13. European Renaissance

Question 1

Renaissance term meaning

Answer 1

• Renaissance means rebirth, and refers to a revival of art and learning

Question 2

Where did the Renaissance movement begin?

Answer 2

• Northern Italy city states like Florence, Milan, Mantua, and Genoa

Question 3

3 reasons the Renaissance started in Northern Italy?

Answer 3

1. Thriving cities
2. Wealthy merchant class
3. Classical heritage of Greece + Rome

Question 4

What led to the growth of city-states in Italy?

Answer 4

• Overseas trade (Mediterranean) with Middle East spurred by the Crusades led to the growth of large city-states in northern Italy

Question 5

Florence: Italian city state

Answer 5

• Republic, but then Cosimo de Medici turned it into a dictatorship for 30 years
• Birthplace of the Renaissance

Question 6

Geographical benefits of northern Italian cities like Florence, Venice, Genoa

Answer 6

• The region was urban and cities were often places where ppl exchange ideas
• City states were also small, so more ppl could be involved in political life

Question 7

Secular

Answer 7

• Worldly (concerned w/ present) rather than spiritual
• Some church leaders lived lavishly (mansions, lavish banquets, expensive clothes)
• Separate from religion

Question 8

The Medici

Answer 8

• A powerful banking family from Florence, Italy that ruled Florence and has branch offices in Italy and European cities
• Cosimo de Medici was dictator of Florence

Question 9

Humanism

Answer 9

• An intellectual movement that focused on human potential and achievements

Question 10

What did humanists believe in?

Answer 10

• Humanists believed in studying Christian teaching to understand ancient Greek values

Question 11

Subjects common to classical education

Answer 11

• History, literature, philosophy

Question 12

Patrons

Answer 12

• Financially supporting the arts by buying art from artists or donating art to the city

Question 13

Vernacular

Answer 13

• Writing in your native language instead of Latin

Question 14

Niccolo Machiavelli

Answer 14

• A historian and political thinker

- Wrote “The Prince”.

Question 15

The Prince

Answer 15

• A political guidebook that examines how a ruler can gain + keep power in spite of enemies.
• Not concerned with what’s morally right, but what’s politically effective
• Vvv cold + psychopathic view
• Written by Niccolo Machiavelli

Question 16

General time period of the Renaissance

Answer 16

1300-1600

Question 17

Renaissance art vs. Medieval art

Answer 17

• Medieval art: Used religious subjects to convey a spiritual ideal
• Renaissance art: Often portrayed religious subjects but used a realistic style + used 3D perspective

Question 18

Leonardo Da Vinci

Answer 18

• Was interested in how things worked and many other things, so he was aka the ideal Renaissance man
• Painted the “Mona Lisa” and “The Last Supper”

Question 19

Michelangelo

Answer 19

• Famous for portrayal of the human body

- Sculpted David, and painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Question 20

Describe Renaissance art through Mona Lisa + David

Answer 20

• Mona Lisa: Shows realism: what ppl really looked like

- David: Influenced by Ancient Greek + Roman classical statues

Question 21

Petrarch’s role in the Renaissance

Answer 21

• Father of Renaissance humanism

- One of the earliest and most influential humanists

Question 22

Where did the Northern Renaissance take place?

Answer 22

• Northern Europe

- England, France, Germany, and Flanders

Question 23

Renaissance spirit

Answer 23

1. Interest in classical culture
2. Curiosity about the world
3. Belief in human potential

Question 24

Difference between Northern Europe and Italy

Answer 24

• Italy: Divided into city states

- England + France: Unified by strong monarchs that were patrons of the arts

Question 25

How did the ideas of the Italian Renaissance spread to Northern Europe?

Answer 25

• A French king launched an invasion thru northern Italy, and many artists and writers immigrated.

Question 26

Desiderius Erasmus

Answer 26

• Well-known Christian humanist from Holland
• He believed in improving society by studying the Bible, and Christianity of the ❤️
• Wrote the Praise of Folly

Question 27

The Praise of Folly

Answer 27

• Written by Christian humanist Erasmus

- It poked fun at greedy merchants, heartsick lovers, quarrelsome scholars, and pompous priests

Question 28

Sir Thomas More

Answer 28

• He was a Christian humanist from England.

- Wrote the book Utopia

Question 29

Utopia- Book and meaning

Answer 29

• “No place” in Greek

- Sir Thomas More’s “Utopia”: A place where greed, corruption, and war has been weeded out

Question 30

What did Northern Renaissance artists portray in their paintings?

Answer 30

• Realism

Question 31

Johann Gutenberg

Answer 31

• A craftsman from Mainz, Germany that developed a printing press in 1440.
• Made it possible to produce books quickly and cheaply.

Question 32

Movable type

Answer 32

• Letters that could be put together in any fashion and reused.
• Was a Chinese idea

Question 33

2 ways that the European development of printing with movable type impacted society

Answer 33

1. Made books cheaper

2. Increased book variety: religious works to travel guides + medical manuals

Question 34

3 ways that European society during the Renaissance differed from medieval society

Answer 34

1. Birth of Humanism
2. More realistic art
3. Printing made info more available and books cheaper

Question 35

Christian Humanism

Answer 35

• Focus on church’s reformation

- Combined humanist ideals with Christian teachings

Question 36

Italian Humanists

Answer 36

• More secular, and more concerned w/ the study of Greek and Latin

Question 37

Humanism was inspired by…

Answer 37

Humanism was inspired by Classical Greece/ Rome

Question 37

Humanism in general focused on…

Answer 37

Humanism in general focused on the individual, not as much on the church