The

Renaissance

Period

1485-1660Mrs. Pace – English 12CP

The term renaissance is a French word

meaning “rebirth.” It refers particularly to a

renewed interest in classical learning – the

writings of ancient Greece and Rome. The

Renaissance Period is considered to be a

cultural movement. The Renaissance era in

Europe and in England was

marked by a change in the

way people thought about

themselves and the world.

No longer content with the

fixed religious beliefs of the

Middle Ages, people became

more interested in expanding

their own knowledge.

The War of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil

wars between supporters of the rival houses of

Lancaster and York, for the throne of England. They

are generally accepted to have been fought in

several spasmodic episodes between 1455 and 1485

(although there was related fighting both before and

after this period). The war ended with the victory for

the Earl of Richmond, Henry Tudor, who founded the

House of Tudor, which subsequently ruled England

and Wales for 117 years.

The Tudor Rose

Henry Tudor, King Henry

VII

Technically the

Renaissance era in

England begins when a

Tudor nobleman (Henry

Tudor) is crowned King

Henry VII. However, the

Renaissance occurred

gradually and this

cultural movement

occurred across

Europe, not just in

England. King Henry VII is the father of

King Henry VIII, famous for

beheading his many wives

and breaking with the Catholic

Church to create the Church

of England.

Photos of

King Henry

VIII

Does this man

look full of

himself or

what?

The Renaissance, a time of renewal of the human

spirit, a renewal of curiosity and creativity, started in

Italy. Over several centuries Italy had acquired

considerable wealth ($), which it had accumulated

from banking and trade with the East. Many famous

inventors, painters, and writers flourished during

this time period. People like: Michelangelo,

Christopher Columbus, Galileo, and Da Vinci.

The Louvre – Museum in

Paris

During the Renaissance

educated people began to

embrace an intellectual

movement known as

humanism. Humanists looked

not only to the Bible but also

to the Latin and Greek classics

for wisdom and knowledge.

Humanists combined classical

ideology with traditional

Christian thought in order to

teach people how to live and

rule. Humanism is a

movement that came from

what we today would call

humanities, which is the study

Michelangelo's David is

a masterpiece of

Renaissance sculpture.

An invention that

transformed this historical

time period is the printing

press. Early books were

written by hand and

preserved by monks and

Byzantine and Islamic

scholars. However, the

invention of the printing

press in the early 15th

century (early 1400’s)

dramatically changed the

way people received

information. No longer were

the elite or nobles the only

ones to have access to

books, newspapers,

Johannes Gutenburg is credited with

inventing the first printing press in

Germany around 1400. By 1476 William

Caxton had his own printing press up and

running in Westminster, England.

Almost everyone in Europe and

Britain during the Renaissance was

Roman Catholic, so the church was

very rich and powerful, even in

political affairs.

Many of the popes were

lavish patrons of artists,

architects, and scholars.

Pope Julius II

commissioned the artist

Michelangelo to paint

gigantic scenes from the

Bible on the ceiling of the

Sistine Chapel.

The new mind frame of the Renaissance was

to attain virtue, not success or money or

fame. This new ideal is founded on the belief

that virtue is the best possible human

possession and the only source of true

happiness.

While the Renaissance was going

on throughout Europe, there

occurred in some countries another

important series of events called

the Reformation.

In England these two movements

were closely related, and their

forces were felt by all English

writers.

A reformer rejected the authority of

the pope and the Italian churchmen.

Conflicts with the papacy had been

brewing for centuries.

A break was inevitable. Strong

feelings of patriotism and national

identity made the English people

The generations-old conflict

between the pope and the king of

England came to a climax when

Henry VIII wanted to get rid of his

wife of 24 years. Divorce was not

allowed, especially for kings , so

Henry needed a loop-hole. He asked

Pope Clement VII to declare that he,

Henry, was not properly married to

his Spanish wife, Catherine of

Aragon, because she had been

previously wedded (for all of five

months) to his older brother, Arthur,

now dead. (It was against Church

law to marry a dead sibling’s

spouse; the biblical basis for the law

Pope Clement

VII

King VS. Pope – All for an HeirHenry VIII had two motives for

wanting to get rid of Catherine.

First, although she had borne him

a princess, she was too old to

give him a male heir, something

he believed he MUST have.

(Catherine had lost five babies.)

Another younger woman had won

Henry’s dangerous affections –

Anne Boleyn. PROBLEM!! Henry

wants to marry Anne, but he’s

already married and divorce is

illegal.

The pope refuses to annul

Henry’s marriage – so Henry

breaks with the church and

Much is made of Henry’s voracious sexual

appetite. And…much of it is TRUE!!

Sir Thomas More , a friend of Henry’s and the author

of Utopia and now lord chancellor of England (lord

chancellor = head of the affairs of the church)

refuses to accept Henry as head of the Church. As

Henry’s friend he is torn, but in the end he sided

with God. For More’s stubbornness, Henry ordered

that his lord chancellor (and friend) be beheaded.

Thus, starts a trend!

Sir Thomas More

Henry VIII is remembered for his messy home life.

