• French for “rebirth”
– (from re [again] and nascere [to be
born])
• Origins: Italy, 14th c.
• “High Renaissance,” 1450-1527
– Art flourished most during this period
The Values:
I. Humanism
A. Individualism
B. Secularism
The Vehicles:
I. Vernacular Literature
II. Commerce
III. Invention
Classical Studies
• Humanism
– “the study of humanity”
– From studia humanitatis
• coined by Cicero to describe
the education of a cultivated
human being
• Classics
– Prominent works of Greek,
Roman, and Biblical literature
– Emphasis: original languages
Classics in the Christian
Era
St. Basil the Great (c. 333-379)
– Bishop and Theologian
• Address to Young Men on the
Right Use of Greek Literature
I.
II.
Out of the abundance of his
experience the author will advise
young men as to the pagan literature,
showing them what to accept, and
what to reject.
To the Christian the life eternal is the
supreme goal, and the guide to this
life is the Holy Scriptures; but since
young men cannot appreciate the
deep thoughts contained therein, they
are to study the profane writings, in
which truth appears as in a mirror.
VIII.…young men must distinguish
between helpful and injurious
knowledge, keeping clearly in mind
the Christian's purpose in life. So, like
the athlete or the musician, they must
bend every energy to one task, the
winning of the heavenly crown
What is the
purpose of this
document?
How will they
know what to
accept and
what to
reject?
What should
be the
primary goal
of every man?
Classics in the Christian
Era
Classical literature seen as
a means to an end…
AIM: Students will identify, describe, and
discuss, the key elements of humanism, as
understood during the Renaissance
• Age of
from the
horrible 14th century
– Black Death
– War and instability
– Economic recession
– Great Schism and Decline of
the Church
• Petrarch – “father of Italian
Renaissance Humanism”
– didn’t become lawyer –
writer instead
– Travelled, rediscovered, &
translated Latin texts, such
as Cicero
– Devout Christian with with
close ties to major
political & religious figures
– Famous for vernacular
poetry, mainly sonnets
(EX: Canzoniere)
Petrarch
http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/HISTORY/ArmeniaBC/Roman_Empire_map.png
Africa
Poet
Laureate
Petrarch’s epic poem,
written in Latin, about the
exploits of Scipio Africanus
during the Second Punic
War
Laura
The Love of
Petrarch’s Life
Laura, illustrated by her virtues and wellcelebrated in my verse, appeared to me for
the first time during my youth in 1327, on
April 6, in the Church of Saint Claire in
Avignon, in the first hour of the day; and in
the same city, in the same month, on the
same sixth day at the same first hour in the
year of 1348, withdrew from life, while I
was at Verona, unconscious of my loss....
Her chaste and lovely body was interred on
the evening of the same day… her soul, as I
believe, returned to heaven, whence it came.
-- Written in a Manuscript of Virgil
http://petrarch.petersadlon.com/laura.html
“Each famous author of antiquity
whom I recover places a new
offence and another cause of
dishonor to the charge of earlier
generations, who, not satisfied with
their own disgraceful barrenness,
permitted the fruit of other minds,
and the writings that their ancestors
had produced by toil and
application, to perish through
insufferable neglect… they robbed
posterity of its ancestral heritage.”
Petrarch
Read Petrarch’s
Letter to Posterity
Humanism
anti-religious)
(not necessarily irreligious or
The Ascent of Mount Ventoux
What is Petrarch’s inspiration?
What makes this a work of humanism? (examples
of individualism, secularism, human potential)
What conclusions can we draw about Petrarch’s
personality?
What “ universal truth/s” or “values,” if any, are
being solicited by Petrarch and from what type of
source does Petrarch derive his justification for
them?
Letter to Cicero
How does one account for the familiar tone of this
letter?
What are Petrarch’s chief criticisms of Cicero?
What is the ‘ideal life,’ according to Petrarch, and
how does it reflect humanist goals?
Petrarch’s Love
“Petrarch cannot truly be considered a
humanist”
Support, refute, or modify this statement using
textual evidence from your investigation of
Petrarch’s work to support your response
Petrarch’s Secretum
“Petrarch cannot truly be considered a
humanist”
Support, refute, or modify this statement using
textual evidence from your investigation of
Petrarch’s work to support your response
Unit 1.1 - Day 3
AIM: Students will identify and
explain the various conditions
that contributed to the shaping
of society and political theories
during the Italian Renaissance?
