Renaissance Readings

Renaissance Quizizz Slides

The Dawn of A New Age

About 1450, European scholars became more interested in studying the world around them. At the same time, European artists
produced work that was more true to life. And European ships set sail to explore new lands. This new age in Europe was eventually
called "the Renaissance", a French word that means "rebirth."

The Renaissance began in northern Italy and then spread over the next century through Europe. Italian cities such as Naples,
Genoa, and Venice became centers of trade between Europe and the Middle East. In the Middle East, Arab scholars had preserved
the writings of the ancient Greeks in great libraries. So, when these Italian cities traded with Arab merchants, the Italians were
reconnected with the ideas of the ancient Greeks. These “new” ideas, preserved from the ancient past, served as the basis of the
Renaissance.

Foreign trade made many Italian merchant families wealthy. These families became patrons who commissioned great painting,
sculpture, and architecture. During the Renaissance, paintings and sculptures became more realistic and focused less often on
religious topics. Artists advanced the Renaissance style of showing nature and depicting the feelings of people.

In AD324, the Roman Empire was under attack, so Emperor Constantine moved his capital 850 miles east to Byzantium, a
Greek-speaking city he renamed Constantinople. Visigoth warriors overran Rome in 410, but Constantinople remained a powerful
city and a center of Christianity for a century. The Byzantine Empire fell to Muslim Turks in 1453, prompting many Greek-speaking
Christian scholars to move to Italy.

The printing press allowed the ideas of the era to spread far from their native cultures. The Renaissance led to a flowering of music,
literature and drama that included the plays of William Shakespeare.

European adventurers explored places farther from their homelands. In 1492, a Spanish fleet led by Christopher Columbus sailed to
the Americas. This spirit of discovery and innovation is why historians consider the Renaissance to be the beginning of modern
history.

Multiple Choice

What language does the word "renaissance" come from?

• French

• Italian

• German

• S

Multiple Choice

In what country did the Renaissance begin?

• Italy

• France

• Greece

• Europe

Multiple Choice

The "new" ideas from the Renaissance actually came from which ancient culture?

• Greece

• China

• Egypt

• Spain

Multiple Choice

During the Renaissance, paintings and sculptures became more realistic, and focused on nature and people.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which new invention helped the ideas of the Renaissance to spread across the world?

• Printing press

• Compass

• Toilet

• Steam ships

Renaissance Art

Renaissance patrons wanted art that showed joy in human beauty and life’s pleasures, which is why the art of the Renaissance is more lifelike than in
the art of the Middle Ages. Renaissance artists studied perspective—the differences in the way things look when they are close to something or far
away. Renaissance artists painted in a way that showed these differences. As a result, their paintings seem to have depth.

An artist from Florence named Giotto was one of the first to paint in this new style. Giotto lived more than a century before the beginning of the
Renaissance, but his paintings show real emotion. The bodies look solid, and the background of his paintings shows perspective. Renaissance art would
build upon Giotto’s style.

Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in the village of Vinci. His name means Leonardo of Vinci. Leonardo began his career working for a master painter
in nearby Florence.

Leonardo’s fame grew—but not just for his painting. Leonardo was truly a “Renaissance Man,” skilled in many fields. He was a scientist and an inventor
as well as an artist. He made notes and drawings of everything he saw. Leonardo invented clever machines and even designed imitation wings that he
hoped would let a person fly like a bird.

People have been trying to guess the secret behind the smile of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa ever since he painted it around 1505. His Last Supper shows
clearly the different feelings of Jesus and his followers.

Michelangelo Buonarroti of Florence was one of the greatest artists of all time. Like Leonardo, Michelangelo was a “Renaissance Man” of many talents.
He was a sculptor, a painter, and an architect. When Michelangelo carved a statue of Moses, he included veins and muscles in the arms and legs.

Michelangelo was a devout Christian, and the church was his greatest patron. He designed the dome of St. Peter’s church in Rome. Nearby,
Michelangelo’s paintings cover the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the building where new popes have been selected for more than five hundred years.
Michelangelo’s painting illustrates the Book of Genesis, with scenes that span from the Creation to the Flood. The project was very difficult. Working
alone, Michelangelo had to lie on his back atop high scaffolding while he painted the vast ceiling.

Drag and Drop

Renaissance patrons wanted art that showed ​

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in human beauty and life's pleasures. An artist from Florence named ​

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was one of the first to paint in this new style, by showing real emotion. Leonardo ​

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was known as a "Renaissance Man," as he was an artist, ​

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, and inventor. He is best known for his paintings the ​

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and the Last Supper.

