The Renaissance

Renaissance
 Questioning, not always excepting what is told
 Knowledge 
 Re-establishment of a civilization 
 Reformation (later)
 More commerce 
 Individualism (!!!) Sir Thomas Moore - executed by Henry VIII, yet flagellant (the body is sinful, it tries to seduce you to do bad things – drink, sex etc.)  

I. Background (How did the Renaissance change…peoples lives, etc.)
a. Beginning of history, in contrast to the middle ages 
b. Rough time, from somewhere in the late thirteen hundreds to somewhere in the sixteen hundreds
c. Origins: Burckhardt thesis no longer accepted – the Renaissance affected mainly the upper class (19th century) because only they were educated enough, lower classes didn’t have enough
II. Italy
a. Went from being run by the catholic church the rise of City States (Genoa, Venice, Milan because off trade)
i. These city states were either run by Signori (Despots – one man ruler) or by Oligarchies (groups of powerful merchants)
ii. Commenda - contract between a Merchant and a Merchant Adventurer(captain of the ship) 
iii. Italy becomes more Urban (will become the most urban areas on all of Europe, which is where the Renaissance starts
iv. City States COMPETED 
v. Eventually in the late 1400’s/ early 1500’s they were overrun by other armies (French and Spain)
vi. Condottieri - mercenary generals that were hired to protect the cities, but they could be bought!!! (if you can buy them, so can someone else…)
b. Major City States  Florence (Medici Family), Cosimo De’Medici 9born in the late 1300’s, head of the Medici Family [died 1464], consolidated the Families power, made alliances, marriages Lorenzo De’Medici – patron of the art (died 1492)
 Rome – Papal states
 Venice – remains independent until Napoleon takes it in the early 1800’s
o Merchants “ruled” w/ election 
o Commissioned its own art (St. Marks Square, Rialto Bridge) 
 Naples – wider ranging area, Southern Italy, including Sicily – actually had a King, but it was the weakest of the city states, dominated by France [ during the middle ages] and Spain after that 
Weaknesses
- Separated, so not combined 
French Invasion (1494): Milan Ludovico let them in because he was feeling threatened and had a problem with Naples, so he encouraged the French King to invade Naples, thinking that they would then leave Milan alone
At that time Savonarola ruled Florence for about four years, trying to get rid of corruption (94-98)
He was later BBQ’ed …
Medici returned to power, but greatly weakened.
Started Surrogate War, making alliance with City State (Spain = Venice and France + rest)

After this time, after the city states had declined in power, Machiavelli wrote The Prince, for Cesare Borgia (son of Pope Alexander VI dot, dot, dot…) he hopes to Unite Italy, under his control, so this is his how to manual…
The Prince:
“The End justifies the Means…”
“It is better to be Feared than Loved…”
Being Practical, Cunning, Aggressive, and Ruthless = Prince
Better to Ruthless and have a stable government, than be nice and overthrown 

End of Renaissance in Italy, 1527, because Spain sack Rome

III. Humanism in Literature and Art and Philosophy 
a. Individual Achievement is important
b. Things that show the potential in individual human beings
c. Values:
i. Virtú – the quality of being a good person, excellent in everything you do, your life should be riles by reason AND nature. You do things that are natural and things that are reasonable (Original Greek and Latin Philosophy and Language) 
1. By 1500 almost all the old texts have been rediscovered and translated
This led to two developments
- Liberal arts = renaissance man
o Grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, politics, philosophy 
- Civic Humanism - this education prepared men to be the leaders of other men, enlightened leaders because they knew how the pieces fit together, no religious figures

Petrarch – non religious writing, “father of modern writing”
- Came up with the term of “The Dark Ages” 
- People are now not looking at the church for inspiration, but to the individual and to classical civilization
- He studies the classics
- Wrote poetry - secular sonnets in vernacular (Italian)
Boccacio – Italian Chaucer “Decameron” – tails about common people, focusing on the individual, writing about things that was not “nice”, also created an encyclopedia for Greek mythology  

Bruni – “Humanism”, very in favor of civic humanism (education)(1444 died)
- wrote a history of Florence, some consider him to be the first historian


Lorenzo Valla – THE expert on Latin (1407-1457)
- considered the first linguist 
- found out about the false documents that the Church had, in which they claimed land
- looked at the church bible, and pointed out the errors 
- YET, he was a devout catholic, trying to help the church

Ficino – one of the most influential humanists
- Re-founds “Plato’s Academy” in Florence
- Mirandolo – member of his academy “Oration on the Dignity of Man” 

Humans were created by God, in his image, so they have the potential to be great. But, through neglect, they can also fail. Fulfill your potential. 

Castiglione - defined the idea of a Renaissance Man (1528) The Book of the Courtier - the qualities of a true gentleman 
- “Don’t spit on the floor” 
- Be able to read Greek and Latin, accomplished warrior, be able to dance
- “virtú”

Johannes Gutenberg - moveable type 
- Mid 1400’s, print the Gutenberg Bible
o Increase the literacy of the population 

