renaissance AP Euro HHS

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Renaissance

A period of intense artistic and intellectual activity, said to be a 'rebirth' of Greco-Roman culture. Usually divided into an Italian Renaissance, from roughly the mid-fourteenth to mid-fifteenth century, and a Northern Renaissance 1400-1600. also means rebirth

City-states

amalgamation of many district political entities
a city that is completely independent from other cities, complete with its own form of government and laws but still shares cultural similarities with a larger civilization. -Florence was the key city-state during the Renaissance

Medici family

most famous dynasty of those merchants and bankers who used their vast wealth to govern city states and to patronize illustrious creators in the arts; ruled Grand Duchy of Tuscany; family included: 2 popes, many cardinals, 2 queens of France

Lorenzo de Medici (the Magnificent)

Italian statesman and scholar who supported many artists and humanists including Michelangelo and Leonardo and Botticelli (1449-1492)
his rule is considered the most flourishing period in the history of Florence, a time of great cultural growth, which made Florence one of the most important centers of the Italian Renaissance

Leonardo da vinci

Italian painter, engineer, musician, and scientist. The most versatile genius of the Renaissance. He is best known for The Last Supper (c. 1495) and Mona Lisa (c. 1503).

Frescos

water paintings done on wet plaster - Italian Renaissance

Tempra

Water base paint that uses egg, egg yolk, glue, or casein as a binder

Michelangelo Buonarroti

primarily a sculptor whose Pietà (Mary mourning the body of Christ lying across her lap) is considered a perfect marble carving
(1475-1564) Italian Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter, and poet; he sculpted the Pieta and the David, and he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel which took him four years to paint. The ceiling shows sweeping scenes from the Old Testament of the Bible.

Petrarch

"Father of Humanism." studied classical Greek and Latin. introduced emotion in "Sonnets to Laura"
first "modern" writer, he wrote sonnets in Italian, other works in Latin, and used writing to contemplate the ebb and flow of his life and the human condition itself

Boccaccio

A student of Petrarch, he was also a pioneer of humanist studies. Authored "Decameron."; satirized society and the clergy with entertaining tales that reflected upon the human condition

Niccolo Machiavelli

(1469-1527) Italian historian, statesman, and political philosopher of the Renaissance. His greatest work is The Prince, a book of political advice to rulers in which he describes the methods that a prince should use to acquire and maintain political power. This book was used to defend policies of despotism and tyranny. Machiavelli wrote that a ruler should take any action to remain in power, or that "the ends justifies the means."

Desiderius Erasmus

Dutch Christian humanist and theologian who was the leading Renaissance scholar of northern Europe although his criticisms of the Church led to the Reformation, he opposed violence and condemned Martin Luther. he wrote The Praise of Folly, worked for Frobein and translated the New Testament from Greek to Latin(1466-1536)

Leon Battista Alberti

studied ancient roman buildings and used their principles of design to build cathedrals
15th century Florentine architect who said " Men can do all things if they well"

Lorenzo Valla

leading Italian Renaissance humanist most famous for On Pleasure, about the epicureans
Renaissance Humanist who used his knowledge of Latin to show that the Donation of Constantine was a forgery.

Pope Julius II

The "Warrior-Pope"; most involved in war and politics; personally led armies against enemies; instituted reconstruction on St. Peter's Basilica - heavily invested in the arts Michelangelo and Raphael.

Pico della Mirandola

Wrote On the Dignity of Man which stated that man was made in the image of God before the fall and as Christ after the Resurrection. Man is placed in-between beasts and the angels. He also believed that there is no limits to what man can accomplish.

Civic Humanism

The belief that individuals owe a service to their community and its government. During the Renaissance, political theorists argued that selfless service to the polity was of critical importance in a self-governing republic.

Thomas More

English statesman and humanist, who opposed Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and was imprisoned and beheaded, He was a English humanist that contributed to the world today by revealing the complexities of man. He wrote Utopia, a book that represented a revolutionary view of society. (p.437)

Johann Gutenberg

German printer and European pioneer in the use of movable type; his invention spurred the Protestant Reformation by spreading ideas quickly such as Luther's 95 Theses, it increased literacy (book no longer had to be handwritten and because they were cheaper, more people could afford to purchase them and learn to read them)

Jan Van Eck

Widely considered the greatest of the painters from the north countries. The Netherlands, also known as the lowlands.
Attributed with the creation of oil painting.

Albrecht Dürer

master artist of the era; mathematician who was painting landscapes and self portraits at 13
German artist who lived from 1471-1528. Famous for his woodcuts and copper engravings. Influenced by Venetian artists, he was versed in classical teachings and humanism. He was also the first to create printed illustrations in books.

Fuggars

Family of powerful German bankers based in Augsburg during Renaissance.

Elizabethan Age

It was the height of the English Renaissance, and saw the flowering of the English literature and poetry

1558-1603. Encouraged expansion, exploration and colonization in the New World, especially after England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. Muscovy Company and British East India Company founded as first joint stock companies. First English colonists settled in Roanoke colony in present day Virginia. Shakespeare wrote his masterpieces.

