Do Now
• Please get a copy of the Renaissance Packet
from the back of the room.
• Find the reading called “Interpretations of the
Renaissance” featuring Jacob Burkhardt and
Philip Lee Ralph. Please read each historian’s
viewpoint on the Renaissance and take notes.
Do Now Debrief
• What is each saying about the Renaissance?
• How does each support their respective argument?
Burckhardt
Ralph
Argument:
Argument:
Support:
Support:
The High Middle Ages
Foundations of Order and Freedom
A Secular Civilization
• Period of Rapid Growth / Stability
– Population
– Agriculture
• Rise of feudal society
– Serfdom (influence of clergy)
– Rise of community
– Lord-Vassal Relationship
• Establishment of Kings
*would decline w/
establishment of
towns
Feudalism and Manoralism
• Feudalism: By MUTUAL AGREEMENT
– Both Kings and Vassals had responsibilities towards
each other.
– Lord – Vassal obligations could be terminated.
– Nobility only
• Manoralism: Village w/ people & surrounding
land belonged to estate.
– People were serfs  bound to land / lord
– Agricultural base of society; supported ruling classes
Towns & Commerce
• Growth spurred by long distance trade (Italians /
Flemish)
– Town people needed to buy food; rural people needed
to buy crafts (clothing, tools, utensils).
• Acquisition of political rights
– “Law Merchant” evolved into independent city states,
town charters, or leagues
– Corporate liberties
• Guilds  set standards / protected commerce /
provided education
• Primary Goal: Prevent Competition
• Helped lead to end to serfdom (money!!)
Growing Monarchies & Government
Institutions
• Kings consolidated power to create monarchy
that would outlast them
– Established peace & order in power transition
– Sent officers to supervise interests, set up royal
courts, passed justice
• Taxation
• Growth of Parliaments (formalized “talks” with
the king) helped legitimatize rule w/o granting
right to dictate.
– Embodied collective interest of country through
representing 3 estates of society
A Non-Secular Society
• Catholic Church touches ALL aspects of life
– Ex: Lord / Vassal duties confirmed by religious oaths,
Bishops / abbots = feudal lords, King crowned by
Church, Guilds adopted patron saints, etc.
The Catholic Church
• Centralization of the Church
– Nicholas II: Popes elected by Bishops
– Gregory VII: Desecularized Church
– Innocent III: Unified Christian World; est lasting
reforms.
• Theology attempted to explain / give reason
to beliefs
– Ex: Anselm Cur Deus Homo and Abelard Sic et Non
Other Intellectual Changes
• Rise of Universities
• Influx of learning from Arab / Greek world
– Universities put into Christian context
– St. Thomas Aquinas = demonstration that faith &
reason could not be in conflict
Crusades
• 1st Crusade: Pope Urban II 1095
– Religious cover to consolidate power from feuding
nobles
• Religious fervor brought ppl of all classes
together and led to extreme violence against
Jews & Muslims
• Provided Europeans w/ new awareness of
world
• Consolidated Catholicism in Europe
What
contributed
to the birth
of the
Renaissance?
Characteristics of Renaissance
• Jacob Burkhardt
– Civilization of Renaissance in Italy (1860)
• Description:
– (a) Birthplace of “modern world”
– (b) Distinct break (& shift) from Middle
Ages (darkness) to “modern era”
• Characteristics:
– (1) Revival of antiquity (Greco-Roman)
– (2) Individualism
– (3) Secularism (in politics & society)
Characteristics of Renaissance
• (1) Evolutionary recovery from Middle Ages
– 14th Century: Plague, disorder, & recession
– (a) Revival & Expansion of Trade: Naval technology & development
of Hanseatic League
– (b) Industrial Developments: Textile machinery
– (c) Banking Reform: Medici Family
• (2) Urban Society
– Industrialization causes urbanization; 5 independent city-states
– Commercial centers-cultural developments
– Political institutions develop to deal with expansion of city-states
• (3) Rediscovery of Antiquity (Greco-Roman culture)
– Affected cultural, social, and political activities
– Reconcile pagan philosophy with Christian thought; new ways of
viewing human beings; new social ideal of well-rounded
individuals.
Birth of Modern Diplomacy
• Constant Political Instability btwn states: Milan, Venice,
Florence, Papal States, Naples
• Results:
– (1) Development of ambassadors independent from church
– (2) “New Statecraft”
• Dark Age Politics: Ruler should do things that contribute to
overall good of society, fits with Christian morals
• Machiavelli & the Prince (1513):
– (1) Ruler acts on human nature (self-centered)
– (2) Political activities should not be restricted by morality
– (3) Separated morality from politics
Questions to Think About…
• What changed in the Renaissance, why?
