Middle Ages lecture:See handout.

Crusades: were a series of several military campaigns that took place during the 11th through 13th centuries. Originally, they were Roman Catholic endeavors to re-capture the Holy Lands from the Muslims.There were 12 major crusades in all, although only the first one really did much.

      
     * Crusades did spur trade.

Bubonic plague: In 1347-48, an outbreak of deadly bubonic plague occurred in Europe. The bubonic plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly. Plague causes fever and a painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name. The disease also causes spots on the skin that are red at first and then turn black.The disease struck and killed people with terrible speed.After five years 25 million people were dead.Estimates of the deaths range from 33-60% of Europe's population. Obviously the plague disrupted economy, and led to hardship for all.

Two movements, the Renaissance and the Reformation, usher in dramatic social and cultural changes in Europe.

Section 1: Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance

The Italian Renaissance is a rebirth of learning that produced many great works of art and literature.

Renaissance: an explosion of creativity in art, writing, and thought that started in northern Italy.It lasted
from 1300-1600.

    - 4 reasons why it started in Italy

            1.) Unlike other areas of Europe, Italy had largely avoided the economic crisis of the late
                  Middle Ages.

            2.) Italian towns remained important centers of Mediterranean trade and boosted their
                  production of textiles (cloth) and luxury goods.

            3.) More than other Europeans, Italians were attached to classical traditions.
                    Classical = ancient Greece and Rome.

            4.) Through trade Italian towns remained in close  contact with the Byzantine Empire.

Renaissance Italy divided itself into very wealthy and powerful city-states.Italy did not unify until the 1800's.

City-states: a walled urban center and the surrounding countryside.

Social class system:Italy based its new social class system on ability rather than aristocratic titles and                                   ownership of land.This was a MAJOR change in Europe.

    - upper class: wealthy merchants and bankers.This was the most powerful social and political                                       group.These people made their fortunes from banking or commercial trading.

    - middle class: Shopkeepers and artisans.A moderately prosperous group that employed large numbers
                           of poor town-dwelling workers.

    - lower class: Town-dwelling workers, and the peasants who lived in the countryside working on
                          the vast estates of the upper class.The peasants were treated badly, paid the
                          majority of the taxes, but had basically nothing.

3 leading cities during the Renaissance: Florence, Rome and Venice

Florence: was the birthplace of the Renaissance because of all the support (money) the Medici family poured into the culture of Florence.There was more emphasis on individual achievement.

Medici family: Ruling family of Florence who really helped foster the spirit of humanism among the city�s scholars and artists.They were the leading bankers in the world.

Cosimo de Medici: The first de Medici to rule Florence.

   
    - 3 achievements:

            1.) He worked to end peasant uprisings by introducing an income tax that placed a heavier
                 burden on the wealthier citizens.

            2.) Used tax money (revenue) to make city improvements.

            3.) Worked to establish peaceful relations between city-states.

                * graduated income tax: An income tax that increases with the amount of income a
                                                        person receives.  It's what we use today in the USA.

            * regressive tax: A tax that takes a larger percentage of the income of low-income 

                                        people than of high-income people.(Everyone pays the same amount.) A                                                 sales tax is an example of a regressive tax.

Lorenzo de Medici: grandson of Cosimo who ruled Florence and continued policies like his
                               grandfather.Made the city very prosperous.

    - dates: 1469-1492

    - use of wealth:He used his wealth to support artists, philosophers and writers and to sponsor public 

                             festivals.

-nickname: "Lorenzo the Magnificent"

Classical and Worldly Values

    - 3 basic Humanist ideas:

            1.) Seek fulfillment in daily life

            2.) Each individual has dignity and worth

            3.) the "universal man": an ideal person -  one who participated in a variety of activities; 

                  politics, sports, art, literature and music.  A well-rounded person.

    - 4 subjects studied in humanist schools: history, philosophy, Latin and Greek

   
    - teachers in humanist schools: Humanists became so popular they began to replace the clergy as                                                              the teachers in the schools.

    - writing: Humanism inspired a new form of writing.One in which a person wrote about his/her    
                    daily life and feelings.

Humanist scholars: These guys liked to question.They were curious and becoming educated, hence they                                    wanted to learn as much as they can.

