CHAPTER 7.2 CLASS NOTES
New Ideas and Literature
I. Renaissance Humanism
1. Humanism was based on the values of the Greeks
and Romans. Humanists believed the individual
human was important and they stressed a balance
between religion and reason.
2. Italians began studying Greek and Roman books,
which had been preserved by Christian monks and
Arab scholars (Crusades), as well as statues, and
buildings.
3. Francesco Petrarch encouraged people to search for
Latin manuscripts in monasteries and new libraries
were built, including Vatican Library.
*What does a “balance between faith and reason” mean?
*How did the Muslims contribute to the Renaissance??
*How did Petrarch contribute to the preservation of Roman knowledge?
4. Humanist scholars studied: plants,
anatomy, medicine, astronomy and
mathematics.
5. Brunelleschi used math and
engineering to build the dome of
the Florence cathedral, and new
weapons based on gunpowder were
invented.
6. Leonardo da Vinci was a scientist,
artist, inventor, and engineer.
Leonardo imagined machines long
before they were invented
(helicopter).
*How did Renaissance thinkers use ancient writings?
Brunelleschi’s
Dome
7. Cartography, art of making maps: by studying
ancient Greek geographers and the Arab
geographer al-Idrisi, Europeans produced better
maps.
II. Changes in
Literature
1. Writers began writing in the
vernacular, or everyday
languages.
2. Dante Alighieri wrote The
Divine Comedy, an epic poem,
in Italian (about the afterlife). In
England, Chaucer wrote The
Canterbury Tales (about a group
of pilgrims).
Canterbury Tales in Old English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E-0PaK4RtI
Johannes
Gutenberg
2. Johannes Gutenberg
developed a printing
press that used movable
type. The press could
print books quickly, so
more books became
available. Gutenberg’s
Bible was the first
European book printed.
The printing press
helped spread new ideas
fast.
Clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phD0pEaczzg
3. In England, great
works of theater and
literature were
created. William
Shakespeare was an
actor, poet, and
playwrite. He wrote
tragedies, comedies,
and historical plays.
4. Cervantes, a Spanish
author, wrote Don
Quixote de la
Mancha.
Shakespeare