The Renaissance, & The

Reformation

The Renaissance

• Means “rebirth”

– Specifically a revival in art & literature

• Began in the northern Italian city-

states in the 1300s, lasted until around

the 1600s

Why did the Renaissance start in Italy?

1. Thriving Cities– Trade led to growth of city-states, making them very rich &

powerful

• Exs: Florence, Pisa, Venice, Genoa, Milan

– Controlled trade on the Mediterranean Sea

– Economic Changes

• When the plague struck, it left fewer laborers

• Survivors demanded higher wages

• Expanded the middle class, which began to pursue other interests, like art, because there were few opportunities to expand business

Why did the Renaissance start in Italy?

2. Classical heritage of Greece & Rome– Artists & scholars of Italy drew inspiration from the

ruins of Rome that surrounded them

– Western scholars studied ancient Latin manuscripts that had been preserved in monasteries

– Christian scholars in Constantinople fled to Rome with Greek manuscripts when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453

Why did the Renaissance start in Italy?

3. Wealthy Merchant Class

– Merchants dominated political life

• Did not inherit wealth, earned it

• Believed this gave them the right to be

powerful

– This belief in individual achievement became

important during the Renaissance, leading to new

art forms, biographies, and portraits

Why did the Renaissance start in Italy?

3. Wealthy Merchant Class

– Why Florence?

• Was mostly urban while the rest of Europe was

rural

• Because Florence was small, many of its

citizens could be involved in politics

• The Medici Family

– Banking family that ruled Florence’s gov’t

– Used wealth to be generous patrons of the arts

Niccolò Machiavelli

• Wrote The Prince (1513)– Writings demonstrated the value of humanism (more to come

on this later)

– A guidebook for rulers

– Recommended realistic actions a ruler could take to stay in power

– Machiavelli wrote that it a ruler should be kind and generous if able, but it is better to “be feared than loved”

– A ruler should use any means necessary to achieve goals

• The “end justifies the means”

From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved more than feared, or feared more than loved. The reply is, that one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved, if one of the two has to be wanting. For it may be said of men in general that they are ungrateful, voluble [changeable], dissemblers [liars], anxious to avoid danger, and covetous of gain; as long as you benefit them, they are entirely yours; they offer you their blood, their goods, their life, and their children, as I have before said, when the necessity is remote; but when it approaches, they revolt. And the prince who has relied solely on their words, without making preparations, is ruined.

- Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince

Ideas About Life Change

• People remained devoutly Catholic– The spirit of society, however, was secular

(worldly)

• Church leaders and the wealthy believed they could enjoy life and liberty without offending God

– This is humanism (again, more on this later)

Artists & Sculptors

• Influenced by Greeks & Romans

• Emphasis on individual caused:– Portraits of prominent citizens, showing what was distinctive about

each

– Glorification of the human body in natural postures

– Perspective to enhance realism

• Drawing objects smaller if they are far away (3D)

• Architecture– No more Gothic

– Returned to columns and domes

Perspective

“The Renaissance Man”

• Well educated in the Classics

– Knowledgeable in many subject areas

• Charming, witty, smart

• Could dance, write poetry, play music

• Should be physically fit

The Renaissance Woman

• Should study the Classics

• Could write, dance, paint, and make music well

• Should NOT seek fame or political power

– Renaissance women were far better educated but had fewer rights than Medieval women

Leonardo da Vinci

• Considered to be a true “Renaissance

Man”

• Studied the human body & flight

• Was an inventor, sculptor, painter, &

scientist

Leonardo,

the Artist

From his Notebooks of over 5000

pages

His “Last Supper” shows Jesus’

last meeting with the 12 apostles

before the crucifixion

The facial expressions, detail,

and emotion had made it a

masterpiece

The Last Supper – da Vinci,

& Geometry

horizontal

vertical

The Last Supper and Perspective

The Da Vinci “Code”

St. John or Mary Magdalene?

Convent of

Santa Maria

delle Grazie

Milan, Italy

da Vinci’s

Mona Lisais great for its

emotion and

depth

Mona Lisa has no visible facial

hair at all - including eyebrows

and eyelashes

A Picasso Mona

• On August 12, 1911, a Louvre employee stole it by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom closet and walking out with it hidden under his coat after the museum had closed

• After keeping the painting in his apartment for two years, the man grew impatient and was caught when he attempted to sell it to an art dealer; it was exhibited all over Italy and returned to the Louvre in 1913

• In 1956, the lower part of the painting was severely damaged when someone doused it with acid

• On December 30 of that same year, another person damaged the painting by throwing a rock at it

• The result was a speck of pigment near Mona Lisa's left elbow

• The painting is now covered with bulletproof security glass

Leonardo, the

Scientist

(Biology):

Pages from his

Notebook

Leonardo, the Engineer:

• Leonardo sketched several designs for flying machines including this one with a rotating screw

• He intended to power it with a wound-up spring

• Leonardo’s many military inventions included this design for an armored tank

• Four soldiers sitting inside could turn cranks to move the wheels on this “tank”

• da Vinci also invented a gigantic crossbow

• It's difficult to know whether it would have worked, or whether it would have been superior to cannons of the same period

• The length of a man's outspread arms is equal to his height

• The maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man's height

• The distance from the elbow to the tip of the hand is one-fifth of a man's height

Vitruvian

Man

Michelangelo

• Michelangelo was a great painter & sculptor; his “Pieta” & “David” sculptures are perceived as masterpieces

• His greatest work is the 130 ft x 44 ft ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which shows biblical images of amazing detail, power, & beauty

Michelangelo’s

“Pieta” depicts

the Virgin Mary

cradling the

limp body of the

crucified Jesus

Michelangelo’s

statue of “David”

expresses the

Renaissance belief

in human dignity

and greatness

• Michelangelo painted more than 300 massive human figures onto the 5,800 square-foot ceiling while laying on his back

• The ceiling contains illustrations from the creation of Adam to the story of Noah

The Ceiling of the

Sistine Chapel

The

Creation

of the

Heavens

The Sistine Chapel Details

Creation of Man

• Michelangelo returned to the chapel to begin painting the altarpiece “The Last Judgment”

• This painting features Christ judging souls as the rise and fall from each side of the painting

Bartholomew's

flayed skin

Raphael

• Raphael “perfected” Renaissance painting

• He became the favorite painter of the Pope

because of his amazing detailed paintings

showing Greeks & Romans along with

Renaissance people

• “School of Athens” is his greatest work

• All of the important Greek

philosophers and thinkers are included

in this painting → all of the great

personalities of the classical period

• A great variety of poses

• Raphael worked on this commission

simultaneously as Michelangelo was

doing the Sistine Chapel

Raphael

Plato and Aristotle

Socrates

Michelangelo

Alexander the Great

Pythagoras

Zoroaster

Ptolemy

Euclid

Donatello

• Donatello was the greatest sculptor of the Renaissance

• Medieval sculptors only carved the front of a statue, but Donatello wanted sculptures to be viewed from all sides like Greek & Roman statues

• Donatello’s “David”

became the first

large, free-standing

human sculpture

Humanism

• The Humanities– Subjects taught in ancient Rome & Greece

• Grammar, Rhetoric, Poetry, History

• Humanism– Outlook focusing on human potential &

achievements• Humanists were practical; they wanted to learn about the

world and wrote in the vernacular (common language) either for self-expression or to portray the individuality of their subjects

• Ancient writings, rediscovered after being lost during the Middle Ages, influenced this movement

Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374)

• Writer from Florence

• Traveled all over Europe looking for old writings and realized how much had been lost

• Wrote sonnets in Italian about Laura, his ideal woman

– He also wrote in Latin

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

• Poet from Florence

• Wrote The Divine Comedy

– The story is about Dante’s journey through Hell,

Purgatory, and Paradise

– Written in the vernacular (everyday language) so

everyone could enjoy his writing

Desiderius Erasmus (1469?-1536)

• Christian Humanist writer

• Wrote the book In Praise of Folly– Poked fun at flaws in real people, such as greedy merchants,

arrogant priests, etc.

– Criticized the Church for teaching rituals instead of following Christ

• Believed the clergy was ignorant

• Believed in Christianity of the heart, not in a religion of rules and ceremonies

– Believed that to improve society, people should study the Bible

– Believed basis of education should be Roman & Greek classics

Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)

• Christian writer who was concerned with society’s flaws

– Said literature should serve Christian goals

• Wrote Utopia

– Described his ideal society, where people worked hard, lived in peace, and were well-educated

William Shakespeare (1564?-1616)

• English writer

• Invented 1,700 new words in 37 plays– Plays examined human flaws and also

expressed the Renaissance’s high view of human nature

– He drew on Greek and Roman classics for some of his plots

• Exs: Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra

The Printing Press

• The most important invention of the 1400s

• It was a gradual process:

– First, they learned to make paper from the Arabs

– Then came the development of printing blocks and moveable type

– Johann Gutenberg built the first printing press in 1455 and used it to print a Bible

The Printing Press

• Effects:– Spread ideas – crucial for the success of the

Reformation

– Books became cheap so many people could buy them (especially the Bible)

• Books written in vernacular for people who had not had classical educations

• Revolutionized learning because books were so readily available, so more people learned to read

The ProtestantReformation

Comunicación y Gerencia

The Protestant Reformation

Religious reform movement that divided the western church into Catholic and Protestantgroups

Events Leading to the Reformation

1. Christian HumanismBegan in Northern EuropeGoal: Reform the Catholic ChurchErasmus was the leader of Christian

Humanism

Events Leading to the Reformation

2. Corruption within the Catholic ChurchPeople were looking for salvationChurch leaders did not seem concerned with

the spiritual needs of the peopleIndulgences (release from all or part of the

punishment for sin) were being sold by the Church

Events Leading to the Reformation

3. Martin Luther & his 95 Theses

Luther was a monk & a professor

He became convinced that humans are saved through their faith and God alone

He believed that the Bible, not the Church, was the only source for religious truth

1517:Luther posts his 95 Theses on thechurch door at Wittenberg.

