Ch. 12 Key Term Flashcards
Renaissance
A french word meaning rebirth, used to describe the rebirth of the culture of classical antiquity in Italy during the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries
patronage
financial support of writers and artists by cities, groups, and individuals, often to produce specific works or works in specific styles
communes
sworn associations of free men in Italian cities led by merchant guilds that sought political and economic independence from local nobles
popolo
disenfranchised common people in Italian cities who resented their exclusion from power
signori
government by one-man rule in Italian cities such as Milan; also refers to these rulers
courts
magnificent households and palaces where signori and other rulers lived, conducted business, and supported the arts
humanism
a program of study designed by Italians that emphasized the critical study of Latin and Greek literature with the goal of understanding human nature
virtu
the quality of being able to shape the world according to one’s own will
Christian humanists
Northern humanists who interpreted Italian ideas about and attitudes toward classical antiquity and humanism in terms of their own religious traditions
debate about women
Debate among writers and thinkers in the Renaissance about women’s qualities and proper role in society
New Christians
a term for Jews and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula who accepted Christianity; in many cases they included Christians whose families had converted centuries earlier