Renaissance and Discovery 1350-1550

1. Renaissance and Discovery1350-1550

2. Key Topics • Politics, culture, and art of the Italian Renaissance • Political struggle and foreign intervention in Italy • The powerful new monarchies of northern Europe • The Thought and culture of the northern Renaissance.

3. Where were we before? • Population Loss • Church instability • Rise of nationalism • Political turmoil

4. Where are we going? • Population rejuvenation • Monarchs are becoming increasingly more powerful and able of imposing a new political order • Continued religious uncertainty. • Increased sense of individualism • Rise and fall of the Italian city state • Rise of the merchant class • Age of exploration and encounters with new civilizations

5. What was the Renaissance? • Some historians categorize the Renaissance as a “rebirth,” or a break from the Middle Ages and a transition into modern times. • How can this be questioned? • The Renaissance began in the Italian city states. • What are city states? How are they different from nation states? • Why did the Renaissance begin in the Italian city states as opposed to elsewhere in Europe?

6. Italian City States • Merchant cities dominated the political climate • Remained prosperous throughout the Middle Ages because of its continued trade with the Near East • Cities maintained their own independence, meaning Italy was not united • Ruled by wealthy merchant families

7. City State Structure • There was a huge economic divide between classes in many city states but was especially seen in Florence. • The Ciompi Revolt occurred as a result of the two wealthy classes competing for power, the population loss that came from the plague, and the collapse of the banks. • Led to years of instability with the lower classes having the power, ended with the rise of the Medici • Who were the Medici?

8. Cosimo de’ Medici

9. Humanism

10. Main Ideas • Humanism was the scholarly study of the Latin and Greek classics that embraced rhetoric, poetry, politics, and moral philosophy. • Humanists were not against religious affairs, many studied religion through a humanist lens in order to gain a better understanding of religion. • Petrarch is considered to be the Father of Humanism • What writings is he known for?

11. For the Following Reading • Does Petrarch’s letter give equal weight to classical and Christian values? Why? • What does he state as being important to his life?

12. My parents were honourable folk, Florentine in their origin, of medium fortune, or, I may as well admit it, in a condition verging upon poverty. They had been expelled from their native city, and consequently I was born in exile, at Arezzo, in the year 1304 of this latter age which begins with Christ's birth, July the twentieth, on a Monday, at dawn. I have always possessed an extreme contempt for wealth; not that riches are not desirable in themselves, but because I hate the anxiety and care which are invariably associated with them. The pleasure of dining with one's friends is so great that nothing has ever given me more delight than their unexpected arrival, nor have I ever willingly sat down to table without a companion. Nothing displeases me more than display, for not only is it bad in itself, and opposed to humility, but it is troublesome and distracting. The greatest kings of this age have loved and courted me. They may know why; I certainly do not. With some of them I was on such terms that they seemed in a certain sense my guests rather than I theirs; their lofty position in no way embarrassing me, but, on the contrary, bringing with it many advantages. I fled, however, from many of those to whom I was greatly attached; and such was my innate longing for liberty, that I studiously avoided those whose very name seemed incompatible with the freedom that I loved. I possessed a well-balanced rather than a keen intellect, one prone to all kinds of good and wholesome study, but especially inclined to moral philosophy and the art of poetry. The latter, indeed, I neglected as time went on, and took delight in sacred literature. Finding in that a hidden sweetness which I had once esteemed but lightly, I came to regard the works of the poets as only amenities. Among the many subjects which interested me, I dwelt especially upon antiquity, for our own age has always repelled me, so that, had it not been for the love of those dear to me, I should have preferred to have been born in any other period than our own. In order to forget my own time, I have constantly striven to place myself in spirit in other ages, and consequently I delighted in history; not that the conflicting statements did not offend me, but when in doubt I accepted what appeared to me most probable, or yielded to the authority of the writer.

13. Humanism in Education and Writing • Humanists sought to seek first hand knowledge of classical writing • What does this mean? • Writers such as Castiglione and Christine de Pisan wrote practical guides that illustrated the accomplishments of man how they should live their lives • What were the names of each of their works? • What types of people were discussed in these works? • Who is excluded? • What does this tell you?

14. Castiglione De Pisan