1. The Renaissance Notes

2. Renaissance – began in Italian city- states (1350-1550); the English Renaissance was later (1485-1625) In both eras, men of all levels demanded a rebirth of civilization. This thirst for knowledge created an interest in sea exploration (which was possible because of the development of the compass and advances in astronomy. America was discovered during this period.

3. Many men also began to have a sense of nationalism, and they questioned the authority of the Catholic church. People were tired of the corruption. They were able to read the Bible for themselves, and they began to question the church’s interpretation of the scriptures. (Erasmus had translated the New Testament.) Martin Luther’s protest in 1517 brought more reaction than he wanted, creating the Protestant Reformation.

4. The Wars of the Roses, between the houses of York (red rose) and Lancaster (white rose) ended in 1485, and the Tudor (red and white petals) line came into power. This gave the king more stability, and England achieved a position of world power. Henry VII was the first Tudor monarch; his son Henry VIII was a devout Catholic at first, but split with the church when he tried to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon annulled because she had no son.

5. He ignored the church and married Anne Boleyn and thus had to break with the church. He created the Anglican Church. He seized the church’s English properties and dissolved the powerful monasteries. He married six times. His first wife had Mary (Bloody Mary); his second wife had Elizabeth (Elizabeth I), his third wife (Jane Seymour) had a son they named Edward, who was still a child when Henry died in 1547. Jane died after childbirth, and Henry married three more times.

6. Edward became Edward VI at the age of nine, but died when he was fifteen. His sister Mary followed him on the throne and restored Catholism to England, ordering the execution of about 300 Protestants. She was known as “Bloody Mary”. Mary died after a five year reign, and Elizabeth I became queen. She was to become the strongest monarch since William the Conqueror.

7. Elizabeth restored the monarch’s power over the church, and she encouraged writers of her time. She also tried to bring about religious tolerance. Elizabeth was also a strong supporter of exploration. Two of the most famous explorers of this time were Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Frances Drake.

8. Under Elizabeth’s rule, the British Navy sank the Spanish Armada in 1588. The Spanish Armada had never been defeated in battle before. The Catholics wanted Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne instead of Elizabeth; so Elizabeth imprisoned Mary in the Tower of London for many years. Even in prison, Mary led revolts, so Parliament ordered her death in 1587.

9. The Renaissance continued after Elizabeth’s death in 1603. She named James VI of Scotland (the son of Mary/but a protestant) to be James I of England. He also was a strong supporter of the arts and of exploration—Jamestown, Virginia. He oversaw the translation of the King James version of the Bible. His intolerance of the Puritans, however, led to their flight to the New World.