Do Now: What does the phrase

“Renaissance Man” mean?Describe in your nb!

The Renaissance

1350-1600http://www.renaissanceconnection.org/index2.cfm

What was the Renaissance?

• It means “rebirth”; a revival of art & learning• Began in northern Italy in the late 14th C – Spreads through Euro

• Served as a bridge between Middle Ages & ‘modern times.’

• emergence of a new urban culture• led to innovations in art & literature, the value

of the the individual & rise of democratic ideas

How did it start?• During the Crusades, Italian city-states had built large fleets

of ships– Used to transport ppl & goods

• Italy becomes urbanized while the rest of Europe is more rural

• By the 1300s, the Italian city-states became wealthy from trade– A powerful middle class emerges

• Mainly merchants & bankers

– Cities allow people to exchange ideas more easily– The Bubonic Plague in the 1300s struck cities hard, (killed 60% of

city pop & 1/3 of overall pop)• Less laborers means survivors can demand higher pay• Merchants cant expand business so many turn to the arts

The Italian Renaissance:• By the early 15th C,

5 major city-states dominated the Italian peninsula:– Milan– Venice– Florence– The Papal States

(centered in Rome)– The Kingdom of Naples

• Each city-state had its own ruler– the Pope in Rome, – the Medici family in Florence, – the Doge (an elected leader) in Venice, – the Sforza family in Milan,

• Led to conflict and intense rivalry– either by open warfare – or through economic and artistic competition

• As city-state grew wealthier, the pwr of the Church declined– Doctrines like the sinfulness of usury (charging

borrowers a fee on money loaned to them) were ignored

• 1434 Cosimo de’ Medici wins control of Florence– Medici were wealthy family of bankers/ largest bank in

Euro• the florin ("fiorino d'oro)" of the Rep of Florence was the first

Euro gold coin

– Cosimo was wealthiest European of his time• Uses his money to Control ruling council by giving them loans• For 30 yrs he serves as dictator of Florence• Medici family generously supported the arts,

– commissioned the building of great cathedrals– commissioned the best artists of the age to decorate them, like:

» Botticelli, Brunelleschi, Michaelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael

– supported for education

Procession of the Magi- frescoes painted in the Medici Palace by the Renaissance master

Benozzo Gozzoli, 1459-1461.

Cosimo is on the humble donkey. Grandson, Lorenzo on horseback.

Why do you think Gozzoli included portraits of the Medici?

Journey of the Magi to Bethlehem, a religious theme, was a pretext to depict the procession of important people who arrived in Florence for the Council of Florence (1438-1439). In this occasion the Medici could boast to have favored the reconciliation between the Catholic and the Byzantine churches.

Is it better to be loved more than feared

or feared more than loved?

(answer in nb. Give at least 2 reasons why you feel this way.)

Political Power & The Renaissance

• Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513– Focus is how to get & keep power– Rejected Medieval thought that rulers must follow

Christian morals. Said morality unrelated to politics.– Humans are motivated by self-interest.

• “{Men} are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely.”

– A prince acts on behalf of state. When possible do good.. BUT… be ready to do evil when necessary.

– The ends justify the means.– Today, the name Machiavelli is synonymous with

political deceit, cynicism and the ruthless use of power.

-

Think like Machiavelli• “Everyone realizes how praiseworthy it is for a

prince to honor his word and to be straightforward rather than crafty in his dealings; none the less, contemporary experience shows that princes who have achieved great things have been those who have given their word lightly, who have known how to trick men with their cunning, and who, in the end, have overcome those abiding by honest principles.” – According to Machiavelli, how a prince should act?– Does Machiavelli think that a prince should prefer to

be loved or feared? Why?

Humanism• An intellectual movement focused on human

potential & achievements. Secular (= wordly; NOT relig or spiritual)

• Studied ‘the classics’ from ancient Greece & Rome. Grammar, poetry, philosophy, history. – (where “humanities” comes from)

• Francesco Petrarch- Father of Italian Renaissance Humanism– Studied Latin manuscripts & used classical Latin– Wrote sonnets- 14 line poems (most about ‘Laura’)

• Dante wrote The Divine Comedy in local dialect– If I wrote in Latin, only scholars would understand

• http://www.history.com/topics/medici-family/videos/humanism-triggers-the-renaissance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vufba_ZcoR0&feature=youtu.be

Advancements & AchievementsArts

Literature

Exploration

Colonies/Expansio

Society• Nobles & aristocrats dominated society– Serve prince, be warrior, have character & grace, be

educated in the classics & arts• Patricians dominated the urban society• Burghers= shopkeepers, artisans, guild masters• Working class (poor) & unemployed lived difficult lives

& made up a large portion of society• Family held key role. Marriages arranged, dowries

given, father made all decisions, mother’s role was to supervise house & raise kids. Women were never considered legal adults

Complete analyzing sources p. 473

The Northern Renaissance:England, France, Germany, Flanders

• Cultural Diffusion brought Italian Renaissance ideas to Northern Europe.

• Riches in Italy attracted French king Charles VIII. – 1494 claimed throne in Kingdom of Naples– Led an army of 30,000 into northern Italy in 1495– Northern Italy asked Spain for help. Battle 30 yrs– Artists flee Italy for Northern Euro

• England & France were ruled by monarchs– Monarchs sponsored artists & writers

• Through their work, they brought ideas of human dignity inspired social reform and artistic expression of realism

• In Eng, Renaissance known as Elizabethan Age for Queen Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603)

• Well educated, supported art & lit

• In England William Shakespeare wrote sonnets, poems & plays.

• In Spain, Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote

• Chinese were 1st to invent printing. In 13th C, China’s block printing reached Euro via Muslim traders.

• 1440 Johann Gutenberg, German, improved the printing press – Books could be printed quicker & cheaper; no more

handwritten copies– Bible was 1st full-sized book printed w movable type– Allowed average ppl to buy books

• Increased literacy

– Writers try to reform society• Christian Humanists – critical of the failure of the Christian

Church to inspire ppl to live Christian life.– Eramus’s The Praise of Folly- makes fun of greedy merchants,

quarrelsome scholars, snobby priests– Thomas More’s Utopia- about imaginary land where there is no

greed, war or corruption

How the Renaissance Changed Society

p. 485

Renaissance song

• http://www.history.com/topics/medici-family