European Renaissanceand Reformation,1300–1600

By the 16th century, the humanistic ideas of the Italian

Renaissance were spreading throughout Europe. The Holy Roman

Empire, though formally in control of northern Italy, had little

power outside Germany. The map at the right shows Europe in

1500. Use the map to help you answer the questions below.

1. What were the borders of the Holy Roman Empire?

2. How was Italy divided at the time?

3. What does the map show in Italy that is different from the restof Europe?

4. How might the growth of cities have affected Italian culture?

Connect History and Geography

1300Renaissance begins in Italy.

1455Gutenberg Bibleprinted.

For more information about the European Renaissanceand Reformation . . .

CLASSZONE.COM

By 1527, King Henry VIII of England wassure that his queen was too old to beara son. Anne Boleyn caught his eye.Anne was pretty and young enough tohave children. When the pope refusedto end Henry’s first marriage, Henrystarted his own church. An Englisharchbishop ended Henry’s marriage,and Anne became Henry’s second wife.

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Europe, 1500

1513Machiavelli writesThe Prince.

1534 Henry VIII becomeshead of England’s church,breaking ties with Rome.

1555Peace of Augsburg endsreligious wars in Germany.

1558Elizabeth Irules England.

1564William Shakespeare born.

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Interact with History

You are a historian looking at primary sources from theRenaissance. One of them is this painting by Jan van Eyck.

Chancellor Rolin, a powerful government official inBurgundy (later part of France), asked the artist to paint thisportrait. You are analyzing it to discover Rolin’s values andhow he wanted to be viewed by others. You can also use theart to learn about the times.

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Renaissance artistsportrayed theimportance ofindividuals.Chancellor Rolin iskneeling to showrespect, but hewears a fur-trimmedrobe that shows hishigh status.

Van Eyck includedmany details simplyfor the sake ofbeauty. Theseinclude the fancydesign on the floor,the folds of Mary’scloak, and thescenery outside thearches.

Renaissance artistswere influenced by classical art. The columns andarches show classical influence.

Van Eyck used arecentlyrediscoveredtechnique calledperspective,which makesdistant objectslook smaller thanclose ones. Healso used oilpaints, a newinvention.

What do we learn fromart?

This paintingshows the infantJesus and hismother Mary in15th centuryEurope. Byportraying biblicalcharacters intheir own time,Renaissanceartists showedthe importance ofreligion in theirlives.

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EXAMINING the ISSUES

• What does art tell us about thevalues and beliefs of the societythat produced it?

• What does art show about howpeople of that society viewedthemselves?

• How does art reflect a society’sstandards of beauty?

As a class, discuss these questions. Inyour discussion, review what you knowabout art in other places such as Egypt,India, China, and Benin.As you read about the Renaissance,notice what the art of that time revealsabout European society.

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SETTING THE STAGE During the late Middle Ages, Europeans suffered from bothwar and plague. Those who survived wanted to enjoy life. As a result, they questionedthe Church, which taught Christians to endure suffering to get a heavenly reward.They also questioned the structures of medieval society, which blocked socialadvancement. Educated people gradually began to reject medieval values and look tothe classical past for ideas.

Italy’s AdvantagesThe years 1300 to 1600 saw an explosion of creativity in Europe.Historians call this period the Renaissance (REHN•ih•SAHNS). Theterm means rebirth—in this case a rebirth of art and learning. TheRenaissance began in northern Italy around 1300 and later spreadnorth. One reason northern Europe lagged behind is that France andEngland were locked in the Hundred Years’ War. Italy also had threeadvantages that fostered the Renaissance: thriving cities, a wealthy mer-chant class, and the classical heritage of Greece and Rome.

Urban Centers Overseas trade, spurred by the Crusades, had ledto the growth of large city-states in northern Italy. The region alsohad many sizable towns. Thus, northern Italy was urban while therest of Europe was still mostly rural. Since cities are often placeswhere people exchange new ideas, they were an ideal breedingground for an intellectual revolution.

The bubonic plague struck these cities hard, killing up to 60 per-cent of the population. This brought economic changes. Because therewere fewer laborers, survivors could demand higher wages. In addi-tion, the reduced population shrank opportunities for business expan-sion. Wealthy merchants began to pursue other interests, such as art.

