Renaissance Study Guide

1.What does the word Renaissance mean?

• Rebirth of knowledge and creativity
• Rebirth of customs and traditions
• Creating new rituals
• Creating new laws and consequences

When and where did the Renaissance begin and end?

• 1400-1450 in Paris
• 1350-1450 in Europe
• 1350-1600 in Italy
• 1600-1800 in Rome

Why did the Renaissance begin here?

• Mainly because it was closer to the waterways and easier for transportation
• Mainly due to Italy’s central location in the Mediterranean region.
• It is where the last war ended
• Mainly due to the geographical terrain

Why did the Renaissance era begin?

• Because so many lives were lost from Black Death
• New medication was discovered that helped end the Bubonic Plague
• Europeans were introduced to these new products during the Crusades and they brought the ideas back to Europe
• Europeans were upset with the government and decided to break apart and begin anew

What were some of the causes that led to the Renaissance Era?

• Used medication to help deal with Black Death and put their faith in the church as a way to heal
• The loss of common sense when dealing with Black Death, church began to be more supportive, population increased
• Trade increased with the population, church helped navigate Black Death, and scientists were developing a cure for diseases
• Loss of faith in the church after Black Death and started to use more logic, reasoning, science to explain things

What financial issues did the Renaissance bring about? Good and bad?

• Money was created, banks began giving loans, credit scores were created
• Coins were introduced as a way to pay for goods/services
• Banks kept money secure, credit was used to pay
• merchants traveled with large sums of money

What position did the Catholic Church take on the practice of loaning money and charging interest on it?

• Church supported Usury and helped fund bank loans
• Church loaned money and charged interest as a way to make money
• they supported the idwa but did not have the funds available to help the banks lend money
• Church did not believe in Usury because it was immoral and went against their beliefs

Explain the role that the wealthy upper-class of this time played in the Renaissance.

• they because the main civic leaders which led to conspiracy, competition, and deception; helped finance artwork
• they helped fund the bank loans so they could benefit from the taxes put on each loan
• they lost money because people would get loans and then not have a way to pay them back
• they helped fund many opportunties for the working class

Who was Machiavelli? What did he write?

• Poet from Italy, who wrote poems about the Reinaissance Era
• Writer in Europe who wrote poems about the system of government being used to do great things
• author from France who wrote about the government because they were doing such great things
• Author from Florence, wrote The Prince about corruption- didn't believe in the system of gov't

What is the big point that Machiavelli tries to make in this novel?

• he helped write laws that allowed the gov't to control the states
• he laid out steps that a great leader must follow to ensure peace, power, and proper control of a gov't
• he wrote about the gov't and what they must do to ensure the leader is protected
• he wanted to make sure the gov't maintained the power and did not let the people take over the gov't