The Northern Renaissance

How is the Northern Renaissance Different from the Italian Renaissance? Began after the Italian Renaissance when big cities appeared in the North Focused more on the spread of literature and ideas People were more centered on humanism in the North

Important People Gutenberg – invented the printing press Erasmus – humanist; tried to blend Christianity with Renaissance ideas, but unintentionally convinced people to rebel against the Catholic Church Thomas More – wrote book called Utopia about the ideal society William Shakespeare – very famous poet and playwright, created realistic characters with complex lives

Where and Why did it Begin? Began in Germany because it was the center of trade in Northern Europe Italian traders spread art and ideas throughout major German trading cities Northern Renaissance spread because of the printing press

The Printing Press Letters were carved into wooden blocks, then the blocks were arranged to form words Ink was placed on the blocks and then pressed onto paper This made book production much easier and faster Before the printing press, people had to hand write books Books became cheap More people learned to read, especially the Bible

Thomas More and Utopia More wrote Utopia to compare life in Europe with that in an ideal society Wrote that European governments were corrupt Argued that owning land caused unneeded conflict between people In Utopia all male citizens were equal Everyone worked to support the society Utopia now means an ideal place or society

William Shakespeare Famous playwright, one of the most influential of his time Wrote Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and other such plays His plays were incredibly popular with both rich and poor Most modern writers can’t match his writing ability

Art in the Northern Renaissance People were portrayed more realistically than they were in Italy Subjects in art had flaws More engravings were used More portraits of everyday people were made