Merchants and the Medici Milan, Florence, and other Italiancity-states ran their own affairs. Each collected taxes and had its own army. Becausecity-states were relatively small, a high percentage of citizens could be intenselyinvolved in political life. Merchants were the wealthiest, most powerful class, and theydominated politics. Unlike nobles, merchants did not inherit social rank. Success inbusiness depended mostly on their own wits. As a result, many successful merchantsbelieved they deserved power and wealth because of their individual merit. Individualachievement was to become an important Renaissance theme.

Florence came under the rule of one powerful family, the Medici (MEHD•ih•chee).They had made a fortune in trade and banking. Cosimo de’ Medici was the wealthiestEuropean of his time. In 1434, he won control of Florence’s government. He did notseek political office for himself, but instead influenced members of the ruling council bygiving them loans. For 30 years, he was virtually dictator of Florence.

European Renaissance and Reformation 417

A. PossibleAnswers Because ifhe were elected, hemight lose his office;by staying behind thescenes, he could tryto influence whoeverheld office.THINK THROUGH HISTORYA. MakingInferences Why doyou suppose Cosimode’ Medici preferredto rule from behindthe scenes rather thanopenly?

BackgroundFlorence lost up to55,000 out of a popu-lation of 85,000.

Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance

1TERMS & NAMES• Renaissance• humanism• secular• patron• perspective• vernacular

MAIN IDEA

The European Renaissance, a rebirth oflearning and the arts, began in Italy inthe 1300s.

WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Renaissance ideas about classicalstudies, art, and literature stillinfluence modern thought.

Other RenaissancesA Renaissance can be a rebirth of the arts and learning at any time in history. For example, the Tang (618–907) and Song(960–1279) dynasties in Chinaoversaw a period of great artisticand technological advances.

Like the Italian Renaissance,the achievements of the Tang andthe Song had roots in an earliertime—the Han Dynasty (202 B.C. toA.D. 220). After the Han collapsed,China experienced turmoil.

When order was restored,Chinese culture flourished. TheChinese invented gunpowder andprinting. The most famous Chinesepoets of all time wrote literarymasterpieces. Breakthroughswere made in architecture,painting, and pottery. In manyways, the Tang and Song periodwas a true Renaissance.

SPOTLIGHTON

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Cosimo de’ Medici died in 1464, but his family retained control ofFlorence. His grandson, Lorenzo de’ Medici, came into power in 1469.He became known as Lorenzo the Magnificent. Like his grandfather,Lorenzo ruled as a dictator yet kept up the appearance of having anelected government. Although the Medici did not foster true republi-can government, they aided the Renaissance by supporting the arts.

Classical Heritage Renaissance scholars looked down on the artand literature of the Middle Ages and wanted to return to the learn-ing of the Greeks and Romans. One reason the Renaissance began in Italy is that artists and scholars drew inspiration from the ruins ofRome that surrounded them.

In the 1300s, scholars studied ancient Latin manuscripts, whichhad been preserved in monasteries. Then, when Constantinople fellto the Ottoman Turks in 1453, Byzantine scholars fled to Rome withancient Greek manuscripts—which Italian scholars had assumedwere lost forever.

Classical and Worldly ValuesAs scholars studied these Greek works, they became increasinglyinfluenced by classical ideas. These ideas helped them to develop a new outlook on life, which had several characteristics.

Classics Lead to Humanism The study of classical texts led tohumanism, which focused on human potential and achievements.Instead of trying to make classical texts agree with Christian teachingas medieval scholars had, humanists studied them to understandancient Greek values. Humanists influenced artists and architects tocarry on classical traditions. In addition, humanists popularized thestudy of subjects common to classical education, such as history, lit-erature, and philosophy. These subjects are called the humanities.

Enjoyment of Worldly Pleasures In the Middle Ages, some reli-gious people had proved their piety by wearing rough clothing andeating the plainest foods. However, humanists suggested that a per-son might enjoy life without offending God. In Renaissance Italy, the

wealthy openly enjoyed material luxuries, fine music, and tasty foods.Most people remained devout Catholics. However, the basic spirit of Renaissance

society was secular—worldly and concerned with the here and now. Even church lead-ers became more worldly. They lived in beautiful mansions, threw lavish banquets, andwore expensive clothes.