Economic Recovery
• Italian trade benefits from central location on the
Mediterranean Sea, at the crossroads of several major
trade routes
• Large Trade Fairs and job opportunities attract rural
migrants to growing urban, commercial centers
: Northern German coastal towns
formed commercial and military association
– Commercial bases in England, Denmark, Norway,
Sweden
– Monopoly on Northern European trade
– Timber, fish, grain, metals, honey, wines
– Bruges, Belgium became the economic crossroads
of Europe in 14th century
• Italian merchants gained in wealth and influence
What major conditions
shaped the Renaissance?
• Industry
– Printing, mining, and textiles flourished
– New Inventions
– Commercialization of Agriculture –
Increase in production
• The Medicis and Banking
– House of Medici was the greatest bank
in Europe
• Venice, Milan, Rome, Avignon,
Bruges, London, Lyons
• Principal bankers of the papacy
– Made Florence the banking capital,
became wealthy
Florence, Italy
Florence, Italy: The Duomo
The Florence Cathedral dome was
completed by Brunelleschi in 1436 and
restored Florentine pride. The interior
dome fresco was painted by Giogio
Vasari, most famous for his widely read
book, The Lives of the Artists, which
provided biographies of many of the
Renaissance masters
What major social changes
occurred during the Renaissance?
• The Renaissance inherited social
structures from Middle Ages
–Three Estates:
• 1st – clergy
• 2nd – Nobility; Traditional
Landed (Land Owning) Elites
• 3rd – peasants & inhabitants of
cities and towns
What major social changes
occurred during the Renaissance?
• Peasants made up 85-90 % of European Population
• Decline of Manorial System & Elimination of Serfdom
– Introduction of a money economy in 12th century
– Less peasantry after Black Death
– Lord’s lands were worked by hired workers or
rented
• Urban Society
– wealthy traders, industry, bankers
– shopkeepers, guild masters, guild
members
– Property-less workers – low, low wages
– Unemployed – miserable lives (30-40%)
Italian States in the Renaissance
• Five Major Powers
Don’t mess.
–
–
–
–
Milan – Visconti, Sforza
Venice – Great Council
Florence - The Medici
The Papal States
• The Role of Women
– Isabella d’Este – “First Lady”
of the Renaissance
– Catherine de Medici - France
Isabella d’Este: First Lady of
the Renaissance
• France and Spain fight over
the peninsula
• Modern diplomatic system
– Peace of Lodi solves
interstate rivalry for 40 years
Italian States
• Duchy of Milan
– Francesco Sforza a
(mercenary
soldier) conquered Milan
and became its duke
• Republic of Venice
– Merchant Oligarchy
• Republic of Florence
– Ruled by the Medici
Family – Cosimo, then
Lorenzo the Magnificent
(republic in image only)
Italian States
• Independent City States
– Led by powerful families
• Urbino
– Federigo da Montefeltro
• Classical education,
humanist
• Skilled at fighting
• Reliable and honest
• Great
• Married to Battista Sforza
– Niece of Duke of Milan
– Governed while
Federigo away
• Alliances keep city-states
in check
– Milan, Florence, Naples vs.
Venice & Papacy
• Peace of Lodi: ended
half-century of war and
created a 40 year peace
– Ludovico Sforza (Duke of
Milan) invited French to get
involved in Italian politics
– Chalres VIII occupied
Naples
Warfare in Italy
• Italian states invited Ferdinand of Aragon
for help
• 15 years: French and Spanish fought over
Italy
• Continued through next series of kings
• Italians never considered uniting –
fiercely loyal to own states
• Italians began to send diplomats to find
out information about their enemies
– Birth of modern diplomacy
Note:
The Renaissance was a time of
Rebirth for the
and the
. The third estate
was too busy trying to survive to
consider new ways of thinking or
interpreting the universe
Who did Machiavelli find a good
example for his theories?
• Cesare Borgia – son of Pope Alexander VI
– Used ruthless measures to achieve control
– “anyone who decides that the policy to
follow when one has newly acquired power is
to destroy one’s enemies, to secure some
allies, to win wars, whether by force or by
fraud, to make oneself both loved and feared
by one’s subjects…cannot hope to find, in
the recent past, a better model to imitate
than Cesare Borgia.”
