Ch 17: Transformation of the West
 Philippe Aries writes a book in the 1960’s discussing the
change in the treatment of children around 1500’s
 Children in pre-modern history were categorized as either
infants or adults  there was no concept of “childhood”
 Aries argues that evidence of this change (toward children
being acknowledged as children) is seen in Dutch family
portraits where the children are placed in front of the mother
and father
 Cultural change shifted from kids being viewed as sinners to
kids being viewed as “molding clay”  that they can be taught
to be educated and innocent
The First Big Change: Culture and Commerce
 “New Spirit”—the Italian writer Francesco Petrarch writes
about climbing Ventoux  this is significant because it
symbolized a new spirit in literature where the emphasis
shifts from religion to human achievement
Italian Renaissance
 it originated in Italy around the 14th/15th century
 it was an artistic movement that challenged medieval
intellectual values
 painting and writing shifted toward secularism (to ideals
such as love, pain, physical beauty) and away from religion
 it further bloomed in the 15th and 16th centuries, when
Leonardo DaVinci and Michelangelo began painting
 Leonardo painted realistic versions of the human body, and
Michelangelo applied classical styles to painting
 Niccolo Machiavelli innovated the ideal way to rule 
“sometimes you have to lie to your subjects to get them to
where you know they need to be”
 Overall, the Italian Renaissance stressed humanism, which is
a focus on humankind as the center of art and intellect
 It affected commerce by allowing merchants to improve
their banking techniques and become more profitable
 Political leaders justified their authority by what they could
to advance their city and not necessarily on divine guidance
 It also led to more developed armies  conflict between
Italian city-states were common
Renaissance Moves Northward
 Around 1500, the Renaissance movement began to leave
Italy
 New Atlantic trade routes made the need for Mediterranean
ports less necessary, and Spanish/French monarchs
invaded Italy which caused Italian independence to decline
 The Northern Renaissance was based in France, Germany,
and England and it began around 1450
 Classical Roman and Greek styles of art and literature were
popular
 European kings became patrons of the arts, which helped
support Renaissance artists
 The Northern Renaissance led to an increase in military
conquest
 At the same time, the Renaissance kings were still confined
by the political authority of local feudal lords