Patrons of the Arts In addition to seeking pleasure, Renaissance popes beautifiedRome by spending huge amounts of money for art. They became patrons of the arts by financially supporting artists. Renaissance merchants also were patrons of the arts.Wealthy families such as the Medici generously supported artists. By having their portraits painted or by donating public art to the city, the wealthy demonstrated theirown importance.

The Renaissance Man Renaissance writers first introduced the idea that some peo-ple were artistic geniuses. Though genius was rare, all educated people were expectedto create art. In fact, the ideal individual strove to master almost every area of study. Aman who excelled in many fields was praised as a “universal man.” Later ages calledsuch people “Renaissance men.”

A book called The Courtier (1528) by Baldassare Castiglione (KAHS•teel•YOH•nay)taught how to become such a person. A young man, said Castiglione, should be

THINK THROUGH HISTORYB. AnalyzingCauses What werethe three advantagesthat caused theRenaissance to startin Italy?B. Answer Italy hadmany cities, wherepeople couldexchange ideas; thecities were run bymerchants, who sup-ported the arts; Italianscholars and artistshad access to classi-cal art and literature.

BackgroundThe words humanistand humanities comefrom the Latin wordhumanitas, whichreferred to the literaryculture that everyeducated personshould know.

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Medici FamilyGiant banks with branches in manycities are nothing new. The Medicibank had branch offices not onlythroughout Italy but also in themajor cities of Europe.

A rival family grew so jealous ofthe Medici that they plotted to killLorenzo (see bust below) and hisbrother Giuliano. As the Mediciattended Mass, assassins murderedGiuliano at the altar. Drawing hissword, Lorenzo escaped to a smallroom and held off his attackers untilhelp arrived. Then he had the killersbrutally, publicly executed.

More positively, Lorenzo was agenerous patron of the arts whocollected many rare manuscripts.Eventually the Medici family madetheir library available to the public.

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charming, witty, and well educated in the classics. He should dance, sing,play music, and write poetry. In addition, he should be a skilled rider,wrestler, and swordsman. Above all, he should have self-control:

A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S TLet the man we are seeking be very bold, stern, and always among thefirst, where the enemy are to be seen; and in every other place, gentle,modest, reserved, above all things avoiding ostentation [showiness] andthat impudent [bold] self-praise by which men ever excite hatred and dis-gust in all who hear them.BALDASSARE CASTLIGLIONE, The Courtier

The Renaissance Woman According to The Courtier, upper-class womenalso should know the classics and be charming. Yet they were not expected to seekfame. They were expected to inspire art but rarely to create it. Upper-class Renaissancewomen were far better educated than the women of the Middle Ages. However, mostRenaissance women had less influence than medieval women had.

A few women, such as Isabella d’Este, did exercise power. Born into the rulingfamily of the city-state of Ferrara, she married the ruler of another city-state, Mantua.She brought many Renaissance artists to her court and acquired an art collection thatwas famous throughout Europe. She was also skilled in politics. When her husbandwas taken captive in war, she defended Mantua and won his release.

Renaissance Revolutionizes ArtSupported by patrons like Isabella d’Este, dozens of talented artists worked in north-ern Italy. As the Renaissance advanced, artistic styles changed. Medieval artists usedreligious subjects and tried to convey a spiritual ideal. Renaissance artists also oftenportrayed religious subjects, but they used a realistic style copied from classical mod-els. Greek and Roman subjects also became popular.

Following the new emphasis on individuals, painters began to paint prominent citi-zens. These realistic portraits revealed what was distinctive about each person. Inaddition, artists such as the sculptor and painter Michelangelo(MY•kuhl•AN•juh•LOH) glorified the human body. (See page 420.)

New Techniques Donatello (DAHN•uh•TEHL•oh) made sculpture more realistic by carving natural postures andexpressions that reveal personality. He revived a classicalform by carving the statue David. It was the first Europeansculpture of a large, free-standing nude since ancient times. Renaissance artists, such as the painter Masaccio(muh•SAH• chee•oh), also rediscovered the technique ofperspective, which indicates three dimensions.

C. Possible AnswerBecause merchantswere proud of theirindividual achieve-ments, they wantedtheir portraits to showthem as distinctiveindividuals.THINK THROUGH HISTORYC. SynthesizingMerchants believed intheir own individualmerit. How did thisbelief affect artisticstyles?

