The Renaissance“Movement of creativity in art, writing, and

thought”

• Means rebirth and lasted from 1300-1600

• Bring back the classic culture of Greece and Rome

• Instead of “bringing back” a culture the Renaissance created a new way of life

• Creating new art, literature, architecture and an emphasis on the individual

• Celebration of the individual

Why did the Renaissance Start?

• The Black Plague

People wanted to celebrate life and the human spirit

• Questioning institutions during the Middle Ages, especially the Church, feudalism

• Fall of Constantinople last link to Greece and Rome

• Rise of Italy the center of the Renaissance

Rise of the RenaissanceItaly’s Role

• Northern Italy becomes the center of the Renaissance

• Large population of people came from Constantinople to live in Italy

• The people brought culture from classical Greece and Rome into the area

• Plague kills off the back bone of the feudal system in Italy, the peasant population

Renaissance in Italy Continued

• Trade during the Crusades led to growth of large city-states in Italy

• Cities allowed people to meet and share ideas

• Early 1300’s plague hits Europe killing 60 to 75 percent of the population

• Very high merchant class in Italy

• Rich history of Greece and Rome in Italy

Rise of the merchant class and the Medici family

• Small city-states in Milan and Florence allowed more people to be involved in political life

• Merchants believed in individual merit not entitled to nobility because of wealth or family

• The Medici family was a powerful banking family that could fund a revival

• Medici family Controlled Florence’s government• Medici family valued ancient Greece

manuscripts and thought and in turn created a new way of life

• Petrarch considered the father of the Renaissance