European Society in the Age of the Renaissance (1350-1550)
What led up to the Renaissance?
Fall of Rome
The Bubonic Plague
City-states
Great geological/trade location
Regression back into Feudalism
New ideas were inspired by the Romans and the Greeks, who were considered trailblazers
Economic and Political Developments/Commercial Developments
Florence is considered to be the heart of the artistic advancements during the Renaissance
Northern city-states like Venice, Milan, and Genoa grew wealthy because they had great access to the seas and the Middle Eastern trade routes
Genoa and Venice made faster ships by using the innovations of the Middle East. It allowed them to ship more goods better economy
During the
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#1 Communes: The people of Northern Italian city-states want to be completely politically/economically independent from the nobles married into Communes for business
Ex. Milan, Genoa, Florence, Siena, and Pisa
The priorities of the Communes:
• Build/maintain city walls
• Maintain civil order
• Regulate trade
• Taxes
#2 Despots/ Oligarchy: Power of 1 person vs. many families
#3 Popolo (commoners)/ Republic: People wanted equal taxes and a say in governing
#4 Condottieri*/ Signori: 1 man or family rules *Condottieri were military leaders hired by oligarchies
During the 15th Century, the oligarchies and signori of Milan and Florence built extravagant courts to meet in. They hired artists, writers, and sculptors to show off their wealth and power
The Balance of Power among the Italian City-States
The top 5 city-states that fought for control over the smaller city-states:
Venice
Milan
Florence
The Kingdom of Naples
Papal States controlled by Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) and his son Cesare Borgia *Papal= relating to the pope**
Cesare Borgia is the main character of “The Prince” by Niccolò Machiavelli
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1494: King Charles VIII of France invaded Italy & the Habsburg-Valois Wars
Italy didn’t unify until 1870
Intellectual Change/Humanism
Petrarch is known as the father of Humanism
Italians were inspired by relics and texts of the Classic Age and hoped that the new age would be even better than the classics
Ex. Francesco Petrarch, (1304-1374) a Poet/humanist
Study of Latin classics liberal arts Humanism
Humanism: Giving more value to humans and their achievements/abilities
Named by Leonardo Bruni (1370-1444)
New purpose for studying the Classics
Medieval writers studied to understand God
They sought classic ideas that would be acceptable for the Church, secular thinkers
Italian writers studied to understand humans Slightly misogynistic Christian point of view: men are God’s image and women
“I’ll be out of here and away from all you knaves for one time anyway, as not a month will pass before you’ll see whether I’m nobody or a somebody.” The story of Bianco Alfani reflected the nature of 14th century Florentine society where, as Alfani remarked, the election to public office could make or destroy a person. In late 14th century and early 15th century Florence, decreased population and expanding commerce provided a favorable environment for ambitious individuals. The real life examples of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati demonstrated the positive role of ambition in Florence. Pitti, a nobleman had an extremely successful career, partaking in military campaigns, holding public office in Florence and being an ambassador to foreign courts. Gregorio Dati, the grandson of purse venders, engaged in commerce, rising in social standing which culminated with his election to public office. Holding office was a definitive sign of success and recognition in Florence. In contrast was the tale Bianco Alfani, a deemed man unworthy of office. As told by Piero Veneziano, Alfani was the chief jailor in Florence who was duped into believing he had been named captain of the town of Norcia. Alfani publicly made a fool of himself, spending all his money and creating a great fanfare over his supposed appointment. Comparing the lives of Pitti and Dati to the story of Bianco Alfani illustrates how economic and social change in 14th century Florence produced a culture centered on reputation and commerce. For men like Pitti and Dati, who flourished within the constraints of Florentine society, their reward was election to office, a public mark of acceptance and social standing. Those who were ambitious but failed to abide by the values o...
The Renaissance Period is widely known for the abundance of amazing portraiture that circulated around Europe. During the Renaissance, Albrecht Dürer, a German artist painted a self-portrait in 1500 that had qualities that differed from the usual style of artist in that time (Chauhan). Jean Clouet also painted a portrait for the King of France and became the official court painter. Both artists had a talent for portraiture, while their styles were quite different. King Francis I wanted to be seen as a powerful man, and appointed Clouet to paint him in a classically renaissance way that highlights his wealth and authority. Dürer, described as a cocky, self-centered man, painted himself in a light that is unique and puts him on a ‘holy’ pedestal (Stokstad 356). In this essay I will show how although both paintings have clear differences with their style, both men in the compositions are conveyed in a great and very powerful sense.
Next, we will discuss the Risorgimento, a 19th-century movement for unification of Italy that would ultimately establish the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Before this time, the Italian peninsula
Ginsborg P (1990). ‘A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980’ Published by Penguin; Reprint edition (27 Sep 1990).