• What is similar to the Medieval Period? What
is different? Why/How so?
• How do we still see the impact of the
Renaissance today?
Exit Slip
Using the Burckhardt and Ralph reading and your
knowledge of European history to answer all parts
of the question that follows:
A. According to Burckhardt, what is ONE
characteristic that most distinguishes the Italian
Renaissance from the preceding Middle Ages?
B. According to Ralph, what was ONE way in which
the Renaissance was more medieval than
modern?
C. Of Burckhardt's and Ralph's opposing
interpretation of the Renaissance, IDENTIFY and
EXPLAIN with whom you agree.
THE INTELLECTUAL RENAISSANCE
Italian Renaissance Humanism
• Industrialization and Urbanization=Italy was cultural leader of Europe
• Product of relatively wealthy, urban, upper-class society
• Intellectual Renaissance: Humanism
– Based on study of classical literature & liberal arts education
– Largely secular
• Petrarch: “Father of Italian Humanism”
– Middle Ages: “Dark” Ages
– Studying of Greco-Roman works provides insight as to mind-set of “modern
Europe.”
• Took a New Direction in 15th century
– Petratch: Intellectual life was solitary
– Bruni: Civic Humanism: Humanism applied to the state
Petrarch
Bruni
Education in the Renaissance
• Humans could be changed by education
• Established schools
– Vittorino: Establishes “Gonzaga”
– Liberal studies: history; moral philosophy; eloquence; rhetoric; math;
astronomy
– Key to freedom; reach full potential
– Elite movement
• Altered study of history: reduced role of miracles in historical
interpretation (process)
• Printing:
–
–
–
–
(1) desire for knowledge
(2) standardized text
(3) religious ideas
(4) educated middle class
Do Now: Compare the two images. In what way
does the Renaissance image reflect the changing
ideas of the period?
Renaissance Art
Characteristics of Dark Age Art
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
(1) No depth
(2) Awkward Positioning
(3) People don’t look like PEOPLE
(4) Inaccurate portrayal of nature
(5) Dark, obscure colors
(6) Religious Themed
(7) Expression-less
(8) Rough “estimate” of the people, no perfection
Dark Ages Art
Renaissance Art
Changes in Thought Impact Art
• Secularism influences new sense of reality
• Sense of space… no longer unknowable /
divine, but “zone occupied by physical human
beings”
• Sense of reality… objects/people looked and
felt the same to all normal people perceiving
them
Changes in Thought Impact Art
• Influence of classical culture
(architecture/sculpting)
• Painting…
– Subject matter stays conservative (religious) but…
– New representation of religion
– Everything part of the real world captured and put
into picture.
– Goal: Express a familiar theme in understandable
setting; portrayal of concrete realities
Giovanni Bellini
(1430-1516)
Portrait of a
Condottiere
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)
The Last Supper
Raphael Sanzio
(1483-1520)
The Sistine Madonna
Michelangelo
Buonarotti
(1475-1564)
La Pieta
“To bang one’s head
against a brick wall”
“To crap on the world
“The die is cast”
“To be armed to the teeth”
“To put your armor on”
“To bell the cat”
“To be pissing
against the moon”
“They both crap through
the same hole”
“To try to kill two flies
with one stroke”
Characteristics of Renaissance Art
• Primary Objectives:
– (1) Imitation of nature.
– (2) Persuade views of the reality of the subject.
– (3) Humans become center of focus (fits within
INDIVIDUALISM)
• Giotto credited w/ being first “modern
Renaissance” artist
Characteristics of Renaissance Art
• (1) Artists painted w/ concern for realism,
expression
• (2) Developed techniques to portray
perspective
• (3) “Scientification” of art (geometric arrays,
using math to convey realism)
• (4) Creation of free standing objects (GrecoRoman)
• (5) Individualism within art (flaws, realism)
Characteristics of Renaissance Art
• Masaccio (1401-1427) in Florence
– Demonstration of REALISTIC relationship btwn
figures & landscape (perspective)
• Florentine painters absorbed realism
– Mathematical side of painting (geometry &
perspective)
– Movement & anatomical structure
Art and Patronage
• Italians were willing to spend a lot of money
on art.
– Art communicated social, political, and spiritual
values.
– Recovery of trade: Italian banking & international
trade interests had the money.
• Public art in Florence was organized and
supported by guilds.
Therefore, the consumption of art was used as a form of
competition for social & political status
1. Realism &
Expression
• Expulsion from
the Garden
• Masaccio
• 1427
• First nudes since
classical times.
2. Perspective
• The Trinity
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
Perspective!
First use
of linear
perspective!
