The Renaissance Ch 3
The Humanists
Chapter overview:
1. Which ideas from classical times helped to form the Renaissance humanist
worldview?
2. How can thinkers and philosophers bring about changes in society?
3. What do the arts tell about a society?
A Rebirth of Ideas: which ideas from classical times helped to form the Renaissance humanist
worldview?

New ways of thinking started in the in northern Italian city-states, where scholars called
_________________________ looked to the ancient classical civilizations of ________________
and ______________________.
Classical writings (p.60)


The Renaissance worldview was a result of intercultural contact with earlier civilizations:
o Greek and Roman (“__________________________________”)
o Islamic civilization
Humanist ideas spread mainly among the _____________________ people in society.
Zoom in: The Achievements of the Greeks and Romans (p.62)
Read the information in the purple box (p.62, then answer the following question using full and complete
sentences.
“What aspects of Roman and Greek civilization still influence our society today?”
Humanism and the individual (p.62)

The most important concept to Renaissance thinkers and artists was the belief in the
______________________ and ______________________ of the
____________________________.
o This idea was easily integrated into the Christian worldview.
Due Date:
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The Renaissance Ch 3

Humanist scholars
o Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374): “father of humanism”, was a humanist thinker of the
early Renaissance who saw the Classical past as a __________________________ time.
 Petrarch and other humanists collected Greek and roman
____________________________ , and made copies and translations of them.
 Humanists wanted to make the ideas in these ancient works available to the
widest possible readership.
Exploring Sources: The Renaissance Individual (p.64)
Refer to the painting “The Ambassadors” by Hans Holbein the Younger on p.64 to answer the following
questions:
1. What objects do you see in this painting?
2. What do they suggest about the interests and abilities of the two young men?
3. How does this double portrait illustrate the humanist ideas about the individual
listed on p.62?
4. In the top left corner of the painting, there is a religious object, a tiny crucifix.
What might its size and position suggest about the young men’s attitude toward
religion?
Due Date:
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The Renaissance Ch 3
Thinkers and Society: how can thinkers and philosophers bring about changes in society?
Civic humanism (p.65)


Renaissance humanists were interested in what classical authors had written about
____________________________________
_________________ humanists believed that being responsible citizen mean educating yourself
about _____________________________ and __________________________________ issues
and working to ____________________________ society
Exploring sources (p.65): For the Good of Society
Read the quote on p.65, then answer the following question.
“How does the quote express Lorenzo de Medici’s civic humanism?”
Humanist education (p.67)

The humanists placed great ________________________ on the importance of education
o They believed it was important to train young people’s _______________________ and
bodies as well as their minds.
***On a SEPARATE page, please complete “Voice: Human Beings and the Earth” (p.68.) Question #1****
*****Please hand in your completed question in the black folder.******
Humanism and religion (p.69)


Desiderus Erasmus (1466)-Dutch scholar, outstanding humanist scholar of his time
Renaissance thinkers emphasized ideas and values such as ______________________________
achievement and the importance of history and the arts.
o Religion continued to play an important role in their lives.
****On a SEPARATE page, please complete “Over to You” (p.69), Question #4. Your letter should be
approximately 3/4 of a page long .Please HAND IT IN once you are done!****
Due Date:
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The Renaissance Ch 3
Society and the Arts: what do the arts tell about a society?


Artists became interested in portraying the beauty of the human body and the natural world
_________________________ played an important role in promoting the arts during the
Renaissance.
Painting (p.70)



Many artists were inspired by the art of the ancient Greeks and Romans
Most art had ______________________________ themes, which the Renaissance artists began
to interpret in new ways
o There was a growing interest in ____________________ and _____________________.
Renaissance artists used many elements to create _______________________ and beauty in
their works such as: light and shadow, texture and pattern, realistic details, elegance.
Skill Power p.72
Using the two paintings on p.72, fill in the following chart to determine how Renaissance painting is
different from medieval painting.
Medieval
Renaissance
Background
Emotions
Pose
Due Date:
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The Renaissance Ch 3
Architecture (p.72)

Renaissance architects included features of classical buildings in their works
Sculpture (p.73)

Sculptors in the Middle Ages were often seen as _________________________; in the
Renaissance they received the status of ______________________________
o Ex: Michaelangelo
Exploring Sources: Michelangelo’s Pieta (p.74)
Read the story on p.74, then answer the following questions.
1. How does Vasari’s story highlight the Renaissance view of the individual (use at
least one quote)?
2. What does the sculpture suggest about the Renaissance worldview?
Literature (p.75)


Writers focused on ___________________________ works of roman and Greek writers and
copying their style
Humanism influenced writers to focus on expressing their thoughts and
_____________________.
o Ex: Petrarch, Christine de Pisan
Due Date:
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The Renaissance Ch 3
Fast Forward: Writing about Love (p.75)
Read the poem “For Anne” (p.75) as well as the sonnet at the top of p.75, then answer the following
questions:
1. Think about how many popular songs are written on the subject of love. Why do
you think this is so? (Please provide one example of a love song in your answer)
2. Compare the emotions expressed by Petrarch in his sonnet with the emotions
expressed in Cohen’s poem. In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they
different? Compare the forms each poet used to express those emotions.
*****On a SEPARATE page, please answer the following “Over to You” (p.76) questions: #4 and #5****
Due Date:
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The Renaissance Ch 3
Vocabulary
Definition
Humanists
Philosophers
Democracy
Patrons
Petroglyphs
Pictographs
Vernacular
Sonnets
Rhetoric
Due Date:
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