The Renaissance Period
(England 1485-1660)
The Renaissance
Rediscovering Ancient Greece and Rome

Renaissance / “rebirth”




Refers to the renewal of curiosity and creativity.
_________________________________________
People’s values
_________________________________________
Beliefs
_________________________________________
Behavior
_________________________________________
The Renaissance
Rediscovering Ancient Greece and Rome

Renewal of Human Spirit


“Renaissance person”
 Well rounded interests:
 Athletics
___________
 Literature
__________
 Music
___________
 Inventor
___________
 Science
___________
 Languages,
___________etc.
The Church is still rich and powerful.
__________________________________
It All Began in Italy: A Flourish of Genius

The Roman Catholic Church was responsible for
______________________
financing many intellectual and artistic endeavors.

A few Italian geniuses:

Boccaccio/Author of The Decameron
___________________________________
DaVinci/The perfect “Renaissance Man”
___________________________________

Galileo/Scientist
___________________________________

___________________________________
Michelangelo/Artist
Columbus/An explorer
___________________________________


Humanism: Questions About the Good Life

Humanism was an artistic/intellectual movement which:
_________


Used the classics combined with traditional Christian
thought – _________________________________________
tried to harmonize Bible with classics i.e. Greek
________.
and Latin.
Taught people how to live and rule by answering the
question “how do we achieve happiness”; which is through
____________
a life of virtue.
Two Friends – Two Humanists

Two prominent humanists are:


Desiderius
Erasmus (1466?-1536)
____________________________

Dutch Monk---loved to travel---wrote in Latin

Belonged to all of Europe---because of travels

On a trip to England

Taught Greek at Cambridge

Met and became friends with a young lawyer…
Sir
Thomas More (1477?-1535)
_________________________________
wrote poems, pamphlets
 He
__________________________________

__________________________________
However, Utopia had the greatest impact.
The New Technology: A Flood of Print
Printing press was created in about 1455 by Johann
The _____________
Gutenberg, and transformed the way information was
exchanged.

The first book printed…
Latin Bible
 The
______________________

Helped spread knowledge

Made books more available to more people

(REVOLUTIONIZED THE WORLD)

William
Caxton
______________

Created the English Printing Press (set up) in 1476
The Reformation:
Breaking with the Church

A common feature common to all Reformers was
___________________________________________
The rejection of authority of the Pope and the Italian
churchman.
_________

Martin Luther – 1517 – pined his thesis
In Germany ,__________________________________
statements to the door of the church, which stated that the
New Christianity states:
People should share have personal understanding of the
 _______________________________________________
Bible rather than depend on the teachings of the Roman
Catholic Church.

This action against the Church is a historic event.
The Reformation:
Breaking with the Church continued …

There were three circumstances that led to England’s
break with the Church.



____________________________
Financial
burdens.
____________________________
Patriotism.
National
Identity.
____________________________
King Henry VIII Versus Pope:
All for an Heir

King Henry VIII wanted to end his marriage with
Catherine of Aragon because:

She was unable to give King Henry a son.
_________________________
He wanted to marry Ann Boleyn.
 _________________________

King Henry VIII wanted to break with the
Catholic Church ____________________________
because he wanted to divorce
Catherine of Aragaon.
___________________________________________

King Henry VIII executed Sir Thomas More
because More did not recognize King Henry VIII as
___________________________________________
head of the church. More believed that church and state
should be separate.
King Henry VIII Versus Pope:
All for an Heir continued…

There were five groups dissatisfied with the Church
of England:






___________________________________________
Puritans
– remember this one.
___________________________________________
Presbyterians
Baptists
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
Non
conformist
___________________________________________
Dissidents
These groups were dissatisfied with the Church of
England because:

These
groups felt that it was a copy of the Catholic
____________________________________________
____________________________________________.
Church.
King Henry VIII Versus Pope:
All for an Heir continued…

The five things these dissatisfied groups wanted to
get rid of were:

_______________________________________________
Bishops
Prayer books
_______________________________________________

Priest’s vestments
_______________________________________________

_______________________________________________
Church bells
Stain glass windows
_______________________________________________


King Henry VIII Versus Pope:
All for an Heir…

King Henry VIII Wives were:

Katherine of Aragon (annulled)
______________________________

Ann Boleyn (beheaded)
_______________________________

Jane Seymour (died)
________________________________

Anne of Cleves (divorced)
________________________________

Catherine Howard (beheaded)
_______________________________

Catherine Parr (survived)
_______________________________
King Henry VIII :
Renaissance Man and Executioner

King Henry’s father started the Royal Navy, however:
________________

Under King Henry VIII it became a powerful force. Put
_______________________________________________
stop to foreign invasions, allowed England to spread
_______________________________________________
power, language, literature all over world. (beginnings
_______________________________________________
of England as World Power)
_______________.
King Henry VIII Versus Pope:
All for an Heir

King Henry VIII is considered a Renaissance Man
because:

___________________________________
wrote poetry, music, literature
in youth very athletic, handsome
___________________________________

ladies man, good dancer, etc.
___________________________________

Henry VIII:
Renaissance Man and Executioner

List Henry VIIIs wives, their fates and children (if
any) he had with each.
READY, SET, GO …………….
Katherine of Aragon
Wife 1
Katherine of Aragon
continued …

Very Catholic!

They were very happy for awhile.

Gave birth to daughter: Mary.

Doesn’t give him the son he wants, eyes move
elsewhere to Anne Boleyn.

Annulment (divorce) – sends her back to Spain.
Anne Boleyn
Wife 2
Anne Boleyn
continued …

Henry created the Church of English in 1531 for her.

Henry became attracted to her about 1525 – she was
one of Katherine of Aragon’s ladies in waiting.

Henry sent Cardinal Wolsey to the Pope to plead his
case for a divorce. Wolsey was later dismissed as
Lord Chancellor.

Henry secretly married Anne – 1533.
Anne Boleyn
continued …

Parliament declared the marriage to Katherine
invalid


Careful…..if marriage is invalid…

What happens to Mary????

She is considered illegitimate.
Anne gives birth to Elizabeth – Sept. 1533
Jane Seymour
Wife 3
Jane Seymour

Quiet, mousey and frail.

One of Anne Boleyn’s ladies in waiting

Seemed to always be frightened.

VERY different from Katherine and Anne.

Married Henry day after Boleyn’s execution.

Already carrying Henry’s only legitimate son.


Edward (1547-1553)

Childhood fever causes his death.
Was Henry’s favorite…she gave him a son.
Anne of Cleves
Wife 4
Anne of Cleves
Wife 4

1540---Henry marries her, sight unseen.

Alliance with Germany.

Had only seen portraits of Anne (in person, didn’t
like what he saw– called her a “Flander’s mare”.)

She saw what was coming (SMART).

Testified-the marriage was never consummated.

Probably most fortunate of all Henry’s wives.

Received many gifts from Henry (SET for LIFE).
Catherine Howard
Wife 5
Catherine Howard

Born between 1520 and 1525…no record

Cousin of Anne Boleyn (poor side of family)

Wild child -- not supervised like most young children

Affair with music teacher

Affair with estate manager

One of Anne of Cleve’s ladies in waiting
Catherine Howard
continued …

Rumors she was carrying Henry’s son before he
annulled marriage to Anne of Cleves

Probably started by her family

It worked…they were married a few weeks later (16
days after being freed from Anne)

Henry showered her with jewels and clothes

Henry called her “his rose without a thorn”

Catherine vowed all his wishes would be met
• BUT….
Catherine Howard
continued …

She found her marriage bed…unappealing

By this time, Henry was…


Nearly 50 (she was approximately 19)

Weighed about 300 lbs.

