Part II: The Renassance

Alexander VI

A Borgia pope notorious for corruption and nepotism.

Chiaroscuro

A Renaissance artistic technique utilizing strong contract between light and dark to create depth and a 3D effect.

Christine de Pisan

A Renaissance writer whose work, The Book of the City of Ladies, provided a defense of women’s intellectual capabilities.

Ciompi Revolt

An uprising of wool carders in Florence who demanded political representation.

Condottieri

Leaders of mercenary armies in Italy.

Conquistadores

Spanish soldier-explorers.

Cosimo de Medici

The de facto ruler of Florence.

Desiderius Erasmus

The most famous Northern Humanist. He used his knowledge of the classics to critique the Church corruption.

Encomienda

A system where the Spanish Crown granted settlers the right to extract labor and tribute from indigenous people in the Americas.

Florentine Academy

An informal circle of humanistics supported by the Medici, focused on the revival of Greek and Roman classical texts.

Francesco Petrarch

Known as the “Father of Humanism”, his rediscovery of Cicero’s letters and his focus on classical models over medieval scholasticism

Hacienda

Large, self-sufficient estates in Spanish America that became the centers of agricultural production and economic power.

League of Venice (1495)

A defensive alliance formed to drive the French out of Italy. Showcasing the diplomacy of the Italian city-states.

Lorenzo the Magnificent

The grandson of Cosimo, a major patron of the arts in Florence.

Mannerism

A late Renaissance artistic style characterized by complex, elongated and often distorted forms.

Pico della Mirandola

A Renaissance philosopher who wrote Oration on the Dignity of Man.

Platonism

The study of Plato’s philosophy

Studia humanitatis

The liberal arts curriculum of the Renaissance

Treaty of Lodi

A peace agreement between major Italian powers (Milan, Venice, Naples, Florence, Papal States).