Chapter 12: European Society in the Age of the Renaissance

How did the Renaissance act as a bridge between the medieval and modern eras?

It is because it began emphasizing science, the idea of humanism, and philosophy which laid the goundwork for the modern age.

The Renaissance rested on economic and political developments when it began in Northern Italy. What kind of economic influence was there?

It included many merchants who gained political power to match their economic power. Then, using that money and power, they bought luxuries and created a system of patronage, where wealthy individuals supported artists and thinkers.

What was patronage? Give it some context too, how did it become a thing?

Patronage was when writers and artists in cities, groups, etc, recieved support to PRODUCE specific works by the wealthy.

It became a system because of the economic growth in northern Italy from merchants.

What was it that made Florence (the birthplace of the Renaissance) so wealthy?

It was it’s location, which was on the main road northward from Rome and all the types of goods throughout Europe and the Mediterranean that came through.

What were some of the goods that came through Florence to make it become so wealthy?

grain, cloth, wool, weapons, armor, species, glass, wine.

Instead of only relying on patronage, what else did wealthy merchants do with their wealth?

They spent it toward the city to improve infrastructure, making it so wealthy that major crises wouldn’t destroy the city.

What were communes?

These were self-governing towns of free men that were led by members of merchant guilds.

Why were Italian communes often political unstable?

It was mainly because of internal conflicts between the merchant guilds that ruled those communes. The guildsmen would marry the daughters of rich commercial families which created an oligarchy which clashed with other oligarchies.

What were popolo?

Individuals in Italian cities who weren’t able to hold any political power, mainly because they weren’t elites.

What were the popolo (common people) subjected to in these Italian cities?

They were disenfranchised and heavily taxed, creating a bitterness toward their exlusion from power.

What were signori?

These were cities where only one man ruled and handed down his power to his son.

What were the two types of political structures seen in Italian cities?

signori & communes

What were courts? What did they do?

These were magnificent households and palaces where signori and other rules lived, conducted business, and supported artists. (think of it like a Parliament building)

What were the five places that dominated the Italian peninsula?

Venice, Milan, Florence, the Papal States, and the kingdom of Naples.

Since there were many prominent cities in Italy, they possessed an inviting target for invasion. Describe the invasion that happened with the king of France, king Charles VIII…

WHAT DYNASTY DID FRANCE EXPEL FROM ITALY?!

When Florence and Naples joined the mix in becoming powerful cities, they entered into an agreement to take Milanese territories. This led Milan (angry) to call on France for support, causing them to invade Italy in 1494.

They expelt the Medici dynasty.

What happened, political wise, after the Medici Family lost its power?

The Savonarola became the new political and religious leader. He reorganized the government, made it pass laws against same-sex relations, aultery, drunkenness, and made men patrol the streets to look for immoral dresses and behavior.

What happened soon after Savolarola took power of Italy?

He was hated because of his moral denunciations and therefore excommunicated, tortured, and burned at the place where he would burn anything “unwelcoming” by God.

Who was the founder of Humanism? What did he do to contribute to it?

Francesco Petratch; He believed that recovering classical texts and messages of intellectual achievement could be brought out to create a new golden age. Therefore, he started teaching people to study the works of ancient Roman authors, creating the idea of humanism.

What kinds of thinkings were Renaissance writers interested about (hint: 2)?

Greek and Roman writing.

What was Virtu? Why were Renaissance thinkers so interested in people that possessed it?

Virtù was the ability to shape the world according to someone’s will. For example, people could do what they wanted instead of being constrained due to family issue.

Renaissance thinkers loved this because they were interested in how these people rose above their background to become brilliant, powerful, or unique.

What is one example of a Renaissance thinker that helped to improve technology?

Leon Battista Alberti, who designed churches, palaces, and even invented code for sending messages secretly and a machine that could cipher and decipher them.

What did Renaissance thinkers do in terms of Education, like spreading it so others could learn their thoughts?

They poured a lot into the classics, building schools that began with Latin grammar and rhetoric. They would teach people about Roman history and political philosophy and also everything Greek.

What did Renaissance thinkers do with women about Education?

They didn’t allow them to learn about it because of the classical models of moral behavior and reasoning. It was assumed that womens’ sphere was private and domestic, where they were meant to serve meals, educate children, and supervise servants. However, they did wonder whether a study that taught about eloquence and action was proper (instead of classical).

Who was Niccolo Machiavelli? What was his famous book 👀?

He was a civic humanist who at first, had political power, then lost it after the Medici family gained back their power. From there, he wrote books, like The Prince (1513) that argued the function of a ruler is to preserve order and security BY ANY MEANS (like lying, brutality, etc) as long as the people viewed him well. exhibit the quality of virtu!

What were Christian Humanists? What did they believe?

These were individuals that went to Italy during the Renaissance to absorb “new information” and flocked back to the Low Countries: France, Germany, and England.

They BELIEVED that the best element was to combine classical and Christian cultures.

What is a popular example of a Christian Humanist, explain why? Hint: he made a new translation of the New Testament.

Desiderius Eramus; He translated the New Testament in Latin which was a big reform because it reflected Renaissance education. He called upon the church to accompany classical education instead of straying away from it. He also wanted emphasis on inner spirituality.

What effect did the printing press have on the Renaissance?

Most popuarly created by Gutenburg, this allowed ideas and new translations of the Bible to be spread like rapid-fire. Somewhere between 8-20 million books were spread across Europe, allowing people to easily discuss the ideas within them.

How did painting change from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance?

Instead of portraying a spiritual ideal (like Religious), they began to show human ideals, like showing someone more realistically. Great example is Giotto’s Piero della Francesca.

Since art was so incredible popular in Italy, what did the Popes do?

They began commissioning painters like Michaelangelo and Raphael Sanzio to beautify the city. Pope Julius II for example tore down the old Saint Peter’s Basilica and worked on the present structure in 1506.

Talk a little bit about Women painters during the Renaissance? Was it popular? What restrictions did they have when they painted?

There weren’t many women painters during this time. The only people that did paint were women that had no brothers, were nobel, or daughters of painters.

Women were not allowed to study the male nude or learn the technique of frescoes because it was work that could be displayed in the public.

What was slavery like during the Renaissance? Discuss the regions too!

It was incredibly popular in Italy. Artists in Italy would paint a black individuals to indicate someone’s wealth (since they were mainly servants). They were less popular in other parts of Europe but still around.

What was wealth and nobility like? This is a trick :)

While many people viewed wealth to have a heiarchy, if someone was a POOR nobelmen, then they were still higher than a wealthy commoner. As a result, people would still try to marry into the nobelmen family.

Describe the nation state of France during this time of the Renaissance?

It was originally horrible after the Black Death and Hundred Years’ War until King Charles VII established armies and reorganized the royal council to give individuals more financial power. His son Louis XI also helped to strengthen his contributions, employing the army to gain more land.

Describe the nation state of England during this time of the Renaissance?

It was struck really hard from the Black Death and struggled to work its population up. King Henry VII, IV, and Edward IV all worked to secure foreign policy and keep expenses from conflicts out of the way.

Describe the nation state of Spain during this time of the Renaissance?

They were mainly concerned about conversion, specifically Islamic and Jewish people into New Christians. While many people converted, they did so “falsely,” as in they still held their beliefs of the original religion. As a result, many of Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal.