Unit 1 - Origins of a Western Worldview: The Renaissance Flashcards
Feudalism
System of political, social and economic organization in European society during the Middle Ages in which the lord owned the land and all others served him.
Hierarchy
A social system in which status is ranked, and power is concentrated in the higher ranks.
Renaissance
The Renaissance is a period from the 14th to the 17th century, considered the bridge between the Middle Ages/Medieval Times and modern history.
Florence, Italy is considered the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.
“Renaissance” means “REBIRTH”
Silk Road
The route along which goods and ideas traveled that ultimately enriched Europe (especially Italy where the Renaissance began).
Camel caravans travelled long distances moving goods from one region to another.
Pepper was worth it’s weight in gold.
Sought after goods from Asia: silk, jewels, rugs, fabrics, spices.
Other things exchanged: stories, culture and languages.
The Crusades
A Christian military expedition.
Black Death
Also known as the Bubonic Plague. The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people and peaking in Europe in the years 1346–53.
Humanism
Form of philosophy that concentrated on the perfection of earthly life.
Centres on humans and their values, capacities and worth.
Freethinkers, critical thinkers, classical, worldly, dignified, civilized, educated.
Exploring and enjoying the present world became a goal. Lived for the moment - as a result of the black death.
Scientific Method
Written by Leonardo Da Vinci
Problem…. procedure… observations/data… conclusions.
Printing Press
In about 1450, A German man named Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press that allowed books to be produced quickly and cheaply.
Most people who lived in Euroope at the beginning of the Renaissance were illiterate. Only the most educated people in society could read and write.
Vernacular
A language commonly spoken by the people who live in that region.
Protestant Reformation
Religious movement to change the Roman Catholic Church.
Protestants protested the Catholic Church’s refusal to reform.
Martin Luther broke from the Catholic Church… and people who agreed with him were called Protestants… and this time became known as the “Protestant Reformation”.
Indulgences
Certificates that reduced the time people would be punished for their sins after they died. (Baaaa Haaaaa Haaaaa) LOL
Catholic Counter-Reformation
the period of Catholic resurgence in response to the Protestant Reformation
Ethnocentrism
The perception that Europeans and North Americans are more important than other countries.
Expansionism
The actions and attitudes of a state or country whose goal is to expand its power and territory.
Spain and Portugal were the first two countries to begin exploring “The New World”.
Imperialism
a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
When a countryclaims land they have “discovered” as well as resources and people for themselves.
Treaty of Tordesillas
Portugal and Spain sent out expeditions to find trade routes to Asia. Portugal wanted to make sure that it got its share of the Asian trade. The rulers of Spain and Portugal could not come to an agreement so they asked the pope to settle the matter. In 1494, the pope proposed a secret treaty, the Treaty of Tordesillas that would divide the world between the Spanish and Portugese.
Circumnavigate
Travel completely around something, as in circumnavigating the globe.
The first (recorded) person to circumnavigate the world was Magellan’s ship.
Medici Family
(how the person influenced the wordview of Renaissance Europeans)
The Medici family (wool and silk merchants and bankers) was the most famous and powerful family in Italy. They were an important part of Florence’s cultural and political life for more than 300 years.
Michelangelo
The new political leaders of Florence hired Michaelangelo to create a work to symbolize the city.
The sculpture of “David” (of David and Golliath) represented human beings in all their beauty and glory.
DaVinci
Architect, inventor, engineer, painter and musician. Painted the Mona Lisa. One of the great geniuses of all time.
Machiavelli
Florentine civil servant who had a new way of thinking about leadership and government.
Believed that leaders sometimes needed to act against their faith, mercy and religion.
Wrote a book “The Prince” - very controversial
Savonarola
A monk and political leader in Florence.
Dedicated his life to fighting the corruption he saw in the Church and society.
He was excommunicated (offical exclusion from the church).
Eventually chargedwith heresy, found guilty and was executed.
Luther
German monk/religious thinker. Read and translated the bible into German. A leading protestor and religious reformer agains the corruption of the church.