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Mona Lisa

DaVinci

joy

scientist

Giotto

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​

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Buonarroti of Florence was also known as a "Renaissance Man," as he was a talented ​

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, painter, and architect. One of his most famous works is the ceiling of the ​

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Chapel. His painting illustrates the book of ​

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, including scenes from Creation through the Flood. He worked on his own and how to lie on his back on high scaffolding to paint the large ​

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.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Michelango

sculptor

Genesis

ceiling

Sistine

City-States in Italy

During the Middle Ages, much of Italy was controlled by the Holy Roman Empire. As the emperors and popes fought
for control, both were weakened. Several Italian cities formed states that were independent of both the empire and the
church. Venice and Florence were two centers of power and wealth that became the cradle of the Renaissance.

Venice was founded in the fifth century by people fleeing from Attila the Hun. They settled on a group of islands on the
northeastern edge of the Italian peninsula. Shipbuilding was the primary industry in Venice. During the Crusades,
Venetian ships provided transportation to the Holy Land. By the 13th century, Venice was the most prosperous city in
Europe. The city became rich by collecting taxes on all merchandise brought into its harbor. Venice built huge warships
that protected the valuable cargo of its merchant ships from pirate raids. With the vast wealth from trade, many of the
leading families of Venice vied with one another to build the finest palaces or support the work of the greatest artists.

Florence, the “city of flowers,” was located in the hill country of north-central Italy. It prospered because of the wool
industry. Sheep were raised in the rock hill country of central Italy, and Florence was a center of wool processing.
During most of the Renaissance, wealthy merchants dominated Florence.

The merchants competed with one another by building grand palaces for themselves. The merchants were patrons of
the arts. Patron comes from the Latin word for father. They hired artists to fill their homes with beautiful paintings and
sculptures. Patrons bought rare books and paid scholars to teach their children. The money and encouragement of
patrons together with that of the church, made the masterpieces of Renaissance art possible.

Multiple Select

Which two Italian cities became centers of power and wealth and helped the Renaissance develop?

• Florence

• Venice

• Rome

• Milan

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​

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grew rich because of all of the ​

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that came through it's harbor on the Mediterranean Sea. ​

Select answer

developed in the hill country and prospered because of the ​

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industry. Italian​ merchants became ​

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of the arts by hiring artists to fill their homes with beautiful paintings and sculptures.

The Renaissance Spreads

The rebirth of the Italian cities attracted visitors from all over western Europe. Merchants and bankers hoped to
make their fortunes in the Italian city-states. Artists and students sought knowledge and fame. When these
travelers returned home, they brought Renaissance ideas with them. In time, the ideas of the Renaissance
influenced people far from the Italian peninsula.

Italian Renaissance painters often focused on religious subjects, but the art of the low countries of northwest
Europe was more concerned with portraits, landscapes, and scenes of everyday life. This was partly because
most people of the low countries were Calvinists—a branch of Christianity that believes in building simple
churches without ornamentation.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525 –1569) was from Flanders. Flanders is a Dutch speaking land that is now part of
Belgium. Bruegel studied Italian art, but he developed a different style. He wanted to show people as they
actually lived. Many of his paintings show peasants working, dancing, and eating.

England’s William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) is the best-known writer of the Renaissance. His plays mixed
humor with drama and showed the strengths and weaknesses of people. Audiences flocked to see his
presentations of Roman emperors, British kings and queens, and Italian teenagers.

Match

Match the following

• Merchants and bankers hoped to make their fortunes in

• What did travelers to Italy bring home with them?

• Italian Renaissance painters focused on...

• Other European Renaissance painters focused on...

• What is Shakespeare known for?

Italian City-States

Renaissance ideas

religious subjects

portraits, landscapes, and everyday life

His writings and plays

• Italian City-States

• Renaissance ideas

• religious subjects

• portraits, landscapes, and everyday life

• His writings and plays

Johann Gutenberg’s Invention

A good cook can take leftovers and turn them into a delicious meal. Like a good cook, Johann Gutenberg took what had already been discovered and created a
small invention that had a large impact on history. About 1450, Gutenberg crafted the printing press, a machine that allowed him to move small blocks of letters in
such a way that written material could be printed and mass-produced.

We don’t know much about Gutenberg because he was not famous during his lifetime. He was born in Germany about 1400 and worked as a goldsmith. In 1448,
Gutenberg developed engraved signatures for each number, letter, and punctuation mark. He then built the molds to hold the signatures in place and borrowed
money to purchase a press.

Printing using blocks existed long before Gutenberg’s time. The Chinese had been carving wood blocks to print books as early as 868, but the Chinese process
required making a new set of woodcuts for each book. Producing one page was difficult; producing a volume with many pages was not practical.

Writing ink dates from about 2500BCE, developed separately in Egypt and China. Earlier inks were a mixture of soot from fires and sap. Later civilizations used the
dark blue indigo plant. Gutenberg used an oil-based ink because it lasted longer than other inks used at that time.

Gutenberg published the first mass-produced book: a 1,282-page edition of the Christian Bible. To this day, more copies of the Bible have been printed than any
other book.

