Renaissance

Economic Impacts of the Crusades Encouraged the use of credit and banking Increased demand for Middle Eastern products Increased the amount of European goods to send to the Middle East to trade with

Important Economic Concepts: Usury Church rule against usury Usury, the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans intended to unfairly enrich the lender First banks start in Italy in the 1157, helped to secularize northern Italy.

Important Economic Concepts: Letters of Credit Letters of credit served to expand the supply of money and expedite trade. Letter of Credit: document issued by a bank that guarantees that a seller will be paid by the bank of the buyer

Important Economic Concepts: New Accounting Practices New accounting and bookkeeping practices were introduced. Double entry Transaction Journals use of Arabic numerals

Italy Florence, Venice, and Genoa Had access to trade routes connecting Europe with Middle Eastern markets Served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe Were initially independent city-states governed as republics

Trade & Commerce Changed Town Life Trade & Commerce: The Foundations of Town Life Towns were the centers of trade and shipping Luxury goods were brought into towns Guilds (organizations of people in the same profession) dominated town life

Trade & Commerce Changed Town Life Town Life During the Middle Ages Towns were small because the economy was based on farming and most people lived in rural areas Nobles held most of the power Lords owned the land where towns were located Towns need the protection of the knights who worked for the lords Your social status was determined at birth

Trade & Commerce Changed Town Life Town Life During the Renaissance Towns grew because society began to be based on trade and more people needed to live in cities to participate Middle class had most of the power Gained control of lots of money through trade and banking Social status was determined by your wealth and ability

How did Florence become the most influential city-state? Wool & silk industry Purchased luxury items from the East and sold them for a lot of money Had lots of banks that made loans and exchanged money Medici banking family promoted trade, art, scholarship

Why Were the Italian City States So Powerful? Strong ties with Turkish and Muslim merchants Each city-state specialized in a different trade European monarchs and nobles got loans from Italian banks

What was the Renaissance and why did it begin in Italy? Renaissance means “rebirth”, revival in art and learning during this time Period when scholars became interested in Greek and Roman culture Italian city-states used their wealth to commission work of art with classical themes

The Spirit of the Renaissance Why People Became Interested in Ancient Culture Knowledge of Ancient Greece and Rome was rediscovered by scholars The Crusades made Europeans eager to learn about the world around them Scholars thought ancient Greek and Roman writings would help solve problems

A Fascination With Classical Cultures Artists used ancient art as model Roman ideal of the perfect body Architects studied Roman building ruins

Belief in Human Potential Believed that each person could achieve great things Claimed that people educated in the classics could create a better world Emphasized human achievement on earth, rather than in the afterlife

A New Type of Scholar Called a Humanist Humanists devoted themselves to studying ancient writings They tried to learn about many subjects such as Latin, Greek, history, and math Petrarch, first great humanist

Art Activity Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation, while Renaissance art and literature focused on individuals and worldly matters, along with Christianity.

Artistic and Literary Creativity Leonardo da Vinci: Mona Lisa and The Last Supper

Artistic and Literary Creativity Michelangelo: Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and David

Artistic and Literary Creativity Petrarch: Sonnets, humanist scholarship

Humanism Celebrated the individual Stimulated the study of classical Greek and Roman literature and culture Supported by wealthy patrons

Machiavelli’s The Prince An early modern treatise on government Supports absolute power of the ruler Maintains that the end justifies the means Advises that one should not only do good if possible, but do evil when necessary

Northern Renaissance Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas. Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity. The movable type printing press and the production and sale of books (e.g., Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate ideas. Northern Renaissance writers Erasmus: The Praise of Folly (1511) Sir Thomas More: Utopia (1516) Northern Renaissance artists portrayed religious and secular subjects.