Unit 1.1 – Day 4
AIM: Students will explain and
analyze the how the revival of
Greek and Roman texts led to
new values and methods of
scholarship in both society and
religion
Greek Literature
Fall of Constantinople
(1453)
– Turks close Christian
universities
– Greek scholars flee to
Italy with Ancient texts
– Plato’s complete works
translated into Latin for
the first time.
Leonardo Bruni
– Shifted study away
from theology and
toward the study of
classical texts
– NEW HUMANIST FORM
OF SCHOLARSHIP
• HUMANIST EDUCATION
PROGRAM“(The
Humanities”)
Gutenberg Invents
the Printing Press &
movable type (1454)
• Gutenberg Bible (1456)
Information can spread
more quickly than ever
before… and at a fraction
of the cost!
Baldassare Castiglione - The
Book of the Courtier
– More Secular view of human
nature shifts the values of
ideal social behavior “Renaissance Man” (well
rounded individual)
– Polarized gender roles of
Men and Women (even
more so than the late middle
ages)
Machiavelli – ‘The
Prince’
• More SECULAR VIEW of
HUMAN NATURE leads
to new political theory
no longer based on
religious principles, but
based on the interest of
the state
“Machiavellian”The end justifies
the means
Lorenzo Valla –
‘Discourse on the Forgery of
the Alleged Donation of
Constantine’
• Challenged the
institutional power of
universities and the
Church with new
philological approaches
and secular criticisms of
ancient texts
Pico della Mirandola‘Oration on the Dignity of Man’
New individualist shift in
religious values
– seeing divinity
embodied in all aspects of
nature and the universe
God created humans in his
image therefore, BEING
HUMAN IS DIVINE
Pico
Note Classical Lettering
Even the angels
envy us…
What effect did Humanism have on
philosophy, education, politics,
writing?
–stressed the
occult sciences, astrology,
alchemy, magic;
philosophical beliefs
– seeing
divinity embodied in all
aspects of nature and in
the universe
God created humans in his
image therefore, BEING
HUMAN IS DIVINE
That which is
above is also
Renaissance Art
• Mathematical
– Laws of perspective
– Organization of outdoor space and light with
geometry
• Movement and anatomical structure
– Realistic portrayal of human nude became mission of
Renaissance artists
• Greek & Roman Influence
• Advances in sculpture and architecture
• Human individuality
– Portraits & tombs
• Neoplatonic ideal of Human grandeur
The Renaissance Artist
• Began career as an apprentice to
masters in their craft guild
• Depended on Patrons for commissions
– Newly wealthy and powerful families (like the
Medicis) would hire artists to paint their
portraits, decorate their homes, or sculpt their
tombs
• During the Renaissance artists’ social
status shifted from “lowly artisans who
work with their hands” to celebrity status
Early to Mid Renaissance Artists
• Boticelli
• Donatello
• Brunelleschi
Sandro Boticelli (1445- 1510)
Primavera
Cupid
Mercur
y
Three
Graces
Zephyrus
Venus,
Goddess
of love
Chloris,
Flora, nymph
Goddess
Of Spring
Donato di Donatello (1386-1466) David
Filippo Brunelleschi (1377 – 1446)
Dome of the Duomo, Florence
High Renaissance
(1480-1520) final stage of
Renaissance art which flourished
– marked by increasing importance of Rome as the
cultural center
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
– Moved from realism to idealization of nature
(showed psychological dimensions)
• Raphael (1483 – 1520)
– Madonnas surpassed human beauty, balance,
harmony & order (Greco-Roman ideals)
• Michelangelo (1475-1564)
– Believed in Neoplatonism- Sistine Chapel shows
divine humans
Leonardo (1452-1519)– The Last
Supper
Raphael (1483-1520) School of
Athens
Raphael, Small Cowper Madonna,
1505
Michelangelo (1475-1564) David
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel, 15081512
Titian (1485-1576), Venus of Urbino
Remember
Me!
I’ll be
important in
300 years!
Human Form
Individual
Grandeur
Perspective
Wealth of Patrons
Greek Reference
Northern Renaissance
• Different approach from Italian Renaissance
– Italy- human form, frescoes in churches
– North – stained-glass windows in Gothic churches
resulted in “Illuminated” manuscripts and
wooden panel paintings for altarpieces
– North ignored perspective to gain mastery of
detail in nature
• Jan van Eyck (1390-1441)
– Among 1st to use oil paint
– Striking details
Jan van Eyck- Giovanni Arnolfini and His
Bride
Was van
Eyck hinting
at
something
ELSE in this
painting?