    - questioning: They questioned everything including long-accepted traditions, assumptions, and                                        institutions. Through their persistent questioning, they made all sorts of unsettling                                    discoveries.Many of these challenged the Church�. The Church did not like to                                            be questioned.In fact, they did not allow it.

    - Lorenzo Valla: A humanist scholar who determined that a supposedly provided the legal basis for
                             the pope's supremacy over kings was actually a forgery.

The Renaissance Man: - is a someone who excels in many fields: the classics, art, politics, and combat.

Baldassare Castiglione: Wrote The Courtier (1528).The book teaches how to become a "universal" person. It said that a young man should be charming, witty, and well educated in the classics. He should dance, sing, play music, and write poetry. In addition, he should be a skilled rider, wrestler, and swordsman.

The Renaissance Woman was upper-class, educated in classics, and charming.  She was expected to inspire art but not create it.

Isabella d'Este: patron of artists, wields power in Mantua

Artistic Styles Change:Art became the method for humanists to express the talent of the
                                   individuals.Artists were hailed as geniuses and richly rewarded for their efforts.

7 characteristics of Renaissance art:

    1.) Italian artists expressed their own values, emotions, and attitudes.

    2.) By using new techniques, artists made their subjects as lifelike and captivating as possible.

    3.) Although much of the art was still devoted to religious subjects, it had more secular (worldly)

         overtones.

    4.) Because of the humanist interest in ancient Greece and Rome, Renaissance artists included
          classical mythology as well as biblical themes in their works.

    5.) They learned to create a sense of perspective in their works.

                - perspective: depth and three dimensionality.

    6.) They studied human anatomy so they could portray human figures more accurately and naturally.

    7.) They also learned to depict subtleties of gesture and expression to convey human emotions.

Renaissance Sculptors: The best came from Florence!The Medici family sponsored most of the artists of the time, and even opened a school for sculpture.

   
    - Donatello: first sculptor since ancient times to cast a statue in bronze.

    - Lorenzo Ghiberti (gee-BEHR-tee): Spent 21 years creating 10 magnificent New Testament scenes
                                                            on bronze doors for the Cathedral of Florence's baptistery.

    - Masaccio ( muh-ZAH-chee-oh): Florentine artist who employed lighting and perspective in his
                                                       paintings to give depth to the human body and to set his figures
                                                       from the background.

- Michelangelo Buonarroti: Brilliant sculptor, (who eventually moves toRome to make sculptures for
                   the pope) learned how to sculpt in Florence.His patron was Lorenzo de Medici. He felt he
                  was a sculptor in his soul.He could paint beautifully, as previously mentioned, but he didn't
                  like it as much as sculpting.  Of his sculpture he said, "God sets them in there, a sculptor
                  only cuts it loose."

    * DAVID: a gigantic sculpture of the biblical king.  It took him four years to complete it.                                           Very realistic.One of his best known works.

                        ^ height: 25 feet tall (to show is awesome power)

    * LA PIETA: his sculpture of the dead Jesus lying in Mary's (his mother) arms.  He was not the

                       first to carve this � it was originally done by a German artist.It is very detailed and

                       very moving.You can see the grief on Mary's face.

    * style of sculptures: His sculptures were awesome in size and suggested controlled but intense
                                     emotions.

Renaissance Painting

Michelangelo:Not only a sculptor, but a painter too.

    * Pope Julius II: In 1505, he hired Michelangelo (although he didn�t want to do it but who tells the 

                             pope no�?) to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican with scenes from
                             the Bible.  He and Michelangelo had a "love-hate" relationship.

            ^Vatican: Headquarters for the Catholic Church

            ^ Sistine Chapel: A small chapel in the Vatican with an incredible painting on its ceiling.

                    * style of painting: His painted figures resembled his sculptures. They had well-formed
                                                 muscular bodies that expressed vitality and power.

Leonardo da Vinci: Florentine artist who many consider to be one of the greatest Renaissance artists and
                                more).  He did a lot of work in Milan and Rome.He is the perfect example of
                               the Renaissance ideal of the "universal man".

        * MONA LISA: painting of a strangely smiling young woman of Florence.

