Renaissance: The Rebirth of Europe

Warm-UP

• Find and highlight the following words on your study guide –

Crusades RenaissanceBlack Death InquisitionAristocrats PopePatrons ExcommunicationMedici City-state

Vocabulary• 1. Crusades – military expeditions (big

moving armies) to the Holy Land.• 2. Black Death – a deadly disease killing 1/3rd

of Europeans.• 3. Aristocrats – wealthy people who gained

money and power by owning businesses.• 4. Patrons – wealthy people who supported

artists of the Renaissance.• 5. Medici – the wealthiest and most power

ruling family of Florence and patrons of the arts.

VOCABULARY6. RENAISSACE -the rebirth in Europe of the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome.7. INQUISITION – an organization of priests that looked for and punished anyone suspected of not practicing Christianity or the guidelines of the Roman Catholic Church8. POPE - head of the Roman Catholic Church9. EXCOMMUNICATION – cast out of the church10. CITY STATE - an independent kingdom or state made up of a city and the surrounding lands it controls.

Essential Questions• 1. What key historical events lead to the

Renaissance? How?• 2. How did the Italian Peninsula’s

geography (land and or location) lead to the Renaissance originating there?

• 3. How did the Renaissance Aristocrats’ lives differ with the Medieval Feudal Lords?

• 4. How impactful were Patrons for the Renaissance movement?

Europeans Encounter new Cultures

• The Crusades – military expeditions to the Holy Land - had great influence on life in Western Europe.

• The long distances traveled by the Crusaders opened up trade routes, connecting Western Europeans with people of southwestern Asia and North Africa.

• This increased contact helped Europeans rediscover the ideas and achievements of the ancient Greeks and Romans preserved by the Church and Muslim scholars.

The Rebirth of Europe• Over time, this interest in

the ancient world sparked a new era of creativity and learning in Western Europe.

• This cultural era, which lasted from about 1350 – 1650 A.D., is called the Renaissance or the rebirth in Europe of the ideas of ancient Greece and Rome.

• During this time, many artists, architects, writers, and scholars created works of great importance.

• These included beautiful paintings, large sculptures, impressive buildings, and thought-provoking literature.

• As new ideas and achievements spread across the continent of Europe, they changed the way people viewed themselves and the world.

The Italian City-States• The Renaissance

began on the Italian Peninsula in the mid 1300s.

• When the Black Death slowly decreased in the 15th century, the population in Europe began to grow.

• REMEMBER - During the Middle Ages, most of Europe was divided into fiefs, which were ruled by lords or vassals. These fiefs often consisted of a manor house and surrounding farmland. Large cities did not exist in most of these regions. However, Italy had developed independent city-states rather than fiefs.

• A city-state consists of a city and the surrounding area, and is ruled independently. Although many of these city-states were small, Italy also contained some of the largest and most powerful cities in Europe.

• Florence, Milan, and Venice. • Although Italy was technically part of the

Holy Roman Empire, the Italian city-states governed themselves.

• Because of their access to waterways, many of the Italian city-states had become wealthy through trade.

• Venice had established a trading empire that dominated the eastern Mediterranean. Luxury goods from Asia, such as silk and spices, flooded into the city.

• A new middle class emerged —bankers, merchants and tradespeople had a new market for their services.

• Because of the importance of trade, many merchant families in Italy became wealthy and influential.

Italian Aristocrats – A changing view of the world

• The wealthy businesspeople who lived in these city-states were members of a new class of aristocrats.

• Unlike the nobles of the feudal system, these aristocrats lived in cities, and their wealth came from money and goods rather than from the lands they owned.

Wealthy Europeans began to turn their attention to material comforts of life. People became wealthier and had more than enough money to spend. They began to build larger houses; buy more expensive clothes, food, and jewelry; and get interested in art and literature. The middle class population also had more free time, which they spent learning foreign languages, reading, playing musical instruments and studying other things of interest.

Learning and the arts flourish Wealthy citizens

were proud of their city-states and often became generous patrons.

A patron gave artists and scholars money and places to live and work.

• They hired architects and designers to improve local churches, to design grand new buildings, and to create public sculptures and fountains.

• As one Italian city-state made additions and improvements, others competed to outdo it.

Patrons compete for their city-state

• As part of the competition to improve the appearance and status of their individual city-states, patrons wanted to attract the brightest and best-known scholars and poets of the time.

• Patrons believed that the contributions of these individuals would, in turn, add to the greatness of their city-states and attract more wealth.

• Before long, because of the support of wealthy patrons, Renaissance arts and learning began to flourish in Italy.

• These works showed a strong Greek and Roman influence; however, those civilizations were not the only influences on the Renaissance.

Patrons – The Medici FamilyMany powerful people, Popes, Kings, Queens, and other Nobles and Aristocrats were Patrons of the Arts. Among the most famous patrons of the Renaissance were the Medici. They were a wealthy family of bankers and merchants. In fact, they were the most powerful leaders of Florence from the early 1400s until the 1700s.

• The Medici family became so powerful that the family included famous princes and dukes, two queens, and four popes.

• Throughout the 1400s and 1500s, the Medici supported many famous artists including Botticelli, Michelangelo and Raphael. Today.

• Florence is still filled with important works of art made possible by the Medici.

Review

• 1. What key historical events lead to the Renaissance? How?

• 2. How did the Italian Peninsula’s geography (land and or location) lead to the Renaissance originating there?

• 3. How did the Renaissance Aristocrats’ lives differ with the Medieval Feudal Lords?

• 4. How impactful were Patrons for the Renaissance movement?

• Exit ticket - closure• 1. Get out one piece of loose-leaf notebook

paper. Fold in half long way. Left side title – what I know. Right side title – Most important.

• 2. Close notebook and place all materials under your desk out of the way.

• 3. List 5 items you learned from today’s lesson.

• 1. Rotate around the class. When I tell you to stop, discuss with your neighbors what you all have learned.

• 2. Add additional information to your list on the left side. Circle or underline common knowledge.

• 3. Repeat.

• 1. ON the other side of your paper – right side – list the three most important vocabulary/facts/phrases from today’s lesson.

• 2. Rotate around the room again. Stop. Share your ideas with a neighbor. Add any additional facts which you feel.

• Directions: You will begin by coloring the map of Europe - 1500 AD

• 1. Color water a light blue• 2. Underline the names of the water in a darker

blue• 3.Color England red, Scotland yellow, France

purple, Spain yellow, Portugal red, Holy Roman Empire orange, Ottoman Empire green

• 4. Using red, trace the boundary of the Italian Peninsula.

• 5. Highlight all names of cities.• 6. Visit me to check for completion and accuracy.

Closure

•Write a story using the vocabulary/facts•phrases from your most important list.