Reborn Times

John Downland

gets rejected!

Spanish Armada:

The Inside Story

PLAGUE HITS EUROPE

In what possibly might be the greatest glory of the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth of England defeated the Spanish Armada with superior English ships and war tactics. Since then, King Philip has been sending other fleets against England, but none are as threatening as the great Armada in 1588.

By believing in them, they believed in her.

Before the battle, Spain was the most powerful country in the world, and was being ruled by Philip II. They had wealth that was unsurpassed by any country. England on the other hand is a small country with little wealth. If Queen Elizabeth ever felt nervous about challenging Spain, the greatest power in the world, she never showed it, and still had complete devotion and loyalty to her people. By believing in them, they believed in her.

In the beginning, Spain and England had gotten along rather well, but over the years since Queen Elizabeth’s attainment of power, their relations deteriorated. There were many reasons for this. For one, England is a Protestant country while Spain is a Roman Catholic country. Also, the Spanish didn’t try to hide their hatred for the English Queen, who they believed that she was not meant to be on the throne. The Queen herself encouraged the acts of English pirates, who plundered Philips ships and stole his treasures.

It was perhaps an omen however, that from the start, the Spanish

faced many problems. A few years back, in the early 1585, Philip prepared a

great fleet that he planned to invade England with. The purpose of this invasion was to dispose of Queen Elizabeth and to put the Queen of Scotland, which was also a Catholic country. It was perhaps an omen however, that from the start, the Spanish faced many problems. An English captain, Francis Drake and his men sailed to the coast of Spain and destroyed many of the Spanish ships in the city of Cadiz.

The Span ish Armada December 30, 1600 Volume VI, Issue III

Queen Elizabeth had heard rumors about Spain intentions to invade England for some time; however, she was not concerned about these mutterings and easily dismissed them. The Councilors were not so dismissive and eventually it became clear to Queen Elizabeth that the Spanish were really going to send an army against England. Immediately after hearing this news, the Queen put all her efforts in raising funds to ensure that when the Spanish fleet came, England would be prepared.

The plans of Spain were well thought out but they were no match for England. The Spanish fleet, consisting of over 100 ships, sailed up from Spain, along the English Channel and met with the forces of the Netherlands. Together, they sailed to England, believing that the English were about to be conquered and the Queen was about to be

captured. But the English were waiting. Men watched the seas day and night, waiting for the first sighting of the Spanish Armada. Finally, when the ships appeared, messages were sent through the country, and by the next morning, the entire London, and the Queen knew that the time had come. As soon as the ships pulled up to English shores, fighting began.

In the end, the Spanish suffered a humiliating defeat. They had the wind and the rain against them, and they were not able to compete with England’s ships and war tactics. In the end, they fled in terror. The battle was over, the English had won.

The Queen and her people were overjoyed. They were now the most powerful country in the world. It is believed that the storm that had destroyed the Spanish ships and helped the English to win was not any ordinary storm, but the work of a Protestant God.

Dear Giovanni, I am going to go see The Merchant of Venice Play by William Shakespeare. Unfortunately, all of my nice clothes are dirty, and I do not have time to go to the river to wash them. Also, I am tired of having to stand up during plays and even though I've been saving money for a while, I still do not have enough to buy a seat. All of my friends have seats except me. I feel like I will be all alone during the play, and it will not be as fun to watch. What should I do? - Undecided Dear Undecided, William Shakespeare is one of the greatest play writers of all time and I highly recommend that you go to see The Merchant of Venice because it is a great play and I am sure that you will love it even if you are standing away from your friends. Also, clothes are not an important matter. This is a once in a life time opportunity, so I suggest you go for it. Dear Giovanni, I am a school teacher and I need to copy a very long worksheet for my class. Usually, I just handwrite all of my worksheets or use the printing press, but both processes are too long and tiring for me. I am getting tired of having to go through all of this work just to make a few worksheets. What should I do? - Broken Hand Dear Broken Hand, I recommend you look into the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg. It is a machine that automatically copies whatever you need, so you will only need to write every worksheet once! Dear Giovanni, Lately I have been attracting the attention of some noblemen in town. I am just a common woman, who works all day at home, tending to my house duties. I tried to tell these men to leave me alone but they kept coming back. People are starting to gossip about it, and I do not know what to do. Should I make a big deal out of it and tell the noblemen to leave me alone, or should I try to ignore them in hopes that they will go away? - Flustered Woman Dear Flustered Woman, All you need to do is stay away from these men and try not to make a big deal out of it. Since they have a higher ranking than you, in the end you will probably end up getting hurt more than they will.