Perspective is a technique that creates theappearance of three dimensions. Classicalartists used perspective, but medievalartists abandoned the technique. In the 1400s, Italian artists rediscoveredperspective. Since then, it has remained animportant part of Western art.

Perspective is based on an opticalillusion. As parallel lines stretch awayfrom a viewer, they seem to drawtogether—until they meet at a spot onthe horizon called the vanishing point.

Perspective in Paintings

vanishing pointhorizon

Marriage of the Virgin (1504), Raphael

This is a 19th-century engravingof the Renaissancewriter BaldassareCastiglione.

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HISTORY THROUGH ART: Renaissance Art

Michelangelo–Renaissance ArtistLike Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti was a trueRenaissance man. He excelled at almost every area of study.Michelangelo was a painter, a sculptor, an architect, and a poet.

Michelangelo is most famous for the way he portrayed thehuman body in painting and sculpture. Influenced by classical art,he created figures that are forceful and show heroic grandeur andpower. By doing this, he explored the Renaissance theme ofhuman potential.

St. Peter’s BasilicaAs an architect, he designed thisdome to top St. Peter’s Basilica

[Church] in Rome. Michelangelobegan working on the church

in 1546. It still wasn’tfinished when he died in

1564. Another architecthad to finish the dome.

Sistine ChapelFrom 1508 to 1512, Michelangelo paintedthe ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.This detail shows the Biblical prophetJoel. Many of the panels show classicalinfluences, such as the two youths whostand behind Joel instead of angels. Likemany Renaissance artists, Michelangeloblended Christian and Greek ideals.

DavidInfluenced by classical statues,Michelangelo sculpted David from 1501to 1504. Michelangelo portrayed theBiblical hero in the moments just beforebattle. His posture is graceful, yet hisfigure also displays strength. Thestatue, which is 18 feet tall, towersover the viewer. This conveys a senseof power.

Clarifying How does the workof Michelangelo show that hewas influenced by Renaissancevalues? Explain.

SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK, PAGE R3

Researching Look throughbooks on 20th century art to findartists who work in more than onemedium, such as painting andsculpture. Share your findingswith the class.

Connect to Today

Connect to History

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European Renaissance and Reformation 421

Leonardo, Renaissance ManLeonardo da Vinci (LAY•uh•

NAHR•doh duh•VIHN•chee) was apainter, sculptor, inventor, and sci-entist. A true “Renaissance man,”he was deeply interested in howthings worked. He studied how amuscle moves or how veins arearranged in a leaf. He filled hisnotebooks with observations andsketches of new inventions, and heincorporated his findings in his art.

Among his many masterpieces,Leonardo painted one of the best-known portraits in the world, theMona Lisa. The woman in the por-trait seems so real that many writershave tried to explain the thoughtsbehind her slight smile. Leonardoalso produced a famous religious painting, The Last Supper. It showsthe personalities of Jesus’ disciplesthrough facial expressions.

Raphael Advances RealismRaphael (RAF•ee•uhl) was youngerthan Michelangelo and Leonardo.He learned from studying theirworks. One of Raphael’s favoritesubjects was the Madonna andchild. Raphael often portrayed theirexpressions as gentle and calm.

In his greatest achievement,Raphael filled the walls of PopeJulius II’s library with several paint-ings. One of these, School of Athens (page 414), conveys the classical influence of theRenaissance. It shows classical and Renaissance figures together. Listening to Greekphilosophers are Raphael and Michelangelo, among others.

Women Painters Although Renaissance society generally restricted women’s roles, afew Italian women became painters. Sofonisba Anguissola (ahng•GWEES•soh•lah) wasthe first woman artist to gain an international reputation. She is known for portraits ofher sisters and of prominent people such as King Phillip II of Spain. ArtemisiaGentileschi (JAYN•tee•LEHS•kee) trained with her painter father and helped with hiswork. In her own paintings, Gentileschi painted pictures of strong, heroic women.

Renaissance Writers Change LiteratureRenaissance writers produced works that not only reflected their time, but also usedtechniques that writers rely on today. Some followed the example of the medievalwriter Dante. He wrote in the vernacular, his native language, instead of classicalLatin. Dante’s native language was Italian. In addition, Renaissance writers wroteeither for self-expression or to portray the individuality of their subjects. In theseways, writers of the Renaissance began trends that modern writers still follow.

VocabularyMadonna: a term forMary, the mother ofJesus; it comes froma former Italian titlefor women, meaning“my lady.”

BackgroundDuring most of theMiddle Ages, educatedEuropeans wroteeverything in Latin.

Leonardo da Vinci1452–1519

Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks—andlife—are mysterious in many ways.Some 3,500 pages closely coveredwith writings and drawings survive,but these may be only one-fourth ofwhat Leonardo produced.

His writing is clear and easy toread—but only if you look at it in amirror. He wrote backwards in“mirror-writing.” No one knows whyhe took the time to do this.

Leonardo planned scholarlyworks that he never wrote, and heplanned great feats of engineeringthat were never built. Only 17 of hispaintings survive, and several ofthose were unfinished. The drawingabove is the only self-portrait knownto exist. And yet the work thatLeonardo did produce is so amazingthat his reputation as one of theworld’s geniuses is secure.

Raphael1483–1520

One of the artists influenced byLeonardo, Raphael began his careerearly. His father, Giovanni Santi, wasa painter, and Raphael learned thebasics of his art in his father’sstudio. At a young age, Raphaelwent to study with a painter namedPerugino. He stayed there about tenyears and then went to Florence.

In 1508, Raphael was asked byPope Julius II to work for him inRome. Raphael created a series ofmagnificent frescoes, paintingsdone on wet plaster, for the pope’sprivate rooms in the Vatican.

Raphael, unlike many of hisfellow artists, was easy to like.When he died on his 37th birthdayafter a short illness, manyRomans—including the pope andhis court—were stricken with griefand went into mourning.

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Petrarch and Boccaccio Francesco Petrarch (PEE•trahrk) was one of the earliestand most influential humanists. He was also a great poet. Petrarch wrote both inItalian and in Latin. In Italian, he wrote sonnets—14-line poems. They were about amysterious woman named Laura, who was his ideal. (Little is known of Laura exceptthat she died of the plague in 1348.) In classical Latin, he wrote letters to his manyimportant friends.

The Italian writer Boccaccio (boh•KAH•chee•oh) is best known for the Decameron,a series of realistic, sometimes off-color stories. The stories are supposedly told by agroup of worldly young people waiting in a villa to avoid the plague sweeping through

Florence. The humor of the Decameron is cutting. Boccaccio presents the follies ofhis characters—and all humans—with some sarcasm.

Machiavelli Advises Rulers The Prince (1513), by Niccolò Machiavelli (MAK•ee•

uh•VEHL•ee), also examines the imperfect conduct of human beings. He does so inthe form of a political guidebook. In The Prince, Machiavelli examines how a ruler

can gain power and keep it in spite of his enemies. In answering this question,he began with the idea that most people are selfish, fickle, and corrupt.

To succeed in such a wicked world, Machiavelli said, a princemust be strong as a lion and shrewd as a fox. He might have to trickhis enemies and even his own people for the good of the state. InThe Prince, Machiavelli was not concerned with what was morally

right, but with what was politically effective:

A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S TEveryone admits how praiseworthy it is in a prince to keepfaith, and to live with integrity and not with craft. Neverthelessour experience has been that those princes who have donegreat things have held good faith of little account, and haveknown how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft, and inthe end have overcome those who have relied on their word.NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI, The Prince

Women Writers The women writers who gained fame in the Renaissance usuallywrote about personal subjects, not politics. Yet, some of them had great influence.Vittoria Colonna exchanged sonnets with Michelangelo and helped Castiglione pub-lish The Courtier. Her own poems are often very personal. For example, when herhusband was away at war, she wrote to him, “Your uncertain enterprises do not hurtyou; / but we who wait, mournfully grieving, / are wounded by doubt and fear.”

Toward the end of the 15th century, Renaissance ideas began to spread north fromItaly to countries such as France, Germany, and England. Northern artists andthinkers would adapt the Renaissance ideals in their own ways.

THINK THROUGH HISTORYD. SupportingOpinions Do youthink Machiavelli isright in his view thatrulers must trick peo-ple and ignore moral-ity? Explain.D. PossibleAnswers Yes,because leaderssometimes have tohurt individuals to dowhat is best for astate; No, there isnever a good reasonto abandon one’smorals.

