The Renaissance in Europe

• History
• Secondary Education

Lesson 1: The Italian States

Lesson Objectives:

1. To highlight events that preceded the Enlightenment: to outline the Middle Ages
2. To identify Italian states on the map of Italy (1500)
3. To outline the rise of the Italian states and examine the main characteristics of their political, economic, and cultural structures.

We are going to start by highlighting major characteristics of the historical period that preceded the Renaissance, which is the Middle Ages.

Middle Ages

Also called: Dark Ages, or Medieval Times/Ages

It is the periods of European History between the 5th century and the 15th century.

This period is mostly associated with...

Which one of the following events did not happen during the middle ages?

1. Humanism Movement
2. The Battle of Hastings
3. The 100 Years War
4. The Crusades

The Black Death

The Great Plague was a deadly illness which was brought to the land from trader's ships coming from Asia.

The plague would kill healthy people within a week.

The plague forced people to think differently about politics and religion and become more independent, leading to a new age:

The Renaissance

What was the Great Plague called?

1. The silent death
2. The black death
3. The great death
4. The Asian death

The Renaissance

served as a bridge between the Middle Ages and modern times. It began in the prosperous states of Italy and marked the emergence of of a new urban culture that was largely spread by trade.

Which statement is correct based on the paragraph you read

1. In the middle ages Italy was less urban than the rest of Europe
2. During middle ages Italy was a united, powerful country
3. Trade in Italian urban environment led to the rise of Enlightenment
4. Trade network in Italy helped to bring Enlightenment ideas into Italy from other places of Europe.

Based on the text, what do you think this image depicts?

Main Eastern Goods

Italian merchant fleets traded goods with Byzantine and Islamic civilizations

Also...

Italian trading ships moved into the western Mediterranean and then north along the Atlantic seaboard (coast) changing goods with merchants in England and Netherlands