Renaissance Study Guide Vocabulary

Vocabulary terms and key figures from the Renaissance study guide, including art, science, exploration, and worldview shifts.

Renaissance

Meaning "Rebirth," it was a period in Europe from about $1300\text{--}1600$ characterized by interest in Ancient Greek and Roman ideas, art, science, and human potential.

Worldview

The beliefs, values, and assumptions that shape how people understand the world.

Humanism

A way of thinking that focused on individual potential, human achievement, education, and critical thinking.

City-State

An independent city with its own government, such as Florence, Venice, Genoa, or Milan.

Patron

A wealthy supporter or family, such as the Medici, who paid artists and scholars to create and learn.

Medici Family

A wealthy family of patrons in Florence who supported Renaissance artists and scholars.

Perspective

An art technique that creates the illusion of depth and distance on a flat surface.

Leonardo da Vinci

A master artist, inventor, and scientist who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

Michelangelo

A Renaissance artist who created the David sculpture and painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Raphael

A Renaissance artist famous for painting The School of Athens.

Nicolaus Copernicus

The scientist who proposed the heliocentric theory.

Heliocentric Theory

The scientific idea that the Sun is at the center of the solar system.

Galileo Galilei

A scientist who used a telescope and scientific observation to support the heliocentric theory.

Scientific Revolution

A period where knowledge became based on evidence and observation rather than tradition alone.

Johannes Gutenberg

The inventor of the movable-type printing press.

Printing Press

A machine used to print books quickly, which helped spread ideas, increase literacy, and grow education.

Christopher Columbus

An explorer who reached the Americas in $1492$.

Vasco da Gama

An explorer who successfully reached India by sea.

Ferdinand Magellan

The explorer who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe.

Imperialism

When one country takes control of another country or territory for political, economic, or military gain.