Mrs. Eckman Wissler
English 12
THE RENAISSANCE ERA
Holt McDougal Literature: British Literature Grade 12. Orlando: Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 2012.
MIDDLE ENGLISH: LANGUAGE
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Word endings changed b/c
scribes became lazy
This caused the change in
pronunciations
Language was no longer
masculine or feminine but
NEUTRAL
The Norman Conquest introduced
French into England
French was used for law, gov’t,
education & by the upper class
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England was now BILINGUAL (used
both French & English
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1362 English became the official
language of England
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Some borrowed French words are:
*Baron
* Duke
*Castle
*Noble
*County
*Government
RENAISSANCE LITERATURE:
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Pastoral Poems: “a poem that portrays shepherds
and rustic life, usually in an idealized manner” (Holt
McDougal 299).
The poems were not written in the voice of a common
shepherd- they used courtly language, formal poetic
meter and rhymes.
The English Sonnet during this era surrounded Nature;
became known as the Shakespearan Sonnet
John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” and Sir Thomas More’s
“Utopia”- famous works
THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD:
1485 - 1660
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Definitions:
Renaissance- rebirth
Renaissance Man- someone who is interested in science, art,
literature, history and other subjects. Example: Henry VIII or
Thomas Jefferson
Utopian- a perfect society
Humanism- Renaissance writer’s who were part of an
intellectual mov’t which combined traditional Christian
thought with Latin & Greek classics to teach people how to
live; to study themselves
Reformation- The rejection of the Pope & church; to change
the church & it’s politics
THE RENAISSANCE ERA…..
…..during the previous era, life surrounded religion and
the afterlife.
…..people became more curious about the world around
them and life itself rather than the afterlife.
.....literally meant the “rebirth” or “revival” of the nation
with the changes in people’s values, beliefs and
behaviors.
…..began in Italy in the 14th Century; moved to England
under Henry VIII and blossomed under Elizabeth.
THE HUMANISTS
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People moved away from “church” literature to
Humanist literature to study themselves.
Humanists studied human nature; the importance of
the individual.
They studied Art, Literature, History and Philosophystudied the Greek and Latin classics including the
Bible
FAMOUS HUMANISTS
 Erasmus was the most famous Renaissance
humanist. He was a Dutch monk who studied Greek
and Hebrew; religion and philosophy
 Sir
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Thomas More was another famous humanist
who wrote “Utopia”- a perfect or ideal society on an
imaginary island
Both Erasmus and More helped shape European
thought and history.
WHAT NEW TECHNOLOGY HELPED BRING
ABOUT THE RENAISSANCE PERIOD?
The Gutenberg Press helped spread Humanist
writing.
 Before the press, all books were hand written and
hand copied.
 The press (with movable type) was invented by a
German named Johannes Gutenberg around
1455.
 The first book he printed was the Bible (in Latin).
 By 1530, over HALF of England’s population could
read thanks to the Gutenberg Press
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THE REFORMATION…..
….was a movement to REFORM the corrupt
church & Pope.
….forced people to question the Catholic Church’s
authority.
....made people object to the financial burdens
placed upon them by the church.
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION
The Roman Catholic Church’s corruption
spread throughout Europe
 In 1517, a German monk, Martin Luther, wrote
a 95 argument edict demanding a reform to the
church and posted it on a church door.
 Word of this spread and his edict was copied
and circulated throughout Europe.
 This eventually split the Catholic Church and
led to the formation of the Protestant Church.
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THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND (ANGLICAN
CHURCH)
Formed due to Henry VIII’s dispute with the
Catholic Church over his want of a divorce or
annulment since divorce was non-existent
during this time.
 Formed in 1534 so Henry could marry his 2nd
wife- Anne Boleyn.
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THE TUDORS
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In 1485, Henry Tudor took the throne as Henry VII
He was known as a shrewd leader, negotiated
contracts, built up the merchant fleet and financed
expeditions to America
Arranged for his son Arthur to marry Catherine of
Aragon (Spain)- created a treaty with England’s
biggest rival, Spain
When Arthur died suddenly, the church (Pope) allowed
his younger brother Henry to marry her.
Henry later became the king….Henry VIII
HENRY VIII
…started the Reformation movement
because he wanted a divorce from
Catherine of Aragon because he wanted a
male heir.
…was a true Renaissance Man.
…created the Royal Navy which led to the
spread of England’s rule.
