Unit 1

• Renaissance


  Rebirth, the recovery of classical texts and ideas from the Romans and Greeks
• During the Middle Ages, much of the teaching from the Romans and Greeks was forgotten by Europeans
• Islamic scholars had translated the works of ancient Greece and Rome into Arabic and Latin
• Increasing contact between Europeans and Islamic people during the Crusades led Europeans to gain access to these ancient ideas again
• The recovery of these texts and ideas led to the Renaissance, which began in Italy
• Petrarch

  Preceded the Renaissance, laid the groundwork for Renaissance ideas
• Humanism

  A philosophy that focused on the unlimited potential of human beings as an end in themselves
• Humanism and individualism became the main mode of thought for much of the Renaissance
• Petrarch was especially moved by Cicero's eloquent support of the Roman Republic and opposition to the tyrannical Julius Caesar
• Philology


  The study of the history and development of languages
• In 1440, Lorenzo Valla demonstrated that an authoritative document of the Roman Catholic Church was a forgery
• The Renaissance saw a move away from religious authority to secular authority and more scientific modes of inquiry
• The Renaissance saw a shift from communal understandings of humanity to individualistic conceptions of humanity
• The invention of the movable type printing press in the 1440s allowed Renaissance and humanist ideas to spread widely and quickly
• Renaissance scholars introduced the humanities into the curriculum, emphasizing history, moral philosophy, poetry, etc. based on classical texts
• Baldessari Castiglione's "The Courtier"

  A guide for how an educated young man should behave in courtly society, emphasizing being a gentleman skilled in all the humanistic disciplines
• Civic humanism


  The idea that educated men should be active and engaged in local politics
• Leonardo Bruni

  Argued that the republicanism of ancient Rome was the best form of government and that rule by an enlightened individual was best
• Nicolo Machiavelli's "The Prince"

  Argued that the basic function of a ruler is to maintain power at all costs, using whatever means necessary
• Renaissance artists emphasized naturalism, portraying the world as it was, and used new techniques like geometric perspective
• Renaissance artists

  • Michelangelo
  • Raphael
  • Filippo Brunelleschi
• Wealthy individuals, rulers, and popes patronized Renaissance artists to enhance their public prestige
• The Italian Renaissance spread to other parts of Europe, leading to the Northern Renaissance
• Christian humanism


  The aim to combine the best elements of humanist thought with scriptural authority, leading to an emphasis on social reform
• Desiderius Erasmus

  Believed that education in the classics and the Bible is the foundation of true societal reform, and that renewal should be based on the philosophy of Christ
• Northern Renaissance artists

  • Pieter Bruegel the Elder
  • Rembrandt
• The printing press allowed printed works to be copied and published quickly and cheaply, leading to the rapid spread of Renaissance and humanist ideas
• The printing press played a major role in the Protestant Reformation, allowing Martin Luther to spread his ideas widely
• The printing press created demand for vernacular literature, leading to the development of national cultures
• During the Renaissance, monarchs and princes started taking power from the nobility and organizing centralized states
• National cultures

  Developed when people's native language was used in reading the bible, e.g. Martin Luther producing a vernacular bible in German
• Prior to the Protestant Reformation, people only heard the bible in Latin
• Martin Luther's vernacular bible in German created a standard for the German language which fundamentally shaped their national culture
• Kings in the Middle Ages

  Did not have as much power as commonly depicted, with the nobles holding much of the power
• During this period, monarchs and princes started taking power from the nobility and organizing it under themselves
• One result of this shift was top-down religious and moral reform
• Henry VIII of England

  Initially opposed the Protestant Reformation, earning the title "Defender of the Faith" from the Pope, but then broke from the Catholic Church and formed the Church of England
• Henry VIII divorced his wife and married Anne Boleyn, which the Pope declared illegal, leading Henry to denounce the Pope's authority
• Henry VIII got the Treason Act passed, making it punishable by death to refuse to recognize the Church of England as the state religion
• Elizabeth I

  Steered England back to Anglicanism, ending the persecution of dissenters, and had the Act of Uniformity passed which mandated attendance at Anglican churches