Download Powerpoint-The Renaissance

The West and the World
Lesson #2- The Renaissance in Italy
Q.
• Where did the Renaissance take place?
• What function (S) did the Renaissance have on society?
(Artistic, political, economic, religions, etc)
Social
Institutions
Artistic
Political
Economic
Religious
Other
Function of the Renaissance:
Background
• The Renaissance developed in the urban areas of Northern
Italy.
• The Renaissance, although famous for its artistic elements,
was an economic, literary and political movement as much as
it was an artistic one.
• Science, literature, architecture and arts were reborn during
this period.
What is the Renaissance?
• The term Renaissance means rebirth
• Europeans who saw the Middle Ages as a Dark Age
called it a rebirth because they felt that Europe was
resuming the civilization of the Greeks & Romans
• Historically, the Renaissance is used to separate the
ancient world from the modern
• Renaissance was marked by a change in attitude, to a
more secular attitude
Cities & Towns
• Cities in the Middle Ages were founded, or rebuilt Roman
towns; as centres of trade, military refuges, or centres of church
administration.
• Because of the different economic organization of towns,
different legal systems and a different concept of citizenship
developed from the feudal relationships in rural Europe.
Urban Poverty
• Urban centres were areas of significant social stratification.
• In Coventry (England) in 1524 nearly 50% of the population
could not pay the minimum tax rate while 2% of the population
owned 45% of the wealth.
• In cities across Europe where figures exist, the distribution of
income is nearly identical.
The Lure of Opportunity
• The most important draw for rural men to migrate to the cities
was the lure of opportunity.
• Everywhere in Europe were stories of poor young men who set
out to make their fortunes in the city.
• There really were only four ways for a man to better himself:
o
o
o
o
The Church
The military
Overseas exploration
In the cities of Europe
• The cities of Europe offered the most comfortable and easily
accessible opportunity for young men throughout Europe.
• They were also the areas where most men failed to better
themselves.
City Politics
• With nearly 50% of the population living on the poverty line,
city politics tended to be explosive.
• This was complicated by the degree of independence or
autonomy of each city which was related to the strength of the
monarchs.
• Cities in the Holy Roman Empire tended to be the largest and
most independent.
• Additionally, the most commercially active towns, like Venice,
Genoa and Florence; tended to enjoy significantly greater
liberties than other cities.
• The unique political opportunities in the cities of Europe also
provided the wealthy and powerful members of the nobility
and merchant class with a chance to dabble in the art of ruling.
The Contado
• Was the name given to the territory surrounding a city that was
ruled by the city.
• This process took place primarily in Northern Italy as Venice,
Florence, Milan and Genoa expanded their control over the
neighbouring countryside.
• The Contado was important to secure food supplies and control
rural manufacturing.
Why Italy?
• Italian towns were large and busy due to the wealth
and volume of Mediterranean trade
• Italian craftsmen were the most skilled in all of
Europe and their products were in high demand
• Merchants grew wealthy by trading the wares of the
craftsmen and then used this wealth to loan money to
princes & popes becoming bankers
• The main reason was the independence of the Italian
city states
Italian Government
• There was no king to govern Italy as a whole, and the popes
were distracted by disputes arising from the Great Schism.
• Small independent city states were controlled by local
governments.
• Most were oligarchies, where a small group of influential
families had control.
• Merchant oligarchies were free to pursue their own interests
and maintain independence.
• Several city states, Venice, Genoa & Florence; were governed
as republics, the others were governed by aristocratic houses.
Italian Politics
• In these independent mini-states, members of merchant families
competed for public offices.
• Often, their success was based on their ability to suppress popular
revolts or by winning popular favour.
• Once in office, leaders of these towns commissioned public
works, made alliances with other states, hired armies and
outwitted their rivals.
Florence – the Centre of the
Renaissance
• With a population of 60,000 Florence was not the largest of the
Italian city states, it produced an amazing number of gifted
men:
o Dante, Petrarch, Boccacio, Macchiavelli
• Florentine government was dominated by 1 family, the Medici.
Godfathers of the Renaissance: Birth of Dynasty
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FFDJK8jmms
The Medici Family
• The Medici family fortunes were founded by Giovanni de
Medici, a merchant and a banker.
• Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464) extended the family’s influence
into government & public affairs.
• His grandson, Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492), was a
great patron of the arts.
Giovanni Di Medici
Cosimo Di Medici
Lorenzo “The Magnificent” Di Medici
• By the 17th Century Florence was transformed into a Grand
Duchy (from a republic) ruled by the Medici family.
• The Medici ruled Florence until 1737.
• The family produced a number of cardinals, 2 popes, and 2
queens of France.
Godfathers of the Renaissance: The Medici Pope
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmNbecu1V6I
Renaissance Ideals
• The Renaissance produced a new respect and
glorification of human powers
• Humans were no longer seen as frail, needing the
grace and salvation of God
• New ideals saw glory in a life of involvement, of
activity and the enjoyment of wealth
• In Italy this idea took the form of public duty,
government & administration
Virtu
• This new emphasis on civic involvement found expression in
the classical Latin writer Cicero.
• His, and other writings of the ancients, provided an ethics
independent of the Christian morality of the Middle Ages.
