Download Renaissance Historical Context

The Renaissance
1485 - 1625
What brought about the
Renaissance? (The Good)
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The Renaissance began in Italy; it was a period of
literary, artistic, and intellectual development
People were tired of fixed religion
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People wanted to discover new lands
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Reformation
Columbus
Inventions and new theories
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Galileo – Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and
philosopher—responsible for the birth of modern science
daVinci – painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist
Michelangelo – rival of daVinci’s; also a painter, sculptor. He
and daVinci contend for the archetypal “Renaissance Man”
distinction.
What brought about the
Renaissance? (The Not-So Good)
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Bubonic Plague
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Wiped out cities and villages ( 1/3 – ½ of Europe)
Crop failures and famine
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The Peasants REVOLT!
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(Oops…maybe feudalism wasn’t such a good idea)
The Hundred Years War (1337 – 1453)
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Gun powder invention
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(And there goes chivalry)
Renaissance defined
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French word meaning “rebirth”
Goodbye violence; hello enlightenment
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Literature
Science
Classical languages
Art
Life Is Beautiful!
“Renaissance Man”
http://jeffersonia.files.wordpress.com/2008
/11/da-vinci-vitruvian-man.jpg
Religion and the Church
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Reformation: breaking with the Roman Catholic
church
New religious ideas
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Desiderius Erasmus (1466 – 1536) Dutch man whose
translation of the New Testament raised serious questions about
standard Church interpretations of the Bible. He focused
attention on morality and religion. He remained a Roman
Catholic even though he paved the way for a split in the Roman
Catholic Church starting in 1517.
Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) German monk who nailed a list
of dissenting beliefs (95 Theses) to the door of a German
Church. Luther’s protest was aimed at only reforming the
Roman Catholic Church, but it ended by dividing the Church and
introducing a new denomination called Protestants.
Catholic
Protestant
The Protestant Reformation
• Due to Renaissance, many people began questioning the authority of the Catholic
Church. Many people had grievances with the Church as well.
• People were against the selling of indulgences (remission of punishment for the
sins of dead relatives); payments often went into the pockets of corrupt Church
officials.
• People also objected to other forms of payment to the Church, seen as taxation.
• Others felt that Church leaders played favorites by supporting Mediterranean
powers against northern countries.
• Others questioned Church teaching and the Church hierarchy. This was influenced
by the growth of Universities.
Humanism
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A new intellectual movement
Desire for wisdom and knowledge
Attain VIRTUE
Get something out of this world
Explore human qualities and thoughts
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What is a human being?
What is a good life?
How do I lead a good life?
Not “anti-religious”
http://www.comp.dit.ie/dgordon/Lectures/Hum1/0312
03/031203thinker.jpg
Kings and Queens
Tudor England
Henry VII marries
Elizabeth of York
Henry VII
takes
throne
1485
Henry VII Marries Catherine
dies; Henry of Aragon: no male
VIII takes heir, gives birth to
Mary Tudor (of
throne Bloody Mary fame)
1486
1509
Marries
Anne
Boleyn
1533
King Henry VIII 2nd Tudor monarch; King from 1509-1547
•Second-born son of Henry VII
•The Many Wives of King Henry VII
•1. Catherine of Aragon (Spanish) – originally married to Arthur, Henry’s older brother who died when he
was fourteen years old. Catherine said the union was never consummated. The Pope had to give a
special dispensation for the future king to marry her.
•• Catherine gave birth to Mary Tudor.
•• She was never able to give her husband a male heir that he desperately wanted.
Tudor England
Has Anne Marries Jane
beheaded Seymour; she
(after 2 dies same year
children)
1536
Marriage
annulled
Marries
Marries Catherine
Anne of
Howard; has her
Cleves
beheaded same year
Marries
Catherine
Henry VIII
Parr
dies
1540
1543
1547
•2. Henry VIII then fell in love with Anne Boleyn, who was pregnant with his child. Henry appealed to the Catholic
Church for a divorce. The Pope refused. Henry went on to marry Anne, and then several months later had the
Archbishop of Canterbury declare his marriage to Catherine annulled.
•• The Pope excommunicated Henry VIII who then founded the Church of England (Anglican Church) and had
himself declared the Supreme Head of the Church of England, otherwise known as The Act of Supremacy
(1534).
•• Anne gave birth to Elizabeth, but was never able to produce any surviving sons.
•• Eventually Henry grew tired of her. Beheaded on charges of adultery.