Secular

Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters

Christian (northern) humanism

A branch of humanism associated with northern Europe. Like their Italian counterparts, the Christian humanists closely studied classical texts. However, they also sought to give humanism a specifically Christian content. Christian humanists like Desiderius Erasmus were committed to religious piety and institutional reform by studying Greek and Hebrew texts of the bible and the writing s of the Church fathers

Baldassare Castiglione

The Book of The Courtier. Described the ideal of a Renaissance man who was well versed in the Greek and Roman classics, and accomplished warrior, could play music, dance, and had a modest but confident personal demeanor. It outlined the qualities of a true gentleman.

Individualism

Pleasure and accomplishment supersede the medieval dedication to the cloistered life of the clergy
Celebration of the potential of man with an artistic emphasis on depicting individuals uniquely.

Humanism

a literary and educational movement that was truly modern in that a class of non clerical writers concerned themselves with secular issues but based their answers to current problems on the wisdom of the ancient Greeks and Romans
Studied the Latin classics to learn what they reveal about human nature. Emphasized human beings, their achievements, interests, and capabilities.

Donatello

created the first free standing bronze statue of a human created in Europe since antiquity
Italian sculptor renowned as a pioneer of the Renaissance style with his natural, lifelike figures, such as the bronze statue David.

Filipino Brunelleschi

Renaissance architect famous for II Duomo- the first dome built since ancient times in Florence)
Architect who won a contest to build the new cathedral of Florence

Raphael

1483-1520 Short but productive life. Worked in Florence and Rome. Well-known for Madonnas, humanized portrayals of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus. Painted frescoes in Vatican Palace - espec. The School of Athens & The Triumph of Religion - reflect artist's strong interest in classical antiquity and Christian religion.

Mannerism

transition between the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the baroque era; art of the reformation and counter reformation focused on new ideas and how to express them
Artistic movement against the Renaissance ideals of symetry, balance, and simplicity; went against the perfection the High Renaissance created in art. Used elongated proportions, twisted poses and compression of space.

Amerigo Vespucci

A mapmaker and explorer who said that America was a new continent, so America was named after him.
Recognized that Brazil and the West Indies did not represent Asia.

Mercantilism

An economic policy under which European nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought
European nations also worked to obtain over seas colonies which they exploited for the benefit of the mother country.

Joint Stock Companies

businesses formed by groups of people who jointly make an investment and share in the profits and losses. Was often used in the development of colonies to offset the potential risk and failure.

Bartoleme de las Casas

a Spanish priest who became famous for trying to defend the Native Indians, and improve their treatment; he said Jesus died for them

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese navigator who led the Spanish expedition of 1519-1522 that was the first to sail around the world.

Columbian Exchange

An exchange of goods, ideas and skills from the Old World (Europe, Asia and Africa) to the New World (North and South America) and vice versa.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian navigator who was funded by the Spanish Government to find a passage to the Far East. He is given credit for discovering the "New World," even though at his death he believed he had made it to India. He made four voyages to the "New World." The first sighting of land was on October 12, 1492, and three other journies until the time of his death in 1503.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer. In 1497-1498 he led the first naval expedition from Europe to sail to India, opening an important commercial sea route.

Mercador Projection

-Map projection that shows latitude and longitude as straight lines
-Shapes are accurate but size becomes distorted as you get farther from the equator

Compass

an instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it.

Astrolabe

An instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the position of the stars and planets

Caravel

A small, highly maneuverable three-masted ship used by the Portuguese and Spanish in the exploration of the Atlantic.

Treaty of Tordesillas

A 1494 agreement between Portugal and Spain, declaring that newly discovered lands to the west of an imaginary line in the Atlantic Ocean would belong to Spain and newly discovered lands to the east of the line would belong to Portugal.

Causes of Exploration

3 G's - gold, a desire for wealth; God - to spread Christianity; Glory - national competition

New Monarchies

Monarchies that emerged that differed from their medieval predecessors in having greater centralization of power, more regional boundaries, and stronger representative institutions

Ferdinand and Isabella

During the late 15th century, they became King and Queen of a united Spain after centuries of Islamic domination. Together, they made Spain a strong Christian nation and also provided funding to overseas exploration, notably Christopher Columbus.
They employed the Spanish Inquisition to homogenize the Spanish nation as entirely Catholic.

Spanish Inquisition

An organization of priests in Spain that looked for and punished anyone suspected of secretly practicing their old religion instead of Roman Catholicism.

Henry VII

first Tudor king of England from 1485 to 1509 - new monarch who employed the Star Chamber in order to reduce the power of the nobility

Star Chamber

secret English court used to deal with aristocrats who threatened royal power. It was conducted without a jury - King decided guilt and punishment.

Francis I

King of France in the 16th century; regarded as Renaissance monarch; patron of arts; imposed new controls on Catholic church; ally of Ottoman sultan against Holy Roman emperor.

Concordat of Bologna

1516 - Treaty under which the French Crown recognized the supremacy of the pope in return the king obtained the right to appoint all French bishops and abbots - giving him more control of the Catholic church within the borders of France.