Chapter 10: Renaissance and Discovery

Sec.1.1: The Renaissance in Italy

Introduction

• Late 15th century, Europe recovering form three crises

• 1. demographic• 2. political • Great loss in population• Rulers imposing new political order• Patrons of government and education formed• Trading of ideas

The Renaissance in Italy (1375-1527)

• Prototype of the modern world (Burckhardt)

• Adopted a rational approach to reality

• Transition from medieval to modern Europe

• Characterized by growing national centralization

• Organized commerce

Causes

• Economics was primary cause

• Northern Italy: wealthy from the silk trade

• New banking system

• Money to support artists

• Struggles between papacy

• Governments became stronger

• Italian cities built on ancient Roman ruins

Renaissance

• More secular

• City-life dominated

• Classical past- Greece and Roman in years between 500 and 476bc

• Humanist- study of writings and ideals of the classical past (200bc)

• Individualism: behavior that emphasizes each person as contrasted with community

Cont.

• Virtu: essence of being a man by the display of courage in speech, art, politics, etc…

• Platonic Academy: Medici (leading Florentine family; scholars who initially studied the works of Plato in Greek; leading members were Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola

• Platonic concepts: perfection of the circle

Cont.

• Two events that coincide with the Renaissance: death of Petrarch (father of humanism) and Giovanni Boccaccio

• Decameron (Boccaccio) in 1375

• Humanist culture spread

• Creative expansion stopped when Spain looted Rome in 1527

Petrarch

Petrarch

• created the model for modern Italian • Petrarch is credited for perfecting the sonnet,

making it one of the most popular art forms to date

• Petrarch was born in Arezzo the son of a merchant, and spent his early childhood in the village of Incisa, near Florence. His father, Ser Petracco, had been exiled from Florence in 1302 by the Black Guelphs

• father two children by a woman or women unknown to posterity. A son, Giovanni who died of the plague

Italian City-State

• Merchant cities of late medieval times

• Always had a cultural advantage over rest of Europe because it was located alone trade routes

• Venice, Genoa, Pisa

• Became powerful city-states

Growth of City-States

• Remained free from kings to expand

• Assimilating nobility into new and old rich

• Five major sates formed: Milan, Florence, Venice, Papal, and Naples States

• Competition for political power

Social Class and Conflict

• Old vs. new rich for political power

• Great peasant revolts 1/3 of populations had no wealth

• Social anarchy from the Black Death

Despotism• Cosimo de’ Medici: wealthy

Florentine• Controlled the city from behind

the scenes • Council: elected from powerful

guilds governed the city• Cosimo was able to keep

councilors loyal to him• Lorenzo (Granson of Cosimo)

ruled Florence from 1478-1492)

• Brother was assassinated in 1478 by a rival family (Pazzi) plotted with the pope

• Lorenzo was cautious

Cont.

• Despotism: hired strongmen to prevent social conflict

• Hazardous job

• Most city-states est. resident embassies (1400’s)

• Became watchful eyes and ears

Humanism

• Long debated: some say birth of modern times, others philosophy stressed the dignity of human kind, others thought it was an educational program built on ancient rhetoric and scholarly works

• First humanists were poets• Studied classic theologians of Greece and Latin• Period between classical civilization and a dark

middle age