Unit 7 Vocabulary

The Renaissance: rebirth of cultural and intellectual pursuits after the stagnation of the Middle Ages. This period in European history, from about the 14th through 16th centuries, features major cultural and artistic change.

Florence, Italy: city in Northern Italy which many consider the home of the Renaissance movement because of the many artists, poets, scholars, and scientist it produced.

The Medici: wealthy banking family from Renaissance Florence whose wealth would turn them into a powerful political force and patron of the arts. Lorenzo de Medici Cosimo de Medici

Patron: financial supporter of the arts.

Humanism:

Intellectual movement which was the basis of the Renaissance that stressed life on Earth, the study of classical cultures, and the quality of being human. Rejected living only for the afterlife of Christianity.

Francesco Petrarch : early Renaissance humanist who reintroduced the great literary works of Ancient Greece and Rome to Western Europe.

Perspective: artistic technique which made paintings appear three-dimensional.

Leonardo da Vinci: An Florentine painter, sculptor, engineer, and inventor. Because of his many talents many think of him and a true “Renaissance Man”. Considered one of the great Renaissance masters.

Michelangelo: A Florentine sculptor, painter, poet, engineer, and architect. Considered one of the great Renaissance masters.The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel

Raphael: A Florentine painter who studied the works of da Vinci and Michelangelo. Considered the third Renaissance master.

Niccolo Machiavelli: Italian historian, statesman, and political philosopher of the Renaissance. His greatest work is The Prince, a book of political advice to rulers in which he describes the methods that a prince should use to acquire and maintain political power.

The Prince: A book of political advice written by Machiavelli which he describes the methods that a prince should use to acquire and maintain political power. Believed that a ruler should take any action to remain in power, or that “the ends justifies the means.”

The Northern Renaissance: rebirth of of cultural achievement in Spain, France, Flanders, Germany, and England which did not take place till the 1500’s due to a slow economic recovery from the Black Plague.

Flanders: a region that that includes parts of present day France, Belgium, and the Netherlands which was the birthplace of the Northern Renaissance.

Erasmus: Dutch priest and humanist who was one of the first to translate the bible into everyday language. Wrote the “Praise of Follies”,, which uses humor to expose the ignorant and immoral behavior of people, including the clergy

Vernacular: everyday language of ordinary people

Utopia: an ideal society where men and women live in peace and harmony

Sir Thomas More: English humanist who pressed for social reform. Wrote book called “Utopia”

William Shakespeare: (1564-1616) English poet and playwright. He wrote 37 plays between 1590 and 1613. His plays reflect the ideas of individualism and the unconquerable human spirit, and most of them are still performed today.

Johannes Gutenberg: (1400-1468) German printer and European pioneer in the use of movable type. Printed the “Gutenberg Bible”.