Chapter 19.1 Notes

 $\cdot$  The Black Death or Bubonic Plague had a positive effect on European Society
   -The death toll was terrible but the disease had no effect on farmlands, industry or trade
        *If anything, the decrease in population helps grow the work force in Europe
   -People who survived need to produce more food and new products
       *The wages for these jobs increased and Europe’s economy was on the rise
       *As goods became available the price decreases and they were able to get goods from distant places

    -The Chinese and Romans did business from about 1 AD to 200 AD
      *Products moved East to West along the Silk Road
 $\cdot$  The route started in China and ended at the Mediterranean Sea 
       -When the Roman Empire and Han dynasty fell, soldiers did not protect the travelers
          *Use of the Silk Road declined 
          *In 1200s the Mongols took over China and made the roads safer for travelers & traders
          *Among these traders was Marco Polo and his family

       *While in China they saw amazing things like paper money and coal used as fuel
       *Marco Polo also met the Mongol emperor and became a government official 
   -Polo spend 20 years in Asia before returning to Venice 
       *Polo wrote about his time in Asia and created a desire for Asian goods
 $\cdot$  Trade cities in Italy
       -By the 1300s four northern Italian cities had become trading centers

  -These cities became trading centers and people could buy beautiful things from Asia 
      *The cities were become diverse and entangled with many cultures and languages
 $\cdot$  Italian cities played 2 important roles in trade 
     -One as a port to the Mediterranean Sea, with Venice and Genoa as the main port cities
        *Merchant Ships brought spices and other luxuries from Asia into the harbors 
        *Merchants then sent the goods all across Europe  

       *Venice produced glass
       *Milan made weapons and silk
       *Florence focused on weaving wool into clothes
        *All this economic activity put more money in merchant family pockets
 $\cdot$  Florence’s wealth  began in the wool trade but banking increased the wealth
     -Bankers in Florence kept the money for merchants all over Europe
          *Banks also made money by making loans and chagrin interest
          *Interest is a fee (usually a percentage) that lenders charge people who borrow money

        *In the 1400s they were the richest family in the city 
        *The fortune gave the Medici’s political power
 $\cdot$  In 1434, Cosimo de’ Medici ruled Florence
      -Cosimo wanted Florence to be the most beautiful city in the world 
           *He hired artists to decorate his palace and architects to redesign most of the Florence buildings

    *To improve education, he built libraries and collected books 
    *Under the Medici’s, Florence became a center for Italian art, literature and culture
 $\cdot$  Beginning of the Renaissance
     -This love of art and education was the key spark to start the Renaissance 
Renaissance: a period of “rebirth” and creativity that followed Europe’s Middle Ages

 $\cdot$  New ways of thinking emerged during the Renaissance
      -This period brought a renewed emphasis on the past and inspired Italian writers and artists 
 $\cdot$  Sources of Inspiration
        -During the Middle Ages, most thinkers devoted themselves to religious studies
 $\cdot$  By 1300s, scholars had begun to broaden their interests 
    -The focus was on poetry, history, art and the Greek and Latin Languages 
        *Together these subjects are known as the humanities because they explore human activities 

Humanism: a way of thinking and learning that stresses the importance of human abilities and actions
 $\cdot$  The interest in the humanities was linked to a rediscovery of ancient works
     -In the 1300s, the Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire
        *Many of the scholars fled to Italy for safety and brought the literature with them
     -The works brought to Italy are considered classical writings
          *As the Scholars found more writings in monasteries they were longing for a renewal of classical culture 

     *Classical statues and ruins of Roman buildings still stood in Italy 
    *These statues and ruins were the inspiration for painters and sculptors 
 $\cdot$  Italian writers contributed great works of literature to the Renaissance
      -Politician and poet Dante Alighieri
          *Before Dante, medieval authors written in Latin (the language of the church) 
         *Dante wrote in Italian which was the language of the common person
     -A later Italian writer, Niccolo Machiavelli was also a politician 

 $\cdot$  Italian artists created some of the most beautiful paintings and sculptures in the world
     -Renaissance artists studied the human body and drew from what they saw
         *Although when it came to painting humans, the artist painted them as perfect as the classical artwork  
    -Renaissance artists used a new technique called perspective 
        *Perspective is a way of showing depth and distance on a flat surface

    -Michelangelo designed buildings, wrote poetry, carved sculptures and painted magnificent pictures
        *His most famous work is a painting that covers the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican 
   -The other Renaissance genius was Leonardo da Vinci
        *Da Vinci was an expert painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, engineer, town planner and mapmaker
       *Both nature and technology fascinated Leonardo da Vinci