• Masaccio
• 1427
3. Classicism
• Greco-Roman influence.
• Secularism--break from
Dark Ages ties to religion
• Humanism.
• Individualism  free
standing figures.
• Symmetry/Balance
The “Classical
Pose”
Medici “Venus” (1c)
Bronze David
(15c)
3. Classicism
•
David by Donatello
•
1430
•
Donato di Donatello (1386-1466) studied
statues of antiquity
•
First free-form bronze since Roman times
4. Emphasis on Individualism
• The Duke & Dutchess of Urbino
• Piero della Francesca, 1465-1466.
5. Geometrical Arrangement of Figures
• The Dreyfus
Madonna
with the
Pomegranate
• Leonardo da
Vinci
• 1469
• The figure as
architecture!
6. Light & Shadowing/Softening Edges
Sfumato
Chiaroscuro
• Vitruvian Man
• Leonardo da
Vinci
• 1487
The
L’uomo
universale
HIGH Renaissance (1480s-1530s)
• By the end of the 15th century, Italian artists had created a new
artistic environment.
• Many had mastered scientific observation techniques
• Move onto individualistic forms of expression
• HIGH Renaissance saw ROME as new cultural center for IR
• Leo, Raphael, Michelangelo
• IDEALIZE Human form
Leonardo DaVinci
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Born on April 15, 1452
Father: Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci (Florentine lawyer)
Mother: Caterina, peasant
1466: Apprenticed to Verocchio (Florentine guild painter)
1476: Arrested in Mantua for solicitation
1478: Hired by the Medicis in Florence and commissioned to paint works
1482: Pained the Virgin on the Rocks
1484: Commissioned to paint The Last Supper
1502: Hired by Cesare Borgia in Rome
1506: Opened art guild school
1507: Mona Lisa or "la Gioconda” (the Laughing One)
– Subject: Lisa Gherardini
– Bought by Francis I (France)
– Lourve in Paris
– Stolen on August 21, 1911
1519: Dies
1. Self-Portrait -- da Vinci, 1512
• Artist
• Sculptor
• Architect
• Scientist
• Engineer
• Inventor
1452 - 1519
Leonardo,
the Artist
• The Virgin of the
Rocks
• Leonardo da
Vinci
• 1483-1486
Leonardo, the Artist:
From his Notebooks 5000 pages (1508-1519)
Leonardo, the Scientist (Biology):
Pages from his
Notebook
• An example of the
humanist desire to
unlock the secrets
of nature.
Leonardo, the Scientist (Anatomy):
Michelangelo
 1475 – 1564
 He represented
the body in three
dimensions of
sculpture.
 David
 Michelangelo
Buonarotti
 1504
 Marble
15c
What
a
difference
a
century
makes!
16c
The Sistine
Chapel
Michelangelo
Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
The Sistine Chapel’s Ceiling
Michelangelo Buonarroti
1508 - 1512
The Sistine Chapel Details
The
Creation
of the
Heavens
The Sistine Chapel Details
Creation of Man
The Sistine Chapel Details
The Last Judgment
Renaissance Art in Northern Europe
• Should not be considered an appendage to Italian art
• The differences between the two cultures:
– Italy  change was inspired by humanism with its emphasis on the
revival of the values of classical antiquity.
– No. Europe  change was driven by religious reform, the return to
Christian values, and the revolt against the authority of the Church.
• More princes & kings were patrons of artists.
Characteristics of Northern Renaissance Art
• The continuation of late medieval attention to
details.
• Tendency toward realism & naturalism [less
emphasis on the “classical ideal”].
• Interest in landscapes.
• More emphasis on middle-class and peasant life.
• Details of domestic interiors.
• Great skill in portraiture.
Van Eyck:
 The Crucifixion
&
The Last Judgment

1420-1425
Giovanni Arnolfini
and His Wife
(Wedding Portrait)
Jan Van Eyck
1434
Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini & His
Wife
(details)
Do at some point
• Please read the excerpt from “A Courtier
Describes a Suspicious King – Louis the
Spider” and answer the associated questions
NEW MONARCHIES IN THE
RENAISSANCE
Distinguishing Characteristics
1) Recentralized power around monarch
2) Suppressing the nobility
3) Controlling the Church
4) Insisting loyalty of all
Which one more accurately
described human nature?
Impact of Machiavelli
• Divorced politics from theology & moral
philosophy
• Stated that effective rulers use power to act in
own political interest
– Admitted this is bad but what allows successful
rulers to remain in power.
• Most successful states were “New
Monarchies”
Why Develop?
• End of feudalism  need for new ways to
maintain control.
