Early Modern Times: The

Renaissance and Reformation

The Italian Renaissance1300 - 1600

What was the Renaissance?

Renaissance = “a re-birth” or a return to classical thought and style developed by the ancient Greek and Romans

Time of creativity and change – political, social, and cultural

New attitudes towards culture and learning

Renaissance thinkers were eager to explore the richness and variety of human experience in the here and now and emphasis on individual achievement

Why Italy?• Italy’s thriving urban cities were

the center for the renewed trade coming in from the Middle East that brought in wealth and culture here first before the rest of Europe

• Italy was the center of ancient Roman history, Architectural remains, antique statues, coins and inscriptions – all visual reminders of the “glory that was Rome”

Italian City States The civilization of the Italian

Renaissance was urban, centered on towns that had become prosperous from manufacturing, trade, and banking.

Italians had acquired considerable wealth, and some of this wealth was used to support writers, scholars, and artists.

During the Renaissance, Italy remained divided politically. In northern Italy, the city-states of Florence, Milan, and Venice became major centers of the Renaissance civilization.

Rome dominated the Papal States of central Italy, while the Kingdom of the Two Sicily's embraced most of southern Italy.

City States

Each city-state was controlled by a powerful family and dominated by a wealthy merchant class. Their interest in art and emphasis on personal achievement helped to shape the Italian Renaissance

Florence: Florence produced an amazing number of gifted poets, artists, architects, scholars, and scientists

Medici Family – Patrons of the Arts, Most prosperous family in Florence

Came to symbolize the Italian Renaissance

Humanism

Humanism: The study of classical culture, humanism focused on worldly subjects rather than on the religious issues that had occupied medieval thinkers.

Believed education stimulates an individuals creative power

Main areas of study were grammar, rhetoric, poetry, and history based on Greek and Roman texts

Emphasis on the importance of the individual

Petrarch Italian scholar and poet,

also known as being one of the earliest humanists

Rediscovered ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts and revisited works by Cicero, Homer and Virgil to Western Europeans

Often called the “Father of Humanism”

Golden Age of ArtsClassical Art Medieval Art Renaissance Art

• Figures were life-like and showed the idealized version of the human body• Figures would often times be nude or draped in robes• Some portrayed the body in motion• Soft faces without emotion• Depicted heroic figures, Olympians, gods or individuals performing everyday tasks

• Religious subject matter• Flat or 2-demensional• Important figures would be draw out of scale and drawn larger to show their significance• Figures would always be fully dressed• Colors used were vibrant and varied

• Mixture of both religious and non-religious subject matter• Life-life and three-dimensional• Figures would either be nude or clothed• Faces expressed what people were thinking • Proportionate, symmetrical, and show perspective

Leonardo Da Vinci1452 - 1519

Painter, Sculptor, Architect

Masterpieces include Mona Lisa and The Last Supper

Studied botany, anatomy, optics, music, architecture, and engineering

Made sketches of the human body and dissected corpses to learn how the human body worked

Made sketches of flying machines and undersea boats centuries before the first airplane or submarine was actually built

The Last Supper

Mona Lisa1503 - 1506

Leonardo's Sketch Book

Michelangelo

Talented sculptor, engineer, painter, architect, and poet

Sculpted the Pieta and statue of David

Painted the Sistine chapel at the Vatican in Rome

Designed the dome for St. Peters Cathedral in Rome

PietaStatue of

David

Raphael

Studied the works of Michelangelo and Leonardo

Paintings blended Christian and classical styles

Best know for the Madonna and school of Athens

Balsassare Castiglione

The Book if the Courtier

The ideal courtier was well-mannered, well educated aristocrat who mastered many fields from poetry to music to sports

“..for outer beauty, is the true sign of inner goodness.”

Niccolo Machiavelli

Published the prince in 1513 and combined his personal experience of politics with his knowledge of the past to offer a guide to rulers on how to gain and maintain power

Stressed the end justifies the mean and urged rulers to use what ever methods necessary

The Renaissance Moves North

Black Death (1300’s) Ravaged Europe and left Northern Europe at an economic standstill

Italy recovered fairly quickly and became the center of the Italian renaissance

Northern Europe was delayed for about 100 years and it was not until after 1450 that the north was able to enjoy economic prosperity and support a renaissance of their own.

“German Leonardo”

Albrecht Dürer Traveled to Italy in 1494 to

studied techniques

Began to paint, engrave, and print, and hoped to spread the Italian Renaissance in Germany

Flemish Painters

Peter Paul Reubens blended the realistic traditions of Flemish painters with the classical themes and artistic freedom of the Italian Renaissance.

Pieter Bruegel used vibrant colors to portray peasant life. His work influenced later Flemish artists.

Jan and Hubert van Eyck painted townspeople in rich, realistic detail. They also developed oil paint.

Jan and Hubert van Eyck

Pieter Bruegel

Peter Paul Reubens

Erasmus

Desiderius Erasmus called for reform of the church and for the bible to be translated from Latin into the vernacular, or language of ordinary people.

He challenged the worldliness of church practices and urged a return to early Christian traditions.

