THE RENAISSANCE

Economic Foundations

● The Crusades stimulated trade by introducing Europeans to many desirable products

● Trade promoted frequent contacts with the Byzantine and Muslim Empires

● Economic effects of the Crusades:

● Increased demand for Middle Eastern products

● Encouraged the use of credit and banking

● Stimulated production of European goods to trade in Middle Eastern markets

More on Economics

● New economic institutions developed

● Church rule against usury (charging interest on loans) and the banks’ practice of charging interest helped to secularize (separated from religion) northern Italy

● Letters of credit served to expand the supply of money and expedite trade

● New accounting and bookkeeping practices (use of Arabic numerals) were introduced

● Europe shifted from an agrarian society to an urban society

The rise of Italian city-states

● Renaissance- renewal in the arts and learning

● Riches from European trade with the Middle East led to the rise of Italian city-states

● Wealthy merchants were active civic leaders and patrons w/ humanist views (i.e. Medici family of Florence)

● The governments were weak & were conquered by the Holy Roman Empire by 1559

Machiavelli’s The Prince

● Machiavelli observed city-state rulers of his day and produced guidelines for the acquisition and maintenance of power by absolute rule

● He wrote an early modern treatise on government centered around 3 basic ideas:

● Support of absolute power of the ruler

● Maintains that the end justifies the means

● Advises that one should do good if possible, but do evil when necessary

The top city-states

● Florence, Venice, and Genoa had access to trade routes connecting Europe with Middle Eastern markets

● They served as trading centers for the distribution of goods to northern Europe

● They were initially independent city-states governed as republics (no king, not unified)

The Arts

● The Renaissance produced new ideas that were reflected in the arts, philosophy, and literature

● Patrons, wealthy from newly expanded trade, sponsored works which glorified city-states in northern Italy

● Education became increasingly secular

● Medieval art and literature focused on the Church and salvation; Renaissance art and literature focused on individuals and worldly matters, along with Christianity

The famous people● Leonardo da Vinci—painted Mona Lisa and The Last

Supper● Michelangelo—painted Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and

sculpted David & Pieta● Raphael—painted frescos (wall paintings) such as The

School of Athens

Mona Lisa

The Last Supper

Sistine Chapel (Ceiling)

David

Pieta

The School of Athens

Humanism

● Key Individual—Petrarch (wrote Sonnets to Laura, humanist scholar)

● Celebrated the individual ● Stimulated the study of Greek and Roman literature and culture

● Was supported by wealthy patrons

The Renaissance spreads

● With the rise of trade, travel and literacy, the Italian Renaissance spread to northern Europe

● The art and literature changed as people of different cultures adopted Renaissance ideas

● Growing wealth in Northern Europe supported Renaissance ideas

The Northern Renaissance

● Northern Renaissance thinkers merged humanist ideas with Christianity

● The production and sale of books (Gutenberg Bible) helped disseminate (spread) ideas

● The movable type printing press made books cheaper

● Northern Renaissance writers● Erasmus—The Praise of Folly

(1511), pushed for the Bible in the vernacular

● Sir Thomas More—Utopia (1516), ideal society

● Northern Renaissance artists portrayed religious and secular subjects (Jan van Eyck- painted religious figures with common people)

The Renaissance Elsewhere

● Literature in Spain- Cervantes’ Don Quixote

● Called the Elizabethan Age in England (after Elizabeth I)

● Literature in England- Shakespeare