Recreate & Create a “Renaissance”
work
• You may work in partners, groups, or
individually
• You may also have “guest subjects” to
play roles, if needed
• Choose a Renaissance work and
recreate it in photography
– Use costumes, props, and backgrounds to fit
with the original image
– Consider what makes the Renaissance work
typical for the period
New Monarchies
• In the second half of the 15th century
monarchies tried to reestablish
centralized power
monarchs taking
back centralized power in the late 15th
century
– Also called “
”
Growth of French Monarchy
• Hundred Years War (with England…remember
Joan of Arc?) left France ruined
– Strong Nationalism
• Charles VII crowned king at Reims
– Established a royal army with cavalry and archers
– Right to levy
– yearly, direct tax on land
• Louis XI “the spider”
– Devious
– Retained tailles as permanent tax
– Expanded territory to Burgundy, Anjou, Provence
England: Civil War and New
Monarchy
• Hundred Years War (England
trying to take French Crown)
ruined England economically
• War of the Roses (1450s)
– Civil War
– House of Lancaster (Red Rose)
• Led by Henry Tudor
– House of York (White Rose)
• Led by Edward, then Richard York
– Henry Tudor defeated Richard at
Bosworth Field
England: New Monarchy
• Henry VII (1485-1509)
– Worked to strengthen
monarchial government
– Makes sense…just won a
CIVIL war
– Established Court of Star
Chamber
• No juries
• Allowed torture
– Financial reform, fiscally
conservative
– Diplomatic – avoided wars
– Left England stable and
prosperous
Unification of Spain
• Reconquista: taking Spain
back from Muslims
• In Middle Ages Spain consisted
of several independent
Christian kingdoms
– Aragon & Castile were strongest
– Navarre – small kingdom in
north
– Granada – last Muslim kingdom
in south
• Isabella of Castile and
Ferdinand of Aragon married
in 1469
– Maintained separate kingdoms
– Worked to strengthen royal
control
Unification of Spain
• Ferdinand & Isabella
– Reorganized military
– Developed strong infantry force- best in
Europe
– Strict religious uniformity
• Spanish Inquisition: persecuted Jews and
Muslims
– 1492: took back Granada, kicked out
Muslims
• Expelled all Jews from Spain
Holy Roman Empire
• Controlled by the
Hapsburg Family
– Did not have strong
centralized authority
• Didn’t fight wars, formed
alliances through
marriage
• Emperor Maximilian I
– Son Philip married Joana
(daughter to Ferdinand &
Isabella)
• Son Charles would become
heir to the Hapsburgs, the
Burgundian, and the Spanish
Eastern Europe
•Poland
Population mostly
Slavic,
Religious
Aristocrats
conflicts
between
established
right
Roman
to electCatholics,
kings
Greek
Orthodox,
Polish Kings
and
pagans
couldn’t
establish
Bohemia
strong authority
Under Holy Roman Empire but the Czechs allied
with Poles and Slavs
Russia – Ivan III freed Moscow from Mongols
Ottoman Turks and End of
Byzantine Empire
• Byzantine Empire had been the buffer
between the Ottoman Turks and
Europe
• 1453: Ottomans ended the Byzantine
empire
– Mehmet II laid siege to Constantinople
– Cannons breached the walls
• End of the fifteenth century Turks were
threatening Europe
The Church & Renaissance
• John Wyclif (1328-1384)
Englishman
Attacked papal authority
No biblical basis for popes
Bibles should be in vernacular so everyone
can read it
– Rejected everything not in the bible
–
–
–
–
• Pilgrimages
• Saints
• Ritual
: Wyclif’s followers
The Church & the Renaissance
• Lollards spread to Bohemia
– Czech reformers led by John Hus
– Native Czechs embraced Hus’s teachings
– Attempted to deal with heresy, summoned Hus
– Hus condemned and burned at stake in 1415
• Bohemia responded with upheaval
with truce
raged in HRE until 1436, ended
The Church & the Renaissance
• Reforms were issued to little avail
• By mid-fifteenth century popes reestablished
authority
– Moral leadership declined
– Pope Alexander VI – led debauchery and criminal acts
• Had children with mistresses
• Encouraged son Cesare (inspiration for The Prince) to take a
state from Papal states (Urbino)
• Pope Leo X (son of Lorenzo de’Medici) major patron
of arts
– Commissioned Raphael to paint portrait and other works
– Helped Rome become the artistic center of the
Renaissance