Cause:Luther attacked JohannTetzel, a friar, for

selling indugences. The theses were a list of questions & an attack on the abuses being committed by the Chuch

Luther called for only two sacraments (Baptism and Communion) and called for clergy members to be allowed to marry

Effect:Luther’s words were spread all over

Germany and attracted many followers

1520:Luther is excommunicated and declared an outlaw & heretic in 1521.

Cause:The pope realized that Luther was a serious threat to

papal authority. The emperor, a devout Catholic, also felt threatened.

Effect:Luther was sheltered in Saxony where he translated

the New Testament into German. When he returned to Wittenberg, he found many of his ideas already in use. He and his followers had become a separate religious group called Lutherans.

Lutheranism Became the first Protestant faith of

ChristianityFeatured services including Bible

readings, preaching the word of God, and song

Many German territories took control of Catholic Churches and formed state Protestant Churches

Politics During the ReformationHoly Roman Empire under Charles V

suffered from internal & external pressuresIndividual German territories became more

powerful due to Renaissance trade

Calvinism Spreads 1536: John Calvin publishes

Institutes of the Christian ReligionExpressed his ideas about God, salvation, and

human natureWrote that men & women are sinful by natureExpanded Luther’s ideas that humans cannot

earn salvation & said that God chooses a very few people to save, called the “elect”

God has known since the beginning of time who will be saved

This doctrine is called predestinationCalvinism eventually replaced Lutheranism as

the fastest growing Protestant religion in Europe

1555:The Peace of Augsburg is signed.

Cause:The Holy Roman Emperor had fought

a war against the German Protestantprinces and defeated them. However, he could not force them back into the Catholic Church.

Effect:The settlement ended the war and

allowed the ruler of each German state to decide his state’s religion.

This formally recognized the split between Catholicism & Protestantism

The Catholic Counter ReformationMovement in which the Roman Catholic Church sought

to make changes within the Church in response to the Protestant Reformation

The Catholic Counter ReformationThree Driving Forces:1. Jesuits

Founded by Ignatius of Loyola (Spanish nobleman)

Three Major Activities:1. Founded & staffed schools throughout Europe 2. Sent out missionaries to convert non-Christians to Catholicism3. Sought to stop Protestantism from spreading

*Their work was so long lasting because the missionaries that were sent out founded schools, colleges, & universities around the world.

The Catholic Counter ReformationThree Driving Forces:2. Reform of Papacy

In response to corruption within the ChurchPope Paul III

Had a council of cardinals investigate abuses within the Church

Approved the Jesuit orderUsed the Inquisition to identify & punish heresy in papal

territoriesConvened the Council of Trent

Pope Paul IVCarried out council’s decreesHad the council draw up an Index of Forbidden BooksHad offensive books collected and burned

The Catholic Counter ReformationThree Driving Forces:3. Council of Trent (1545-1563)

Reaffirmed the split between the Catholic & Protestant churchesCatholic bishops & cardinals agreed on several doctrines:

The Church's interpretation of the Bible was final. Any Christian who substituted his or her own interpretation was a heretic.

Christians needed faith and good works for salvation. They were not saved by faith alone, as Luther argued.

The Bible and Church tradition were equally powerful authorities for guiding Christian life.

Indulgences were valid expressions of faith. But the false selling of indulgences was banned.

1534:English Parliament approved the Act of Supremacy.

Cause:Henry VIII needed to annul his marriage to Catherine

of Aragon and remarry in order to have a male heir. When the pope would not agree to this, Henry called a Reformation Parliament to strip away the pope’s power in England. The Act of Supremacy completed this break with the pope by making the king the head of England’s church.

This was different from the Protestant Reformation because it took place for political reasons

Effect:Henry closed all English monasteries and seized their

wealth and land. This act increased royal power as well as the king’s treasury.

1559:Parliament established the AnglicanChurch

Cause:Elizabeth I returned England from Catholicsm

(under Queen Mary) to Protestantism and asked Parliament to set up a national church.

Effect:The Anglican Church became the only legal

church in England and people were required to attend its services. Elizabeth organized the church so that both Catholic moderates and Protestant moderates might accept it.

Effects of the ReformationPolitical

Church authority declined; individual monarchs & states gained power

1600s – rulers of nation-states sought more power for themselves and countries through warfare, exploration, and expansion

Groundwork was laid for the Enlightenment

ReligiousProtestant churches flourishedRoman Catholic Church became more unified as a result of the

reforms at the Council of Trent

SocialBoth religious put an emphasis on education in promoting beliefs → led to new schools & universities

Women remained mainly limited to concerns of home & family