Download Chapter 11, Lesson 1 The Renaissance Begins

Chapter 11, Lesson 1
The Renaissance Begins
It Matters Because:
Renaissance development helped shape
today’s arts, architecture, literature, and
science.
The Renaissance in Italy
• As Europe recovered from the Black Death, people became more
confident about their future
• Interest in art and learning grew
• Called the Renaissance, from French, meaning “rebirth”
• Rebirth of What?
• Interest in “the classics” – knowledge from ancient Greece and Rome
• Catholic Europe rediscovered Greek and Roman writings on mathematics,
science, etc.
• Europe developed interest in secular knowledge, worldly ideas, not
just religious ones
The Birth of the Renaissance
• Heart of the early Renaissance was Italy
• Ruins and statues of old Roman Empire familiar to Italians
• Italian trading hubs such as Florence & Venice had become wealthy by
the 1300s
• Artists emerged as city’s wealthy citizens became patrons
• Patron – a wealthy sponsor of an artist
• Italy became more urban as people moved from farms & into cities
• People living in cities developed economies & shared ideas
• Many Greek and Roman texts had been preserved in Muslim
libraries in Middle East and Iberia
The Cities of Italy
• Italy was composed of independent city-states
• Italians did not want a king or emperor
• The Church also did not want an Italian king to control Pope
• City-states’ wealth allowed them to build navies and hire soldiers
• Italian banks also loaned money to Europe’s kings for protection
• Italy’s shape meant that many cities were on coast
• Coastal cities became trade centers
• Italy’s location made it literally the center of Mediterranean trading world
• Crusades and Mongol conquests made contact and trade between Italy and
Eastern world possible
Marco Polo
• In 1270s, Polo led a voyage to China
• Wanted to open trade with Kublai Khan, the Mongol
Emperor of China
• The Khan was amazed by stories of Polo’s journeys
• Polo returned to Italy and wrote a book about his
voyage
• His stories amazed Europeans and created great demand
for Chinese goods
Florence
• First major Renaissance city
• Many artists were attracted to its wealth and central location
on the Italian peninsula
• Protected by walls and towers
• The cathedral dome is considered one of the Renaissance’s
greatest engineering feats
• Became wealthy trading cloth and banking
• Florence’s currency, the florin, was traded across Europe
• The Medici family ruled Florence and owned banks across
Europe
Venice
• On northern coast of Adriatic Sea
• Built on many islands
• Canals instead of roads, boats called gondolas used for
transportation
• Important link between Europe and Asia
• Marco Polo was Venetian
• Major shipbuilding center
• At the Arsenal, ships were outfitted for trade and war
Who Ruled Italian City-States?
• Nobles in Renaissance Italy gained power through wealth, not land
• Most Italian city-states were republics
• Republic – leadership is elected by citizens
• Only wealthy merchants and artisans were citizens
• The Doge (Duke) ruled Venice
• Elected for life by the city council
• In Florence, the Medicis ruled
• Lorenzo “the Magnificent” ruled for almost 25 years
• Supported artists, architects, writers
• Leonardo da Vinci was one artist supported by the Medicis
Machiavelli
• Machiavelli was a Florentine
• Wrote The Prince, a theory for strong government
• Believed a ruler (Prince) should do whatever it takes to keep
power and protect the people
• Including lying and killing
• Believed a ruler should be feared rather than loved
• Why? People take advantage of love, but respect fear
• “Machiavellian” is an adjective today that means a ruler who
is cunning and does whatever it takes to succeed
Page 292 – Lesson 1 Review
Complete 1-6 in complete
sentences. This is due at the end
of the period. This will be graded
for thoughtful completion.