        * THE LAST SUPPER: The famous wall painting of Jesus' last meal with his disciples.

                                       (Rumor has it that he even painted his face as one of the disciples.)

            ***Tie in 2003 book � The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

    * fresco: a technique of painting on wet plaster, which required quick, certain strokes.He 

                   didn't use this standard for the Last Supper that he painted on dry plaster with tempera

                   paint (that's why it started to deteriorate soon after.)

    * style: Skillfully portrayed the subjects� personalities, thoughts and feelings in his works.

    * as a scientist: his most impressive work!

          
         ^ 3 subjects of books: astronomy, mathematics and anatomy

    * inventions: parachutes, flying machine (helicopter), mechanical diggers, artillery (cannon),

                        and plans for a submarine.

    * as a "universal man":  He could do it all.(If he's not one, I don't know who is.)

Raphael Sanzio: filled the walls of Pope Julius II�s library with paintings.One of these, School of Athens,conveys the classical influence on the Renaissance.He painted numerous examples of the Madonna and child in which he portrayed their expressions as gentle and calm. He was famous for his use of perspective.He painted famous Renaissance figures, such as Michelangelo, Leonardo, and himself, as classical philosophers and their students.

Women Artists

Sofonisba Anguissola: was the first woman artist to gain an international reputation. She is known for her portraits of her sisters and of prominent people such as King Philip II of Spain.

Artemisia Gentileschi:accomplished artist who trained with her painter father and helped with his work. In her own paintings, she painted pictures of strong, heroic women.

Medieval (Gothic) architecture: made soaring arches and spires toward heaven.Every thing was for the greater glory of God. (Bigger was better because it was closer to God) Architects did not take credit for their work.

Renaissance (Romanesque) architecture: Returned to the classical style - lots of domes and columns, instead of spires and arches.They sought comfort in their building, so they wanted them beautiful.They wanted the finest, the best in all buildings.Architects also now began to take credit for their work.

French Renaissance architecture: blended Gothic towers and windows with the classical columns.

    - chateaux: A French castle based on the new type of architecture.

Renaissance Architects

Donato Bramante: Italian painter and architect who evolved the style known as High Renaissance. In Rome, he served as principal planner of Pope Julius II's comprehensive project for rebuilding the St. Peter's Basilica (begun in 1506).

Filippo Brunelleschi (BROO-nuhl-EHS- kee): the most famous Renaissance architect, who is best known for designing and completing the dome for the Cathedral of Florence in 1436.No one before had been able to design a dome large or strong enough to cover the cathedral without the dome collapsing from its own weight.

    *** Brunelleschi's dome was considered to be the greatest engineering feat of all time.
            (It still makes most top ten lists)

Printing Spreads Renaissance Ideas

Johannes Gutenberg: A German metalworker

    - 1440: Discovered a new way to print.

    - invention: A printing press with movable metal type.

    - result: Books could now be published more quickly and less expensively = more books that are
               accessible to more people.

    - Gutenberg Bible:The first book printed and mass produced by Johann Gutenberg in 1455.

    - 2 results of using the vernacular:

        1.) Writing in the vernacular languages made it accessible to more people.

        2.) Writing in the vernacular languages inspired regional pride in those who read it.

Renaissance Writers

Francesco Petrarch: humanist and poet wrote 366 sonnets, or short poems, expressing his love for a woman named Laura who had died during the Black Death.

   
    - sonnets: short poems.

Benvenuto Cellini: An Italian goldsmith and sculptor who wrote one of the first modern autobiographies.  He encouraged anyone who had done anything of excellence "to describe their life with their own hand."

Giovanni Boccaccio: was an Italian author, poet and an important Renaissance humanist in his own right.He was the author of a number of notable works including On Famous Women, the Decameron and his poems in the vernacular.

    Boccaccio's characters are notable in that they are realistic, spirited and clever individuals who are         grounded in reality (in contradiction to the characters of his contemporaries.

    - Decameron: a series of realistic, sometimes off-color stories. The stories are supposedly told by a

                         group of worldly young people waiting in a rural villa to avoid the plague sweeping
                         through Florence.It presents both tragic and comic views of life.

