Download Was Renaissance Europe a Great Civilization?

Chapter 2: Life in Europe
Life in Middle Ages vs. Life in the
Renaissance
What did Europe look like in
Middle Ages?
Middle Ages: (Europe in the 4th - 14th
centuries)
Connecting to last year: Middle Ages
start after fall of the Roman Empire
Feudal society (everyone has a master but
the king and the Pope)
Catholic church had absolute power
Little new knowledge, science, art
Feudalism
In Early Middle Ages,
there were not kings.
There were many
nobles fighting for
power.
By later Middle Ages,
the most successful
nobles became Kings
of nations.
Life on a Manor
A castle..
Government
Powerful kings ruled - absolute
authority
Their advisors carried out laws Disobedience meant prison or
death
Very high taxes on the poor,
had to pay with cash or land
England is different- taxes not
so bad…
Farming
Agriculture in Europe since
pre-Roman times
Grew grains (wheat,
barley, rye), and legumes
(beans)
Cities
Beautiful, powerful, crowded, filthy
Powerful cities due to trade &/or having
a cathedral
Venice, Florence, Paris, Rome, London
Cities were centers for merchants,
religious beliefs, education
Also where diseases
spread most quickly
The Black Death
The best summary of
Black Plague
Trade and Money
Every country had its own
currency
gold and silver coins
Jewels also valued
Trade existed throughout Europe
Bad roads, boats could sink
Venice most powerful merchant
city - traded with Asia (silks,
spices)
Marco Polo went to Asia in 1271,
opened up that continent for trade but
few had read about his travels
Religion in Middle Ages
Europe
Connecting to Last Year: Emperor
Constantine becomes the first Christian
Roman Emperor in 307AD
As Rome falls, power of Catholic church
Rises even more
Pope was most important leader.
Claimed that as god’s representative on
Earth, he even had power/influence over
kings
Europe not 100% Catholic, but closestill Jews, Muslims, and some who
followed ancient Roman Gods
Late Middle Ages Not all bad
1215: Magna Carta written: a document
that gave English people rights and
limited the rights of king in Marco Polo’s
1271- 1294 Marco Polo goes to China
via the Silk Road with uncles.
1400’s: After black death, economy
eventually recovers and many areas
(especially some Italian cities) get rich
from trade.
What is a Renaissance?
Renaissance means “rebirth”
Can be used to discuss a specific time and place-Europe in the 15th- 17th centuries
EX: “The Renaissance was an exciting time for artists
in Europe.”
Can be used more generally to discuss the rebirth of
anything
“EX: The Red Sox 2004 World Series victory after 86
years of losing created a renaissance in Boston fan
pride.”
How does the Renaissance
change life?
New Farming Techniques:
Plow used (came from
China)
Horses helped plow
3 field crop rotation kept fields fertile
Cleared many fields for
sheep pasture - no
longer overcrowded
land
New Religion
Corrupt Catholic Church
questioned by Martin
Luther
Protestors (reformers)
rejected Pope’s authority
New Protestant churches
 divided European
church (lots of arguing)
Jews, Muslims sometimes
faced harsh(er) treatment
New Art
Art still to honor and to serve God, but also to
celebrate humans
Art became more nuanced – human form studied
Painting, sculpture, architecture, music
Michelangelo
Leonardo da Vinci
The School at Athens, with lines to show perspective
New Education & Science
Many universities (Oxford,
University of Paris, etc.)
shifted focus from
religious training to natural
sciences
New inventions
New Ideas
Scientists needed patrons
(someone wealthy to pay
for their research)
Johannes Gutenburg –
invented printing press
(1430’s)
Copernicus, then Galileo –
proved earth revolves
around sun (Church made
Galileo recant his “heretical”
ideas)
Explosion of information
Printing press
means more books
available for
cheaper prices lower classes can
read!
New tools for exploration
More accurate compasses:
helped sailors know direction
Astrolabes: helped sailors know
distance North/South of equator
(longitude)
Knowing location East-West
(latitude) was still quite difficult
QuickTime™ and a
d eco mpres sor
are nee ded to s ee this picture .
How this all comes together
Info about
riches in China
New travel
technology
Frustration with
land route to Asia
Columbus
and other
explorers try
new sea
routes to Asia
Willingness to
experiment