• Renaissance individualism put great emphasis on outstanding
skills/abilities/attainments.
• A great individual shaped his own destiny in a world governed
by fortune.
• A man such as this had “virtu” the essence of being a man (an
alpha type personality).
• A man of virtu, in any field (arts, war, statescraft), was a man
who knew what he was doing, used his talents to the best of
his abilities and excelled at all he did.
Human Glory
Art & Architecture
• The combination of new wealth, preoccupation with human
achievement and the appreciation of beauty spurred lavish
spending on the arts and architecture.
• Wealthy families patronized artists to produce paintings,
sculpture & architecture to adorn & glorify their homes &
public offices.
• Art became a competition between the great families of the
Renaissance, to employ the greatest artists brought fame to a
family.
Renaissance Literature
• The literary movement was called humanism because
of the rising interest in “human letters”
• Writing became an occupation, both public & private,
on topics such as government & philosophy
• Humanists wrote in Latin, but not Medieval Latin,
which was seen as influenced by the clergy
• They returned to the classical form of Latin, inspired
by writers such as Cicero, and Greek
Classical Influences
• The Renaissance saw a re-discovery of classical ideas
and forms of expression
• Art, sculpture and architecture all emulated classical
styles
• Literature was patterned after classical styles and
subjects, moving beyond the theology of the middle
ages
• A “cult of antiquity” was developed within
Renaissance culture
Warfare in Renaissance Italy
• Italian city states were too small and their leaders,
merchants & bankers, were not trained as military
leaders
• They used their wealth to hire professional soldiers
called “condottieri” to fight for them
• These mercenaries often switched sides during wars
if they received a better offer
• This kept a balance within Italy and allowed other
areas of Europe to grow stronger
Intervention of European Powers
• The relatively small size, political instability and
great wealth of the Italian city states made them an
appealing target for the ambitions of European
monarchs.
• In the late 15th century, major kingdoms, ruled by
strong royal families, emerged that would dominate
European politics for the next 3 centuries.
• In France, the Valois royal family emerged from the
Hundred Years War to rule over a large and powerful
kingdom.
French Ambitions
• In 1494 Charles VIII (1483-1498) sent an army to
cross the alps and proved how weak the city states
were compared to the “new monarchies” of western
Europe.
• Charles had a claim to the throne of Naples through
his mother and sought to capture the throne by force.
• Charles’ entry into Italy started a series of wars
known as the “Italian Wars” which drew in the
Austrians, Spanish and Turks.
Charles VIII Enters Florence
Charles VIII
Charles VIII
Enters Naples
The Italian Wars
• Were fought from 1494 to 1559.
• The involvement of France was initially encouraged
by Milan, but proved unpopular.
• French ambitions were challenged by the Habsburgs,
rulers of Spain (unified in 1479), Austria & the Holy
Roman Empire.
• Italy became an area of dispute between France, Spain
and Austria for the next 300 years.
The Plight of the Italian
States
• In 1494, with the threat of a French invasion, the popular party in
Florence overthrew the Medici who had opposed Charles VIII’s
Italian ambitions.
• This created a situation where the Florentine republic was forced
to rely on French support while the Medici were forced to turn to
the enemies of France for support.
• The politics of Florence became intertwined with the political
struggles of the emerging monarchies of Europe.
• By 1512 the Medici, with Spanish support, returned to power
in Florence.
Hapsburg Ambitions
• Aside from resisting French Ambitions, the Hapsburgs,
as Holy Roman Emperors had often clashed with the
Papacy over control of religious positions within
Germany.
• Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain &
Austria was a key figure in the Reformation.
• After intervening against the French in the Italian wars
initially in 1521, he turned against the Pope to force
Pope Clement VII to refuse English King Henry VIII’s
request to divorce Catherine of Aragon.
Charles V
Henry VIII
Clement VII
End of the Renaissance
• In 1527 a horde of undisciplined Spanish & German
mercenaries sacked Rome, captured Clement VII, a
Medici, & looted the city for 3 weeks.
• Although embarrassed by this, Charles V used this to
his advantage against both France and England.
• The sack of Rome signaled the end of the
Renaissance and the religious upheaval of the
Reformation became the focus of Europe.
Conclusions
• Although it began in Italy, the Renaissance spread throughout
Western Europe and had a significant affect on many aspects
of European society.
• It’s focus on humanist, secular and literary values were an
important starting point for major changes such as the
Reformation and Scientific Revolution.
• The Renaissance was able to flourish due to the independent
nature of Italian city states however this weakness proved to
be the end of the Renaissance.
• As smaller and weaker states, the Italian states were
overwhelmed by the military power of the emerging
monarchies of Western Europe.
• With the end of the Renaissance we shift our focus onto the
transformations in Europe caused by the Reformation.
Q.
• How was European society different from Western society
today? Give three examples
• Explain why an understanding of the role of religion in daily
life in early modern Europe is critical to understanding the
Renaissance and Reformation periods
• Describe how the social organization of early modern Europe
differed from that of the medieval period
• How did the Renaissance worldview differ from the Medieval
worldview?
Application Question
What aspects of this image tell you it is not a medieval
painting? What aspects of the painting (theme, content) suggest
the legacy of the medieval period continued to influence the art
of Michelangelo?