The world Renaissance means

“rebirth”.
A 300 year period – marking a transition
between the Middles Ages and Modern
western Europe.
It marked a revival or rebirth interest in
learning and world affairs.

A revival of art and learning

A hope to bring back the life and culture of
classical Greece and Rome.
 CAUSES OF THE RENAISSANCE

1. The decline of the Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire after

1204 lled to an exodus of Greco- Roman scholars to the West.

These scholars brought with them text and knowledge of the classical Greek and Roman
civilizations which had been lost for centuries in the West
 2. The Crusades were a
series of battles between
Christians and Muslims in the
Middle East.
Christian knights wanted to
take the Holy Land and give it
back to Christians
In 1095,
Pope Urban II
called for
In the thirteenth century, math and sciences
a crusade, or
flourished in the Arabic Islamic countries, war, against
compared with the West, where science was the Muslims
repressed by the Church. Some of this
knowledge made its way into Europe through
Spain or was brought to Europe through the
Crusaders.
 3. THE BLACK DEATH
THE OUTBREAK OF THE BUBONIC PLAGUE
RESULTS
1.Europe experiences a massive decline in population
2.Labor is hard to find
3.3.Towns and many serfs freed from feudal obligations
4.Church influence declines
5.Disrupts pattern of trade
Europe was recovering from the Dark ages and the plague.

People had lost their faith in the church and began to put more focus on
human beings.
4. The Hundred Years War
The wars between England and
France from 1337 to 1453.

It was a war that encompassed

most of Europe and changed
the role of people in society

5.The Great Schism

A split in Church authority weakened
the position of the Church in society.

6. Rise of wealth and

merchant class in Italy
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
OF THE RENAISSANCE
 1. REDISCOVERY OF GREEK AND ROMAN
CULTURE
2. EMPHASIZED REASONING- A QUESTIONING
ATTITUDE AND FREE INQUIRY

3. EMPHASIZED VIEWING LIFE NOT AS PREPARATION

FOR THE HEREAFTER, BUT LIVING FOR THE
PRESENT

4. Featured great achievements in art, literature

and science.
 THE RENAISSANCE STARTS IN ITALY –
WHY?

1. Italy was the center of Greco-Roman Culture

2. Italy was located on the Mediterranean –

absorbing new ideas from the advanced
Byzantine and Moslem world.

3.Italy had wealthy, influential people who became

patrons(supporters) of art, literature and science.
 Leading Renaissance
Patrons
1. Certain Popes in Rome
2. Wealthy merchants in Venice
3. The Medici Family in Florence
Thriving Renaissance Cities in Italy
Venice
Milan
1. Florence
Genoa
2. Milan Florence

3. Genoa
4. Venice
Facts about the Italian City-States
Each city-state:
1. Ran its own affairs
2. Collected their own taxes
3. Had its own army
4.No central gov’t – each had ruler
or despots –with unlimited power.
5.Merchants and bankers –
wealthiest class – dominated
political live.
 CLASSICAL HERITAGE AND
VALUES
A. The Renaissance scholars looked downed
on the art and literature of the Middle Ages
and wanted to return to the learning of the
Greeks and Romans.

B. As a result a literary movement started in the

14th century Italy called Humanism.
1. It taught people to live a full life and
welcome new experiences.

2.Humanists wanted people to turn away from

the medieval view that the only important
part of life was working toward eternal
salvation at death.
3. Humanists wanted people to have better
lives in this world, rather than waiting on
the next. Humanism stressed man and his
talents.
 4. Humanism stressed studying history,
literature, and philosophies – called the
humanities

5. The Renaissance became a secular movement

– its major interest lying outside the sphere of
religion, even though most remained devout
Catholics.
4. Humanism stressed studying history, literature,
and philosophies – called the humanities

5. The Renaissance became a secular movement –

its major interest lying outside the sphere of
religion, even though most remained devout
Catholics.
6. Education during the
Renaissance aimed that the “complete or universe
man”
(The Renaissance Man)
Who excelled in many fields.
 Individual
Seek
has
fulfillment
dignity
in daily life
and worth

HUMANISM

Challenged long Ideal person

accepted should
traditions and participate
institutions in…..

