The Late Middle Ages
And the Renaissance
The Black Death
 loss of 1/3 of European population (mostly in
cities)
 Causes: bubonic plague carried by fleas on
Asian black rats; poor sanitation, overcrowded
homes, poor health, poor hygiene, poor
housing
 Results: Severe impact on European economy;
in some areas workers enjoyed higher wages;
 Best of clergy died (staying behind to help the
sick); Jews blamed; serfdom ended in many
areas; first enclosure of fields in Britain
Crisis in the Catholic Church
 Early Criticisms of the church
 Marsiglio de Padua: Defender of Peace – Church
should be subordinate to the state Church should be
governed by a council of laity and priests superior to
pope.
 John Wyclif (1320-1384): church should only follow
Scripture; English translation of Bible; his later
followers were Lollards
 John Huss (1369-1415): ideas similar to Wyclif;
nationalist party in Czech (Bohemia)
 Hussites: followers of Huss who staged large rebellions
in 14th century.
Crisis in the Catholic Church
 Babylonian Captivity (1305-1378): 7
successive popes resided at Avignon, France.
Damaged papal prestige (esp. in England &
Germany); Rome’s economy damaged
 Great Schism (c. 1378-1417): Further conflict
led to election of two popes—one in Rome,
one in France; further hurt prestige of church.
 Conciliar Movement (1409-1418): Council of
Pisa and Council of Constance, ended schism;
failed as movement to put power in a church
council; pope’s power still supreme
Hundred Years’ War (13371453)
 Cause—English lays claim to large areas of
French land.
 Three phases:
 Early English Victories: Crecy (1346) and
Poitiers (1356)
 French reclaim territory and stalemate
 English victories: Agincourt (1415), French
regain lands
– Joan of Arc: led French army to victory at Orleans
during crucial stage of the war
 Results: France kicks England out; creation of
modern nation states begin (“New Monarchs”).
Innovations in war technology: longbow,
cannon, infantry. Decimation of landed nobles.
Northern Italian Economy
 Cities developed international trade: Genoa,
Venice, Milan.
 popolo (middle class) took power in 13th
century; republican gov’t short-lived
 signori (despots) or oligarchies (rule of
merchant aristocracies) by 1300
 commenda: Contract between merchant and
“merchant-adventurer” who agreed to take
goods to distant locations and return with the
proceeds (for 1/3 of profits)
Italian City States, 1454
Politics of Italian City-States
 Republic of Florence (Included Republic
of Genoa) – Medici family
 Cosimo De’Medici (1389-1464): allied
with other powerful families of Florence
and became unofficial ruler of the republic
 Lorenzo the Magnificent
(14491492): lavish patron
of the arts
Politics of Italian City-States
 Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) –
theocracy in Florence 1494-98; (predicted
French invasion due to paganism and moral
decay of Italian city-states); burned at the
stake Charles VIII (1483-1498), French
invasions of Italy; Italy became battleground
for international ambitions
Politics of Italian City-States
 Duchy of Milan -- Sforza family (Caterina
Sforza (1463-1509), great art patron)
 Rome, the Papal States – papacy
(“Renaissance popes”)
 Naples, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Venice,
Venetian Republic
 Isabella d’Este (1474-1539): most famous
Renaissance female ruler (ruled Mantua)
 condottieri: leaders of private armies hired by
cities for military purposes
Humanism
 Humanism -- Revival of antiquity (Greece
and Rome) in literature
 Individualism/ secularism: “man is the
measure of all things”
 virtú: the quality of being a great man in
whatever noble pursuit
 Education: (emphasis on Latin and Greek)
Humanism
 Petrarch—(1304-1374) “Dark Ages”
metaphor; “father of humanism” and
1st modern writer, literature no longer
subordinate to religion
 Dante – Divine Comedy
 Boccacio – Decameron: aimed to impart
wisdom of human character and behavior.
 Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) Oration on
the Dignity of Man; Platonic academy
 Baldassare Castiglione (1478-1529) – The
Book of the Courtier
Humanism
 Leonardo Bruni (1370-1444) – wrote
history of Florence; division of historical
periods; narrative form; civic humanist;
first to use term “humanism”
 Lorenzo Valla (1407-1457)—On the
False Donation of
Constantine (1444); study of Latin
 Niccolo Machiavelli
(1469-1527) -- The Prince
(1513) – Cesare Borgia
New Artistic Styles
 Look to Roman and
Greek influences.
 Use of realistic
perspective in depicting
scenes.
 Portrait painting
becomes popular.
 Depiction of
Renaissance ideals.
 New dignity of the
individual
Early Renaissance
 Florence the leader in Renaissance art esp. in
quattrocento (1400s)
 Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) – architect of
cathedrals (il duomo in Florence)
 Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), architect of
cathedrals.
 Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) -- sculptor: bronze
doors for Florentine baptistry
 Donatello (1386-1466 – sculptor: David (in bronze)
 Masaccio (1401-1428) painter: nude human figures
 Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) – Portrait of a
Condottiere
 Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1574) – goldsmith and
sculptor
Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337)
 Considered to be the
Father of the Italian
Renaissance
 Broke with linear
style of Middle Ages.
 First to us
chiaroscuro.
 Reputed to be a
shrewd and witty
character.
 Praised by the poet
Dante.
Giotto - The Mourning of Christ
Sandro Botticelli (1444-1510)
 Spent almost his
entire life in
Florence.
 Only significant
journey was to
Rome to work on
Sistine Chapel.
 Died in obscurity
and his fame was
not reestablished
until the 19th
century.
Botticelli-Primavera
Botticelli- Birth of Venus
High Renaissance
 “High Renaissance” centered in
Rome (1500-1527) – cinquecento
(1500s)
 Most worldly of Renaissance
popes – Alexander VI (14921503); Julius II (1503-1513); and
Leo X (1513-1521), funded great
art projects
 Characteristics: classical balance,
harmony, restraint
Leonardo da Vinci (14521519)
 Painter, sculptor,
architect and
engineer.
 Often left work
unfinished.
 Conducted
extensive
scientific studies.
 Invented the
armored tank and
designed aircraft.
Da Vinci – The Last Supper
Michelangelo Buonarotti
(1475-1564)
 Sculptor, painter,
architect, and poet.
 Tormented genius
who was rarely
satisfied with his
talents.
 In painting and
sculpture his work
focused mainly on
the nude human
form.
Michelangelo – La Pieta
Michelangelo – Sistine Chapel
Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520)
 Child prodigy in
the world of art.
 Patronized by the
popes and named
Papal Architect in
1514.
 Died of fever at
age 37.
Raphael – Three Graces
Raphael – School of Athens
Printing Press (c. 1456)
 Johann Gutenberg – spread of
humanistic literature to rest of Europe.
 By 1480, 380 printing presses in Europe
(1000 by 1500)
Christian Humanism
 Attempted to find a balance between
religious and secular concerns
 Rejected the “otherworldliness” of
the Middle Ages.
 Emphasis on early church writings
for answers to improve society.
Christian Humanist Writers
 Desiderius Erasmus (Erasmus of
Rotterdam) (1466-1536) – In Praise of
Folly; most famous intellectual of his
times, criticized the church: “Erasmus lay
the egg that Luther hatched”
 Thomas More (1478-1536) – Utopia –
creates ideal society on an island; but to
achieve harmony and order people have
to sacrifice individual rights
Christian Humanist Writers
 Jacques Lefevre d’Etables (1454-1536):
leading French humanist; produced 5
versions of the Psalms that challenged a
single authoritative Bible.
 Francesco Ximenes de Cisneros (14361517): reformed Spanish clergy and church,
Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition
Northern Renaissance Arts
 Low Countries (Dutch
Republic, Flanders and
parts of Germany, etc)
produced especially
important artists.
 Jan and Hubert Van Eyck
– First successful use of
oil painting
– Worked mainly in
Ghent, Belgium.
Peter Brueghel (1520-1569)
 Focused on lives of ordinary
people.
 Painted great landscapes
 Also worked on religious
subjects
 Completed most of his work in
Antwerp and Brussels
Peter Brueghel – Peasant Wedding
Albrecht Durer (1471-1528)
 German – foremost
northern Renaissance
artist
 Famous for woodcuts
and engravings.
 Paintings include a
number of self protraits
Albrecht Durer – The Last Supper
Hans Holbein the Younger (14971543)
 Son of Gothic artist.
 German painter
who studied in Italy
 Painted portraits of
Erasmus, Thomas
More, King Henry
VIII, his wives, and
Mary Tudor
Hans Holbein – The
Ambassadors
Domenikos El Greco (1541-1614):
painter: mannerism
 Painter in Spain (of
Greek nationality)
 Famous for unique style
known as mannerism.
 Subjects depict
religious mysticism of
the period in Spain
El Greco – Death of Duke of Orgaz
Vernacular Writers
 France
– Francois Rabelais’ (1494-1553)
Gargantua and Pantagruel
– Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
Essays relativist in religion and
morality
Vernacular Writers
 England
– Edmund Spenser (1552 – 1599) composed romantic
epic Faerie Queen
– Christopher Marlowe (1564 – 1593) skilled playwright
and poet
– William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) poet and
playwright. Wrote plays that best exemplfied the
varieties of human experience.
– Ben Jonson (1572 – 1673) poet and dramatist who
created plays in the Greek style.
Vernacular Writers
 Spain
– Miguel de Cervantes (1547 – 1615) Wrote Don
Quixote. Regarded as one of the great novels
of the period.
– Felix Lope de Vega (1562-1635) wrote in every
major literary style. Created over 1500 plays, of
which 500 survive.