Niccolò Machievelli: A Florentine diplomat who wrote The Prince, in which he analyzed the politics of Renaissance Italy. The Prince examines how rulers can gain and keep power .

    - treatise: a long essay

- Ideas of Machavelli�s THE PRINCE- the "handbook" for political leaders of the time.

    - reaction to: It was embraced by the power-hungry rulers of the time as a "how-to" book.

- The Prince is one of the most influential writings of all time.

Points on The Prince

1) A prince must have the qualities of virtu - strength, ability, courage and vitality - not moral goodness, and fortune � fate or luck.A prince must always remember that there is a side of life that we have little to no control over.

2) He advised rulers to be prepared to use force and deceit to maintain power� even if it means breaking the morals of society.

3)"The end justifies the means": Do whatever it takes to accomplish goals and stay in power.

4) The strength of a state is measured whether it can survive on its own in times of trouble or if
     it will have to rely on others.

5) There is greater security in being feared than loved, but a prince must be careful not to be
    hated.

    6) Men, although possessing remarkable qualities and capable of doing admirable things,
    generally are insincere, ungrateful, prone to avoid danger and thirsty for gain (greedy).

7) In order to stay in power, a ruler must have a good military, and popular support.People will not fight to keep what they do not believe in.

8) Nothing is more difficult than establishing a government.

9) Those who rise due to good fortune depend entirely on the will and fortune of those who installed them. They rise quickly to the top, but have neither the knowledge nor the power to remain there.

10) Ecclesiastical (church owned) principalities are the easiest to protect.

11.) A native military is the most loyal.(Auxiliary forces are both useless and disastrous to the
      one who borrows them because they are only worthwhile in pursuit of their own interests.)

12.) A prince's main objective and profession must be warfare.

13.) To promote goodwill among the people, a good prince should always support new businesses,
       promising artisans, and the like. He should also celebrate at festivals with his people in honor
       of days and events that they hold special. Both rewards and punishments should be quick and
        creative.

14.) A tightfisted ruler wins more popularity because he doesn't tax his subjects as much, and he
      also has money to spend in military emergencies.

15.) The selection of ministers and advisors is on of the most important tasks that a prince must
       perform, for he will be judged by others based on the people he keeps around him.

16.) Ministers/advisors must be "used" by the prince; they should not use the prince.  A prince
       should take their advice into consideration, but in the end he must make up his own mind
       about policy decisions.

17.) When a country is at its worst is a perfect time for a new prince to take command.  A
       prince must always be prepared for trouble.

18.) Fortune changes while human beings remain constant.

Female Writers

Vittoria Colonna:was the Renaissance writer who exchanged sonnets with Michelangelo and helped publish The Courtier.Her own poems express personal emotions.

Christine de Pizan:Italian-born French poet and scholar, a medieval feminist and probably the first professional woman writer since ancient times. She was one of the first women writers.She promoted education, and equal treatment for boys and girls.

Julian of Norwich:An early English Renaissance writer who became gravely ill and was miraculously healed after a series of visions. She later wrote about her experiences. Her works explored the profound mysteries of the Christian faith and are considered among the most beautiful expressions of mysticism of the Middle Ages.

Section 2: The Northern Renaissance 

In the 1400s, the ideas of the Italian Renaissance begin to spread to Northern Europe

4 ways the Renaissance ideas were spread:

    - War

    - trade

    - travel

    - the printing press

    *** Artists, writers move to northern Europe fleeing a war in Italy (1494)

effect of Italian traders on Northern European merchants: They began to appreciate wealth, beauty, personal improvement and other Renaissance values.

Northern European merchants: They wanted to live like the Italian traders.

    - what they spent money on: education, fine houses, and material goods.(time to live the high life)

    - travel: some went to Italy to study under the Italian masters.They wanted to learn from the
                 most knowledgeable scholars, artists etc.

    ** All this led to the emergence of a newly educated middle class.**

Artistic Ideas Spread

German Painters

Albrecht Dürer: was the most famous artist of Reformation Germany- widely known for his paintings, drawings, prints, and theoretical writings on art, all of which had a profound influence on 16th-century artists in his own country and in the Lowlands.His woodcuts and engravings emphasize Realism.

