The Northern Renaissance Chapter 1, Section 2

Spread of Ren. Ideas In the 1400s, the ideas of the Italian Renaissance began to spread to Northern Europe Specifically these ideas spread to England, France, Germany, and Flanders

Northern Renaissance Begins By 1450, the population in Northern Europe was growing again because the Bubonic Plague began to subside, and the 100 Years War ended As a result, cities grew rapidly (beginning in Flanders) Patronage increase dramatically Rich monarchs could afford to patronize the arts

Artistic Ideas Spread In the Northern Renaissance, there is an emphasis on realism (making art look as realistic as possible) One major cause of the spread of artistic ideas begins in 1494, when the French king claims the Kingdom of Naples (in Italy) for himself. As a result of the fighting, there is trading of ideas from people travelling between the two areas

Albrecht Dürer German artist who specialized in woodcuttings and engravings His work included religious subjects, classical myths, and realistic landscapes Dürer is widely regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance

Hans Holbein the Younger Influenced by Dürer Created paintings that were almost photographic in nature Immigrated to England, painted Henry VIII

Flemish Painters During the 15th century, Flanders was the artistic center of Northern Europe Jan Van Eyck (1390-1441) was a very influential Flemish painter Used oil-based paint, he would apply many layers of paint to capture rich color His paintings were very realistic, and seemed to convey personality

Flemish Painters Peaked in 1550 with Pieter Bruegel Bruegel portrayed incredible detail and individual people Scenes were from daily life: weddings, dances, and harvests

Northern Writers Try to Reform Society The northern writers want to revive classical languages and texts Northern humanists were critical of the failure of the Christian Church to inspire people to live a Christian life Created Christian humanism-focused on reforming society; they would achieve this by emphasizing education for men AND women

Christian humanist writers Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536), a Catholic priest from Holland In 1509 he wrote The Praise of Folly, which poked fun at greedy merchants, heartsick lovers, quarrelsome scholars and pompous priests. He believed in Christianity of the heart, not ceremony or rules

Christian humanist writers Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), he was an English lawyer, philosopher, author, statesman, and humanist Best known for writing Utopia (1516), a book that described an ideal society, originally written in Latin

Women’s Reforms The vast majority of the European population could not read or write Any family that could afford schooling would probably send sons Christine de Pizan was a highly-educated female writer who wrote short stories, biographies, novels, and military manuals, all in French

The Elizabethan Age The Renaissance spreads to England in the mid 1500s The Elizabethan Age is so named for the Queen of England who reigned from 1558-1603 She was the daughter of King Henry VIII (the guy with 6 wives) Elizabeth was religious, but she held many Renaissance ideas that people were capable of impacting their own lives Spoke French, Italian, Latin, and Greek Wrote poetry and music

William Shakespeare Lived 1564-1616, regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, greatest playwright of all time He revered the classics, and often used them as inspiration and plots His most famous works include Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the Taming of the Shrew Still popular today: The Lion King, Gnomeo and Juliet, 10 Things I Hate About You, Aladdin

Printing Spreads Ren. Ideas The Chinese invented block printing-carved letter or word on a wooden block, inked block, then printed Movable type was created in 1045 by Bi Sheng, but it was regarded as impractical since there are thousands of characters in the Chinese language

During the 13th century, block printed items began to enter Europe from Asia (still dealing with the Middle Ages in Europe at that time) Process was still too slow At that time, it would take a person 5 months to hand copy a book

Johann Gutenburg Around 1440, Gutenburg developed the modern printing press by combining several techniques He printed a Bible, called the Gutenburg Bible in 1455 This enabled printers to produce hundreds of copies (about 500 copies in 5 months For the first time, books are cheap enough that many people could afford to buy them

The Legacy of the Renaissance Period of great change Break from medieval ideas about the church and God Gradual rise of democratic ideas Historians argue that the impact of movable print may be more important than computers

Legacy of Renaissance Change in Society Change in Arts Printing made information available and inexpensive More books prompted an increased desire for learning and a rise in literacy Published discoveries spur creativity Published legal proceedings clarify the law Christian humanists’ attempts to reform society change views about how life should be lived Change in Arts Drew on techniques and styles of classical Greece and Rome Paintings and sculptures portrayed individuals and nature in a more realistic way Secular and religious works Writers used the vernacular Praised individual achievement