•3. Jane Seymour – Died in childbirth, while giving him his heir, Edward VI.
•4. Anne of Cleves – political marriage, very homely woman. No children. Divorced.
•5. Catherine Howard – Beheaded on charges of adultery
•6. Catherine Parr – more nursemaid than wife to the ailing Henry, managed to outlive the king
Tudor England
Henry’s 9 year old
son Edward VI
takes throne
1547
Edward VI dies at
Lady Jane
15 years old
Grey takes
over
throne
1553
Edward VI 3rd Tudor monarch; King from 1547-1553
• Became king at the age of nine
http://www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk/var/ezwebin_site/storage/imag
es/media/musuems-images/lady-jane-gray-grey/171300-1-engGB/Lady-Jane-Gray-Grey1_museumimage.jpg
• Under Edward’s rule, English replaced Latin in the Church ritual.
• Edward ruled by Privy Council; councilors governed until Edward reached his majority. Unfortunately, Edward died
in 1553 (age 15) from measles & tuberculosis.
Lady Jane Grey, a Reluctant Queen for Nine Days
When the Edward died, the Privy Council tried to put a reluctant Lady Jane Grey, great grand-daughter of Henry VII
and cousin to Edward, on the throne ahead of Edward's half-sister Mary. At her coronation, Jane stated, "The crown is not my right
and pleaseth me not. The Lady Mary is the rightful heir." There was no real public support for the move and it fizzled after only nine
days. The Duke, the unfortunate Jane Grey, and all her major supporters were executed at the Tower of London.
Mary I
takes
throne
Lady Jane
Grey
executed
Elizabeth I
takes
throne
James I
takes
throne
1554
1558-1603
1603-1625
http://home.earthlink.net/~zzz12
/images/oldmarytudor.jpg
1553
Mary I 4th Tudor monarch; Queen from 1553-1558
• The reign of Mary I (Mary Tudor) is marked by religious upheaval and dissension; she restored England to
Catholicism, and restored the authority of the Pope
• She insisted on marrying her Spanish cousin, Phillip II, which made England appear to be a minor appendage of
powerful Spain; people found her acts unpatriotic.
• Protestants were suppressed and nearly 300 were burned at the stake, an act which earned Mary the nickname
"Bloody Mary"
• Died in 1558 and Elizabeth I assumed the throne.
Elizabeth I 5th Tudor monarch; Queen from 1558-1603
• Became queen at the age of 25; had a Renaissance education and read widely in Greek and Latin classics
• Became England’s ablest monarch since William the Conqueror.
• Known as the Virgin Queen
Queen Elizabeth I – cont.
• She put an end to the religious turmoil of her half-sister Mary I’s era; reestablished the monarch’s supremacy
in the Anglican Church and restored The Book of Common Prayer. She also instituted a policy of religious
moderation.
• A patron of the Arts, she supported some of the best writers of the day. Renaissance Literary Players
included Christopher Marlow, Andrew Marvell, William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Ben Jonson, and John
Milton.
• The word “Elizabethan” signifies the height of the English Renaissance.
• The Elizabethan Period is known as a golden period in English History; the height of the English
Renaissance saw the flowering of English literature, poetry and theater.
• The French and the Spanish both sought to dominate England. Elizabeth played one side against the other
and would dangle marriage offers to them as bait. This maneuvering allowed England a period of peace during
which commercial and maritime interests prospered.
http://englishhistory.net/tudor/
eliz1-ermine.jpg
Types of Literature
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Sonnets (14 line poems with rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg)
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The word sonnet means “little song”
Plays (thanks to Shakespeare)
The style of Iambic Pentameter
Ten syllables in each line
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Five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables
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The rhythm in each line sounds like:
ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM
Most of Shakespeare’s famous quotations fit into this rhythm. For example:
Is this / a dag- / -ger I / see be- / fore me? Each pair of syllables is called an iambus. You’ll notice that
each iambus is made up of one unstressed and one stressed beat (ba-BUM).
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King James Version of the Bible
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The King James or Authorized Version of the Bible is an English translation of the
Christian Bible first published in 1611. The King James Version made a profound effect
on English literature. The works of famous authors such as John Milton, Herman
Melville, John Dryden and William Wordsworth are deeply inspired by it.
Although it is often referred to as the King James Version, particularly in the United
States, King James was not personally involved in the translation. However, King James’
authorization was legally necessary for the translation to begin, and he set out guidelines
Topics of Literature
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Love
Carpe Diem! (means “Seize the Day”)
Kings and queens