The Praise of Folly

Uses humor to expose the ignorant and immoral behavior of many people of his day, including clergy

Stressed that people should be open minded and good toward others

Sir Thomas More

Expressed his concern for social and economic reform

Utopia

Describes the ideal society, where men and women live in peace and harmony

Private property does not exist

Everyone is educated, and justice is used to end crime rather than eliminated the criminal

Literature

Shakespeare: • English poet who was the towering figure of Renaissance literature

• Wrote 37 plays that are still performed around the world• His love of words vastly enriched the English language.Cervantes: • Spanish author who wrote Don Quixote, which mocks romantic notions about medieval chivalry

Rabelais:• French humanist who was a monk, physician, Greek scholar, and author• Offered opinions on religion, education, and other subjects in Gargantua and Pantagruel.

Printing Revolution

In 1456, Johann Gutenberg printed the Bible using the first printing press and printing inks.

Movable type was developed twenty years later.

IMPACT:

Printed books were cheaper and easier to produce.

With books more readily available, more people learned to read.

Readers gained access to a broad range of knowledge and ideas.

The Protestant Reformation

What was the Protestant Reformation??

Began with Desiderius Erasmus, who called for reform of the church and for the bible to be translated from Latin into the vernacular, or language of ordinary people.

He challenged the worldliness of church practices and urged a return to early Christian traditions.

During the Middle Ages the church began to renew itself from within and the movement for change created reforms that destroyed Christian unity in Europe

Abuses in the Church

Church had become increasingly caught up in worldly affairs

The church and clergy members began to maintain lavish lifestyles

“God has given us the papacy – let us enjoy it!”

Patrons of the arts: hired painters and sculptors to beautify churches

Began to increase fees for religious services such as marriges and baptisms

Sale of Indulgences

Indulgence: A pardon for sins committed during a persons life time

Medieval times they were granted for good deeds however, by the 1400’s and indulgence could be obtained in exchange for money

Luther’s Protest

Martin Luther:

Son of a middle class German family

Was destined by his father to be a lawyer however one day he was struck by lightning

Promised to become a monk if he was saved

Stayed true to his word and became a Monk and fasted and tried to lead a holy life

He began to observe the corruption of the Catholic church

Johann Tetzle

German Priest

Set up a pulpit on the outskirts of Wittenberg and began to sell indulgences to any Christian who contributed money for the construction of St. Peters Basilica in Rome

Tetzle would make the claim that the purchase of these indulgences would assure them the entrance into heaven and also for their relatives

“As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs”

Attack on Indulgences

The sale of indulgences insulted the pious Martin Luther

People should not be buying indulgences to be accepted into heaven they should be seeking true repentance through prayer and living a virtuous life

95 Theses

Outraged over the corruption of the catholic church and sale of indulgences he wrote 95 thesis or a list of arguments against the church and sale of indulgences

These arguments argued that indulgences had no basis in the bible ad that the pope had no authority to release souls from purgatory and that Christians can only be saved through faith alone.

95 Theses Versus the Catholic Church

Copies of Luther's 95 complaints against the church spread across Europe

Church tried to persuade Luther to recant his arguments – but he refused

Argued that the church must be reformed by secular authorities

Diet of Worms

Diet?

Holy Roman Emperor chalres V declared him an outlaw and made it a crime for anyone in the empire to give him food or shelter

Prince Frederick of saxony hid him in the castle of Wartburg and he reamined in hiding for over a year

Luther's Teachings

Many renounced the authority of the pope and followed Luther's lead

Main Arguments:

He argued that salvation could be achieved through faith alone

he rejected the church doctrine that good deeds were necessary for salvation

Declared that the bible was the sole source of religious truth

Rejected the idea that priests and the Church hierarchy had special powers

Lutheranism

Many of the clergy began to see Luther's reforms as the answer to corruption in the Roman Catholic Church

While some embraced Luther's ideas to better the church others took advantage of his movement as a way to throw off the rule of both the church ad the holy roman empire.

Peasants’ Revolt

Peasants hoped to gain support by Luther to create social and economic change as well as religious reform

1524 – Peasants Revolt erupted across Germany and demanded an end to serfdom

Luther denounced this revolt because he did not see himself as a social reformer

Nobles suppressed the rebellion killing between 70,000 and 100,000 people

John Calvin

French trained priest and lawyer

1536 – published the Institutes of the Christian Religion

This book was read by protestants everywhere and set forth his religious beliefs

Also provided advice on how to organize and effectively run a Protestant Church

Comparing the 2

Similarities – salvation was gained through faith alone, bible was the only source of religious truth

Differences – Calvin believed that god was all powerful and that humans were by nature sinful

And he believed that god alone decided your fate whether an individual achieved eternal life – prayer and good deeds could not change your out come

Pre destination : the idea that god had long ago determined who would gain salvation ad who would not

Calvins Geneva

1541 protestants in the city-state geneva, switzerland asked calvin to lead their community

Calvin set up a theocracy, or government run by church leaders

Calvinistic society looked down upon elaborate dress, and harsh punishments for swearing, fighting and laughing in church

To many protestants the emphasis on strict social order made calvinist geneva a model community

Spread of Calvinism

Many individuals would travel to Geneva to gain insight on the model community to spread calins ideals

The spread of Calvinism set off a series of bloody wars of religion across Europe

Germany: Calvinists faced oppositions from Lutherans as well as from Catholics

French Calvinists know as Huguenots waged war with Catholics in the late 1500s

Scotland – john knox led a a religious rebellion where scottish protestants overthrew their catholic queen and set up the scottish presbyterian church