However, he was a very important figure to England. He

created the Royal Navy, which put a stop to foreign

invasions. Many actually recognize him as a

“Renaissance Man.” He wrote poetry, played many

musical instruments, and was a formidable athlete and

hunter. Here’s a rhyme to help you

remember the fate of

Henry’s six wives:

Divorced

Beheaded

Died

Divorced

Beheaded

Survived

Catherine of

Aragon – the 1st

wife

Anne Boleyn –

the 2nd wife

With Henry’s first wife (Catherine of

Aragon) packed away under house

arrest and Sir Thomas More

beheaded, Henry continues his

philandering ways.

However the people of England are

not happy with Henry’s new church,

The Church of England. The people

felt like it was too similar to the

Catholic Church. These unhappy

people later became known as

Puritans, Baptists, Presbyterians,

Dissenters, and Nonconformists – in

other words, Protestantism has

begun.

Protestants base their beliefs in the

fact that religion is solely a matter

between the individual and God. The

word protestant is understood to

mean anyone who belongs to a

Through years of affairs and fornication,

Henry VIII produces several offspring. Little

did he know, or care, that his daughter by

Anne Boleyn (Elizabeth) would become the

greatest ruler England ever had. Before

Elizabeth takes the throne, several of Henry’s

other children had their moment in the sun,

some good and some bad.

According to the laws of

succession, a son had to be

crowned first, and so at age nine

the son of Henry and Jane Seymour

became Edward VI. He reigned

from 1547-1553. An intelligent but

sickly boy, he ruled in name only

while his relatives wielded the

actual power. He died of

tuberculosis.

Before his death he attempted to

prevent the country being returned

to Catholicism. Edward named his

cousin Lady Jane Grey as his heir

and excluded his half sisters, Mary

and Elizabeth. However, this was

disputed following Edward's death

and Jane was only queen for nine

1st to the throne:

Mary, Edward’s half-sister of

Spanish decent, was a devout

Catholic. She was

determined to avenge the

wrongs done to her mother by

her father, Henry VIII. She

restored the pope’s power in

England and ruthlessly

hunted down Protestants.

She made a strategic error,

however, when she burned

about 300 of her subjects at

the stake. Mary’s executions

earned her the name Bloody

Mary. She died of a fever and

because she died childless,

she was succeeded by her

Bloody Mary 2nd to the

throne:

Elizabeth I reigned from 1558-1603.

She is considered to be one of the

most successful and brilliant

monarchs in history.

She inherited a kingdom torn by fierce

religious feuds, so her first task was to

restore law and order. She

reestablished the Church of England

and again rejected the pope’s

authority. The pope excommunicated

her.

Elizabeth was not married at the time

of her succession to the throne. She

quickly realized that her strength lay in

her independence. Throughout her

reign she continued to play one suitor

against another, keeping them all

The Virgin Queen

3rd to the

throne:

The victory of England’s Royal Navy over

the Spanish Armada in 1588 is considered

to be a great turning point in history and

Elizabeth’s finest moment.

After the defeat of the Armada, Elizabeth

became a beloved symbol of peace,

security, and prosperity to her subjects,

and she provided inspiration to scores of

English authors.

Literary works that did not directly

represent her were dedicated to her

because authors knew she was a

A Dull Man Succeeds a Witty

WomanElizabeth died childless and

was succeeded by her second

cousin, James VI of Scotland.

James was the son of

Elizabeth’s cousin Mary, whom

Elizabeth had beheaded years

before. As James I of

England, he lacked Elizabeth’s

ability to resolve critical

issues. James was a

squanderer where Elizabeth

had been thrifty. He, however,

tried hard. He was a

continued patron of

Shakespeare and the arts; he 4th to the throne:

There are many great writers from the Renaissance

period. Some of which we will read together. Here are

few:

Christopher Marlowe

Sir Walter Raleigh

Robert Herrick

Andrew Marvell

William Shakespeare

John Donne

Ben Jonson

Francis Bacon

John Milton

John Bunyan

Edmund Spenser

Sir John Suckling

Richard Lovelace

Poetry of the Renaissance/Elizabethan

AgeMajor themes – love and

beauty

Physical beauty –

outward

sign of the spirit

striving for perfection

(humanist theory).

Poet writes to a lady who is

inflexible. Man seeks her

love, but hopelessly. Her

moods create the weather.

Lady is usually not real (a

stereotype).

“Fair” = a sign of beauty

Carpe Diem and Pastoral Poetry

Carpe Diem is a Latin

phrase which means

“seize the day.” Poets in

the Renaissance were

pushing for

enlightenment and the

concept of fleeting

time/life being short

meant more authors

were generating poems

with these themes: Live

for today. Eat, drink, and

be merry, for tomorrow

we die.

Pastoral Poetry

focuses on the

idealized

countryside and the

simple life. With

cities on the rise,

there was a desire

to get back to the

simplistic things in

life. Pastoral poetry

Three Sonnet Types

Characteristics of ALL sonnets:

meter = iambic pentameter

rhyme = definite, but varies from sonnet to sonnet

14 lines long

Variations in sonnets:

rhyme

structure (octave – sestet VS. quatrains and a

couplet)

The three types:

Petrarchan (Italian), Shakespearean (English), and

the SpenserianSee handout for specifics on the three types of sonnets.

Lots to read.

Lots to do.

Let’s get started!