The document provides background information on the Renaissance period from 1485-1660, including its origins in Italy and key figures like Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Columbus. It discusses major discoveries and inventions of the time like the printing press, lenses, clocks, and flush toilets. Finally, it summarizes details about Shakespeare, including his life, works for the theater, and plays like Macbeth.

1. The Renaissance
Era
1485-1660

2. Map of the
British Isles
and Ireland

3. Background
Renaissance is French for “Re-birth”
The Renaissance Man is born!
There was a renewed interest in classical
learning
i. e. Ancient Greece and Rome
Renewal of the human spirit
Curiosity and Creativity
All began in Italy
Leonardo Da Vinci
Michelangelo
Christopher Columbus
Galileo

4. Discoveries and Inventions
New Calendar created in 1582, which we still use today
William Harvey studied the body’s blood circulation
63 Universities in Europe; 2x more men wanted to learn
Printing Press- publish new information, scientific communication,
and religious texts
Clocks- Pendulum invented by Galileo
Eyeglasses/ Spectacles and Lenses for Microscopes and
Telescopes
Flush Toilet
Gunpowder
Submarine
Wallpaper

5. Discoveries and Inventions
How do the discoveries like the printing press or
lenses impact our lives?
In groups, write your answers on the board.

6. Politics speech of the ruling
Court is influenced by art, dress,
class, and $/ Patronage for the theatre
Henry VII- rebuilt the nation’s treasury and restored
the prestige of the Monarchy
Henry VIII- seized the church’s property and
dissolved the powerful monasteries, executed
Thomas Moore, married 6 times
Mary I- fought to keep England Catholic, executed
300 Protestants
Elizabeth I- clever and strong, considered the most
capable monarch since William the Conqueror, patron
of the arts
James I- came to the throne after Elizabeth I’s
death, persecuted Puritans who migrated to America
and founded Jamestown in 1620, took measures to
make England a “world power”

7. The Great Chain of Being
Prejudices:
Suspicion of
Foreigners
Irish oppression
Against the Scots
and Welsh
Anti-Semitism
Growing slave trade

8. Hierarchies Today
Catholic Church
Pope, Patriarchs, Major archbishops, Cardinals, Primates,
Metropolitans, Archbishops, Diocesan bishops, and other
bishops
21st Century
Higher professional and managerial workers, Lower
managerial and professional workers, Intermediate
occupations, Small Employers and non professional self-
employed, Lower Supervisory and technical, Semi-Routine
Occupations, Routine Occupations, and Long-term
unemployed
Where would you place your favorite singer or actor? Where
would the President of the U.S. stand in comparison?

9. Humanism
Renaissance humanists
Erasmus- dedicated to restoring good literature (classical
Greek and Latin) and good religion (Christianity purged of
clerical abuses)
Thomas Moore
The rediscovery of classical Greek and Roman texts
Best guides for learning and living
Focus on the individual/ self-perfection and personal
excellence found in classical texts
Pushes for a more general education system
Rise in vernacular use in literature and the translation of
classics

10. Shakespeare
Background Macbeth
Life 1564-1616 Tragedy
Educated at a free grammar Scottish play
school in Stratford-on-Avon
(lower middle class) Written in 1606 and
performed at the Globe
Due to royal favor and money, Theatre
crosses class boundaries, and
becomes a gentleman Based on an episode of
history- the death of King
Patron- Earl of Southampton Duncan at the hands of
Macbeth
Successful troupe- Lord
Chamberlain’s Men or the Setting: 11th century Scotland
King’s Men during James I’s
reign Chronicles gaining power to
the destruction from it
Globe Theatre built in 1599 The rise and fall of blind
ambition
Shakespearean Sonnet- 14
lines and ended statement in
a couplet