Nailed “The 95 Theses” to a church door in Germany.
Excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
Started the “Lutheran” church.
Gutenberg
German man - developed the printing press.
Prince Henry the Navigator
(from Portugal) was really interested in exploration so he started a school for explorers and paid for many expeditions.
The Prince and his explorers also became involved in the slave trade.
Columbus
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Magellan
Portuguese explorer who organised the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth.
Marco Polo
One of the first Europeans to travel to Asia.
Copernicus
Polish Astronomer
Earth is a planet that moves around a stationary sun (Heliocentric)
Kepler
German mathemetician and astronomer.
Heliocentric theory (same as Copernicus)
Believed planets travelled in an OVAL orbit.
Galileo
Italian Astronomer and Philosopher. He built telescopes and studied objects in the sky.
He argued that the sun was the centre of the universe, not the earth. (HELIOCENTRIC THEORY).
He refused to give up his views. He was charged with heresy (opposing church teachings). Stood trial and was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. His book was put on the Index of Prohibited Books (that Catholics were forbidden to read).
Christine De Pisane
University of Bologna
Medieval author / Humanist writer.
She was a feminist and fought for equal rights. She believed men and women should be judged not on the basis of their gender but on their abilities and virtues. She was WAY ahead of the times!
Isabella D’Este
Duchess of Mantua: First lady of the world.
Brilliant.
Admired.
Ruled Mantua in her husband’s absence (the Duke).
Why and How did the Renaissance worldview spread beyond the borders of Europe?
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How did increased trade lead to the emergence of powerful city-states in Italy?
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What ideas from classical times helped to form the humanist worldview?
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How did the Renaissance spark the growth and exchange of ideas across Europe?
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What elements of the Renaissance worldview led to exploration and expansionism?
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Surfs
The people who lived on the Baron’s land and worked for him.
Serfs would work cooperatively while they would hay and plow.
In exchange for land, surfs had to give the noble/lord/baren a portion of their crops.
What was the time period called BEFORE the Renaissance?
The Middle Ages or Medieval Times
Freeman (or Journeymen)
Peasants who rented land and could move, unlike surfs.
Guilds
Controlled prices of goods, set standards of quality and decided who would be a “trainee” and “apprentice”.
Sumptuary laws
Laws that controlled how people spent their money.
Why was Italy very powerful during the Renaissance?
It was a collection of powerful city-states
It was powerful - but was NOT a united country
Location (by the Mediterranean Sea)
Climate
Leadership
Social Organization
Ruled by powerful families like the Medici Family
Why were so many churches built during the Renaissance?
To show their devotion to gawd.
Cities competed against one another to build the most spectacular cathedrals.
Heavy work of construction was done by peasants.
Florin
The “Golden Florin”
Florence’s economy became the most important currency in Europe because of the Golden Florin.
Sistine Chapel
The ceiling (painted by Michelangelo) is the most famous part of the chapel
Padua
Famous university which had lots of students from across Europe.
Exploration became more successful because of new innovations such as:
Compass
Astrolibe
Cross-staff
Back-staff
Tithe
A percentage of earnings paid to the church
Hinterland
The rural area surrounding the city-states.
City-states
A politically independent city and the rural area or hinterland around it.
Monarchies
Countries ruled by a king or queen.
Secular
NO CHURCH
Patron
A wealthy person who pays an artist for their art.
Heresy
Opposing church teachings which was illegal and punishable.
(Galileo)
Excommunication
Official exclusion from the Catholic Church.
(kicked out).
Philanthropist
A rich person who spends their money on good things and causes like charity.
Anatomy
Type of science - studying animals and plants
Astrology
Astrology consists of several pseudoscientific systems of divination based on the premise that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world.
Worldview
How people look at and experience the world.
Everyone has a unique worldview.
Worldview influencers: age, friends, family, community, society, money, culture, heritage, religion, media, world events, education, gender, weather, technology.
Elements of Worldview
Geography
Time
Beliefs
Society
Values
Economy
Knowledge
