RENAISSANCE V. MIDDLE AGES
RENAISSANCE
• Art for individual glory, fame
• Portraits, Autobiographies
• Rome/Greek learning
• Homer, Plato, Aristotle,
Humanist-learning everyone
should know
• Worldly Learning
• Exotic food, fabric
• Love life not offensive to God
MIDDLE AGES
•Art for God
• Learning was not important
• Everything done to show
respect for God
• Live poorly
•Wear rough clothing
• Eat simply
HUMANISM
• Humanism—intellectual movement focused
on human achievements
• Studied classical texts, history, literature,
philosophy
• No limit to man’s potential
• Religion does not have to agree with science
and art
• Renaissance society was secular, worldly
• Wealthy enjoyed fine food, homes, clothes
MERCHANTS AND PATRONS
• Merchants (businesspeople) who were the wealthiest and
most powerful class in each city-state.
• Earned money from industries like banking
• Used money to support and encourage the arts
• Patrons- individuals, families, or organizations that
financially support the arts.
• De Medici Family
• Roman Catholic Church
• Wealthy individuals
• Because they pay, they have control over what is created
DE MEDICI FAMILY
•Most famous merchants and patrons
•Allowed for artists to focus on art without
worrying about money
• Supported art, architecture, and science
• Famous artists they supported include
Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello,
Leonardo da Vinci, and Galileo Galilei
ART
• Artistic Styles Change
• Artists use realistic style copied
from classical art, often to portray
religious subjects
• Painters use perspective, a way to
show three dimensions on a canvas
• Realistic Painting and Sculpture
• The biblical David is a favorite subject
among sculptors
CHARACTERISTICS OF ART
Paintings
• Vivid Color
• Dramatic
• Appearance of 3-dimensions
• Realistic
• Both Secular and Religious
subject matter, however this is
the first time secular even is an
option
Sculpture
•VERY detailed
•Lifelike
•usually fully or partially
nude to show details of
the human body
•Dramatic
MICHAELANGELO
• The Pieta- Jesus after crucifixion laying in his mother, Mary’s, lap
• David- 13 feet tall, considered to be virtually perfect
• Sistine Chapel- Took 4 years. 141’ x 43’. 9 scenes from the Bible
containing 300 people. Includes the Creation of Adam.
RAPHAEL• School of Athens- includes depictions of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Pythagoras. In the
library at the Vatican
• Sistine Madonna- Depicts various moods. Most famous are the angels at the bottom
• Pope Julius II- Became model for Pope portraits in the future
• The Transfiguration- Largest canvas painting, one of the last before his death
MACHIAVELLI
• ‘The Prince’
• How one ought to rule
• Better to be feared than loved
• Considered a masterpiece
• Political Philosophy
• Written in Italian vernacular opposed to Latin
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
• Refers to Renaissance outside of Italy
• France- Many Italians moved to France including da Vinci.
French architecture changed as well from gothic castles
to beautiful chateaus
• Dutch- painting style and philosophy of humanism
• German- printing press created by Johannes
Gutenberg, later the Reformation (spoiler). Printing
press allows for quick and cheap book production=
spread of books, ideas, learning spreads quickly
NORTHERN RENAISSANCE
• England- one of the last to have a renaissance- After Hundred
Years War ends, cities begin to grow rapidly
• Elizabethan Era- 1558-1603, the Golden Age
• Peace and prosperity
• Shakespeare- wrote many sonnets and plays about nobility as
well as common people. Famous works include Hamlet, Othello,
Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, and A Midsummer
Night’s Dream. He is one of the greatest writers of the English
language and is credited with adding over 3,000 words to the
language.
