AP Euro Renaissance Unit

condottieri

merchant oligarchies reasserted their power and sometimes brought in powerful military leaders. Those leaders were condottieri

Pope Alexander VI

the most ruthless, he reasserted papal authority in the papal states

signori

communes and republics of Northern Italy

the 5 Italian powers

venice, Milan, Florence, the papal states, the kingdom of Naples

the medici

ruled Florence for 3 centuries, banking family, produced 3 popes

the coutier

sought to train, discipline, and fastion the young men into the courtly ideal, the gentlemen

the sforza

ruled harshly/dominated Milan and several cities in the north from 1447-1535

humanism

a program of study designed by Italians that emphasized the critical study of Latin and Greek Literature with the goal of understanding human nature

communes

sworn associations of free men in Italian cities led by merchant guilds that sought political and economic independence from local nobles

Machiavelli (1469-1527)

civic humanist; wrote “The Prince”; secretary to one of the governing bodies in Florence

patronage

financial support of writers and artists by cities, groups, and individuals often to produce specific works or works in specific styles

Francisco Petrarch (1304-1374)

Florentine poet/scholar; spent long hours searching for classical Latin manuscripts industry monastery libraries; felt that the writers and artists of ancient Rome had reached a level of perfection in their work

renaissance

french word meaning rebirth used to describe the rebirth of the culture of classical antiquity in Italy during the 14th to 16th centuries

Popolo

disenfranchised common people in Italian cities who resented their exclusion from power

virtu

the quality of being able to shape the world according to one’s own will

christian humanism

northern humanists who interpreted Italians ideas about and attitude toward classical antiquity and humanism in terms of their own religious traditions

Utopia (1516)

describes a community on an island beyond Europe where there was religious tolerance and disagreement was not acceptable based on humanism

Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1496)

dominican friar preached to large crowds in Florence fiery sermons predicting that God would Punish Italy for its moral vice and corrupt leadership “Bonfire of the Vanities” aided Charles VIII to include Florence hated Pope Alex VI

Erasmus (1466-1536)

Dutch Humanist deep appreciation for the classics highly respected by ALL Europeans 2 books, “The Education of A Christian Prince” “Praise of Folly”