European Renaissance: 14th century – 17th century

*All information from Mr. Bolding’s fantastic time machine

*Note: There is no time machine

Review: Middle Ages

• The people’s lives were centered around God and the Church.

• The Church was the most powerful entity in Europe

• During the Renaissance however, people would become less focused on heavenly things. (Humanism)

Review: Middle Ages• Feudalism: societal system where

serfs worked a lord’s land in exchange for military protection.

• Made it hard to focus on little other than your crops and survival

• Black Death: People were scared. Turned to God and the Church even more.

The Italian Renaissance

What was the Renaissance?

• Renaissance means “Rebirth.”

• The Renaissance was a “cultural movement” that moved across Europe.

• Saw changes in “politics, society, economics, and culture.”

(not all areas experience Europe’s changes in the same way. Not uniformly measured.)

Origins of the Renaissance

• Believed to have began in Florence, Italy in the 13th century.

• Why Italy? • “Revival of commerce and town

building • Feudalism was less prevalent • Leading lords were losing

influence • Classical influence was greater

(Roman and Greek infrastructure)”

Renaissance Economics

• “Financial success” allowed for the spread of art and architecture

• People could afford to be artists • Dramatic recovery of European

commerce• “Mining and Printing” (will be

covered more later) become new industries

• 15th century banking empire of the “Medici Family” in Florence. “Patrons of the arts”

Economics continued

• “Profits become more important than the” Church

• To fight guilt, wealthy begin to indulge in philanthropy.

• Increased profits = Economic diversification.

Renaissance Society

• Renaissance is an “elitist” historical phenomenon

• Very “family”-oriented society

• “Marriages” were frequently arranged to strengthen business ties

• Father had authority over his family

Society continued…

• Extreme social stratification around the wealthiest families

• “Stratification” – Process of dividing relative social positions into broader class categories Examples are lower, middle, and upper classes

• Poor fought to increase their status through several “revolts”

• Paintings focused on the individual

Renaissance Politics

• Similar patterns and problems that faced Greek city-states

• Inter-city warfare led to advances in diplomacy

• Increases in the stress for a “balance of power”

Machiavelli (1469-1527)

• Machiavelli creates “The Prince”

• Trumpeted new ideas of leadership– Goal of a leader must be power– Possessed a cynical view of

human nature– Fear is a better motivator than

affection – Politics was the art of deception – Brought a realism to political

thought

Renaissance Art and Architecture

• Imitation of nature became primary goal

• More pagan scenes and myths were depicted

• Artists elevated to “cultural heroes”

• Stressed “proportion, balance, and harmony”

• Emphasized mathematical side to painting

Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus”

Art Continued

• Mathematical side introduces “Linear perspective.”

• No longer used the hieratic scale

• Italy had “Frescoes” • Artists began using

“oil paints” instead of “egg tempera”

Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa

Art continued• Romanesque

architecture was revived

• Remember, “classicist emphasis”

• Church of San Lorenzo

Philosophy and Education

• “Humanism”- focused on the individual and his dignity

• People began to seek old documents

• Then, critical examination of the documents began

• Education produces a moral uplift

Humanism

• A “Humanist” was a scholar of the Renaissance who pursued the study and understanding of the ancient Greek and Roman empires. A person with a strong concern for human interests, values, and dignity.

• Petrarch (1304-1374) considered the “father of humanism”

Skepticism

• “Questioning Attitude” • People began to question more and take ideas

at face value less

Education

• Stressed a liberal education • What does this imply? • Law and Rhetoric were of importance • Cultivated classical political ideas

Papacy?

• The “papacy” starts to decline and lose influence over European nation-states

• Decline in leadership

• This is a trend that will continue to gain momentum until the Protestant Reformation of 1517.

Renaissance Men

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CRX_mqpzdU

• “Men who prided themselves on being able to do many things well, but claimed to be an expert at none.”

The Northern Renaissance