RENAISSANCE LEGACY
CHANGES IN SOCIETY
• Printing press makes
information easily and widely
available
• People become literate
• Maps and charts= new discoveries
• Rights and laws are written down-
known to everyone
• Governing bodies (including the
Church) come into question
CHANGES IN ART
• Influenced by classical Greece and
Rome
• Realistic portrayals of individuals
and nature
• Art is both secular and religious
• Writers use vernacular
• Art praises individual achievement
EARLY REFORMERS
• John Wycliffe (1324-1384)
• Was against Papal authority and the Catholic Church
being institutionalized
• Felt ministers should be humble, not have authority
• Followers called Lollards (derogatory term)
• Translated the Bible to English- few people could read, he
felt everyone should be able to read the Bible
• In 1415 he was declared a heretic
• His views were precursors to the Reformation
EARLY REFORMERS
•Jan Huss (1369-1415)
•Supporter of Wycliffe
•Also against the authority of the
Catholic Church
•Excommunicated and later
burned at the stake
CAUSES OF THE REFORMATION
Church Authority Challenged
• Secularism, individualism of Renaissance challenge Church authority
• Rulers challenge Church’s power
• Printing press spreads secular ideas
• Northern merchants resent paying church taxes
Criticisms of the Catholic Church
• Corrupt leaders, extravagant popes
• Poorly educated priests
MARTIN LUTHER
Luther’s Teachings
• People can win salvation by faith in
God
•Christian teachings must be
based on the Bible, not the pope
and Church traditions
•All people with faith are equal,
can interpret Bible without
priests
MARTIN LUTHER
The 95 Theses
• Martin Luther protests Friar Johann Tetzel’s selling of
indulgences
• Indulgence—a pardon releasing a person from penalty for
a sin
• In 1517 Luther posts his 95 Theses attacking “pardon-
merchants”
• Luther’s theses circulate throughout Germany
• Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses launches the
Reformation—a movement for religious reform
• Reformation rejects pope’s authority
POPES RESPONSE TO LUTHER
• Pope Leo X issues decree threatening to excommunicate
Luther (1520)
• Luther’s rights of Church membership are taken away
• Luther refuses to take back his statements and is
excommunicated
The Emperor’s Opposition
• Charles V is Holy Roman Emperor
• Edict of Worms (1521), declaring Luther a heretic
• Luther and followers begin a separate religious group—
Lutherans
PEASANTS REVOLT
• Inspired by Reformation, German peasants seek end to the social, political, and economic conditions
(1524)
• Revolted against the upper classes—burned castles and monasteries
• Looked to Luther for support- he did not believe in violent social revolution
• This assertion increased political support for his religious movement
• In May 1525, the German princes put down the revolt in a bloody confrontation, about 100,000 people
die
Germany at War
• Some princes side with Luther, become known as Protestants
• Charles V fails to return rebellious princes to Catholic Church
• Peace of Augsburg (1555)—each prince can decide religion of his state
JOHN CALVIN
• John Calvin writes Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536):
• we are sinful by nature and cannot earn salvation
• God chooses who will be saved— predestination
• Calvinism—religion based on Calvin’s teachings
Calvin Leads the Reformation in Switzerland
• Calvin says ideal government is theocracy—rule by religious
leaders
• Geneva becomes a strict Protestant theocracy led by Calvin
Example- only art form allowed it music- vocal
only- no instruments
CALVINISM
Calvinism Spreads
• John Knox brings Calvinism to Scotland, followers are
Presbyterians
• Church governed by laymen called presbyters, or elders
• Calvin’s followers in France called Huguenots
• Catholics massacre Huguenots in Paris (1572)
• King of France swayed by his mother- convinced him there
would be an uprising
• Once the killing began it was virtually impossible to stop
• Paris killing= 3,000
• France killing total= 70,000
HENRY VIII
• Henry VIII - Tudor family dynasty- Catholic
• Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon-
Catholic- gave him a daughter- Mary
• Needs a son to carry on the family name (heir)
• Wants to annul marriage to Catherine in
order to marry Anne Boleyn – Protestant
• Henry asked Pope to end first marriage,
Pope refuses
• Divorce was against the Catholic Church
HENRY VIII
• Act of Supremacy- Removes power of Pope
over England
• Creates his own church- Church of England-
Anglican Church- with Henry VIII as the
leader
• All tithes payed to the crown
• Monasteries closed, all money and land
returned to the crown
• Thomas Moore, one of his advisors, is beheaded
for siding with the Pope over the King
HENRY VIII WIVES• Catherine of Aragon- Mother of Mary.
Divorced
• Anne Boleyn- Mother of Elizabeth.
Beheaded- Tower of London, false
charges.
• Jane Seymour- Mother of Edward. Dies
days after child birth. Edward always
sick, dies at a young age.
• Anne of Cleaves- Divorced
• Catherine Howard- Executed
• Catherine Parr- Widowed (outlived
Henry VIII)
HENRY VIII CHILDREN
• Edward VI- Protestant
• Dies at 9 years old
• Mary- Catholic
• Orders persecution of Protestants who refuse
to become Catholic again
• Earns her title of Bloody Mary
• Dies
• Elizabeth I- Protestant
• Parliament approves Church of England
• Golden Age
CATHOLIC REFORMATION
• Catholic Church decides to meet to make changes to regain
strength within their church
• Council of Trent
• Things that remained the same:
• Only Church could explain the Bible
• Faith and good works= salvation
• Pope highest authority
• Church ritual to remain in Catholic faith
• Pope could not marry
• Things that would change:
• Indulgences would no longer be sold
• More disciplined clergymen
• Seminaries to train clergy
• Jesuits to serve and spread the Church’s
teachings
LEGACY OF REFORMATION
Religious and Social Effects of the Reformation
• End of religious unity throughout Europe- Catholic Church is unified; Protestant
denominations grow
• Catholics and Protestants create schools throughout Europe= literacy important,
more people want to learn to read the Bible themselves
• Status of women does not improve
Political Effects of the Reformation
• Catholic Church’s power lessens, power of monarchs and states grow- decline of
Theocracy
• Theocracy- government controlled by religious leaders
• Reformation’s questioning of beliefs brings intellectual ferment
• Late 18th century sees a new intellectual movement—the Enlightenment