THE WIVES & CHILDREN OF HENRY VIII
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Henry had 6 wives:
Catherine of Aragon –divorced; mother of Mary
Anne Boleyn
-beheaded; mother of Elizabeth
Jane Seymour
-died naturally; mother to Edward VI
Anne of Cleves
-divorced
Catherine Howard
-beheaded
Catherine Parr
-only survivor
AFTER HENRY VIII….
1st Edward VI or the “Boy King”:
-only male son of Henry (& Jane Seymour-she died
12 days after his birth).
-became king at the age of 9 but his relatives ruled
for him.
-died at age 15 from TB.
-under Edward, the Puritans formed, believing that
the Protestants needed further reformation or
purifying.
-He was followed by……
AND THEN….
“Bloody Mary”!
-1/2 sister to Edward; daughter of Catherine of
Aragon.
-devout Catholic, returned power back to Pope &
Catholic church.
-earned her “name” b/c she hunted down and killed
Protestants (Henry’s followers) including burning over
300 people at the stake.
-Married the King of Spain (England’s biggest enemy
at the time).
- ruled England for 5 years.
-died of a fever in 1558.
LAST OF THE TUDORS
The “Virgin Queen”….
-Elizabeth I followed Mary.
- was the last living heir of Henry VIII.
-1/2 sister to Mary and Edward VI; daughter of
Anne Boleyn.
- ruled from 1558 – 1603.
-never married; had no children or heirs.
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UNDER ELIZABETH:
A RETURN TO REFORMATION….
 Returned
to her father’s policies, restored
the Church of England.
 Was intelligent & independent
 Supported the exploration of new worlds
with Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter
Raleigh
 The Renaissance Era flourished under her
rule
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A ROYAL
POWERHOUSE:
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executed Mary, Queen of Scots, for attempting to have
her killed. Mary was married to King Phillip II of Spain
and wanted to gain England’s throne. (Remember that
she was a cousin to Elizabeth).
Under Elizabeth, the Royal Navy defeated the Spanish
Armada which secured England’s independence from
ALL Catholic nations in the Mediterranean (The
Spanish Armada was sent by Phillip II in response to
Elizabeth executing Mary, Queen of Scots).
The defeat of the Spanish Armada established
Elizabeth and England as a true military power.
THE RISE OF THE STUARTS…
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Elizabeth I died in 1603.
James VI- son of Mary Stuart or Mary, Queen of Scots
Became known as James I
Followed the Church of England even though his
mother was a devout Catholic
Guy Fawkes plotted to kill him – this became known
as the Gunpowder Act of 1605.
The struggles between the Catholic Church, Church of
England, Protestant Church and Puritans grew.
NEXT IN LINE….
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Charles I (son of James) took over in 1625
1629 he dismissed the Parliament which was Puritan
dominated so he could have more power
Began to persecute his enemies- the Puritans began to flee and
many emigrated to America
Scotland rebelled when he began to persecute the Presbyterian
Church (Church of Scotland)
Charles was forced to reinstate Parliament to help fight the
Scots
They stripped him of his power
By 1640, England was thrown into a civil war
THE DEFEAT OF THE MONARCHY
The Civil War was between
*The Royalists: Catholics, Anglicans &
supporters of Charles
*The Parliament: Puritans, Middle Class &
small land owners
 Lasted until 1645.
 Charles surrendered his monarchy 1 year later
and was eventually beheaded for treason. His
son, Charles II fled to France.
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NEW RULE
General Oliver Cromwell led the Parliament
supporters and took control upon the defeat of
the Royalists.
 He titled himself “Lord Protector” and
established England as a Commonwealth.
 The Puritan dominated government closed
down theaters & many other forms of
entertainment- declared Sunday as a day of
prayer
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3 YEARS LATER AND THE RETURN OF A KING….
Cromwell died in 1648, his son inherited his
title of Lord Protector but could not control the
country or its people like his father did
 1649 – 1660 Parliament ruled w/o a monarch
 In 1660, Parliament conceded and asked
Charles II to return and take over the throneagain establishing the monarchy
 His return led to a new era…The Restoration
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THE 5 MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
RENAISSANCE PERIOD….
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People expanded their worlds by reading
classical Greek & Roman writers rather than
Christian doctrine.
Spread of Humanism- focus on the here &
now rather than the “eternal life”.
The Gutenberg Press.
A growing Merchant class (Middle Class).
The spread of scholarly Latin made the
sharing of ideas possible.