The Renaissance Part 1 Lesson

​Terms & Names

Renaissance Period of rebirth of art and learning in Europe lasting from about 1300 to 1600

humanism Focus on human potential and achievements

secular Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual matters

patrons People who financially supported artists

perspective Art technique that re-creates three dimensions

vernacular Use of native language instead of classical Latin

Utopia An ideal place

William Shakespeare Famous Renaissance writer

Johann Gutenberg German craftsman who developed the printing press

​Why did the Renaissance begin in Italy?

The years 1300 to 1600 saw a rebirth of learning and culture in Europe called the Renaissance. This rebirth spread north from Italy. It began there for three reasons. First, Italy had several important cities. Cities were places where people exchanged ideas. Second, these cities included a class of merchants and bankers who were becoming wealthy and powerful. This class strongly believed in the idea of individual achievement. Third, Italian artists and scholars were inspired by the ruined buildings and other reminders of classical Rome.

​Why was the time right for the northern Renaissance to begin?

By 1450, the bubonic plague had ended in northern Europe. Also, the Hundred Years’ War between France and England was ending. This allowed new ideas from Italy to spread to northern Europe. They were quickly adopted. Here, too, rulers and merchants used their money to sponsor artists. But the northern Renaissance had a difference. Educated people combined classical learning with interest in religious ideas.

​What new values did people hold?

Interest in the classical past led to an important value in Renaissance culture— humanism. This was a deep interest in what people have already achieved as well as what they could achieve in the future. Scholars did not try to connect classical writings to Christian teaching. Instead, they tried to understand them on their own terms.

​In the Middle Ages, the emphasis had been mostly on spiritual values. Renaissance thinkers stressed secular ideas. These ideas centered on the things of the world. One way that powerful or wealthy people showed this interest in worldly things was by paying artists, writers, and musicians to create beautiful works of art. Wealthy people who supported artists were known as patrons.

​People tried to show that they could master many fields of study or work. Someone who succeeded in many fields was admired greatly. The artist Leonardo da Vinci was an example of this ideal. He was a painter, a scientist, and an inventor. Men were expected to be charming, witty, well educated, well mannered, athletic, and self-controlled. Women were expected to have many accomplishments, too. But women were not to show them in public. Few women held political roles.