2. Medieval Europe…
was a time of great superstition
and fear. European civilization
seemed to deteriorate despite
earlier advances.
3. 1. Thriving cities
urban centers grew with the overseas trade that
developed during the Crusades. The Northern part
of Italy was urban while most of southern Italy was
still rural. These trading centers in the north not
only exchanged goods but ideas and technologies.
When the bubonic plague killed more than 60% of
the population, labor forces shrunk and as a result
wages increased for the survivors. Wealthy
merchants also began to seek other interests such as
art because of the economic changes.
4. 2. Wealthy merchants
Milan, Florence and other Italian city-states ran their
own affairs by collecting taxes and having armies.
Wealthy merchants (such as the Medici) were the most
powerful class and controlled politics. Rank was not
inherited but earned in this class. Many successful
merchants believed they deserved power and wealth
because of their individual merit. It was this belief in
individual achievement that became an important
Renaissance theme.
5. 3. Classical Heritage
influential to the
Rome and Greece were highly
Renaissance. Scholars looked down on the art and
literature of the Middle Ages and wanted to return to
the learning of the Greeks and Romans. One reason
that the Renaissance began in Italy is that artists and
scholars drew inspiration from the ruins of Rome that
surrounded them. The great mass of ancient Latin
manuscripts preserved in monasteries provided many
forgotten ideas. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 to
the Ottoman Turks brought many Byzantine scholars
to Rome with ancient Greek manuscripts that were
assumed to have been lost forever.
6. Classical and Worldly
Values
Humanism developed through the study of the classical
texts and it focused on human potential and
achievements. Humanism is a broad category of active
ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of
all people, based on the ability to determine right and
wrong by appeal to universal human qualities—
particularly rationalism. Humanists studied the texts in
order to understand the ancient Greek values and not try
to make them agree with Christian teachings. Humanism
entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality
through human means in support of human interests.
7. In focusing on the capacity
for selfdetermination, Humanism
rejects transcendental
justifications, such as a
dependence on faith, the
supernatural, or divinely
revealed texts. Humanists
endorse universal morality
based on the commonality
of human nature, suggesting
that solutions to our social
and cultural problems
cannot be parochial. The
study of subjects such as
history, literature and
philosophy are called the
humanities.
8. Enjoyment of worldly
pleasures was something
that the Renaissance
scholars suggested was
possible without
offending God. The
wealthy openly enjoyed
luxuries, fine music and
tasty foods. Most people
remained devout
Catholics but the basic
spirit of Renaissance
society was secular
(meaning worldly and
concerned with the here
and now-not religion.)
9. The arts flourished during
this period. Renaissance
popes beautified Rome by
spending huge amounts
of money for art. They
became patrons of the arts
by financially supporting
the arts and artists.
Merchants and wealthy
families also donated to
the arts by commissioning
portraits or donating
public art to the city. This
helped show how
powerful and important
they were.
