The Northern Renaissance as a whole

1. The Northern Renaissance as a whole

2. The Courtier • According to Castiglione, what physical attributed befitted a courtier? *Medium height, well proportioned, nimble, strong, light, and quick • Why did a courtier need to handle different kinds of weapons skillfully? * to be ready to fight in war, and to defend himself in a fight with another gentleman 3. Why did Castiglione feel a courtier should engage in such activities as hunting, swimming, and tennis? * to be better prepared to fight in war, to demonstrate his skill and distinguish himself, to become physically fit, and to fit in with nobles at court.

3. The Prince • Take 5 minutes to share your cause and effect chart with the person sitting next to you • Write a numbered list of tips for princes who want to gain fame and public approval • Set a good example • Do great deeds • Encourage excellence • Foster peace • Reward success • Respect citizens/ subjects

4. How was Northern Humanism spread? • By the learning imported by students returning to the Netherlands from Italy • The French invasions of Italy • Occurred between 1495- 1559

5. What happened during the French invasions of Italy? • A general struggle for power and territory among the Italian city- states and European monarchies (France, England, Holy Roman Empire, Scotland) • Included an increased number of alliances, counter- alliance and betrayal

6. How did these invasions start? • Ludovico (Il Moro) Sforza, of Milan, asked the French king, Charles VIII to aid him when Milan was challenged by Italian city- state rivals Naples, Florence and the Borgia Pope Alexander VI (who ruled the papal states). • Charles VIII responded with an invasion of Florence and Naples. • When Piero de Medici attempted to appease Charles VIII, Girolamo Savanorola helped agitate the Florentines, and they exiled Piero. • Louis XII, Charles’s successor, eventually invaded Milan in 1499

7. What is the conclusion of these invasions? • Italy’s political power declines • The states of Italy, which had wielded power disproportionate to their size during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, were reduced to second-rate powers or destroyed entirely. • France fought too many wars in Italy and outspent itself • By the end of the wars in 1559, Habsburg Spain had been established as the premier power of Europe, to the detriment of France.

8. Witnesses to Italy’s political decline • Da Vinci • Raphael • Michelangelo • Niccolo Machiavelli

9. Important Northern Renaissance Writers • Desiderious Erasmus (1466- 1536) • The most famous of northern Renaissance writers • Tried to unite the classical ideal of civic virtue with Christian ideals • His works included opposition to church involvement in government and satirized (ridiculed) religious superstition. • Produced a Greek edition of the New Testament (1516) • Also wrote, Praise of Folly in which he made fun of greedy merchants, heart sick lovers, argumentative lovers and pompous (arrogant) priests

10. Thomas More (1478- 1535) • English humanist • Good friends with Erasmus. • Best known for Utopia, a critique of society that envisioned an imaginary society based on tolerance and communal property. • Wrote in Latin

11. Women and the Northern Renaissance • Most Europeans at this time could not read and write. • Those who could afford schooling sent their sons • Christine de Pizan • Spoke out against the practice of sending only boys to school • Very educated • Was one of the first women to earn a living by writing • Mostly wrote about men’s objection to teaching women • Ex: The Book of the City of Ladies

12. Printing Press History of Writing: • 2700 B.C. Egyptians write books on papyrus scrolls • 1000 B.C. Chinese make books by writing on strips of bamboo • A.D. 300 Romans write on sheets of parchment (treated animal skin) • A.D. 800 Irish monks hand- write and hand- illustrate The Book of Kells

13. Life Before the Printing Press • Kings and princes had encouraged schools and literacy to help provide educated bureaucrats to staff the offices of their kingdoms. • By the 15th century a new literate lay public had been created thanks to the expansion of schools and universities during the late Middle Ages. • Demand for cheap books and expansion of lay education led to the creation of the Gutenberg Printing Press.

14. Printing Press

15. Gutenberg Printing Press • Johan Gutenberg invents the printing press in the German city of Mainz, the center of printing for the whole of Western Europe. • Printing had existed, but this was the first time movable components were incorporated. • Popular books in the early decades of print were books of • Religion • Calendars • How to books

16. Printing Press cont. • About 1455 Gutenberg prints the first complete book on a printing press it is known as the Gutenberg Bible. • By 1500 printing presses operated in at least 60 German cities and in more than 200 cities throughout Europe. • The printing press was a boon (advantage) to the careers of humanists, who now gained international audiences.

17. Effects of the invention • Standardized texts enabled a print revolution which made anyone who could read an instant authority • Rulers and the church were now dealing with a less naïve, (innocent) audiences. • Print became a powerful tool for political and religious propaganda • Kings could now instruct people more easily • Clergymen were now able to mass produce both indulgences and pamphlets.

18. Elizabethan Age • Renaissance reaches England in the mid 1500s • It is known as the “Elizabethan Age” after Queen Elizabeth I who reigned from 1558- 1603 • Among the most famous English writers was William Shakespeare, many regard him as the greatest playwright of all time • Revered the classics and drew on them for inspiration and plots • Works display a masterful command of the English language and deep understanding of human beings • Many of his plays examine human flaws