Renaissance Europe

1. Renaissance Europe 1400-1500

2. The Renaissance represents a period of transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. The Renaissance itself was not a single movement, but a flowing together of many distinct currents in art, learning, and exploration. Christian piety remained strong, but man again became “the measure of all things.”

3. Humanism“Man, the Measure of All Things” • Renaissance thinkers, scholars, and artists were called humanists for their interest in human nature and human value. • Through the study of ancient Greek and Roman literature and art, they were trying to discover the secret of the good (virtuous) life. • The Humanists laid the foundations of Western education for centuries to come by stressing • Personal judgment • Value of the individual • Human free will • Superiority of the cultivated person over unfinished nature • The individual’s duty to society

4. Spreading Knowledge: The Revolution in Printing • Johann Gutenberg (c. 1400-1470) • Invention of printing with movable metal type, c. 1445 • Gave rise to publishing industry • Increasing literacy • Vernacular texts and the development of national literatures

5. Scholars • Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) [Florence] • Oration on the Dignity of Man (1486) • Man free to shape own life and master nature • Niccoló Macchiavelli (1469-1527) [Florence] • Statesman and political theorist • The Prince (1513) • Describes politics not as it should be but as it is, a struggle for power • The actions of a prince should be governed solely by necessity; any means to an end is justifiable • Ordinary people need strong rulers • Detached politics from religion and moral philosophy

6. Artists • Renaissance art stressed proportion, balance, harmony. Focused increasingly on the natural world as it was rather than the eternal, spiritual world as it supposedly was. Leonardo Da Vinci, La Gioconda (Mona Lisa)

7. Filippo Brunelleschi (1377- 1446) Florentine architect Inspired by classical styles of Ancient Rome Pazzi Chapel, Florence

8. Donatello (1386-1466) Florentine sculptor Drew on Greco-Roman Heritage David was the first life- sized nude of the Renaissance

9. Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441) Flemish painter Realistic and precise style Developed oil painting The Arnolfini Marriage

10. Sandro Botticelli (c. 1444-1510) Florentine artist Concern with recreating an ancient myth Sensuous rather than spiritual beauty The Birth of Venus

11. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) • The ultimate “Renaissance man” • Scientist, engineer, artist, architect, inventor, etc. • Exemplified the Renaissance spirit • New way of looking at nature and the individual • Visual art as a way to arrive at nature’s truths • Helped lay foundations for modern science

12. The Last Supper

14. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) Florentine sculptor, painter, and architect David

15. The Creation of Man, Sistine Chapel, Rome

16. Michelangelo’s dome over St. Peter’s Basilica

17. Raphael Santi (1483-1520) From Rome; studied In Florence under both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci The Alba Madonna

18. Renaissance States and Politics • Italy • City-States • Venice: maritime republic with extensive empire and large merchant fleet • Florence • Republic and birthplace of the Renaissance • The Medici: wealthy banking family that ended republican rule during the 15th century • Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-1492) • Most significant of all Renaissance princes • Greatest art patron of all time • Milan: duchy ruled by the Visconti and later by the Sforza families • Naples: kingdom dominated by feudal barons • The Papal States • Treaty of Lodi, 1454: ended period of internal warfare between city-states

19. Burgundy and France • Burgundy created through the use of diplomacy and military might by the Burgundian dukes; state collapsed after 1477 (no male heir to carry on dynasty and defeat by France and Holy Roman Empire) • France slowly consolidating territories (e.g. Burgundy, Anjou) and expanding after Hundred Years’ War

20. England • Wars of the Roses (1460-1485): civil wars between the Lancastrians and Yorkists • Revival under Tudor dynasty beginning in 1485 • Spain • Marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, 1469 • Concluded the reconquista in 1492 • Jews driven out in large numbers or forced to convert to Christianity

21. Central and Eastern Europe • Weak states in Hungary, Bohemia, and Poland-Lithuania • Ottoman Empire • Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1451-1481) • Continued expansion into Europe • Conquest of Constantinople in 1453 • Muscovy • Emerged from Mongol control • Tsar Ivan III (r. 1462-1505) • Rulers had absolute rights over all lands and people

22. European Expansion • Major Factors • Material Advantages • Population growth and increasing prosperity • Strong economic foundation in terms of agricultural production and industrial capacity • Desire for wealth and conquest on part of aristocrats, merchants, shippers • Technological improvements • Gunpowder and firearms • Sailing ships

23. Government sponsorship • Increasingly centralized, monarchical states willing to sponsor voyages for trading and exploration • New sources of gold and silver • New routes to bring spices from the Far East • The Missionary Impulse • Continuation of the crusading ideal to spread Christianity • The Reconquista in Spain: defeat of last Muslim stronghold in Spain (Granada); completed by 1492 under Ferdinand and Isabella • Expansion into Africa, Asia, and the Americas the result of a combination of piety, greed, and curiosity

24. New Worlds

25. The Portuguese Empire • Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) • Patron of new naval technology and of exploration • Established a school and observatory for geographers and navigators, which became a base for sea exploration • His sea captains explored the West African coast, establishing a profitable trade in gold and slaves • Also hoped to extend Christianity into Africa at expense of Islam

26. Bartholomeu Dias • Discovered route around Cape • of Good Hope, 1487 • Vasco da Gama • First European to sail around • Africa to India, 1497-1499 • Portugal able to break • commercial monopoly on • Eastern goods held by Genoa • and Venice • Portuguese trading posts • & colonies on African • coasts, India, East Indies, • and Brazil

27. The Spanish Empire • Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) • Proposal to reach India by sailing west gained support of King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella • Set sail in August 1492 and reached San Salvador in the Bahamas in October • Three subsequent voyages, during which he explored other islands, attempted to establish colonies, and sighted the coast of South America

28. Conquistadors: • Hernando Cortés • Conquered Aztec Empire in Mexico, 1519-1521 • Appointed governor and captain-general of New Spain, 1522 • Francisco Pizarro • Conquered Inca Empire in Peru Both were hidalgos: members of the landed gentry and veteran crusaders

29. Significance of Overseas Expansion • Development of European empires in Africa, India, East Indies, North & South America • Colonies provided raw materials, gold & silver, plus markets for manufactured goods