By: Steven Anuszkiewicz, Kristen Kurlander, Colleen Kelly & Kristine Cura

Key People Dante Chaucer Christine de Pizan Machiavelli Johannes Gutenburg Shakespeare

Dante Dante was an Italian writer and poet. Most famous work- the Divine Comedy. It tells the story of an imaginary journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven, where he finally meets God. He lived from 1265 to 1321 wrote using the vernacular.

Chaucer 1343-1400 Chaucer helped make vernacular literature more popular used the English vernacular in his famous work The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales have always been Chaucer's most popular work During the next twelve or fifteen years there is no question that Chaucer was constantly engaged in literary work

Christine de Pizan 1363-1430 a French woman that defended women's rights She wrote The Book of the City of Ladies in 1404. She denounced the many male writers who had argued that women, by their very nature, are unable to learn and are easily swayed. Christine de Pizan argued that women could learn as well as men if they attended the same schools.

Niccolo Machiavelli 1469 – 1527 studied politics most famous work- The Prince. His political views have influenced leaders profoundly. One of the first people to reject the idea that rulers should base their decisions and behavior on Christian principles. believed political activity should not be restricted by moral principles.

Johannes Gutenburg 1398 – February 3, 1468 a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe His invention of mechanical movable type printing started the Printing Revolution The first European to use movable type printing, in around 1439, and the inventor of the printing press

Shakespeare 1564 to 1616 wrote many famous works such as: Romeo and Juliet Hamlet Macbeth Julius Caesar is viewed universally as a genius and master of the English language

The Vernacular a style of speech that used vocabulary and slang from everyday people. Many famous writer of this time began to write in this style, such as . Allowed everyday people with improper educations to read and understand books.

The Impact of Printing The Renaissance first saw the development of printing in Europe. In the fifteenth century, Europeans gradually learned how to print with moveable metal type. The printing of books encouraged scholarly research and increased the public's desire to learn. Certain ideas and beliefs, such as the Reformation would not of spread as rapidly without the printing press. Printing allowed European civilization to compete with the civilization of China for the first time.