The European Renaissance

The Renaissance
• Renaissance, “rebirth”, had two distinct facets
– Change in economic and social conditions
– Artistic and cultural movement based on that change
• Italian city-states
– Began in Florence, Venice, Milan, Pisa
– Led the way in innovations: scientific, artistic, economic
– Government run by wealthy aristocrats, headed by prince
– Huge gap between rulers and the people
 Renaissance Attitudes
• Individualism
– Wealthy wanted to separate from masses
– Encouraged new pride in human potential
 Renaissance Attitudes
• Secularism
– Focus of attention from eternal to worldly
affairs
– Saw life as opportunity for glory and pleasure
– Man is the measure of all things
 Renaissance Attitudes
• Revival of Classical Values
– Greeks and Romans became focus of interest
– Not anti-Christian as much as pro-humanity
– Collecting, editing of ancient texts
• Devoted to self-realization of human
beings whose earthly lives were the only
sure ones they had
 Northern Renaissance
• Rather different character: more reformist,
less self-centered
• Humanism
– Humanists were scholars aware of corruption
of society, wanted changes
– Reawakened sense of Christian duties and
responsibilities
– Confidence in power of the intellect to find
truth: use reason, not dogma
Northern Renaissance Thinkers
• Thomas Moore’s Utopia
– Written as satire of society
– People in Utopia looked out for others; were totally
equal; lived by reason
– Saw society as reason for problems of the world, not
individual sinners
Northern Renaissance Thinkers
• Erasmus and Praise of Folly
– Indictment of world, plea for return to
simple virtues
– Two basic themes: inner nature of
Christianity, importance of education
– Important forerunner of Protestant
Reformation

Erasmus in 1523, by
Hans Holbein
POLITICAL
 Political Economy of
Renaissance Europe,
Theory of the State
• State was political organism independent of ruler

• State has three essential attributes: legitimacy,

sovereignty, territory

• New style of monarchy with only one goal:

power

Title page of a 1550 edition

 Royal Governments
• France
– Recovered quickly from Hundred Years War
– Charles VII created first truly royal army
– Louis XI gained middle class support, expanded area
of royal control

Hundred Years’ War

 Royal Governments
• England
– Magna Carta – doctrine held that
monarchy was bound to obey laws
just like everyone else
– Royal power weakened;
Parliament strengthened by war
– War of the Roses
– Henry VII rebuilt royal power,
avoided foreign wars Painting by Henry Payne in 1908
of the scene in the Temple
Garden from Shakespeare's
play Henry VI, Part 1, where
supporters of the rival
factions pick either red or
white roses
 Royal Governments
• Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
– Central power totally destroyed
– Emperor was elected
– No bureaucracy, royal army, national parliament or power to tax
– Austrian Habsburg Dynasty became major ruling family

Hapsburg coat of
arms
AESTHETIC
 Art and its Patrons

Michelangelo's Last
Judgment

• Tremendous creative outburst in Italy

• Northern art, architecture more overtly religious
• Art was supposed to show artistic skill, experimentation
• Mastery of perspective
• Sculpture – saw human body as beautiful
Michelangelo's David
 Art and its Patrons
• Michelangelo and architecture
• Artist now seen as respected, powerful member of
society
• Patrons used art to display their wealth, treated artists as
equals
• Artistic genius, the “divine spark”

Leonardo Davinci’s Mona

Lisa
 Renaissance Church
• Literate attacks were against late medieval
church personnel, not doctrines
• Clergy behavior was scandalous
– Illiteracy, ignoring vows of poverty, chastity
– Political, financial interests more important
than moral authority
• Noble families controlling the papacy were
involved in political struggles
SOCIAL
 Family Life
• Men still married late, women much younger
• Large families, especially among wealthy
• Women
– Expected to run household expertly
– Upper class women’s position declined
– Middle class women had greater responsibility, nearly equal role
– Wives of artisans, merchants often partners in business
– Working class women still in male-dominated society
• Women’s work
– Spinning, weaving, care of livestock
– Did same jobs as men
INTELLECTUAL
 Education
• Education of Men
– Educated for careers in commerce or crafts
– Literacy was common in urban populations

A male graduate
 Education
• Education of Women
– Study in home
– Focused on literacy, music, domestic arts
– Intellectual women had more outlets to
express themselves, but not taken seriously

A female graduate