Setting the Stage for the Renaissance Humanities 8 Setting the Stage for the Renaissance

The Beginnings for Change Developments in… Literature Painting Sculpture Architecture Education Medicine …were supported by the changing worldview in Italy (the birthplace of the Renaissance).

Factors That Shaped the Renaissance Worldview The Silk Roads The role of Islamic civilizations The changing social structure The growth of cities Florence Venice Genoa

The Silk Roads How did the Silk Roads set the stage for the Renaissance in Europe? Increased trade (goods) Desire for wealth Contact with other groups Exchange of ideas and knowledge with other cultures

The Role of Islamic Civilizations The centre of the Islamic/Muslim world was at the crossroads of the Silk Roads. All trade between the Europe and Asia was controlled by Muslim middlemen, bringing great wealth to the Muslim world. Because of the convenient location of the Muslim world, it became a centre of learning during Europe’s Middle Ages.

The Role of Islamic Civilization The Muslim faith supported scholarship and inquiry Works written by Islamic scholars were copied and kept safe in libraries in Cairo, Baghdad, and Cordoba. Islamic scholars took mathematical ideas and refined them into the understanding of numbers we have today.

Numbers!

The Role of Islamic Civilization Islamic scholars used astronomy to invent tools for navigation (astrolabe). Islamic scientists (ex. Ibn Sina) studied diseases and the human body and wrote medical texts that were used for centuries throughout the whole world.

The Role of Islamic Civilizations Your homework: Explain how the geographic location of the Islamic Empire made it a centre for learning and discovery from 750 to 1100. Use the map of the Silk Road to help you answer.

Silk Road

John Green - “Silk Road”

John Green “Dark Ages, Not so Dark” start at 3’53”

The Changing Social Structure FEUDAL SYSTEM A political-economic- social system of landholding. Class structure and roles were very rigid. It developed after the fall of the Roman Empire.

The Changing Social Structure The Feudal System p.23-24 Our Worldviews

The Feudal System: Monarchs Would rent out their land to Nobles in return for military support Collected taxes from the Nobles.

The Feudal System: Nobles Would agree to support the King in times of war with supplies and soldiers and by paying taxes Would rent out the land they were renting from the King to Serfs Would promise protection for the Serfs who were renting their land.

The Feudal System: Serfs The Serfs could only live on the piece of land designated by the noble. The Serfs would pay the nobleman who rented them the land in money or crops The Nobles would send much of the crops to the monarch.

The Feudal System…to sum it all up The King gave land to the Nobles. The Nobles rented land to the Serfs. The Serfs paid the Nobles in crops or money. The Nobles paid the King in crops, taxes and military support. The Serfs served as soldiers for the Nobles, which was the military support for the King. The Nobles promised protection for the Serfs.

The Feudal System What can you tell about the quality of life of the different social classes by looking at this picture?

The Feudal System Your homework: If you were a member of the family of serfs who lived in a small hut… What would be your daily concerns? How might you describe your identity – who you are, what you value, where you see yourself belonging? How do you think a family member living in the manor house would answer the same questions? How do you think the perspectives would differ? Would the worldviews of serfs and nobles have similarities? Why or why not?