Renaissance Key vocab 1.1

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, concepts, and figures of the Renaissance period based on the provided lecture notes.

Renaissance

A fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political, and economic "rebirth" that bridged the gap between the Middle Ages and modern civilization.

Classical Era

A long period of cultural history spanning from the 8th century BCE to the 5th century CE.

Humanists

Scholars and teachers during the renaissance who focused on the literature, history, and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome.

Secular

Anything that is separate from religion, churches, or the divine.

Individualism

A cultural and philosophical stance that places supreme importance on the personal autonomy, rights, self-reliance, and unique identity of the individual over the collective demands of the state, church, or traditional social groups.

Petrarch

(Francesco Petrarca) A 14th-century Italian scholar and poet.

Vernacular

The local, native language or everyday dialect spoken by ordinary people in a specific region, rather than a formal or foreign prestige language like Latin.

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

A famous Italian philosopher and nobleman of the early Renaissance who tried to combine all major religious and philosophical traditions into one unified system.

Civic humanism

A political and moral philosophy that emerged in the Italian Renaissance during the 14th and 15th centuries, asserting that educated citizens have a duty to actively participate in public life and government.

Baldassare Castiglione

An Italian Renaissance diplomat, courtier, and author who defined the social standards and ideal behavior for the European ruling class.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher, and writer from Florence who fundamentally reshaped European political theory by arguing that rulers must base their actions on practical power and realism rather than ideal Christian morality.

Geometric perspective

A Renaissance technique that uses mathematical rules, a single vanishing point, and converging lines to create the illusion of three-dimensional depth on a flat surface.

Filippo Brunelleschi

(1377–1446) An Italian architect, engineer, and sculptor who is celebrated as a founding father of early Renaissance architecture in Europe.

Donatello

A master sculptor from Florence, Italy, who defined the start of the Early Renaissance in European art by reviving classical Greek and Roman styles.

Leonardo da Vinci

The ultimate Renaissance man, a universal genius and polymath who excelled in painting, science, engineering, and anatomy, born in Vinci, Italy.

Michelangelo

(1475–1564) A master Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet who defined the artistic peak of the High Renaissance in Europe.

Raphael

(Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino) A master Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance.