Chapter 17.2: The Northern Renaissance
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In the 1400’s, northern Europeans began to adapt the ideas of the Renaissance…Renaissance
ideas such as the importance of the individual are a strong part of modern thought
 Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael demonstrated an interest in classical culture, a
curiosity about the world, and a belief in human potential
o Merchants carried these ideas when they traveled out of Italy
o By late 1400’s, Renaissance ideas had spread to northern Europe- especially England,
France, Germany, and Flanders
I.
The Northern Renaissance Begins
 By 1450, the European population, previously shattered by Bubonic Plague, had begun to
recover
 Destructive Hundred Years’ War had ended in 1453
 Many cities grew rapidly
 Urban merchants became wealthy enough to sponsor artists
o Happened first in Flanders, rich from long-distance trade and cloth industry
 Italy was divided into city-states …England and France were unified under strong monarchs
o Rulers often sponsored the arts
o Francis I of France purchased Renaissance paintings
 Invited Leonardo da Vinci to retire in France
 Italian artists for castle at Fontainebleau
 As Renaissance spread out of Italy, mingled with northern traditions
 Many northern humanists there were more interested in religious ideas than in the secular
themes popular in Italy
 Renaissance ideal of human dignity inspired some northern humanists to develop plans for
social reform based on Christian values
II.
Artistic Ideas Spread
 1494- French king claimed the throne of Naples in Southern Italy…many Italian artists and
writers fled to northern Europe and brought Renaissance techniques and styles with them
 Ex: Albrect Durer painted Adoration of the Trinity after returning from study in Italy
A. German Painters
 German artist Albrecht Durer traveled to Italy to study in 1494
 Returned to Germany and produced woodcuts and prints
 Many portray religious subjects and others were classical myths…spread Renaissance styles and
inspired other German artists
 Hans Holbein the Younger- German artist who specialized in highly detailed portraits
B. Flemish Painters
 Interest in realism
 Jan van Eyck- late 1300’s early 1400’s…used oil-based paints and layers of paint…focused on
realistic details and personality of his subjects
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III.
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A.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder…interested in realistic details…focused on peasants and daily
life…specialized in large numbers of people in his paintings
Northern Writers Try to Reform Society
Renaissance ideas influence the writers and philosopher of northern Europe
Adopted the ideal of humanism
Northern humanists are also called Christian humanists
Christian Humanists
Best known of Christian humanists was Desiderius Erasmus of Holland and Thomas More of
England…they were also friends
 Erasmus- born in Rotterdam, wrote The Praise of Folly…poked fun at greedy merchants,
heartsick lovers, quarrelsome scholars, and pompous priests
o Targeted the clergy, but was still strongly Christian
o Thought that in order to improve society, all people should study the Bible
 Thomas More (1516) wrote the book Utopia about an imaginary land inhabited by a peaceloving people
o In Greek, Utopia means “no place”
o In English has come to mean an ideal place
o In Utopia, people weren’t greedy, so they didn’t need money
 Erasmus and More wrote in Latin
 Francois Rabelais- French humanist that wrote in vernacular French for his comic adventures
Gargantua and Pantagruel
o Rabelais believed that human beings were basically good and should live by their
instincts instead of religious rules
o Wild adventures of giants, Gargantua and Pantagruel, poked fun at his society
B. William Shakespeare
 Wrote in Renaissance England
 Considered by many, the greatest playwright of all time
 Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon…but lived in London by 1592 and wrote poems and plays
 Famous tragedies: Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet
 Comedy: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
 Humanism in Shakespeare…”What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason, how infinite in
faculties, in form and moving…”
C. The Elizabethan Age
 Renaissance in England also called the Elizabethan Age after Queen Elizabeth I
o Reigned from 1558 to 1603
o Well educated
o Wrote poetry
o Patronized artists and writers
IV.
Printing Spreads Renaissance Ideas

One thing that spread Renaissance ideas was the printing press which adapted Chinese
technology
 Chinese= block printing…1045- Bi Sheng invented moveable type, with separate piece of type for
each character, but too many Chinese characters
A. Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press
 13th century, European printers began using block printing to create whole pages to bind into
books
 Process was too slow
 Johann Gutenberg, craftsman from Mainsz, Germany, reinvented movable type around 1440
o Practical for alphabet based languages
o Invented the Printing Press…machine that presses paper against a tray of inked movable
type
o Printed a complete Bible, the Gutenberg Bible, in 1455…first full-size book printed with
movable type
B. Printing Spreads Learning
 Enabled a printer to produce hundreds of copies, all exactly alike, of a single work
 Books were cheap enough that many people could buy them
 Printing spread quickly to other cities in Europe
 By 1500, presses in 250 cities had printed between 9 and 10 million books
 New ideas spread more quickly than ever before
 Religious texts, travel guides, medical manuals
 Caused a rise in literacy
 Writing in vernacular languages also increased
 Printers produced the Bible in the vernacular, more people could read it, contributed to the
Reformation
C. The End of the Renaissance
 In both Italy and northern Europe, the Renaissance stirred a burst of creative activity…artists in
both regions studied classical culture, praised individual achievement, and produced works
using new techniques
 Renaissance belief in the dignity of the individual played a key role in the gradual rise of
democratic ideals
Name: _______________________
Date: ___________ Period: _______
Chapter 17.2 Northern Renaissance Quiz
1.
Compare and Contrast the Northern Renaissance with the Italian Renaissance (two similarities
and two differences)
Similarities- both movements had their largest impact on the elites
Both movements were cultural- with greatest emphasis on the visual arts and literature
Both movements included cultural works in the vernacular
Differences- The Northern Renaissance is considered to have been influenced more by Christianity…the
Italian Renaissance is considered to be more secular
The Northern Renaissance occurred later than the Italian Renaissance
The Northern Renaissance included more literature than the Italian Renaissance
2. Who was Thomas More? (Time Period, Location, Key Achievements)
 16th century Thomas More (1516) wrote the book Utopia about an imaginary land inhabited by a
peace-loving people
o In Greek, Utopia means “no place”
o In English has come to mean an ideal place
o In Utopia, people weren’t greedy, so they didn’t need money
3.
What was the impact of the Printing Press?- The printing press with moveable type enabled an
increase in written literature to be widely dispersed…led to an increase of literacy, especially to
more individuals reading the Bible for themselves, which also contributed to the Reformation.