Copies of Gutenberg’s invention spread throughout Europe, but unlike today’s inventors the German goldsmith did not get rich from his new technology. Other
people built machines without compensating Gutenberg. Modern inventors are protected in most nations by patent laws. A patent is a government license that
gives an inventor the exclusive right to sell their creation for a period of time.

Some religious and government officials denounced invention of printing because they feared that it would spread rebellious ideas, but they were unable to stop a
literacy revolution in Western Europe. By 1500, there were 1,700 printing presses in Europe. These presses had already produced about 20 million volumes of
40,000 different books. Guttenberg’s small invention changed the course of history.

Multiple Choice

Johann Gutenberg became rich from his invention of the printing press.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which civilization had printed with blocks before Gutenberg?

• Chinese

• Egyptians

• Italians

• Indians

Multiple Choice

What was the first mass-produced book published by Gutenberg?

• The Bible

• Romeo and Juliet

• The Odyssey

• The Koran

HUMANISM

During the late 1300s, some European scholars began to turn their attention away from questions of church doctrine or faith.
Like many ancient Greek philosophers, they began to value evidence and the use of reason, the power of the mind to think,
understand, and form judgments. The scholars promoted the investigation of nature through reason and observation. This
philosophy later became known as humanism because the scholars stressed human innovation. The humanists emphasized
the importance of human values instead of religious beliefs.

The humanists emphasized the importance of human values instead of religious beliefs. Humanists of the Renaissance were
often devout Christians, but their promotion of secular, or non-religious values, often put them at odds with the church.
Some humanists ignored church dogma. Dogma is a set of religious beliefs that cannot be challenged.

Galileo Galilei was a scientist who learned by observation. In Galileo’s time, most educated people agreed with Aristotle’s
view that all heavenly bodies revolved around the earth. Galileo observed that that several moons orbited Jupiter. When
Galileo published his discovery, a Christian court called the Inquisition found the scientist guilty of heresy. Heresy is an
opinion that contradicts the official teaching of the church. The scientist was sentenced to house arrest for the last nine years
of his life. A deeply religious man who respected his Christian faith, Galileo accepted the sentence, but he continued to write
and study from his home.

The humanists studied the classics – the writings of the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the works of the classics,
Renaissance scholars found an earlier way of thinking similar to their own. They believed the classical outlook had not been
fully explored since the fall of the Roman Empire in Western Europe. The humanists recreated classical styles in art,
literature, and architecture. Humanists believed that by studying the classics, they could better understand people and the
world.

Today we refer to the study of literature, philosophy and art as the humanities. Greek and Roman civilizations declined and
fell long ago, but those civilizations continue to influence us today through the humanities.

Categorize

Options (9)

value evidence and the use of reason

investigation of nature through reason and observation

importance of religious beliefs

church dogma

studying the classics from the Greeks and Romans

studied the Bible

did not agree that all planets revolve around Earth

was sentenced to house arrest for the last 9 years of his life

all heavenly bodies revolved around the Earth

Organize these options into the right categories

Humanism

Not Humanism

Galileo Facts

Aristotle Fact

Italian Social Classes of the Renaissance

The people of Renaissance Florence, like most city–states of the era, were composed of four social classes: the nobles, the merchants, the
tradesmen and the unskilled workers.

The nobles lived on large estates outside the city walls. They owned most of the city’s land, so the nobles controlled. The nobles served as
military officers, royal advisers and as politicians.

Baldassare Castiglione described the proper manners of a noble in The Book of the Courtier (1528). Castiglione wrote that a noble must have
training to be an able warrior and social talents such as wit, the ability to dance, and "a certain grace that makes all his activities seem
effortless and unconscious."

The nobles were disdainful of the merchant class, who gained wealth in industries like wool processing, shipbuilding and banking. The
merchants sought to protect their wealth by controlling the government and marrying into noble families. They became patrons of great
artists in order to gain public favor.

The tradesmen of Florence were the crafts workers and shopkeepers. Most tradesmen belonged to guilds, organizations that established
standards of quality, set rules for membership, and limited outside competition.

The unskilled workers were the lowest class of city workers. These laborers did not have job protection and were very dependent on their
employers. Workers who violated rules could have their wages withheld or could be discharged from their jobs.

As difficult as their lives were, however, the unskilled urban workers were better off than the peasants who lived in rural areas. The poorest of
the peasants were the sharecroppers who worked on land owned by nobles. Life on peasant farms was very difficult, and starvation was
common.

The social classes of became less distinct as the Renaissance progressed. Humanist ideas led to increased rights for individuals, but the class
system remained in place in Florence and throughout most of Europe long after the end of the Renaissance.

Multiple Choice

Which was the highest of the 4 Italian social classes?

• Nobles

• Merchants

• Tradesman

• Unskilled workers

Multiple Choice

The social classes of Italy became less distinct as the Renaissance progressed.

• True

• False