1. Where did the Renaissance begin
Where did the Renaissance begin? What factors helped it to develop there?
The Renaissance started in Italy.
Three important factors contributed:
Influence/relics from classical civilizations (Roman Empire)
Cities that were wealthy from trade with Byzantine Empire, North Africa (influence from other cultures)
Thriving merchant class: Trade brought in enough money to spend on arts, sciences—people could afford to focus on more than survival

2. Renaissance Italy
Italy --not a unified nation, but region of city-states with separate rulers
Papal States—controlled by Pope/Catholic Church
Trading Centers: Venice, Genoa, **Florence
Economic Rivalry between city-states
The Renaissance started in Italy and, over the next 200 years or so, spread north into other parts of Europe. At the beginning of the 1400s, Italy was not a unified nation but consisted instead of a series of relatively independent city-states. Each city-state had its own ruler: for example, the Pope in Rome presided over the Papal States, the Medici family dominated the Republic of Florence, the Doge ruled the Republic of Venice, the Sforza family was preeminent in the Duchy of Milan, and the Este family governed Ferrara. Relations between the city-states were characterized by an intense rivalry that most often took the form of economic and artistic competition but sometimes erupted into open warfare.

3. Humanism ●A belief in the importance of the individual person
●A belief in the importance of education, especially in poetry, history, and literature (the humanities)
●A focus on human life instead of only focusing on God and getting to heaven

4. The word “renaissance” means “rebirth,” and as Europe moved out of the Middle Ages, many people felt as if the world was indeed being born again. The period witnessed a rethinking and remaking of society’s institutions. It was also a time when leading thinkers revisited the “great ideas” of ancient Greece and Rome and found new ways in which to apply these ideas.

5. How did people’s beliefs or attitudes about life and Christianity during the Renaissance differ from those people held during the Medieval Period?
In the Medieval period, every part of daily life connected in some way with Christianity.
In the Renaissance, while people were still very religious, there was also an interest in secular (not religious) parts of life: entertainment, financial issues, science, art, love, etc.

7. Explain the role of patrons like the Medici Family and Isabella D’Este in the Italian Renaissance.
The Medicis and Isabella D’Este were PATRONS—they offered financial support to artists and spent huge amounts of money on art. They demonstrated their own importance by having portraits painted and donating art to public spaces in the cities.

8. Medici Family

9. Vernacular
Locally spoken language, rather than Latin that was commonly used in the Church and in writing (Italian, Spanish, French, English, German)
Boccaccio (The Decameron)
Dante (Divine Comedy--Inferno)
Chaucer (The Canterbury Tales)
Cervantes (Don Quixote)
Shakespeare (plays, poetry)

10. Where did the Northern Renaissance occur, and how did it differ from the Italian Renaissance?
The Northern Renaissance occurred in Germany, the Netherlands, England, and France.
In the North, there was a greater combination of Christianity and humanism, including questioning of the Church.
Northern art was more realistic—less idealistic than Italian art which focused on perfect human beauty.

11. Painters Italian --Raphael --Leonardo da Vinci --Michelangelo
--Donatello (sculpture)
--Gentileschi
Northern
--Albrecht Durer
--Hans Holbein
--Jan Van Eyck
--Jan Vermeer
--Pieter Brueghel
--Rembrandt

13. Who were the Christian Humanists? What did they believe?
Erasmus (The Praise of Folly),
Sir Thomas More (Utopia)
Applied humanist ideas to Christian teachings
Wanted to reform society and inspire people to live a Christian life, with less emphasis on Church rituals and ceremonies
Emphasized education, including education for women

14. Printing Press
Johannes Gutenberg, German inventor of the moveable type printing press, adapted from a Chinese invention
The printing press made books inexpensive and widely available.
The printing press increased literacy in Europe.
Published accounts of discoveries led to more discoveries in many fields.
Published legal proceedings helped people better understand their rights.

15. What technological or scientific advancements were made during the Renaissance? From what part of the world did these reach Europe?
Printing Press, navigational tools, advancements in medicine and astronomy
These came from the Byzantine Empire/Ottoman Empire/Safavids, China, and North Africa.
Have students work with a partner. In a color that is different from their original answers, they should underline the parts of their answers that have the information given in my answers. If they don’t have it, they should add it in the different color. They should be evaluating the quality, accuracy and thoroughness of their work and their partner’s work.

17. Renaissance Themes Humanism—emphasis on education
Revival/rebirth of classical culture (Greece & Rome).
Importance of the individual
Celebration of beauty of human body
Secular/worldly focus (focus away from religion)
Growing role for government/ politics
New technologies
At the core of the Italian Renaissance lay an intellectual movement known as “humanism.” It was based on the study of classical culture—Greece and Rome—and focused on secular or worldly subjects rather than religious ones. Humanists stressed education as a stimulant to creativity and believed that the subjects taught in ancient Greek and Roman schools—grammar, poetry, and history—should be revived. Many of the important figures of the Italian Renaissance considered themselves the direct inheritors of the classical tradition.
Recognition of the importance of the individual—something which happened rarely, if at all, in the medieval era—was a critical aspect of the Renaissance. Much of Renaissance artwork reveals a glorification of humanity and a celebration of the beauty of the human body.
The Renaissance focused less on religion and the afterlife and more on enjoying the pleasures of life in the here and now. Humanists wanted to expand the focus of Christianity beyond sin and redemption to include the full range of human experience—a desire which often led to conflict with the Catholic Church.

18. What makes the Renaissance modern?
Unit Question
What makes the Renaissance modern?