1. Europe in the Middle Ages (Medieval times, Middle Ages, Dark Ages)
A prequel to Chapter 1

2. In the fifth century, the Roman Empire broke down.
Europe was politically fragmented, with Germanic kings ruling a number of dissimilar kingdoms.
Self-sufficient farming estates called manors were the primary centers of food production.
Manors grew from the need for self-sufficiency and self-defense.
The lord of a manor had almost unlimited power over his agricultural workers—the serfs.

4. During the early medieval period, a class of nobles emerged and developed into mounted knights.
Landholding and military service became almost inseparable.

5. The complex network of relationships between landholding and the obligation to provide military service to a lord is often referred to as feudalism.
Kings were weak because they depended on their vassals.
For most medieval people, the lord’s manor was the government.
Noble women were pawns in marriage politics. Women could own land, however, and non-noble women worked alongside the men.
The medieval diet in the north was based on beer, lard or butter, and bread. In the south, the staples were wheat, wine, and olive oil.

7. One of the most powerful institutions of the Middle Ages was the Catholic Church.
The Church owned large tracts of land
Monasteries were an escape for those that wanted out of the marriage plots and often unfair inheritance laws.
Most of the educated people of the time were members of the clergy.
The Church often offered relief in disasters and charity to the poor

9. No one could predict or protect you from the plague
Boils, pain, fever, swelling, black tongue… Not pretty.
Huge death tools all over Europe
Resulted in a new attitude about life
Led to higher wages and better living conditions.

10. Chapter 1: European Renaissance and Reformation, 1300-1600
Two movements, the Renaissance and the Reformation, usher in dramatic social and cultural changes in Europe.

11. Section 1: Italian Renaissance

12. Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance is a rebirth of learning that produces many great works of art and literature.
The “rebirth” refers to the Renaissance artists’, writers’, and philosophers’ focus on a return to classic Greek and Roman principles.

14. Why Italy? Italy had 3 major advantages: thriving cities
a wealthy merchant class
the heritage of classical Greece and Rome.

15. City-States
Italy was not a united country, but instead a group of individual city-states
The Crusades spurred trade
Increased trade led to growth of the city-states in northern Italy and the growth of the merchant class
In 1300s bubonic plague killed 60% of population which disrupted the economy
Survivors then demanded higher wages

17. Wealthy merchant class
A wealthy merchant class develops
More emphasis on individual achievement
Wealthy merchant families begin to play a major role in governing the city-states
Banking family, the Medici, controls Florence
Wealthy merchants began to use art as a way to display their wealth and status.

19. The legacy of Greece and Rome
Rebirth of Greek and Roman art styles and philosophy, known as “classics”
Artists and scholars study ruins of Rome along with Latin and Greek manuscripts
Scholars move to Rome after fall of Constantinople in 1453

20. Worldly Values Classics Lead to Humanism
Humanism—intellectual movement focused on human achievements
Humanists studied classical texts, history, literature, philosophy
Worldly Pleasures
Renaissance society was secular—worldly
Wealthy enjoyed fine food, homes, clothes

21. Patron—a financial supporter of artists
In the Middle Ages artists were not paid very well and gained very little fame, that changed in the Renaissance.
Patrons of the Arts
Patron—a financial supporter of artists
Church leaders spend money on artworks to beautify cities
Wealthy merchants also patrons of the arts

22. Excels in many fields: the classics, art, politics, combat
The Renaissance Man
Excels in many fields: the classics, art, politics, combat
Baldassare Castiglione’s The Courtier (1528)
The book teaches how to become a “universal” person
Most famous example is probably Leonardo da Vinci
More on da Vinci later…

23. The Renaissance Woman
Upper-class, educated in classics, charming
Expected to inspire art but not create it
Isabella d’Este, patron of artists, wields power in Mantua

24. The Renaissance Revolutionized 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
Realistic portraits of prominent citizens
Sculpture shows natural postures and expressions
The biblical David is a favorite subject among sculptors

25. Michelangelo
Painter and sculptor
the Sistine Chapel
The David

26. The David and a famous Medici tomb statue

27. Leonardo, Renaissance Man
Leonardo da Vinci—painter, sculptor, inventor, scientist
Paints one of the best-known portraits in the world: the Mona Lisa
Famous religious painting: The Last Supper

28. Leonardo da Vinci
Da Vinci was so much more than painter in the early 1500s, he was a sculptor, inventor, writer, anatomist, engineer, astronomer, and much more!

30. Raphael Advances Realism
Raphael Sanzio, famous for his use of perspective
Favorite subject: the Madonna and child
Famous painting: School of Athens

31. Anguissola and Gentileschi
Sofonisba Anguissola: first woman artist to gain world renown
Artemisia Gentileschi paints strong, heroic women

32. Renaissance Writers Change Literature
New Trends in Writing
Writers use the vernacular—their native language
Self-expression or to portray individuality of the subject
Machievelli Advises Rulers
Niccolò Machievelli, author of political guidebook, The Prince
The Prince examines how rulers can gain and keep power

33. Section 2: The northern Renaissance
In the 1400s, the ideas of the Italian Renaissance begin to spread to Northern Europe.

34. Renaissance Ideas Spread
Spirit of Renaissance Italy impresses visitors from northern Europe
When Hundred Years’ War ends (1453), cities grow rapidly
between England and France over who would rule France
Merchants in northern cities grow wealthy and sponsor artists
England and France unify under strong monarchs who are art patrons
Northern Renaissance artists interested in realism
Humanists interested in social reform based on Judeo-Christian values

35. Northern Artists German Painters
Albrecht Dürer’s woodcuts and engravings emphasize realism
Hans Holbein the Younger paints portraits, often of English royalty
Flemish Painters
Flanders is the artistic center of northern Europe
Jan van Eyck, pioneer in oil-based painting, uses layers of paint
Van Eyck’s paintings are realistic and reveal subject’s personality
Pieter Bruegel captures scenes of peasant life with realistic details

36. Northern Humanists
Criticize the Catholic Church, start Christian humanism
Want to reform society and promote education, particularly for women
Christian Humanists
Desiderius Erasmus of Holland is best-known Christian humanist
His book, The Praise of Folly, pokes fun at merchants and priests
Thomas More of England creates a model society in his book Utopia

38. Queen Elizabeth I Renaissance spreads to England in mid-1500s
Period known as the Elizabethan Age, after Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth reigns from 1558 to 1603

39. William Shakespeare
Shakespeare is often regarded as the greatest playwright
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564
Plays performed at London’s Globe Theater

41. Printing Changes the World!
Chinese and Korean Invention
Movable type, around 1000
It uses a separate piece of type for each character
Gutenberg Improves the Printing Process
Around 1440 Johann Gutenberg of Germany develops printing press
Printing press allows for quick, cheap book production
First book printed with movable type, Gutenberg Bible (1455)

43. Legacy and Lasting Impression of the Renaissance
Changes in the Arts
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

44. Changes in Society
Printing makes information widely available
Illiterate people benefit by having books read to them
Published accounts of maps and charts lead to more discoveries
Published legal proceedings make rights clearer to people
Political structures and religious practices are questioned