Giovann i Answers

December 30, 1600 Volume VI, Issue III

Go visit the Globe Theater today! Shakespeare plays eve-

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It can print more than 3,600 copies a day!

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Da Vinci the OG

Henry Alessandro: Welcome Mr. Da Vinci thank you for joining me today.

Leonardo Da Vinci: Thank you for having me.

Henry Alessandro: I have a few questions about some of the inventions and the paintings you have

done, specifically The Mona Lisa. What inspired you to create The Mona Lisa?

Leonardo Da Vinci: Nothing really inspired me to paint The Mona Lisa it was just a task to paint

Lisa Del Giocondo, the wife of the Florentine merchant Francesco di Bartolomeo Del Giocondo.

Henry Alessandro: How long did it take to create The Mona Lisa?

Leonardo Da Vinci: It took me about three years to paint The Mona Lisa, from 1503 to 1506.

Henry Alessandro: Do you think your painting will inspire other painters and their creations?

Leonardo Da Vinci: I think I have inspired a lot of artists during the renaissance because The Mona

Lisa has encouraged other artists to make freer studies for their paintings.

Henry Alessandro: Why do you think people called you a “renaissance man”?

Leonardo Da Vinci: I think I have been given the title of a “renaissance man” is because of the way I

think and how I did not see a divide between science and art.

Henry Alessandro: One of your other famous paintings that you recently painted, The Last Supper,

did you have any specific purpose for painting this picture?

Leonardo Da Vinci: I painted the The Last Supper because Lorenzo de’ Medici commissioned me to

create a silver lyre and bring it to Ludovico il Moro, the Duke of Milan as a gesture of peace.

Henry Alessandro: When did you paint The Last Supper?

Leonardo Da Vinci: I painted this in 1482 to 1499.

Henry Alessandro: So what kind of skills have you learned as you were growing up?

Leonardo Da Vinci: When I was 14 I began apprenticing with the artist Verrocchio and over a period of six years I learned technical skills,

leather arts, drawing and sculpting and by the age of 20 I had qualified as a master artist in the Guild of Saint Luke.

Henry Alessandro: I noticed that you have a notebook that you

carry around with you all the time. What are some of the types of

things have you written in it?

Leonardo Da Vinci: I have written about 13,000 pages of notes

and drawings, including blueprints for the flying machines, plant

studies, war machinery, anatomy and architecture.

Henry Alessandro: Thank you so much for answering my ques-

tions.

Leonardo Da Vinci: I’m happy to help.

Here is an interview with Leonardo Da Vinci, who talks about his

paintings The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper and his reasons and

inspirations for painting them.

Comic Section!

John Dowland, the famous

composer of lute songs, was

rejected by Queen Elizabeth

I! He had applied for the posi-

tion as a lutenist for the

Queen, as the previous lutenist had died recenty. Unfortunately

for him, he was a Catholic and was rejected by the Protestant

court. Dowland is a distinct lutenist but apparently not enough for

the Queen. While in England, after being rejected, Dowland pub-

lished his first album, The First Booke of Songes. The dejected

musician went back to England afterwards, and spent his days play-

ing mournfully in Churches and during funerals. However, he did

not mourn forever and realized that he wanted better things. He

travelled to Denmark, where King Christian, a great admirer of

Dowlands lute playing, appointed him to be a lutenist for the Danish

court with an annual salary of 500 dalers, an impressive amount! So,

Dowland got over one rejection and moved right on to an equally

good position, doing what he loved.

THIS JUST IN!

Dowland Gets Rejected!

To the editor:

I am concerned about women and how they do not have nearly as

much rights as they should have. Let me give you a little bit of background

information. In Italy, most women from the upper classes had only two op-

tions in life: to be married and do housework for the rest of their lives, or

to become nuns. Most women decide to get married. These people need a

dowry. The expense of a dowry led some families to marry off only one

daughter, while the rest were sent to a convent as nuns. Still, nuns need

dowries for their convents to run smoothly and be able to house and feed

them.

Once married, a woman is expected to take care of the home, have

children and be honorable to two families - her own and her husband's.

She is also responsible for the education of their young children.

Women of the upper classes are not expected, or even allowed, to

work outside the home. Women in the growing middle class sometimes

work in shops. There were more lower class women in the streets than

upper classes, and they meet at markets to gossip and share news. Church

services were the only place women of all classes could appear in public.

Poorer women lead a hard life, working in the fields or in cities as servants.

Many turned to prostitution to make ends meet, or joined convents to

work as servants for the nuns.

I believe that women deserve to be treated with more respect and

have more recognition in the community. In the previous issue you did an

article of all the incredible paintings ever painted. I noticed that only the

paintings by men were mentioned. There are hundreds of female paintings

that are as good, and some even better, than male painters. Women should

have more rights than this and be recognized for their contributions.