Hans Holbein the Younger: paints portraits, often of English royalty. He showed his diverse talents early in his career by designing woodcuts and glass paintings, illustrating books, and painting portraits and altarpieces. From youth he enjoyed the friendship of the great humanist Erasmus, and he made pen drawings illustrating Erasmus's The Praise of Folly.

Flemish Painters

Flanders: is the artistic center of northern Europe.

Jan and Hubert van Eyck: Flemish artists who developed a new style of painting, and the use of
                                         oil-based paints.

    - style: Painted scenes from the Bible and everyday life in  sharp, realistic detail. Jan paintings
                reveal the subject's personality.

    - 2 benefits of oil paints: 

            1.) Provided artists with more vivid colors.

            2.) Allowed them to make changes on the painted canvas.

Pieter Brueghel (BROY-guhl): Combined Italian and hometown techniques to paint realistic portraits, landscapes, and scenes of peasant life.

Northern Writers Try to Reform Society

Changes in Renaissance ideas: Northern European scholars interpreted the ideas of the Italian scholars according to their own individual ways of thinking. (customized them to fit their area of the world.)

Renaissance in Northern Europe: The Renaissance ideas were readily accepted by the wealthy. Universities and schools promoted humanist learning, and printers produced a large quality of books.

Low Countries: Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands

Latin versus vernacular usage: Latin was still the main scholarly language, but many writers began writing in the vernacular languages.

Northern Humanist Writers

Ronsard (rohn-SAHR): French humanist who wrote sonnets with humanist themes.

    - 3 themes: love, the passing of youth, and the poet's immortality.

Michel de Montaigne: cultivated the personal essay - a short prose composition written to express
                                 clearly the personal view of the writer.

Francois Rabelis: Renaissance author who wrote comic tales, satires and parodies.  He rejected
                          the Middle Age's focus on the afterlife and believed that people should live life
                          to the fullest.

    - 6 subjects he wrote on: law, medicine, politics, theology, botany, and navigation

Christian Humanists: Scholars who wanted to reform the Catholic Church.

     
- 3 ideas:
    1.) Wanted to eliminate abuses in the Church.
    2.) Wanted to restore the simple piety to the Church.

           3.) Believed that humanist learning and Bible study were the best ways to reform the Church.

Desiderius Erasmus: Most famous Christian humanist.

    - 3 basic ideas:

             1.) Encouraged his fellow scholars to study Greek and Hebrew so that they could understand
                  older versions of the Bible.

2.) Prompted people to look critically at the Church.

3.) Attacked the extravagance of the Renaissance popes.

    - The Praise of Folly: His essay that describes the corruption and extravagance of the Renaissance
                                    popes.  He said they were so corrupt that they no longer even
                                    practiced Christianity.

Sir Thomas More: English humanist who wrote Utopia.(and kind of gets into trouble over it)

    - Utopia: his book that criticized the society of the day by comparing it to an ideal society where
                  all citizens were equal and prosperous.

The Elizabethan Age

English Renaissance: Renaissance ideas did not spread to England until after the Wars of the Roses (an
                            English civil war) so it was after that they began to write in new ways.

Tudors: Name of the royal family who won the Wars of the Roses and got to rule.  They were very
           popular and influential rulers.Similar to the Medicis in Florence.

Henry VIII: English king who invited Italian Renaissance scholars to England, where he had them
                  teach humanism and encourage the study of classical texts.(He was sort of a
                 "universal man" himself)

William Shakespeare: Most famous English playwright (with Christopher Marlow).

    - 5 areas of ideas: medieval legends, classical mythology, histories of Ancient Rome, Denmark 
                              and England.

    - use of universal emotions: he wrote plays, which dealt with universal human qualities such as
                                          jealousy, ambition, love and despair so effectively we are still reading
                                          his works today.

    - Famous plays: Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet

    - Globe Theater: The Globe Theater was a perhaps the most famous and interesting theater in
                           the Elizabethan era. The theater was built just outside of London, (in Southwark
                           to be exact.) after the triumphant reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

    - The main reason the Globe Theater is especially famous is the fact that many of William
       Shakespeare's plays were written and preformed there.
 

    - The idea of creating plays and theaters to perform them in was a strange new concept for the
      Europeans of the Elizabethan Era (the sixteenth century.)