The RenaissanceMoving North
Why Later?
• In 1494, a French king invaded northern Italy so many artists and writers fled for a safer life in northern Europe.
Italian Ren. Vs. Northern Ren.
• Divided into city-states
• Secular (non-religious) themes were popular
• Unified under strong monarchs
• More interested in religious
ideas
Erasmus
• Christian humanist
• Wrote The Praise of Folly
• Thought to improve society, everyone should study the Bible
Sir Thomas Moore
• Christian Humanist• Wrote Utopia which means “no
place”• About an imaginary land
inhabited by a peace- loving people
Shakespeare
• English playwright
• Themes included dramatic conflict, human flaws, and human nature
• Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Machiavelli
• Wrote The Prince which discusses the imperfect behavior of human beings
• Believed that “the end justifies the means”, or that leaders may use any method to achieve what is best for the state
The Printing Revolution
• Johann Gutenberg reinvented movable type around 1440
• He then invented the printing press, a machine that presses paper
against a tray full of inked moveable type
• With this, he printed a complete Bible in 1455
Effects of the Printing Revolution• Enabled a printer to produce hundreds of
copies, all exactly alike, of a single work
• Books were cheap enough that many people could buy them
• New ideas spread more quickly than before
• Books encouraged people to learn to read
• People interpreted the Bible for themselves, were more critical of priests, led to demands for religious reform
Top Related