Celebrating Humanity
1485-1625
The English Renaissance Period
Names and Terms to Know
Renaissance
Martin Luther
Wars of the Roses
Henry VIII
Elizabeth I
James I
Mary Stuart
Puritans
Elizabethan Age
Focus Questions
What are the characteristics of the spirit of the
Renaissance?
In what ways did religion make an impact on English
life the the 15th century?
In what way does literature provide a forum for
criticisms of social institutions during this period?
Look at the Timeline on page
226…
What two important religious works were published
during this period?
Name the two seafaring exploits during this period.
Name two disasters, one in Britain and one in the
world, that occurred in the period 1550-1570.
Name the two events that indicate British presence in
the New World.
Historical Background
Renaissance – slowly rose from Italian city-states to
England.
Scholars reacting against what they saw as the “dark
ages” of medieval Europe and revived the learning of
ancient Greece and Rome.
“Rebirth”
The Age of Exploration
Renaissance thinking promoted exploration by sea.
England’s participation began in 1497 when John
Cabot reached Newfoundland.
Laid basis for future English claims in North America.
Religion
Many people had grievances against the Roman
Catholic Church.
Edition of New Testament by the great Dutch scholar
Erasmus raised questions about biblical
interpretations.
He paved the way for Martin Luther.
Luther was a German monk who in 1517 nailed a list
of dissenting beliefs to the door of a German church.
Division in church, Lutheranism. Started the
Protestant Reformation.
The Tudors
Ending of the War of the Roses and the founding of the Tudor
dynasty in 1485 opened a new era in English life.
Henry VII – rebuilt the nation’s treasury and established law and
order.
Henry VIII – his successor. Practicing Catholic but had problems
when he wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon because they did
not have a son. He wanted an annulment so that he could marry
Anne Boleyn.
It was never granted but he married anyway. He seized the
church’s English property and dissolved monasteries.
He beheaded Thomas More because he refused to rebuke his
faith.
He married 6 times. He had two daughters Mary (Catholic) and
Elizabeth (Protestant/Anglican) and one son Edward before he
died in 1547.
Religious Turmoil
King Edward VI became king at the age of 9 and died
at the age of 15.
England was becoming more Protestant.
When Mary took the throne she tried to reinstall
Catholicism. Because she executed about 300
Protestants she was nicknamed “Bloody Mary.”
Growing anti-Catholic sentiment
Elizabeth I
Received a Renaissance education and patron of the
arts.
Even though she reestablished the Church of England
she instituted a policy of religious compromise.
Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland was her one threat. She
was Catholic and many believed her to be the true
queen due to Henry’s divorce. She was imprisoned for
18 years and eventually beheaded.
Stuarts and Puritans
Elizabeth had named King James VI of Scotland her
successor. Unlike his mother Mary he was a Protestant.
James I was also a strong supporter of the arts.
Jamestown, Virginia.
James struggled with issues with Parliament, later a war
would break out.
He also persecuted the Puritans.
Literature of the Period
Narratives, poetry, dramas, and comedies.
The Sonnet: Sidney, Spenser, and Shakespeare (14 lines
usually in iambic pentameter).
Pastoral Poetry: Marlowe and Raleigh (idealizes simplicity of
rural life).
Drama: Marlowe and Shakespeare
The Globe Theater
Elizabethan and Jacobean Prose – Sidney, Nash, Raleigh,
Bacon, and The King James Bible