Art, Politics, Sports, Literature

And Music
HUMANIST
WRITERS
 Wrote a book called The Book of the Courtier
Which describes three characteristics of the perfect courtier
(one in attendance at a royal court- a noble)

•Nobles were born, not made, and should posses

impeccable character, grace, talents, and noble birth.

The perfect noble must develop two basic skills”

•He should participate in military and bodily exercises.
•The noble was expected to follow a certain standard of
conduct:
1.Nobles should not hide their accomplishments but
should display them with grace.
Baldassare 2.The aim of the perfect noble was to serve his prince in
Castiglione an effective and honest way.

IMPACT: Castiglione had a great influence through his

writing on Renaissance behavior. His book was a great
help in the shaping of the Italian Renaissance.
 Francesco
Petrarch
1304-1374
Italian poet and humanist

Assembled Greek and

Roman writings.

Wrote beautiful sonnets

expressing romantic love
in the Vernacular
Known as the Father of
Humanism
 Dutch humanist

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus

The Praise of Folly
It made fun of medieval superstitions,
prejudices, upper class, privileges, and
church abuses.
Used humor to show the immoral and
ignorant behavior of people, including
the clergy. He felt people would be
open minded and be kind to others.

Pushed for a Vernacular form of the

Bible
“I disagree very much with those who
are unwilling that Holy Scripture,
translated into the vernacular, be read
by the uneducated . . . As if the strength
of the Christian religion consisted in the
ignorance of it”
Giovanni Boccaccio

An Italian author and poet.

Best Known for

“Decameron” – A collection
of one hundred tales.
Sir Thomas More
English Humanist
Wrote: Utopia
A book about a perfect society
Believed men and women live in
harmony. No private property, no
war, no poverty and no ignorance
and no one is lazy, all people are
educated and the justice system is
used to end crime instead of
executing criminals.
 He was a major French Renaissance
François Rabelais humanist writer, doctor and Renaissance
humanist. He has historically been regarded
as a writer of fantasy, satire, the grotesque,
and both bawdy...

Wrote a comic adventure called

“Gargantua and Pantagruel”

He believed that humans were basically

good and should live their lives by their
instincts, rater than by religious rules.
 THE VERNACULARREPLACES LATIN IN
LITERATURE

A.In the Middle Ages Latin was the language of literature, the Church, and
the educated people in western Europe.

B.The rise of the vernacular or national language, such as French, Italian,

Spanish, English, etc.

C.At the end of the Middle Ages writers began to use their national languages
and discarded Latin.
 GREAT VERNACULAR WRITERS

Dante (1265-1321) - Called the “Father of Modern Italian.”

Wrote Divine Comedy – a long poem describing Dante’s trip
through Hell, Purgutory and Heaven.
Dante

Chaucer (1343-1400) – wrote the

Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer
Niccolò Machiavelli
(1469-1527)

An Italian – wrote The Prince

The Prince describes how rulers
maintained power by methods that ignored
right or wrong.
Stated that politically “ the ends justifies
the means”
Stated that for rulers, “it was better to be
feared than to be loved”

The Prince continued to influence

European rulers for centuries
Miguel de Cervantes
(1537-16160

A Spaniard. He ridiculed Middle Age

societies, especially knighthood and
chivalry in his book
Don Quixote
William Shakespeare
(1564-1615)

An English playwright
–
Romeo and Juliet

Hamlet

Macbeth

And More
John Milton
(1608-1674)

An Englishman
Retold the Biblical story
of the Creation and the
Garden of Eden in his
epic poem
Paradise
Lost
 The Invention of Printing Encourages Literature
Johannes GutenbergAbout 1450 printing by movable type was
invented by Johann Gutenburg (German).

As compared to medieval hand-copy of

books, printing tremendously increased
output, accuracy and decreased cost.

It also encouraged literacy and

education. It also encouraged talented
men to write.