Sick

Had a leg ulcer
Early in 1541..she had a romance with Thomas
Culpepper.
Catherine Parr
Wife 6
Catherine Parr
continued …

1512-1548

Widowed twice

In a relationship with Thomas Seymour (Jane’s
brother, actually married him after death of Henry)

She caught Henry’s eye-he proposed

Married in July 1543

She was friends with his children

Even brought Henry and his daughters together

Through and Act of Parliament-they were put back in the
line of succession
The Boy King and
Bloody Mary
The Boy King and Bloody Mary
continued …

King Henry VIII only legitimate male heir was
Edward VI
__________________.
Mary I (Tudor)
(daughter of Katherine of Aragon)
Mary I (Mary Tudor)
continued …

Determined to have a Catholic heir.

Her uncle was the King of Spain

Married the King of Spain’s son…Phillip 1st cousin.

Strong-willed, determined to avenge the wrongs done to
her mother (Katherine of Aragon).

Converted England back to Roman Catholic, burned
300 Protestants at the stake, known as BLOODY
MARY.

Overthrown by subjects but died before being ousted.
Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
(daughter of Anne Boleyn)
Elizabeth I (Elizabeth Tudor)
continued …

Considered one of the most brilliant & successful
monarchs in history

Church important to her. Reestablished Church of
England, excommunicated from Roman Catholic
Church.

Never married (knew strength in independence and
ability to play one suitor against another).

Taxes (Catholic families being taxed more – smiling –
raiders in Catholic church really her own men, kept
her 10% from Church - $$$ to her military (Navy).
Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
continued …

Survived many plots against her, many from
cousin, Mary Queen of Scots; endured 20 years
and then had Mary beheaded.
The Spanish Armada Sinks:
A Turning Point in History

Because Queen Elizabeth had Mary Queen of Scots
beheaded, King Phillip of Spain (widower of Mary
Tudor) used the beheading of Mary Stuart as excuse to
invade England.

Spanish Armada (130 ships; 30,000 men) – smaller,
faster, more maneuverable English ships DEFEATED
Armada. Half Spanish fleet destroyed by English and
weather (5,000 men drowned). England lost 100 men
and NO ships!

Defeat of Spanish Armada = turning point in history
-- Established England as WORLD POWER.
A Flood of Literature

Queen Elizabeth became a source of INSPIRATION for the
English people.

She established a religious & national identity.

She established a sense of stability for the Country and for the
Church.

English writers started writing as never before.

William Shakespeare

Christopher Marlow

Edmund Spencer…. All wrote about her.

Composer and Musician Robert Johnson
Decline of the Renaissance:
A Dull Man Succeeds a Witty Woman
James I (James Stuart – James VI of Scotland)
replaced Queen Elizabeth in 1603.
Decline of the Renaissance:
A Dull Man Succeeds a Witty Woman

James I was the son of Mary Queen of Scots’.

The group which disliked King James I the most
was the puritanical merchants. (Puritans)

King James lacked Elizabeth’s ability to resolve or
postpone conflicts, especially religious and
economic issues. Difficult reign.

James I tried to endear himself to his subjects by:




Writing
books in favor of divine right of monarchy
__________________________________________.
Patronizing Shakespeare’s “King’s Men” and Jonson.
__________________________________________
A new translation of Bible: King James Version.
__________________________________________
Began an anti-tobacco policy.
___________________________________________
Decline of the Renaissance:
A Dull Man Succeeds a Witty Woman

Three reasons why James Is subjects did not like
him, where:

___________________________
He was a spendthrift.

_____________________________________________
He was considered “thick-tongued” and “google eyed”.
He was a foreigner (Scotland not England.)
_____________________________________________

The Glass of Fashion

Love
Green = _______

Sadness
Pansy = _______

Flattery
Snake = _______

Chastity and purity
Black and White = ___________________

Patience in adversity
White and Tawny = __________________
The Glass of Fashion
continued…

When a person was referred to as having a “peascod”
one had a fat belly.
or “goose belly” it meant ____________________.