– Use of bureaucrats appointed by monarch
– Taxes
• Italians in northern courts
• Goal to extend rule as far as possible
France
• Hundred Years War (1337-1453) decimated
France
• Nationalism: common English enemy;
reestablish power
• Charles VII (1422-1461)
– Commissioned a royal army
– Right to levy taille (direct tax) w/o approval from
Estates-General
– First time France had been united under one king
since 1200s
France
• Louis XI (1461-1483): Spider King
– Taille permanent
– Charles the Bold; create middle kingdom France &
HRE (1477)
– Louis added possession (Burgundy)
– Added 4 more provinces; crushed opposition
– Consolidation made way for French strength
• Consolidation of land & power
– From nobility
– From Naples
– From clergy (Concordat of Bologna)
Charles VII
(1422-1461)
Louis XI
(1461-1483)
The Renaissance in France
• Brought by nobles / army returning from Italy
(Naples)
• Characterized by: Blend of “humorous
skepticism and creative power”
– Ex. Francois Rabelais “Pantagruel” and
“Gargantua”
England
• War of the Roses (1455-1485)
• Henry VII (r. 1485-1509)
– Establishes centralized monarchy over nobility by
banning “livery and maintenance”
– Star Chamber  royal council acted as court
• Dealt with property disputes / infractions of public
peace.
– Increase Income
• Judicial fees, fines, import taxes
• Avoided war=no Parliament
– Encouragement of commercial activity wins favor
w/ Middle Class
Henry VII (1485-1509)
The Renaissance in England
• After Italian; ca. 1500-1640
• Scholars deliberately traveled to Italy to learn
humanistic ideals
– Educational
– Technological innovations
• Henry VIII
• Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)
– Civic humanism
– Biography of Pico della Mirandola
– Utopia  comment on social evils; offers vision of
society w/o poverty, crime, corruption
• Women in the English Renaissance
King Henry VIII (1491-1547)
Sir Thomas More (1478-1435)
Spain
• Spain split into kingdoms w/o political recognition
– Ferdinand & Isabella
• Significance of Catholic Church allows for
Unification
– Reconquista & expulsion of Jews
– Inquisition  only common court to all kingdoms
• Religious devotion way to prove self a “good
Spaniard”
• Identity as Catholic leads to leading role in wars
of religion & advocate for internal reform
The Holy Roman Empire
• 3 states: Princely, Ecclesiastical, Imperil Free
Cities
• HRE elected by 7 electors to protect liberties
• Hapsburg manipulate to get elected from
1452-1806 and attempt to centralize power
Charles V
• Most powerful ruler of his time…
– Controlled: Austria, Netherlands, part of
Burgundy, Castile and Aragon, Spanish America,
scattered possessions in Italy, HRE (head of
Germany)
– Closest to “Universal Monarchy” since
Charlemagne
• Other countries/rulers afraid of being
absorbed into empire of Hapsburgs.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE
RENAISSANCE
Renaissance Catholicism
• J. Wyclif & J. Hus
– Attack on Papacy:
• (1) No biblical basis for authority
• (2) Bible should be widely available
• (3) Medieval Church (pilgrimage, veneration
of saints)
• (4) Extravagance of Popes
• (5) Immoral Behavior
– Catholic Church: Harsh toward heretics
• Early Attempts at Reform
– Council of Constance attempted reform
– P. Pius II-bull declaring bodies heretical
– (1) Lost power in new monarchies
– (2) Began to lose prestige
J. Wyclif
Christian Humanism
• Goal to restore moral vitality w/in Christianity.
– Sought to deepen understanding of religion.
• Characteristics:
– Simple religion made complicated
– Reform: Humans able to reason & improve
– Education: Betterment of society.
Christian Humanism
• Religious Humanistic Scholarship
– Germany primary center of European life;
economic leader
– Fostered idea that human powers could
understand/control nature developed
• Ex. Mathematical conceptions of universe, cartography,
medical revolutions
Erasmus
• Most notable figure of humanist mvt.
• Wanted people to read Bible in vernacular hoping
they would gain better understanding of Christ’s
teaching, turn away from “evil ways”
• Praise of Folly – satire of worldly focus of clergy
• Handbook of a Christian Knight – How to take
part in worldly affairs but still remain devout
Christian
Erasmus
• Highly respected /
admired by Church
leaders
• Only attacked Church
abuses; never challenged
beliefs / principles.
Mysticism & Lay Religion
• Religious impulses look toward more spiritual
& moral tone (vs. glorification w/in public cult
in Italy)
• Mysticism: Belief that individual soul could, in
perfect solitude, commune directly w/ God.
– Offered deeper religious experience than Church
could offer
– More lay people not taking holy orders
• Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life