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NiccolòMachiavelli, shownhere with his handon a book, wasmuch more than justa cynical politicalthinker. He was alsoa patriot, a poet, anda historian.

2. TAKING NOTESUsing a big-idea outline like theone below, record the main ideasfrom the section about the ItalianRenaissance.RenaissanceI. Italy’s advantages

A.B.C.

II. Classical and worldly values

3. SUPPORTING OPINIONSName three people from thissection whom you regard as a“Renaissance man” or a“Renaissance woman.” Explainyour choices.THINK ABOUT• the idea of the “universal man”• Castiglione’s description of such

a person • which people from this section

seem to match that description

4. ANALYZING THEMESRevolution How did theRenaissance revolutionizeEuropean art and thought?THINK ABOUT• changes in ideas since

medieval times• changes in artistic techniques• changes in artistic subjects

1. TERMS & NAMESIdentify• Renaissance• humanism• secular• patron• perspective• vernacular

Section Assessment1

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SETTING THE STAGE The work of such artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,and Raphael showed the Renaissance spirit. All three artists demonstrated an interestin classical culture, a curiosity about the world, and a belief in human potential. Theseideas impressed scholars and students who visited Italy. Merchants also carried theseideas when they traveled out of Italy. By the late 1400s, Renaissance ideas had spreadto northern Europe—especially England, France, Germany, and Flanders.

The Northern Renaissance BeginsBy 1450 the population of northern Europe, which had been shattered by the bubonicplague, was beginning to recover. In addition, the destructive Hundred Years’ War be-tween France and England ended in 1453. Many cities grew rapidly. Urban merchantsbecame wealthy enough to sponsor artists. This happened first in Flanders, which wasrich from long-distance trade and the cloth industry. Then it happened in other countries.

As Section 1 explained, Italy was divided into city-states. In contrast, Englandand France were unified under strong monarchs. These rulers often sponsored thearts. For example, Francis I of France purchased Renaissance paintings. He alsoinvited Leonardo da Vinci to retire in France, and hired Italian artists and archi-tects to rebuild his castle at Fontainebleau (FAHN•tihn•BLOH). When completed,Fontainebleau became a showcase of the French Renaissance. Because of mon-archs like Francis, royal courts played a major role in intro-ducing Renaissance styles to northern Europe.

As Renaissance ideas spread out of Italy, they min-gled with northern traditions. As a result, thenorthern Renaissance developed its own char-acter. Many humanists there were more inter-ested in religious ideas than in the secularthemes popular in Italy. The Renaissanceideal of human dignity inspired some north-ern humanists to develop plans for socialreform based on Christian values.

Artistic Ideas SpreadIn 1494, a French king claimed the throneof Naples in southern Italy and launched aninvasion through northern Italy. As the wardragged on, many Italian artists and writersleft for a safer life in northern Europe. Withthem, they brought the styles and tech-niques of the Renaissance. In addition,artists who studied in Italy also carriedRenaissance ideas north.

BackgroundFlanders was a regionin northern Europe. Itincluded part ofFrance and part of theNetherlands. The peo-ple of Flanders arethe Flemish.

A. Answer By mak-ing Italian artists fleenorthTHINK THROUGH HISTORYA. AnalyzingCauses How did thewar in Italy spreadthe Renaissance?

The NorthernRenaissance

2TERMS & NAMES• Utopia• printing press• Gutenberg Bible

MAIN IDEA

In the 1400s, northern Europeans beganto adapt the ideas of the Renaissance.

WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Renaissance ideas such as theimportance of the individual are astrong part of modern thought.

Albrecht Dürerpainted Adorationof the Trinity afterreturning fromstudying in Italy.

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B. Answer It spreadfrom the North toItaly, instead of mov-ing from Italy to theNorth.THINK THROUGH HISTORYB. ContrastingHow was the development andspread of oil paintingdifferent from manyother Renaissance developments?

German Painters Perhaps the most famous person to do this was the German artistAlbrecht Dürer (DYUR•uhr). The son of a goldsmith, Dürer decided to become apainter. After serving an apprenticeship, he traveled to Italy to study in 1494.

After returning to Germany, Dürer produced woodcuts and engravings that becameinfluential. Many of his prints portray religious subjects such as the one on page 423.Others portray classical myths. He also painted realistic landscapes and a self-portrait inwhich he portrayed himself as a Renaissance man. The popularity of Dürer’s work helpedto spread Renaissance styles. His work inspired other German artists.

