European Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1600

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Chapter 1

• European Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1600

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Italy Birthplace of the Renaissance

• -During the Middle Ages people had turned to God
  and the church to help them through war and
  plague
• -Those who survived wanted a less strict life
  and began to question the church and their
  teaching
• -The Renaissance was a period in which art and
  learning were reborn
• -It began in Italy due to thriving cities,
  wealthy merchants, and the heritage left by
  Greece and Rome
• -Northern Europe lagged behind this rebirth
  because England and France were still involved in
  the Hundred Years War

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• -In Italy, urban centers (cities) grew as trade
  increased after the Crusades
• -The Bubonic Plague hit these cities hard, but
  surviving workers could demand high wages due to
  low population, therefore gaining more wealth
• -The merchant (business) class became the most
  powerful class in Europe

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• -The Medici family dominated Florence by using
  their money to influence everyday life in the
  city-state eventually ruling as a dictatorship
• -With the fall of Constantinople in 1453,
  scholars fled to Rome with ancient text that
  helped in the rediscovery of classic Greek and
  Roman ideas

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• -Renaissance thinkers began to focus on humanism
  a persons potential and achievements. Humanists
  wanted studied classical texts to understand
  Greek values, this influenced artists and
  architects to carry on classical traditions, and
  popularized the study of classical education
  History, literature and philosophy.

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• Instead of wearing rough clothing and eating the
  plainest foods, Humanists felt that people could
  enjoy life without offending god.
• Living to the fullest now became a priority
  across Renaissance Italy luxuries, fine music
  and taste food. This took place even took place
  within the church.
• Most people remained devout Catholics, but the
  spirit of Renaissance society was Secular
  Worldly and Concerned with the here and now
• Church leader and other wealthy merchant paid
  huge sums of money to have artist paint frescos
  and create sculptures that reflected the time
  period. They also lived in mansions had lavish
  banquets and expensive clothes.

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• Renaissance Men were considered those with many
  varied talents and high intelligence. (A man who
  excelled in many fields)
• In a book called The Courtier A young man should
  be charming, witty, educated in the classics. He
  should dance, sing, play music, write poetry. Be
  a skillful rider, wrestler, Swordsman.
• Michelangelo looked to glorify the human body and
  created many religious based works of art,
  evident in his statue David, showed both
  classical and Christian ideas in painting the
  Sistine Chapel

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• -Donatello looked to create realistic and natural
  postures to reveal personality
• -Painter Masaccio discovered the technique of
  perspective or three dimension was another
  element in Renaissance art

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• -Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor,
  inventor, and scientist
• -Studied the movement of muscles and how flight
  was possible
• -Painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper
• -Raphael created many great works for Pope Julius
  II

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• -Dante was one of the first writers to use the
  vernacular or his native language in writing
• -Petrarch used poetry and sonnets to explore
  human nature and love

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• -Machiavellis The Prince serves as a political
  guidebook for rulers of the time
• -Wrote that rulers must be strong but clever,
  they should not be concerned with what is morally
  right, but with what is politically effective
• -Women writers were also accepted in Italian
  society