A man with a “peascod” or “goose belly” was
considered wealthy.
______________________.
Jewish Life in England

The most famous Jewish character in Renaissance
literature was ______________.
Shylock

The two most unflattering characteristics of this
famous Jewish character were:




He had no mercy.
______________________
He was a moneylender.
______________________
King Edward I banished the Jews from England in
____________
1290 and
__________________
Oliver Cromwell
allowed the Jews to return in
the 17th century?
Jewish Life in England
continued …

Three Examples of persecution suffered by the Jews
were:

Could
not own land.
__________________

__________________
Were
segregated – Ghettos.
Were
charged extra taxes.
__________________

Quiz
The Renaissance
Quiz - The Renaissance
1. Why are historical periods so inexact, and why are
they generally unknown as periods or eras to the
people who live during them?
a. They are too complex to be understood by most people.
b. They are created later by historians to describe general trends
rather than precise beginnings and ends.
c. They come and go with such suddenness that people
usually cannot distinguish what “historical period” they
live in.
d. They are completely artificial constructs and have no
basis in documented reality.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
2. Which of the following statements best characterizes
the intellectual environment of the Renaissance?
a. Most people could not read, in part because they could not
gain access to books.
b. Most Europeans were highly sensitive to the achievements
of people from other cultures, particularly people of the
Orient.
As people became interested in the writings of ancient
c. Greece and Rome, they became more inquisitive and
creative.
d. Through their superior knowledge, scholars established
power over the majority of the people.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
3. Which of the following statements best describes the
intellectual movement known as humanism?
a. Humanism, which combined the wisdom of the classics with
that of the Bible, emphasized the ideals of wisdom and
virtue.
b. Humanism taught that people should use knowledge to
accumulate wealth and achieve fame.
c. Humanism accepted the teachings of the classics but
rejected those of the Bible.
d. Humanism could not tolerate contradictory texts and thus
could not refer to many ancient books.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
4. Why did the invention of printing with movable type
have a significant impact?
a. Printed documents were more beautiful than handwritten
ones.
The wide availability of reading material allowed ideas to spread
b. quickly.
c. Books became more expensive and therefore were more
valued.
d. The ability to print with movable type gave Germany an
edge over other countries.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
5. How did the monk Martin Luther contribute to the
beginning of the Reformation?
a. He renewed people’s devotion to studying and following the
words of the pope.
b. He taught that other religions were as valid as Christianity.
c. He developed a personal form of Christianity which was not
based on interpretation.
d. He ridiculed ancient habits and traditions, such as
superciliousness.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
6. Why were so many people in England dissatisfied with the
Church of England in the mid-1500s?
a They felt that the Church was insufficiently reformed and
was merely a copy of Catholicism.
b. They felt that the pope was too remote, and they wanted him to
have more of a presence in England.
c. They were beginning to reject the idea of leading a religious life.
d. They disagreed with the notion that religion was a private
matter between an individual and God.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
7. In what way could King Henry VIII of England be
considered a “Renaissance man”?
a. He went to extremes to ensure that he had a male heir.
b. He ended foreign invasions of England by creating the
Royal Navy.
c. He was arrogant and ruthless, and he was unfaithful to his
wives.
He was literary, musical, athletic, and
d.scholarly.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
8. England’s independence from the Catholic countries of
the Mediterranean was ensured by
a. Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press.
b. the English Royal Navy’s defeat of the Spanish Armada
in 1588.
c. the readmission of Jews to England in 1655.
d. Queen Elizabeth I’s execution of Mary Stuart, Queen of
Scots.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
9. The end of the English Renaissance was
characterized by
a. the increased growth of moral and religious values.
b. the pillaging of resources from the Americas.
c. the rise of humanism as a way of thought and study.
increasing interest in secular, rather than religious, values.
d.
Quiz - The Renaissance
continued
10. The Catholic Church was very powerful in fourteenth-century
Italy—in a way that most people would find unacceptable today.
Why would most modern people in the United States object to such
power?
a. The Church would help artists whose work was not always in the
public interest.
b. The Church would discourage classical learning and thus suppress
scholarship.
The
Church’s political power would interfere with United
c.
States citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of religion.
d. The Church’s values would be out of date and incompatible with
modern lifestyles.