Renaissance ID terms

Renaissance

Rebirth of classical art, literature, and learning in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century.

Medici

Powerful banking family in Florence that ruled and patronized the arts.

Dowry

Property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage.

Papal states

Territories in central Italy controlled by the Pope.

Ambassador

An official diplomat sent by a government to represent it abroad.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Political theorist who wrote 'The Prince', arguing power is more important than morality.

The Prince

Political treatise by Machiavelli outlining how rulers gain and maintain power.

Individualism

Emphasis on the unique potential, achievements, and worth of the individual.

Secularism

An attitude or focus away from religion and towards worldly, material things.

Humanism

Intellectual movement reviving interest in classical Greek and Roman thought and human potential.

Petrarch

Father of humanism; famous for his vernacular poetry and recovery of classical texts.

Civic humanism

Humanism tied with Florentine civic pride and active participation in government.

Neoplatonism

Renaissance philosophy blending Plato's ideas with Christian mysticism.

Hermeticism

Philosophical system holding that divinity is embodied in all aspects of nature.

Liberal studies/liberal arts

Educational curriculum including grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry, and moral philosophy.

Francesco Guicciardini

Renaissance historian who wrote the 'History of Italy', pioneering modern historical writing.

Johannes Gutenburg

Inventor of the movable-type printing press in Europe around 1440 (Gutenberg Printing Press).

Masaccio

Early Renaissance painter who pioneered linear perspective and realism in frescoes.

Donatello

Early Renaissance sculptor known for naturalistic and expressive statues like his bronze David.

Donatello's David

First freestanding nude sculpture produced in Western art since classical antiquity.

Filippo Brunelleschi

Architect who designed the dome of the Florence Cathedral and pioneered linear perspective.

High Renaissance

Period of cultural peak in Italy (approx. 1490-1527) centered in Rome and Florence.

Leonardo da Vinci

Polymath, artist, and scientist of the High Renaissance; painter of the Mona Lisa.

Last Supper

Fresco by Leonardo da Vinci depicting Jesus and his disciples at the final meal.

Raphael

High Renaissance painter renowned for harmonious compositions and the 'School of Athens'.

School of Athens

Fresco by Raphael celebrating classical philosophy and human knowledge.

Michelangelo

High Renaissance sculptor, painter, and architect famous for the Sistine Chapel and David.

Michelangelo's David

Colossal marble statue by Michelangelo embodying the ideal human form and civic strength.

Northern Renaissance

Cultural movement in Northern Europe characterized by intense realism and oil painting.

Jan van Eyck

Flemish painter who pioneered the use of oil paint for rich detail and realism.

Albrecht Durer

German Renaissance artist famous for his woodcuts, engravings, and self-portraits.

The Spanish Inquisition

Judicial institution established to enforce Catholic orthodoxy in Spain, led to persecution/conversion of Muslims and Jews

Council of Constance

Ecumenical council that ended the Great Schism and condemned Jan Hus.

Great Schism

Period of division in the Catholic Church with multiple rival popes (1378-1417).

Jan Hus

Early Czech reformer burned at the stake for heresy against the Catholic Church.

Nepotism

The practice of favoring relatives in bestowing political appointments or church offices.

Contrapposto

An asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure where the weight is shifted onto one foot.

Virtu

The quality of being a man; the ability to shape the world according to one's will and skill.