The Renaissance
The beginning of the Modern Period
A period of transition
“renaissance” means
rebirth
The Renaissance began a period of renewed
interest and engagement with “classical”
(Ancient Greece and Rome) learning, culture,
literature, art, style, etc.
How did the Renaissance change thought?
Before
Focus on Afterlife
The Individual not important
Little focus on learning and
the arts
“Dark” Ages
Age of “Faith”
After
Focus on this life
The Individual is important
Focus on learning the
“Classics” (The Iliad, Aristotle)
to inspire learning and the arts
“Rebirth”
Age of Reason
Two Major Divisions of the
Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance
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The Italian Renaissance (occurred first)
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Focused on the city-states of northern Italy and
Rome
The Italian Renaissance tended to be more
worldly with a great emphasis on secular
pursuits, the humanities, and the arts
Wealth and power
Knowledge was the key
Renaissance: Italy
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Major trading cities: Milan, Florence, Genoa,
Venice
Florence wealthy from wool and banking
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Medici family were bankers with political power
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Hired artists and architects to make Florence great
Often called the “Father” of
Renaissance humanism
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The Italian poet,
Petrarch
Renaissance: People
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Focus on
humans and
their abilities
and actions
(humanism)
•Machiavelli wrote The
Prince
•Said rulers should be
mean instead of nice
•“End justifies the
Means”
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Humanism
 Really
an old idea from Ancient Greece and Rome
 Based on the Socratic and Platonic ideas of observation
and reasoning
 Idea that man, not God, was the center of the universe
 Man controls his own destiny
 Man can learn about and understand his world by
observation and reason without God’s help
 Helped spark a new age of secular learning and the
development of early modern schools and universities
such as Oxford and Cambridge
 Led many to question both governments and the
institutional Church
The Northern Renaissance
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The Northern Renaissance occurred later
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Involved the regions of Northern Europe
England
Spain
France
Germanic regions (Holy Roman Empire)
The Netherlands
Northern Renaissance
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The spread of the Renaissance was delayed in
Northern Europe
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War and political unrest
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Hundred Years’ War
War of the Roses in Britain
Plague and famine
Major Themes of the Renaissance
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Humanism (both secular and religious)
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Human potential, human progress, expansion of
human knowledge
Secularism-greater emphasis on non-religious
values and concerns
Individualism-focus on the unique qualities
and abilities of the individual person
Major Historical Events of the
Renaissance Period
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Age of Exploration (Period of European
Expansion)
Protestant Reformation and the Religious
Wars
Scientific Revolution- Rise of Modern
Science
The Rise of the Modern Nation-state
Background of the RenaissanceHigh and Late Middle Ages
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Increased trade and commercial activity during the
High Middle Ages
Urbanization-growth of cities and towns
Commercial and business developments (banking)
Middle class merchant elite developed
Decline in feudalism
A decline in the Church’s hold and control on
society and government
Growth in vernacular literature/growing literacy
Rise of universities and the expansion of learning
The Birthplace of the Renaissance
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The city-states of Northern Italy
Florence was the center of the Renaissance
Italy was politically fragmented and the city-states
often fought for power and control
City-states came to be ruled by wealthy and
powerful business people (not necessarily nobility)
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Signori- (despots) and oligarchies (group of individuals)
maintained order
Florence
Major center of trade, banking, cloth
production, and the arts
The Medici family of Florence
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The most powerful family of the Italian
Renaissance
Came to power through business dealings and
banking
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Bank of the Vatican and the papacy
Spent tremendous amounts of money supporting
the arts and cultural development (patrons)
Medici power often involved corruption and
intrigue
The Medici Family
Medici Pope
“The Adoration of the Magi” depicts the Medici family
in procession -Celebration of Medici power and influence
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
The Prince
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Machiavelli was from Florence
Well educated in the classics
Career was in public service and he eventually
served as the ambassador to France
Favored republican rule over despotism
Machiavelli was tortured and imprisoned for a time
when Medici rule was reinstated after a conflict with
a Spanish mercenary army
He retired to the country and wrote The Prince
The Prince
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Written in Italian (not Latin)
Observations and commentary on political rule and power
(Medicis)
Addressed the issue of effective rule
 How to gain and maintain order and control
Stressed the practical (pragmatic) over the ethical or moral
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More secular and humanistic
Challenged the idea of a social order based on God’s will
Political science- Politics was to be governed by its own laws
“…it is safer to be feared than to be loved…”
The Courtier by Castiglione
1528
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Written in Italian
Treatise on the training of young men in the
courtly ideal of a Renaissance gentleman
Stressed the value of education and manners
Influenced social mores and norms during the
period
The Renaissance spread to
Northern Europe
Focus of the Northern Renaissance
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The focus of the Renaissance in Northern Europe
was more religious
Many sought religious reform and a return of the
Church to its true mission and spirituality
Many were highly critical of the worldliness and
corruption in the Church and papacy
Northern Renaissance figures believed that
education and literacy were key to social and
religious reform
Advocated the translation of the scriptures into
the vernacular languages
Major figures of the
Northern Renaissance
Desiderius Erasmus –scholar and
theologian
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The Praise of Folly
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Criticism of the abuses and
worldliness of the Church
and papacy
Sir Thomas More
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Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of
Henry VIII- highest political office in England
Lawyer and scholar
Wrote Utopia – explored the idea of a “perfect”
society
Eventually executed by Henry VIII for refusing to
agree to the king and Parliament’s Act of Supremacy
Utopia
Martin Luther
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Associated with the
Protestant Reformation
Critical of Church
corruption and abuses
Sought reform
Wrote the first
translation of the Bible
in German
Renaissance Art
A reflection of Renaissance ideals and values
Emphasis on the classical style and classical themes
Humanistic - with an emphasis on the individual
Religious art remained very important
Characteristics of Renaissance Art
Realism
Three-dimensional
Balanced and ordered
Portraits
Landscapes and attention to depictions of nature
Classical style
Depiction of classical themes and stories
Humanism: The School of Athens by Raphael
- a celebration of classical learning
Individualism –Portraits
-portraits celebrated the unique qualities and personality of the
individual person (two examples by Leonardo da Vinci)
Secularism-non-religious
Renaissance art often depicted stories and scenes from classical literature
Religion remained a major focal point of
Renaissance art -The Sistine Chapel-Michelangelo
Michelangelo’s Pieta
Northern Renaissance Art
Albrecht Durer
Hans Holbein
Bruegel
Major innovations of the
Renaissance
Printing Press
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1455
Moveable type printing
Developed in Germany
Associated with Gutenburg
1456 the first Gutenburg Bible was printed
Printing press allowed for the spread of
knowledge and ideas throughout Europe
The Clock
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The idea of quantification developed
The universe came to be conceived in more
quantifiable terms (measurable terms)
Allowed for more precise measurements
Changed the focus of daily life which had
been guided by the rhythms of the Church
The Renaissance brought a
new way of thinking and
living to Europe
A new worldview was emerging
The medieval Christian worldview was giving
way to a more MODERN (secular and
humanistic) view of the world and humanity