European Renaissance c. 1340- c. 1600

What was the Renaissance? A period from c. 1340 to c. 1600 of artistic, literary, cultural, and intellectual change This was not the term used by people to describe the intellectual, cultural, and artistic changes going on around them. Rather, people used other terms to describe their era, such as “golden age”

What’s in a Name? The word is French for “re-birth” It is a term modern people have used to describe the changes happening at the time It was first used in English in the 1820s In Italian, in the 16th Century

But what was being born again during this period? An interest in the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans Interestingly, happens just when other forms of pagan ideas are being met with increased persecution (like witchcraft and magic)

The Renaissance as a Golden Age The idea of a “golden age” was drawn from Greek mythology of a time before the beginning of civilization where the world lived in peace and harmony with the rest of nature The golden age is thought to have been followed by the silver, bronze, and iron ages.

Garden of Eden, Jacob de Backer, 1555

Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Golden Age (Goldenes Zeitalter), 1530 Goldenes Zeitalter, Lucas Cranach the Elder, 1530 Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Golden Age (Goldenes Zeitalter), 1530

Historical geography of the Renaissance Renaissance trends begin in the northern Mediterranean, particularly around present-day Italy, beginning in the 14th Century Gradually, similar trends are replicated to the north and west over the next 200 years

What allowed this Golden Age to Happen? Economic Causes Political Causes Technological Causes

Economic Factors The morbid advantages of the Black Death and long-term plague in general: less people = more money and resources for the people who survive The major cities = important trade centers Florence, Venice, Genoa, Milan This created a wealthy elite class, but also a wealthy merchant class and the establishment of banks independent of the Catholic Church

Political Factors Economic growth in major cities led to new forms of local government Large cities became independent communes Political instability (fighting over who ruled the communes) usually led to i popolo, the people, rising up and forming Republics

Political factors, ctd. Republics usually ended up being ruled by the rich and influential families The Medici family in Venice or the Sforza family in Milan, for example New forms of education were directed toward these new political classes these new wealthy political families devoted resources to education and the arts

Technological Factors C. 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented the first moveable type printing press Different from earlier forms: Stamps Wax print setups

Johannes Gutenberg Born in Mainz, Germany c. 1398 Came up with the idea for the press in 1440 1450, A set of poems were printed in Mainz—possibly the first printed pages 1455, publishes his first set of Bibles, about 180

Tech., continued Mass production of books (most importantly, the Bible) Book making becomes easier, less time consuming, and cheaper Spread of new knowledge (and old, pagan knowledge) much more accessible

Renaissance Thought: Humanism Drawn from the renewed interest and study of ancient Latin and Greek texts. Began in Italy, but by the end of the 1400s, many of the upper classes in Europe had humanist educations Reaction to Scholasticism

Humanism v. Scholasticism Scholasticism was meant to create professionals (doctors, priests, mathematicians, engineers, etc.) The Humanist education was designed to educate and create informed citizens and non-professionals To the trivium (rhetoric) and quadrivium (maths), a humanist education would also add poetry, history, languages, and moral philosophy

Key Ideas of Humanists Human beings are capable of great things since they have a link to the divine world (think of the myth of “golden” beginnings) The goal of life is to be active in the world and society—this activity is not only for personal gain but also the gain of others in society

Key Ideas, ctd. Stressed the importance of the quality called virtù: being able to control the world and shape it according to your own will; being a master of your environment and surroundings As a result, the genre of biography was popular with humanists