-Time period after the Middle Ages: 1300-1600“Rebirth”Primarily in ItalyNew learningSecularIndividual was emphasizedOccurred in urban areasHumanism: Reading and understanding of writing and ideals of the classical past (ancient Greece and Rome from 500 BCE to 400 CE)

› It also means focusing on human rather than religious values.

› Petrarch is the father of humanism

Individualism: Behavior or theory which emphasizes each person and is contrasted with corporate or community behavior› Sought great accomplishments and looked for heroes of

history Florentine or Platonic Academy: Located in a

country house and supported by the Medici: a group of scholars who initially studied the works of Plato

Economic reasons N. Italy was very wealthy as a

result of serving as the “go-between” for trade (silk and spice from the East go to the West)

Italian merchants built wealth in the cloth industry int’l banking

New $$$ = people have more leisure time, wealth to support the arts

Political InteractionsIndependence of city-states in N. Italy due

to Papacy/Holy Roman Empire/Merchant issues

No single authority could stop or redirect new developments

Governments of city-states competed by supporting artists and scholars

Historical influencesBuilt on ruins of Ancient Rome

New IdeasPeople leaving the Byzantine EmpireDuring the numerous wars between the

Italian city-states, contestants sought justifications for their claims in the actions of the past, even back to the classical past.

Study of Roman law = study of other Roman writers