Post on 26-Dec-2015
THE RENAISSANCE
Economic Foundations
● The Crusades stimulated trade by introducing Europeans to many desirable products
● Trade promoted frequent contacts with the Byzantine and Muslim Empires
● Economic effects of the Crusades:
● Increased demand for Middle Eastern products
● Encouraged the use of credit and banking
● Stimulated production of European goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets
More on Economics
● New economic institutions developed
● Church rule against usury (charging interest on loans) and the banks’ practice of charging interest helped to secularize (separated from religion) northern Italy
● Letters of credit served to expand the supply of money and expedite trade
● New accounting and bookkeeping practices (use of Arabic numerals) were introduced
● Europe shifted from an agrarian society to an urban society
The rise of Italian city-states
● Renaissance- renewal in the arts and learning
● Riches from European trade with the Middle East led to the rise of Italian city-states
● Wealthy merchants were active civic leaders and patrons w/ humanist views (i.e. Medici family of Florence)
● The governments were weak & were conquered by the Holy Roman Empire by 1559
Machiavelli’s The Prince
● Machiavelli observed city-state rulers of his day and produced guidelines for the acquisition and maintenance of power by absolute rule
● He wrote an early modern treatise on government centered around 3 basic ideas:
● Support of absolute power of the ruler
● Maintains that the end justifies the means
● Advises that one should do good if possible, but do evil when necessary
The top city-states
● Florence, Venice, and Genoa had access to trade routes connecting Europe with Middle Eastern markets
● They served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe
● They were initially independent city-states governed as republics (no king, not unified)
The Arts
● The Renaissance produced new ideas that were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and literature
● Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded trade, sponsored works which glorified city-states in northern Italy
● Education became increasingly secular
● Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation; Renaissance art and literature focused on individuals and worldly matters, along with Christianity
The famous people● Leonardo da Vinci—painted Mona Lisa and The Last
Supper● Michelangelo—painted Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and
sculpted David & Pieta● Raphael—painted frescos (wall paintings) such as The
School of Athens
Mona Lisa
The Last Supper
Sistine Chapel (Ceiling)
David
Pieta
The School of Athens
Humanism
● Key Individual—Petrarch (wrote Sonnets to Laura, humanist scholar)
● Celebrated the individual ● Stimulated the study of Greek and Roman literature and culture
● Was supported by wealthy patrons
The Renaissance spreads
● With the rise of trade, travel and literacy, the Italian Renaissance spread to northern Europe
● The art and literature changed as people of different cultures adopted Renaissance ideas
● Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas
The Northern Renaissance
● Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity
● The production and sale of books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate (spread) ideas
● The movable type printing press made books cheaper
● Northern Renaissance writers● Erasmus—The Praise of Folly
(1511), pushed for the Bible in the vernacular
● Sir Thomas More—Utopia (1516), ideal society
● Northern Renaissance artists portrayed religious and secular subjects (Jan van Eyck- painted religious figures with common people)
The Renaissance Elsewhere
● Literature in Spain- Cervantes’ Don Quixote
● Called the Elizabethan Age in England (after Elizabeth I)
● Literature in England- Shakespeare