Dürer’s emphasis upon realism influenced the work of anotherGerman artist, Hans Holbein (HOHL•byn) the Younger. Holbeinspecialized in painting portraits that are almost photographic indetail. He enjoyed great success in England, where he painted por-traits of King Henry VIII and other members of the royal family.

Flemish Painters As in Italy, wealthy merchant families inFlanders were attracted to the Renaissance emphasis on individual-ism and worldly pleasures. Their patronage helped to make Flandersthe artistic center of northern Europe.

As in Italy, the Renaissance in Flanders was marked by an interestin realism. The first great Flemish Renaissance painter was Jan vanEyck (yahn van YK). Van Eyck lived from sometime in the late1300s to 1441 and worked at the height of the Italian Renaissance.

Oil-based paints had recently been developed. Van Eyck usedthem to develop techniques that painters still use. Because oil paintdoes not dry quickly, it can be blended more easily than other paints.By applying layer upon layer of paint, van Eyck was able to create avariety of subtle colors in clothing and jewels. Oil painting becamepopular and spread to Italy.

Flemish Peasant LifeThe Flemish painter Pieter Bruegeloften portrayed peasants. Many ofhis paintings provide informationabout peasant life in the 1500s.

Peasant Wedding (1568), shownbelow, portrays a wedding feast ina rough but clean barn. The bridesits under the paper crown hangingon a piece of green cloth. Twoyoung men who may be herbrothers are pouring drinks andpassing out plates.

Who, then, is the groom?Possibly the man sitting across thetable from the bride and leaningback on a three-legged stool.

Children and at least one doghave come to the party. The coupleto the right of the bride and the manon the far right with a sword aredressed more elegantly than theother guests. They may be wealthytownsfolk related to the groom.

Daily Life

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European Renaissance and Reformation 425

In addition to new techniques, van Eyck’s paintings display unusually realisticdetails and reveal the personality of their subjects. His work influenced later artists innorthern Europe.

Flemish painting reached its peak after 1550 with the work of Pieter Bruegel (BROY•

guhl) the Elder. Like van Eyck, Bruegel was interested in realistic details and individualpeople. He captured scenes from everyday peasant life such as weddings, dances, har-vests, and the changing seasons. Bruegel also produced paintings that illustrated proverbsor taught a moral. Some of his paintings protested harsh Spanish rule over his country.

In all his work, Bruegel’s rich colors, vivid details, and balanced use of space give asense of life and feeling. He was also very skillful in portraying large numbers of peo-ple. Not only did Bruegel produce a large number of paintings, he inspired two sonsand three grandsons to also became painters.

Northern Writers Try to Reform SocietyJust as Italian art influenced northern European painters, so did Renaissance ideasinfluence the writers and philosophers of northern Europe. These writers adopted theideal of humanism. However, some gave it a more religious slant. Because of this,some northern humanists are also called Christian humanists.

Christian Humanists The best known of the Christian humanists were DesideriusErasmus (DEHZ•ih•DEER•ee•uhs ih•RAZ•muhs) of Holland and Thomas More ofEngland. The two were close friends.

Born in Rotterdam, Erasmus received honors from princes, kings, and cardinals forhis brilliant writings. In 1509, while he was a guest in More’s house, Erasmus wrotehis most famous work, The Praise of Folly. This book poked fun at greedy merchants,heartsick lovers, quarrelsome scholars, and pompous priests. Although some ofErasmus’s most stinging barbs were aimed at the clergy, his work is strongly Christian.Erasmus believed in a Christianity of the heart, not one of ceremonies or rules. Hethought that in order to improve society, all people should study the Bible.