IV. Renaissance Art 
a. Italy – Patronage
i. Artist (received patronage) vs. Artisan (makes useful crafts)
ii. Florence – major art centre 
1. Vasari – “The lives of the Artists” (1500’s)
2. Medici’s – major Patrons 
3. Sforza – Milan – commissioned da Vinci to go to Milan to paint the Last Supper
4. Artists did both religious and secular art
5. Michelangelo – David (was supposed to be in the Florence Cathedral)
iii. Patronage also came from the church
1. Commissioned parts of the cathedral in Florence
2. New techniques 
a. More 3D, painting in perspective
b. Chiaroscuro - tone variation (light and shadow)
c. Individual faces, more emotion
d. Sfumato – da Vinci  blurred lines, looked like it was farther away
e. Changes sculpture 
i. (medieval sculpture – relief sculpture, renaissance – free standing, more nudes)
iv. Art centre shifted from Florence to Rome
1. St. Peter’s Basilica vs. St. Paul’s (after England went Anglican) 

v. Architecture – trying to copy the simple lines of Greek, but the Italians couldn’t leave things simple, they had to have their states
vi. Artists 
1. Brunelleschi – architect (cathedral in Florence, 1400’s – largest dome in the world…then came the romans, developed techniques of perspective)
2. Ghiberti – major rival, gets the doors of the cathedral in Florence, da Vinci called his doors “Gates to Paradise”
3. Donatello – nude sculptures 
4. Botticelli - “The Birth of Venus” (early Renaissance)
5. Bramante – chapel, where St. Peter was crucified, commissioned by the pope in 1500 (high Renaissance) 
6. Leonardo da Vinci – The Renaissance Man, painter, sculptor, artist, architect, engineer, biologist, designed a helicopter
7. Raphael Santi – Madonna and Child
8. Michelangelo – David sculpture, Pieta (Mary holding Jesus after he’s died) 
9. Titian – vivid color, Venice School
vii. School of Mannerism – rebelling against Renaissance because everything has to be perfect
1. Tintoretto – elongated figures 
2. ElGreco – burial of Count Orgaz
Relate an aspect of the medial mind set/life to what Dante wrote
Castles vs. Palaces
Castles – no cities
Palaces – built in preexisting cities
Did the Feudal Lords have more or less power in the Middle Ages.
- On a small scale, they loose power
- But on a larger scale, the kings had so much power because they had to be able to exercise power over a large number of people (ex. Henry VIII or Elizabeth I)

V. Northern Renaissance
a. The north is more Christian, less emphasis on the Ancient Greeks and Romans
i. Christian Humanism – focused on this life, the church takes a more active role in helping people now and to live their lives, and not only be focused on the afterlife. Help people realize their full potential so that they can then go and help others. 
ii. Erasmus - Humanist, the master of Greek, made knew “pure” versions of the Bible. One of the first people in the Renaissance to live from his writing. In Praise of Folly  huge bestseller in its day. Devout catholic. He believed that by shining the light on the church through satire, the church would start to reform.
iii. Sir Thomas More – Utopia 1536 martyred 
iv. Lefevre d’Estables - French humanist, five different versions of the psalms (there isn‘t one version correct of the bible)
v. Ximenes de Cisneros – Spanish Humanist – reformed the Spanish clergy, also Grand Inquisitor in the Spanish Inquisition. His reformation caused the Reformation to be unnecessary. Created the Three Language Bible.
vi. Rabelais – French author wrote the Gargantua and Pantagruel. 
vii. Montaigne – essay form. Skepticism Doctrine  skeptics believed that true knowledge can never be acquired. You cannot truly know anything.  
viii. Shakespeare – plays and inventing new words, plays reflect ideals of humanism, vernacular  
ix. Cervantes – Don Quixote criticizing excess in chivalry and being too idealistic
VI. Northern Renaissance Art  
a. Flemish Style - modern day Belgium/Luxembourg 
i. Influenced by the Italians, but they used even more detail than the Italian renaissance, but in the background.
ii. Used oil paint instead of tempera paint
iii. More emotional in their painting
iv. Often preoccupied with death
v. Van Eyck 
vi. Bosch
vii. Brueghel the Elder
b. German
i. Dürer
ii. Holbein the Younger
iii. Fuggers – Jakob, money lenders. Northern Europe version of Medici Family
VII. Role of Women
a. Querelles des Femmes
b. Where do women fit into the renaissance?
i. Definite social role (middle ages)
ii. More access to education  to be pleasing to a man, held to a higher standard
iii. Lost some status
iv. More concerned with rape, purity more important
v. Christine de Pisan – died 1434 wrote books, The City of Ladies,(Chronicle of great women in history) The Book of Three Virtues (How to manual, how to be a renaissance woman) French, very well educated
vi. Isabella d’Este - 1474 – 1539 Italian, wrote over 2,00 letters about courtly life and politics, rules Mantua after her husband died and founded a school for women
vii. Artemesia Gentileschi – Italian, established painter, more post Renaissance = baroque, paints both historical and religious paintings. 
viii. Peasant/Lower Class – lives didn’t change a whole lot from the Middle Ages. Nuclear Families, marriages based on economic reasons, not love. Parents decided. Dowries. Average age of marriage for women – younger than 20, men, late 20’s. Middle classes tended to wait to marry, the lower and upper classes married earlier. Upswing in child abandonment in the renaissance in the lower class. Creation of foundling hospitals. 
ix. Catarina Sforza – Milan
x. Isabella I – Spain
xi. Mary Tudor¬ – England
xii. Elizabeth I¬ – 1558-1603 45 years
xiii. Catherine de Medicis – married into the French royal family and rules France for 30 years
xiv. Joan Kelly - Did women have a Renaissance? The middle class women didn’t have a renaissance. They were hurt by it and didn’t have any rights. They were now completely relegated to the home, whereas men took over the political sphere. More prostitution in the Renaissance. In the middle ages, women had even served as tutors, no more.