Download Introduction to the Renaissance

The Renaissance in Europe:
Or
How We Got to Now
The Middle Ages in Europe
The period of roughly 1000 years
Between the fall of the Roman Empire and its great
civilization (based in Italy) around 470 CE…
…and the Renaissance (based in Italy) around 1450 CE
During the Middle Ages, Europe was dominated by the
Catholic Church, which was ruled by the Pope, in Rome,
Italy.
The Middle Ages is also known as the Medieval Period, or
sometimes, The Dark Ages
The Renaissance Starts in Italy for
Two Important Reasons
As an independent center of trade, Italy
developed a unique political structure, the city
state, that empowered and enriched ordinary
people (“common man”).
Italy’s Roman history, which was in evidence all
over the country, reawakened interest in nonChristian (secular) ideas, called “humanism”
Major Cities in Afroeurasia in 1200 CE
The Medieval Feudal System
• Lords (noble people) own
the land , granted to them
by a king
• Knights defend the lord’s
manor (farm) in return for
the lord’s support
• Peasants (“serfs”) work the
land for the lords; they
belong to the land and to
the lord
• Land and power are
inherited
• Territory/Farming
The Renaissance City-State (“Republic”)
• Wealthy business men
(common people) run the
town
• Citizens hire soldiers to
defend their city
• People work at a variety of
trades, for themselves and
others; they are free to
come and go
• Power and wealth come
from success in trade &
business
• Money/Business
Republics (“City States”)
A republic is a state in which power is held by
the people of that state, not by a king or
emperor.
Italy gave birth to some of the first republics
The Renaissance was born in the republics of
Italy
The Medici of Florence, Italy
The First Renaissance Family
• The House of Medici was an Italian merchant
family that got rich through trading wool cloth.
• They established the Medici Bank, the largest
bank in Europe during the 15th century (1400s).
• Through their wealth, they gained political power
and became the ruling family of Florence, later
dominating Rome and then Europe.
Cosimo de Medici
1389-1464
Piero de Medici
1416-1469
Lorenzo, “Il Magnifico”
1449-1492
Medici Family House in Town
Medici Family House in the Country
The Iliad Room in the Country House
Tomb of Lorenzo de Medici
by Michelangelo
The Renaissance Starts in Italy for
Two Important Reasons
As an independent center of trade, Italy
developed a unique political structure, the
republic (city state), that empowered and
enriched ordinary people (“common man”).
Italy’s Roman history, which was in evidence all
over the country, reawakened interest in nonChristian (secular) ideas, called “humanism”
Roman Forum
Roman Aquaduct
First Emperor of Rome: Augustus
The New Thinking: “Humanism”
• An shift in interest from the divine (God) to
the human
PLUS
• The rediscovery of the art, literature,
philosophy and science of ancient (preChristian) Rome and Greece
Duccio, 1289
Raphael, 1505
Lorenzo de Medici
Greek Politician, Pericles
A Medieval
Knight as Christian
Lorenzo’s Father
Augustus Caesar,
as a Roman emperor an actual Roman emperor
The “Renaissance Man”
Great wealth and new interest in the preChristian the art and science of ancient Greece
and Rome…
Led to wealth families supporting learning and
the arts, producing geniuses and innovators
with many talents… The Renaissance Man
Michelangelo, Painter
Michelangelo, sculptor
Michelangelo, Architect
Michelangelo, Poet
Da Vinci, the Artist
Da Vinci, the Inventor
Da Vinci, Architect
Da Vinci, Scientist
Rise of European Nations
Reaction to the Catholic Church
Scientific Revolution
The Enlightenment