Renaissance Ideas and English Culture Flashcards
Who was the most important English humanist writer?
Thomas More
- combined his intellectual interests with his work as a lawyer and statesman
Which other writers had humanist influence?
Thomas Lupset and Thomas Starkey
Renaissance influence on Art?
Henry commissioned the Italian sculptor Pietro Torrigiano to produce the tombs of his parents and grandmother
- both tombs were produced in the Renaissance style and are situated in the Lady Chapel of Westminster (which Henry VII built)
- the CONTRAST between the late 15th century perpendicular gothic style and the Renaissance tombs is a clear example of the change which had occurred
Was it a complete change from gothic style?
No, Gothic remained the predominant cultural form
- paintings at Henry’s court were from the ‘northern Renaissance’ which owed far more to Gothic influences than Italian Renaissance
How did Henry’s and Wolsey’s taste in architecture differ?
Henry preferred Gothic style buildings
- built Nonsuch Palace
Whereas Wolsey’s palace at Hampton Court clearly exhibited a more classical influence
Renaissance influence on Music?
Henry was a generous patron of music and was himself an amateur composer. Wolsey also enjoyed music.
- the most distinctive influence, certainly on Church music, was Flemish
Renaissance summary:
While Italian Renaissance influences were becoming more fashionable, England’s main cultural links reflected the close commercial ties which existed between England and the Low Countries
Why were Renaissance ideas on English Culture becoming more prevalent in his reign?
- knowledge of classical learning increased amongst the elite groups in society
- a growing number of schools became influenced by humanist approaches to education
- Henry VIII saw himself as a promoter of new ideas and of humanism
- the Crown needed well-educated diplomats who could communicate with their European counterparts in a fashionably elegant style