Black takes a thoroughly intellectual and social approach to the study, by examining the changing interpretations of ideas and social interactions in Milan. Black writes on the ways in which the families secured their absolute power and legitimized it through legal arguments. Black argued that the Sforza and Visconti were able to legitimize their absolutist rules through the use of their lawyers, and that when the legal rhetoric turned against them, their power waned. This is significant to the study of Italian Imperial Renaissance power first and foremost because it shows how Milanese rulers functioned, and secondly, because it’s argued excellently. Black is in conversation with sources like Kenneth Pennington frequently in her work, she builds off of his and other similar sources on imperial governance and applies legal imperial theory to Milan specifically. Black successfully knocks home her point and simultaneously studies the significance of the Sforza and Visconti ruling families in wider Italy. My only knock on Black is that I would like more on other rulers or cities, perhaps more comparison between the Sforza and Visconti, it is there but it would not hurt the work at all to expand on it, but Milan is undoubtedly the best example of native non-Papal imperial power in
During the late 1800's Italy became one of the most overcrowded countries in Europe. Many Italians began to consider the possibility of leaving Italy to escape the new low wages and high taxes. For centuries the entire Italian peninsula was divided into quarreling states, with foreign powers often controlling several states. In this chaotic situation, the feudal system ruled above the economic system, leaving money only in the hands of a select few (Wikepedia.com, 2007).
As with all demand, supply came in the form of an increase in trade. This naturally lead to expanses navigation but more importantly shipbuilding. Advanced ships of that era meant longer distance sea travel which allow for additional markets offering new products. All of these factors led to a rapidly expanding network of trade routes.
The river that connected the West with the East allowed the quick and cheap exportation of natural resources from the fertile middle region of the nation to the industrialized East, in which they would be manufactured into finished goods and shipped to other countries. For example, the costs of the shipment of goodsfrom Additionally, the Erie Canal provided a trade route extending to the Atlantic ocean, which allowed the and thus making New York the “Atlantic port of choice” for many merchants. Had the Erie Canal not been constructed, trade today would solely go south down the Mississippi River, through the ports of New
These two cities battled it out for centuries (On and off from 1256 to 1381) to gain control of the Mediterranean Sea lanes. Venice ended up taking complete control of the Mediterranean Sea lanes and was pivotal in reopening the Mediterranean economy to the West European commerce as well as developing links with Northern Europe. This gave them the opportunity to have a foundation for commercial capitalism, and because most of Venice (and Genoa) was shippers there were colossal progressions in shipping technology. Their new found shipping technology aided Asia and Egypt in their efforts to progress the technology in cane sugar production and processing, textiles, glassblowing and jewelry to the
Some of the main economic powers of the renaissance were Italian city states. The first, Milan, was in northern Italy. Milan, the center of trade and money with a large tax, was ruled by Visconti and was later taken over by Sforza. Next was Venice, which was the link of Asia and the western world. Venice was a republic with a doge, or an elected leader, and was ruled by merchants and aristocrats. Lastly, was Florence which became the cul...
Artists in the Renaissance aided the continuation of Renaissance ideals. Renaissance art, including paintings, sculptures, and architecture,...
The Renaissance, which began in Italy in the 1300s, was one of the largest periods of growth and development in Western Europe. Navigation was no longer limited to traveling about by land. Large fleets of ships were constructed, and great navigational schools, the best founded by Prince Henry the Navigator in Portugal, were founded. People were no longer tied to the lands they lived on, as they were in medieval times. They were freer to learn new skills and travel. These enabled people to go further than they had before. Fleets of ships were sent to the Eastern world to bring back treasures and valuable spices. Routes to Asia were traveled beginning in the early Renaissance.
This helped the trade become more accessible and easier to distribute from cities to cities. This is what helped spike its political and economic changes in the society during the Renaissance. The trade was brining is so much wealth for the merchants that the cities began to grew, and then they began to start taxing the people which brought it more wealth. It is also been said that Italy was divided into smaller cities at that time then eventually spread to the other cities when they became wealthy and began to gain more
Venice brought new ideas and goods to the times. The trade brought people out of the Middle Ages trading goods for goods to using coins to buy goods. The use of the coins created an economy. There were people that became Moneychangers that would convert on currency into another. It was during this time when Bankers came into existence; they exchanged money, gave loans and helped people finance businesses. Venice, especially during the Middle-Ages, Renaissance and Baroque, was a major center of art and developed a unique style known as the Venetian School. These schools were very important during this time. Venice, along with Florence and Rome, became one of the most important centers of art in Europe. Venice was located on the trade...
In the fourteenth-century Italian merchants were carrying on a flourishing commerce throughout the Mediterranean and had also expanded their lines of trade north along the Atlantic seaboard. As early as the thirteenth century a number of German coastal towns had formed a commercial and military alliance known as the Hansa or the Hanseatic League. By 1500, more that eighty cities belonged to the League, which established settlements and commercial bases in northern Europe and England. Hansa had a monopoly on northern European trade in timber, fish, grain, metals, and wines. In the fifteenth century, the Hanseatic League proved that they could not compete with the larger developing territorial states. Trade recovered, and the Venetians continued to maintain a wealthy commercial empire. It was not until the sixteenth century when overseas discoveries gave new importance to the states facing the Atlantic, did the petty Italian city-states begin to suffer from the competitive advantages of the ever-growing and more powerful national territorial