Also concerned with society’s flaws, Thomas More tried to show a better model. In 1516, he wrote the book Utopia about an imaginary land inhabited by apeace-loving people. In Greek, Utopia means “no place,” but in English ithas come to mean an ideal place because of More’s book. In Utopia,greed, corruption, war, and crime had been weeded out. Because theUtopians weren’t greedy, they had little use for money:

A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S TGold and silver, of which money is made, are so treated . . . that no onevalues them more highly than their true nature deserves. Who doesnot see that they are far inferior to iron in usefulness since withoutiron mortals cannot live any more than without fire and water?THOMAS MORE, Utopia

The French humanist François Rabelais (RAB•eh•LAY) provided acontrast to Erasmus and More in several ways. They wrote in Latin,while Rabelais wrote his comic adventure Gargantua and Pantagruelin vernacular French. More secular than either Erasmus or More,Rabelais believed that human beings were basically good. They shouldlive by their instincts rather than religious rules. As he told of the wildadventures of the giants Gargantua and Pantagruel, he poked fun at his society.Rabelais’s humor was uproarious and earthy, although he made many serious pointsabout the nature of humanity, education, and government.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare wrote in Renaissance England. Manypeople regard him as the greatest playwright of all time. Shakespeare was born in

THINK THROUGH HISTORYC. MakingInferences Whatpoint do you thinkMore was makingabout his ownsociety?C. PossibleAnswers That theywere too greedy orthat they loved moneytoo much.

The Christianhumanist ThomasMore wrote about anearly perfectsociety calledUtopia. He did thisto show his ownsociety how toimprove.

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1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town about 90 miles north-west of London. By 1592 he was living in London and writingpoems and plays.

His works display a masterful command of the English languageand a deep understanding of human beings. He revealed the souls ofmen and women through scenes of dramatic conflict. His mostfamous plays include the tragedies Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet,Romeo and Juliet, and the comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream.Many of these plays frankly examine human flaws. However,Shakespeare also had one of his characters deliver a speech thatexpresses the Renaissance’s high view of human nature:

A V O I C E F R O M T H E P A S TWhat a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite infaculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable in action,how like an angel in apprehension [understanding], how like a god!the beauty of the world; the paragon of animals.WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Hamlet

Like many Renaissance writers, Shakespeare revered the clas-sics and drew on them for inspiration and plots. One of his greattragedies, for example, tells the story of the assassination of JuliusCaesar—the Roman general and statesman.

The Elizabethan Age The Renaissance in England is also calledthe Elizabethan Age, for Queen Elizabeth I. She reigned from1558 to 1603. Elizabeth was well-educated and knew French,Italian, Latin, and Greek. In addition to running a kingdom (seepage 432), she also wrote poetry. As queen, she patronized artistsand writers. Poet Edmund Spenser dedicated his long poem TheFaerie Queene (1590) to her with these words: “To the most high,mighty, and magnificent Empress, renowned for piety, virtue, andall gracious government, Elizabeth.”

Printing Spreads Renaissance IdeasOne thing that helped spread Renaissance ideas throughoutEurope was a new invention that adapted Chinese technology. TheChinese had invented block printing, in which a printer carved aword or letter on a wooden block, inked the block, and then used itto print on paper. Around 1045, Bi Sheng invented movable type,

or a separate piece of type for each character in the language. However, since theChinese writing system contained thousands of different characters, most Chineseprinters found movable type impractical.

Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press During the 13th century, block-printeditems reached Europe from China. European printers began to use block printingto create whole pages to bind into books. However, this process was too slow tosatisfy the Renaissance demand for knowledge and books. Johann Gutenberg, acraftsman from Mainz, Germany, reinvented movable type around 1440. Themethod was practical for Europeans because their languages have a very smallnumber of letters in their alphabets.

Gutenberg then invented the printing press. The printing press is a machine that presses paper against a tray full of inked movable type. Using this invention,Gutenberg printed a complete Bible, the Gutenberg Bible, in about 1455. It wasthe first full-size book printed with movable type.

THINK THROUGH HISTORYD. SummarizingState at least twoways in whichShakespeare’s workshowed Renaissanceinfluences.D. PossibleAnswers He wrotein vernacular English;he had a characterexpress a high view ofhuman nature; hewrote about classicalsubjects.

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William ShakespeareShakespeare’s plays were verypopular in London in the 1600s. Theyare popular today as well, but theyappear in many places besidesLondon. Shakespearean festivalsare regularly held in such places as Stratford-upon-Avon, England;Stratford, Ontario, Canada; andAustin, Texas.

Even though he has been deadfor almost 400 years, Shakespeareis one of Hollywood’s favoritewriters. In the 1990s, two filmversions of Hamlet hit the theaters,as did a version of Romeo andJuliet. The poster below is from the1990 version of Hamlet, starring MelGibson and Glenn Close.

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