The Renaissance

1485-1660

The Renaissance

• French word meaning “rebirth”

• New interest in science, art, literature

• Great advances in science and education

• New social order• Interest in humanism

“Vision of Ezekiel” by Raphael, 1518

Printing Press• 1430s: first mass-produced

books; no longer had to be hand-copied

• Used interchangeable letter block templates, oil-based inks, and high-quality paper

• Made books (esp. the Bible) widely accessible for the first time

Protestant Reformation--1517• Martin Luther (German monk)

• Protested sale of indulgences (and other practices) by Catholic church

• Nailed 95 Theses to church door

• Reformation led to Protestantism

• Had a huge influence on society, politics, and the economy

“Age of Exploration”• European nations “discovered”

other nations for commerce• Contributed to later imperial

domination and exploitation

Major Scientific Advances

• Alchemy, astronomy, medicine, geography, inventions.• Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) and Galileo (1564-

1642)—theory of heliocentrism controversial with Church

Medical Advances• Many medical advances—learned more about

anatomy, surgery, and treatment of disease; used knowledge from earlier Islamic physicians

Leonardo da Vinci, “Fetus in the Womb”

Page from an Ottoman manuscript describing how to make medicines

Rulers of Note: Tudors and Stuarts

King Henry VIII

• 17 when crowned• 6 marriages• 1530—broke with

the Catholic church and created Church of England (a.k.a. Anglican Church)

Sumptuary Laws• King Henry VIII wanted to be

able to tell upon first glance what social class someone belonged to

• Laws specified the kinds of cloth, colors, and accessories that were forbidden to people beneath a certain rank

• Breaking sumptuary laws punishable by loss of possessions, title, or even life.

Social Classes• Middle class continued to grow with emergence of global

trade—especially merchants • Four main classes: royalty, nobles, merchants, and

peasants• First three classes often patronized the arts

“The Peasant Dance” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1569.

Social Classes: Merchants

Pieter Aertsen, “A Cook with Poultry,” 16th c. Quentin Metsys, “Money Changer and His Wife,” 1514

Social Classes: Nobles

Jan Gossaert, “A Noble Man,” 1530. Jan Mostaert, “Portrait of an African Noble,” 1520-30

Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

• Created and supported art

• Turned England into a world power

• Last of the Tudor Line

• Considered the epitome of beauty: white skin, fair hair, red lips

Stuarts• James I (1603-1625)

Anglican Church supporter

• Charles I (1625-1649)- harsh leadership led to Puritan exodus and civil war

• Cromwells and commonwealth took over until 1660, ending the Renaissance

Charles I

Renaissance Literature• Writers, like artists, gained

patronage from wealthy people

• Pastoral poetry: idealized depictions of nature and rural life– Used courtly language with

meter and rhyme

• Popular poets: Edmund Spenser, Sir Walter Raleigh, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare Depiction of a scene from

Spenser’s Faerie Queene

Sonnets• 14-line poems• Petrarchan (1300s)

and Shakespearean (1500s-1600s)

• Iambic pentameter– 5 feet = 10 syllables

– 1 foot = 1 unstressed syllable, 1 stressed syllable

William Shakespeare