Sincerely,

Georgia Rose

Classified Section

There are paintings for sale and

they are for a good price. We have

the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and

more. Prices are negotiable but

starts off at 50 Florin and up.

Have you ever looked at the sky and asked yourself

what else is there? Well now there is a telescope and

it was created by Galileo Galilei. The telescope will

allow you to look deeper into the sky and more

clearly. The amazing telescope ‘s price is 100 florin

but it is negotiable.

Are you running

low on funds and

need employ-

ment? Well look

no further be-

cause Queen Eliz-

abeth needs more servants . The

pay will be 1 pound but the work

conditions will not be the best .

Telescope for Sale

Careers Paintings For Sale

The Black Death

Already, more than 25% of Europe's

population has died because of the bubonic

plague. This plague causes swellings on its

victim’s body. These swellings can grow to

the size of an egg or small apple. The swell-

ings are a certain sign of death. The life ex-

pectancy of someone who has this plague is

a week or less. Doctors are bewildered, not

knowing the cause of this horrible plague.

No medicine has overcome this disease, and

doctors are thinking that the bubonic plague

might not have a treatment. This plague is so

deadly that it can be transferred to other

people just by being near them, or touching

anything they have touched.

So far people have had mixed reac-

tions to the disease that is terrorizing Eu-

rope. Some people believe

that living moderately and

avoiding the epidemic will

protect them. They have

formed small groups and live

separate from everyone else,

shutting themselves up in

houses and eating and drink-

ing the finest food and wine,

and just passing the time

in pleasurable activities.

Other people do the op-

posite. These people go out and do whatever

they want, thinking their lives are already at

end so they might as well make the best of it.

Many other people are in just living moderate-

ly. They satisfied their appetites moderately,

and they did not shut themselves up, but in-

stead they go out and behave normally, carry-

ing flowers or other scented herbs with them

in order to overpower the stench of dead

bodies.

In these suffering times, all divine laws

have disappeared, as ministers and executors

of laws are all dead or sickly. Some people

however, dedicate their last days to God, pray-

ing that they would go to a better place after

death. Most people believed that they had

done something bad to bring God’s wrath on-

to them, and tried to do whatever they could

to please God.

AGOSTINO RAMELLI: A

BIOGRAPHY

Agostino Ramelli was born in Como, Italy in 1531. He grew up

during wars for independence times and political turmoils. He was also

known as “The Great Engineer”.

Agostino Ramelli’s book The Various

and Ingenious Machines of Agostino Ramelli

has descriptions of 195 inventions in both

French and Italian. Some of his illustrated

inventions are for raising water, milling grain, and war time machines. Some

people think that his inventions are creative on paper, but not very realistic or

effective. Unfortunately, Ramelli did not include any descriptions on how to build the machines, nor did he

attempt to build them himself. One of Ramellis imaginings is the book wheel. This machine is a circle which

rotates from one book to the next, and does not require people to lift the huge volumes of books. What

makes it unusual is that it’s a vertical type, rather than the Chinese horizontal ones. When asked about his

machine, Ramelli replied with:

“This is a beautiful and ingenious machine, very useful and convenient for anyone who takes pleas-

ure in study, especially those who are indisposed and tormented by gout. For with this machine a man

can see and turn through a large number of books without moving from one spot. Moreover, it has an-

other fine convenience in that it occupies very little space in the place where it is set, as anyone of intelli-

gence can clearly see from the drawing.”

Another one of Ramelli’s creations is the water wheel. This creation made it easier for people to get

water. Before, everyone had to draw their water out of wells which was a long and tedious task that took

hours to get enough water just for one bath. The water wheel is made up of piston pump pipes, rotary

pumps, well buckets, and many other unusual devices. This machine works by spinning a circle which spins

buckets that go through the water, and pull out water then dump the water into a bigger bucket, making it

easier to get more water at a time. A few water wheels are powered by only the water itself, but most others

are powered by people turning a wheel, or using a hand crank. Out of the 195 machines pictured in Ramelli’s

book, 110 of them are water-raising machines.

Although it is easier to get water nowadays, the water wheel is still a huge innovation. There are plac-

es that do not have access to clean water. Even now, in the time of rebirth and learning, cities are crowded,

dirty, and often dangerous. The greatest problem is public hygiene. There is no clean water.

Wells are dug at convenient places through the city, but this water was still dirty. This is

possibly what could have caused the Black Death. Dirty water can pass millions of diseases.

With Agostino Ramelli’s water wheel, we could possibly solve this problem.

Renaissance Crossword

CITATIONS

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PAGE 4

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PAGE 5

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