a painter that had divine ability to create a work of art.
He though he was German, he had a great impact on the Italian Renaissance.
Eyes were all over Durer’s painting was because his ability to create art work that was
biblical.
However, the difference about him and many other painters during this time was portraying
himself as Christ in his painting.
In his Durer Self Portrait, he painted himself resembling Christ. This was very shocking
because it captured men’s characteristics with the ability of God.
Durer paintings were very detailed from making every brush stroke into reality.
He truly glorified men as individuals that are capable of being creative.
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Desiderius Erasmus became the footsteps that became of the Northern Renaissance.
Erasmus was known for his ability of trying to make the Church “pure” from educational and
religious reforms.
He compared how Christians should act from the Bible to how corrupt they were after the
death of Christ.
Erasmus did this through his work Colloquies where he attacked the Church through his
anticlerical discourse and religious myths.
From his saying philosophia Christi, Erasmus described how Christian should portray
themselves as good people. He thought it was possible to become another Christ.
Erasmus upset the Church when he rewrote the New Testament in Greek and other works
from the Church. His books were left isolated in the Index of Forbidden Books.
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Niccolo Machiavelli satire the government of Italy as he saw it fall to foreigner invaders.
He believed that people have virtu when they have loyalty and honor their country.
Machiavelli saw that the only way Italy could stand if it had a strong army. From his book
The Prince, the only way to control your country is if a ruler has total control.
Conclusion
The Italian Renaissance would not exist if the work of art and literature was not exposed to the
public. This movement was a modern way of thinking of how life is structure. People were able to
establish what was right and wrong without the help of the Scripture. Men were able to be expressed
as an individual without being seen as a greedy rational animal. People satirize how the government
and the Church were structured. This was the beginning of new events in history that would
challenge the status quo.
Thematic Essay #2
How would you define Renaissance Humanism? In what ways was the Renaissance a break with the
Middle Ages and in what ways did it owe its existence to medieval civilization?
Introduction
After the disaster from the Black Death, Europe was able to reshape itself from the rebirth of
Renaissance Humanism. This period was a time when Christian doctrines were put aside and
individualism and secular ideas was the new philosophy. The Middle Ages for Europe was a time of
depression from the death of many and from the Hundred Years’ War. However, without the
medieval civilization, Europe would not able to recognize the flaws that existed and how to praise
their own being. The Renaissance that took place in Italy was different from the one in the north.
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European society had to face the crisis of lost of population in the Middle Ages. They saw
that things were not able to prosper and no hope for the future.
From coming out of these dark ages, Italy had the lead to use this concept and spread it
throughout Europe.
The Renaissance occurred in Italy and nowhere else because of its location. It was
surrounded by water and gained influences from the countries that border outside of Europe.
They were influenced by the works of Plato and the languages of Latin and Greek.
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Humanism replaced the ideology of Aristotle’s teachings of Scholasticism.
Scholasticism only discussed the issues that exist in society but did not take the steps to
change it.
Humanist wanted to state the problems that are going on and take some type of reform.
Humanism wanted the world to be more secular and praise men while it still recognized the
Scripture as the original source.
Key players during this period were Petrarch, Dante, and Boccaccio.
Petrarch was the “father of humanism”. He was against scholasticism and promoted classical
and Christian values. He wrote Letters to the Ancient Dead.
Dante wrote Vita Nuova and Divine Comedy. He promoted vernacular works.
Boccaccio wrote the Decameron that described the behavior of humans during the plague.
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The Renaissance in Italy was different from the one in the North.
In Italy, people would express their individuality through biblical art work and making
painting of themselves. They also made educational reforms like making the Florentine
Academy that presented the work of Plato and from the Neoplatonists.
In the North, the printing press allowed books to be available to many. They were looking to
reform the Church by using the Scripture alone.
In Germany, Ulrich von Hutten attacked indulgences by the Church and republished the
Donation of Constantine.
In England. Thomas More wrote Utopia where he viewed an ideal society that lacked
political and social problems. He also stood by the Church when he refused to recognize
Henry VIII as the Head of the England Church.
In Spain, Jimenez de Cisneros wrote the Complutensian Polyglot Bible that had Hebrew,
Greek, and Latin translations.
Conclusion
Renaissance Humanism affected every part of Europe. It spent a new philosophy that was new to the
people. From the plague, Europe was forced to go through a rebirth and start all over. Italy had a
head start on this because of its advantage of trading and being introduced to classical ideas. The
teaching of Scholasticism was tossed away because it did not solve the problems that existed in the
society. From the printing press, ideas of this new movement were able to be sent to the north. They
were different from Italy’s but regardless it helped shape people’s life. People began to appreciate
their existence and not see themselves as burdens.