1.1 The renaissance

• History
• Middelbare school
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• Leerjaar 2

5. 

The Time of 

Discoverers and Reformers

1.1  The Renaissance 

The Time of 

Discoverers and Reformers

Lesson 1.1: The Renaissance 

These are the Ages that we will be studying this year

Time of Wigs and Revolutions

Time of Regents and Monarchs

Time of Discoverers 

and Reformers

Time of Citizens and 

Steam Engines

1500 - 1600

1600 - 1700

1700 - 1800

1800 - 1900

This is the Age that we will be studying next...

The Age of Discoverers and Reformers

1500 - 1600

1. the Renaissance and a  changing world view
   
2. the start of European overseas expansion
   
3. the Protestant Reformation
   
4. the Dutch Revolt and the birth of an independent Dutch state
   

also known as: the Early Modern Age

Main Questions

• What is the Renaissance?
• Why did the Renaissance start in Italy?
• Why did the fall of Constantinople fuel the Renaissance?
• How did peoples' worldview change during the Renaissance?
• How did art change during the Renaissance?
• How did Renaissance ideas spread across Europe?

Why do so many people love Italy today?

people in this lesson

Leonardo da Vinci

Johannes Gutenberg

Michelangelo

Nicolaus Copernicus

any idea what they are famous for?

Renaissance:

• It means "REBIRTH"  (= something that has died and is coming back to life)
• What was coming back? The history and culture of Greeks and Romans (=Antiquity)
• started in Italy and spread across Europe

Let's go back to 15th century Italy

Why did the Renaissance start in Italy? (1)

• Trade flourished in Italian city states. 
  
• Rich Merchants wanted to show off their wealth 
• How? By hiring artists to make paintings and statues (ART)
• They were inspired by their ancestors: the ROMANS
• And Italy happened to have many Roman remains
  

Why this sudden interest in the Romans, who lived a 1000 years ago?

Because of an event, that happened east of Italy......

Still advanced civilisation

Dark Ages 
(Barbaric times) 

Literacy, civilisation, art and technology: gone in the west, but preserved in the east

1453: The Turks conquer Constantinople

• 
  

Why did the Renaissance start in Italy? (2)

1453: the Turks conquered Constantinople

(the capital of the former Eastern Roman Empire)

Here, the knowledge of the Greeks and Romans was preserved (in Western Europe it was destroyed)

Refugees brought this knowledge 

back to Italy

highly advanced

highly advanced

primitive

Until 1453, Constantinople was the capital city of

1. the eastern Roman empire
2. The western Roman Empire
3. The Ottoman Empire
4. The Byzantine Empire

The Ottomans changed the name of the city into

1. Istanbul
2. Ankara
3. Son en Breugel
4. Rome II

In the 15th century, Italy was a united country

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

The Renaissance came after the Middle Ages

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

The word Renaissance literally means

1. resolve
2. rebirth
3. reestablish
4. relive

The Renaissance was a time in which people became interested again in the Middle Ages

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

The Renaissance started in France from where it spread across Europe

1. TRUE
2. FALSE

The re-discovery of the Greek and Roman culture had great effects on the Italians:

• Memento mori (Gedenk te sterven), wordt carpe diem (Pluk de dag)

• Mensen gaan meer leven voor het leven nu, en niet voor het leven na de dood

• God en geloof blijven heel erg belangrijk, maar het vertrouwen in de kerk wordt minder

The Renaissance changed the world in many ways:

I: changing worldview

1. The Medieval motto "Memento Mori" (remember that you will die) becomes the more Roman motto: "Carpe Diem" (seize the day)
   
2. God and religion remain important, but confidence in the Church decreases.
   

Carpe Diem

Memento Mori

The re-discovery of the Greek and Roman culture had great effects on the Italians:

• Memento mori (Gedenk te sterven), wordt carpe diem (Pluk de dag)

• Mensen gaan meer leven voor het leven nu, en niet voor het leven na de dood

• God en geloof blijven heel erg belangrijk, maar het vertrouwen in de kerk wordt minder

II: changing art

1. rebirth of Greek and Roman art & culture
   
2. more realism
   
3. many details
   
4. perspective (illusion of depth)
   
5. not only Biblical subjects, but also daily life and Greek mythology
6. naked body, anatomy.

The re-discovery of the Greek and Roman culture had great effects on the Italians:

• Memento mori (Gedenk te sterven), wordt carpe diem (Pluk de dag)

• Mensen gaan meer leven voor het leven nu, en niet voor het leven na de dood

• God en geloof blijven heel erg belangrijk, maar het vertrouwen in de kerk wordt minder

III: changing architecture

1. Medieval churches were seen as "ugly". Its architecture was called "GOTHIC" (= barbaric)
   
2. New architecture was inspired by Greek, classical buildings:

•       Greek style columns
  
•       temple shapes
  
•       domes

     

Medieval (Gothic) style

Renaissance style

Roman original:

120 AD.

Renaissance copy:

 1580 AD.

Florence 

cathedral

St. Peter's

cathedral

ROME

St. Paul's

cathedral

LONDON

5. 

The Time of 

Discoverers and Reformers

1.1  The Renaissance 

Conclusion

Why is L. da Vinci seen as the typical Renaissance Man, a Huomo Universalis?

Before the R.: people were not important, only God was important.

This changed: In the R. people became important.

Humans can do anything if they put their mind to it.

And L. da Vinci was the best example of this "human potential"

Scholars who studied the Classics and spread their knowledge were known as "HUMANISTS".

Make your own summary using the main questions:

1. What is the Renaissance?
   
2. Why did the Renaissance start in Italy?
   
3. Why did the fall of Constantinople fuel the Renaissance?
   
4. How did peoples' worldview change during the Renaissance?
   
5. How did art change during the Renaissance?
   
6. How did Renaissance ideas spread across Europe?
   

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